Pete Zerger is a familiar name among virtualization enthusiasts. Many of you know that he is a co-founder of a web community (Systemcentercentral.com) dedicated to all things System Center, and a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) focusing on Microsoft System Center among other things. As a co-owner and a consulting partner at AKOS Technology Services, Pete still finds time to be an active speaker, blogger, and an author of various System Center educational material.
December 9th, Pete Zerger and Veeam Director of Product Management Alec King, will discuss VMware monitoring in SCOM. In this webinar they will talk about integrating VMwareintoOps Mgr & VMM, the key performance indicators that you should watch for, scalability best practices, and System Center tuning and customization.
Join Pete and Alec at this on December 9, 11:00 am EST. 10attendees will WIN the System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 UNLEASHED.
If you are not able to attend but have a question for Pete about System Center, please post in the comments below and we will make sure to get an answer for you. A recording of the webinar will also be available shortly after December 9th.
It is now December and there are just a few weeks left of these 2 promotions. We thought you may be interested in taking advantage of this opportunity before the offers end on December 24.
Since the release of Veeam Backup & Replication v5 in October, we have gotten great reviews and invaluable feedback. You can read Eric Siebert’s review of Veeam Backup & Replication v5 that was posted on or see the in-depth review posted on .
As you probably already know, Veeam Backup & Replication has features that are not available in any other existing products on the market:
Instant VM Recovery: Restore entire virtual machines from a backup file in minutes.
U-AIR(Universal Application-Item Recovery): Recover individual items from any virtualized application, on any OS.
SureBackup Recovery Verification: Automatically verify the recoverability of EVERY backup, EVERY VM, EVERY time.
On-Demand Sandbox: Create test VMs from any point in time to troubleshoot problems or test workarounds, software patches or new application code.
Instant File-Level Recovery: Recover an entire VM or an individual file from the same image-level backup in any OS or file system.
With this promotion you can get 25% off Veeam Backup & Replication v5 when you provide a proof of license for a competing product. This is a limited time offer that will end soon. If you are not satisfied with your existing backup solution, give Veeam Backup & Replication v5 a try.
The second promotion that will end right before Christmas is on Veeam Essentials Plus. You can save 42% by getting a free upgrade to Veeam Essentials Plus when buying Veeam Essentials.
We are very glad to be a part of the campaign with VMware. VMware Essentials Plus and Veeam Essentials Plus will give SMB’s the ability to manage and protect their virtual infrastructure at an affordable price.
Today Veeam hosted a webinar titled “Running Exchange on VMware”. Most of the focus of course was on backup and recovery of Exchange once it’s been virtualized. As I was preparing for the webinar (with a lot of help from ) I realized that the information would also make a good blog post. Below are the main points of backup and recovery for Exchange and how Veeam Backup & Replication v5 addresses them.
From the Microsoft perspective, there are :
In order to be compliant with Exchange Server, VSS based backup applications must follow three basic requirements to ensure the integrity and recoverability of shadow copy backups. If these requirements are not followed, Microsoft ... will not be able to troubleshoot backup and restore issues.
Rule 1: Exchange must be backed up exclusively through the Exchange VSS Writer.
Rule 2: Backup should not be relied on until the backup application has completed integrity verification.
Rule 3: Restores to original location must be done exclusively with the Exchange VSS Writer.
Rule 1: VSS Aware Backup
Veeam implements proprietary Microsoft VSS integration, instead of relying on VMware Tools VSS integration components.
Fully automated and transparent (no agents to deploy/configure/update/monitor)
Supported directly by Veeam, not VMware (no finger pointing)
No limitations of VMware Tools VSS: supports transaction logs processing, all ESX(i) and Windows versions, dynamic disks, IDE disks, VM without UUID, etc.
More information:
Veeam Backup v5 FAQ:
VMware VSS limitations:
Rule 2: Verify Before You Rely
SureBackup Recovery Verification
Great flexibility (supports custom scripts)
Choose method of verification that is sufficient for you: remote run eseutil or isinteg on test VM (no stress on production), log on to test mailbox via HTTPS and query test email message
Keep in mind DC dependency!
Exchange must see DC to be able to properly boot in the isolated environment. SureBackup Application Groups take care of this for you.
