Operation Manual

6 vCenter Integration

The main tool for managing the vSphere virtual infrastructure is the VMWare vSphere client.

Although the VMWare vSphere client does not provide native backup/restore functionality, it's not

always convenient to run another tool to manage these important operations. Acronis vmProtect 7

introduces vCenter integration which allows for basic backup and restore functionality directly from

the VMWare vSphere client without having to run Acronis vmProtect 7 Web interface.

Integration with vCenter is only possible if there is at least one vCenter registered in Acronis

vmProtect 7 Agent. If there are no registered vCenters, such integration is not possible. Also,

integration is automatically disabled when a vCenter is removed from the vmProtect 7 Agent

configuration.

Acronis vmProtect 7 integration with vCenter can be manually enabled and disabled from both

vmProtect 7 Web interface and vCenter plug-in manager. In order to enable vCenter integration, go

to the Configure->ESX(i) Hosts and select the Enable vCenter Integration check box when adding a

new vCenter, or click Enable vCenter Integration button in the ribbon bar. To disable the function,

click Disable vCenter Integration in the ribbon bar.

The Acronis vmProtect 7 login screen shows the IP address of the Agent where integration was

enabled.

How vCenter integration works

vCenter integration allows you to create backup and restore tasks and view their progress directly

within the VMWare vSphere interface.

Select any Virtual Machine, vApp/Resource Pool or ESX(i) host/Cluster in the VMWare vSphere tree

list. Right-click on the selected item to open the context menu. The context menu contains the

Acronis backup and Acronis restore options. Choosing one of these options results in opening the

Acronis pop-up and activating the backup/restore wizard which will help you create the

backup/restore task and implement it right away.

The appearance of the backup/restore wizards (including backup/restore settings) in VMWare

vSphere interface is exactly the same as in the Acronis vmProtect 7.

The standard New Backup Task wizard consists of 4 steps which are explained in detail in the

Creating a backup of Virtual Machines (p. 29) section. The first step of the wizard in VMWare vSphere

Acronis backup pop-up will be pre-filled with the VM you right-clicked on; however, you can change

the default selection.