Users Guide

VMware
Replay Manager supports backing up and restoring VMware datastores and virtual machines on VMware ESXi hosts (version 5.5 to 6.5)
that are managed by a vCenter Server (version 5.5 to 6.5).
Backup Extensions for VMware
Two VMware-specic backup extensions, VMware Datastores and VMware Virtual Machines, support VMware integration. Although both
extensions provide exible options to create VM embedded Replays, you should understand each backup extension to determine which
backup extension is best suited for a particular job or environment.
VMware Datastores
Use the VMware Datastores backup extension to create Replay Manager jobs based on vSphere datastores. This extension allows large
groups of virtual machines to be protected by a Replay simply by selecting the datastore or datastores the virtual machines reside on. Any
other data contained on the datastore is also included such as templates and .ISO les which are commonly found in virtual datacenters.
This extension is ideal for virtual machines that have a single virtual machine disk le (.vmdk) or that have multiple .vmdk les residing on
the same datastore.
NOTE: The VMware Datastore extension only supports the Expose data recovery action. It does not support the automated
Restore recovery action nor does it support physical or virtual RDMs or VMFS volumes.
When using the VMware Datastores backup extension, consider the following:
• If a virtual machine straddles multiple VMFS datastores, you may still use the VMware Datastores backup extension. However, all
datastores required to obtain a complete job must be selected.
• Because virtual machine protection is founded at the datastore layer, the Replay Manager job methodology should t each of the virtual
machines on the datastore. Only one Replay Manager job is needed for a datastore. This practice helps to prevent Replay Manager jobs
from overlapping.
VMware Virtual Machines
Use the VMware Virtual Machines backup extension to create Replay Manager jobs with ner granularity based on individual virtual
machines. This extension supports both the Expose and Restore data operations.
The placement of the virtual machines or their virtual machine disk les (.vmdk) across datastores or the use of RDMs is not a constraint
because Replay Manager determines the necessary datastores and volumes to include at the time of job creation. However, since vSphere
cannot create a VMware snapshot of physical RDMs, the physical RDM Replays are unlikely to be consistent with the Replay containing
the .vmdk le for the same virtual machine. Additionally, the VMware Virtual Machines backup extension supports including virtual machine
memory in the VMware snapshot contained in the Replay.
NOTE
: Use this extension if the virtual machine memory state is a requirement.
When using the VMware Virtual Machines backup extension, consider the following.
• Grouping by data protection characteristics
Replay Manager jobs created using the VMware Virtual Machines backup extension should be grouped by similar or identical data
protection characteristics to minimize the overlap of Replay Manager jobs in the queue and to ensure the required protection and
retention of virtual machine data.
• Backing up RDMs
To include RDM volumes when using the VMware Virtual Machines backup extension, select the virtual machine congured to use the
RDM.
Replay Manager Best Practices
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