Rule 3: VSS Aware Restore
Restores to original location must be done exclusively with the Exchange VSS Writer, and in correct sequence:
Boot up Exchange VM with mailbox stores dismounted
Tell Exchange VSS Writer to perform restore from VSS snapshot
Mount mailbox stores
Veeam implements these Microsoft requirements
Most image-level backup vendors do not do this, they just boot VM normally like there is no Exchange present
Perform a test restore to check your current solution and look for these events on the restored Exchange server, if they don’t exist your vendor is not following Rule 3:
If transaction log files are not pruned after backup, the log files accumulate until they fill all the available disk space. The Exchange VSS Writer implements transaction log pruning capabilities, however VMware Tools VSS is NOT a backup application and cannot know if backup was completed successfully. Thus, it cannot process transaction logs by design.
Any application “riding” on VMware Tools VSS instead of providing proprietary VSS integration will not truncate logs.
Some solutions do provide transaction log pruning, but perform log pruning right after the snapshot is taken.
This approach is actually worse than no pruning at all: if backup does not complete successfully, you will not have a good backup, and your transaction logs will be gone. You will not be able to restore in case of disaster.
To check your current image-level solution, perform test a backup to check (on a test Exchange server, not production)
Perform backup, wait for the job to complete successfully, ensure transaction logs are actually pruned.
Perform another backup, but this time reset the backup server while the job is running (after virtual disk copy starts). Transaction logs should NOT be pruned.
Veeam prunes logs on successful backup by default and v5 provides advanced transaction log handling options as seen in this screen shot:
Granular Recovery Challenges
Typically granular recovery from an image-level backup was difficult, you had to restore entire Active Directory and Exchange servers to an isolated environment before your could restore any items. The process is time and personnel resource intensive. There are some 3rd party tools that mount the Exchange data store but these still require data stores to be extracted first (time and disk space) and there’s an additional licensing cost associated (usually per mailbox)
Agent-based solutions have existed for years that can back up the Exchange data, but that’s not the most efficient way to backup Exchange in a virtual environment. Additionally, if you combine agent based with image based, you are backing up the same data twice, taking additional resources and storage media.
Granular Recovery with vPower™
Veeam’s patent-pending approach fully utilizes the existing virtual infrastructure. The Veeam application group and virtual lab features automatically create an isolated environment and with vPower, you simply run the AD and Exchange servers directly from the backup files, no extraction necessary.
Veeam’s Exchange AIR (Application Item Recovery) Wizard utilizes Microsoft Exchange APIs and connects to both the production and isolated environments providing you with Exchange item-level recovery in minutes, not hours!
More Information
Microsoft on Exchange 2003 VSS Backup and Restore
Microsoft on Exchange 2007 VSS Backup and Restore
Application-aware image processing section of v5 FAQ
It has been a whirlwind month for the Veeam Teeam coming off a great showing at VMworld 2010 in San Francisco. While Veeam was collecting more awards for the corporate mantle last week, there was some great knowledge exchange taking place by the Veeam technical team as well.
A good friend of ours, with VMware let me know about a blog post he had forthcoming following the public announcement of product general availability. Michael is the Americas Solution Specialist SE for business continuity and disaster recovery for VMware. He contributes to the at vmware.com.
Michael has been doing a good deal of testing with vCloud Director specifically in his domain of expertise. In his latest he describes some of his results. Specifically of interest to me is Michael's testing of Veeam Backup & Replication v4 and the native ability to protect VMs that have been provisioned by vCloud Director.
If you are using agent based backups already in your organization, you can continue to do that. This may not work for you depending on the security that you have enabled in your cloud. If you are using the vStorage API set for the backup it may or may not work for you. Currently, the VMware Data Recovery (vDR) product will not work when backing up vCD provisioned VM's. This should be fixed in the next release of vDR. But generally, your software should work. In my testing I used vDR v1.2 (which didn't work), Backup Exec 2010 R2 13.0 Rev 4164 (agent based and worked) and Veeam 4.1.2.125 (which worked).
So if you want to start testing the new vCloud family of products, know that Veeam Backup & Replication, which is built on a solid architecture using available APIs and best practices, has you covered both today and in future.
A big thank you goes to Michael White for the testing and acknowledgment.
One of my favorite events is just around the corner, , Feb 8-11 in Las Vegas. I like PEX because it gives me a chance to meet old friends, new friends and new and current Veeam partners. I also get to attend sessions exclusive for VMware partners and get the inside scoop on new VMware technology (all under NDA of course). Veeam will have a booth again this year and as a special bonus, we’re going to be giving away a to one lucky person who registers at our booth.
So if you’re going to be at PEX, be sure to stop by the Veeam booth. Also, feel free to find me on as I’m sure someone will be organizing a TweetUp or 2.
I'm very excited for the upcoming release of Veeam Monitor 4.5 with Veeam Business View integration. While we released Veeam Business View a few months ago, we are now getting our products aligned with how it works and how it enables you to start taking a "business view" of your virtual infrastructure rather that just an "infrastructure view". Monitor 4.5 will show the Business View tree from within it's interface, making it very easy to set alerts, create reports and in general just see how things are performing based on the business category or group. This includes even setting alerts by service level agreement (SLA) or by application. Virtual Machines are not limited to 1 dimension, they can be in multiple categories/groups. The video below (featuring the voice of yours truly) goes into more detail of what's coming up and shows the power of Veeam Business View along with Veeam Monitor 4.5.
On YouTube:
The best part in my opinion? Veeam Business View is free and Veeam Monitor has a free edition. You'll get all this capability without spending a penny! Of course there are some limitations on Veeam Monitor Free Edition, here's a summary:
real-time monitoring only (24 hours of history)
real-time reporting only (24 hours of history in report)
10 alarms
no alarm modeling
no VM/ESX/VC drill-down (process monitoring/management)
no access to datastore load monitoring (other datastore graphs are available)
Veeam Monitor 4.5 should be available in early Q4, sign up here to be notified.
While I generally reserve this blog for all things Veeam related, I saw something today that I just had to write about. There's a software solution called from that makes vMotion of VM's possible over WAN connections. "Too good to be true" you say? Well, I've seen it and we've also done testing ourselves and with some of our partners and not only is vMotion possible, but if you're using Veeam Backup & Replication you can get a significant performance increase in copying data over slow or high-latency connections. If you're considering "the cloud" you really should check out HyperIP combined with Veeam Backup & Replication.
Check out NetEx's press release and also check out their YouTube video below. You can and also a free trial of Veeam Backup & Replication to test it out on your own.
This post will include information on the VCP VI3 certification offered by VMware.
To become a VCP VI3 you need to do three things:
1. You have to take the VMware authorized course. No if, ands, or buts! The classes are instructor led and will allow you to get your hands dirty with VMware. There's three courses you can take.
VMware Infrastructure 3: Install and Configure V3.5
VMware Infrastructure 3: Deploy, Secure and Analyze V3.5
VMware Infrastructure 3: Fast Track V3.5
2. Get hands on experience with VMware. What's the point of trying to get a VCP without using it!?
3.Sign up and pass the exam: http://www.pearsonvue.com/vmware
Now that doesn't sound too hard, does it? Well, I wouldn't say taking IT exams is easy. (Unless, you're dumping, which I completely do not agree with.) Usually the hard part of getting a VCP is money. $2500-$3000 a course seems a little steep for a lot of people.(Although, Fast Track = $5495 but includes the exam) I see where VMware is coming from, especially due to the current state of IT certification. (i.e. people cheating/dumping exams.) Also, with the course you receive a VMware messenger bag, I mean, that's totally worth $3000, right?
After you have passed your exam, you will receive a complimentary license of VMware workstation, a $175 "savings". Interesting that the course itself costs about the same.
So, why get your VCP? Why does anyone get IT certifications? We all have different reasons, career advancement, your employer requires you to, or you just like to learn. Whatever your reason may be, getting certified in a technology is always beneficial.
Below are some resources you can use to learn more about VMware certifications:
While there's been a lot of talk this past week on Free ESXi (more on that later) I wanted to take some time and explain the new Veeam Essentials bundle and our reasons behind it. We view our Veeam Essentials bundle as a great entry bundle for the small business just getting into virtualization using . As you may know, VMware has introduced a very attractively priced vSphere bundle called , this gives you vCenter and up to 6 sockets (3 hosts) for just shy of US $1,000. If you think about it, that's a lot of power for not a lot of clams. Think how many physical servers you can virtualize on 3 ESX(i) hosts...way more than 3. For more information, check out
So, for just shy of 1K you get fully licensed vSphere. This is great but it still leaves you without an efficient backup and recovery tool, single pane of glass monitoring or detailed reporting...enter Veeam Essentials bundle...offering Veeam Backup & Replication, Veeam Monitor and Veeam Reporter for around US $2,000 (Americas pricing). The Veeam Essentials bundle is fully functional licensed versions of those 3 products for 6 sockets (3 hosts).
Of course Veeam is placing some limits on this bundle...
Must be purchased with VMware vSphere Essentials (or proof of VMware vSphere Essentials must be given)
Each bundle will only support 6 sockets. This means that even if you purchase multiple bundles, each Veeam product will only work on 6 sockets, you'll need to install other instances with the other license(s) to manage the other VMware vSphere Essentials vCenters.
Each bundle is 6 sockets, no less (sorry folks, you can't get it cheaper for only 4 sockets)
What does all this mean? For just under US $3,000 (hardware not included) you get 6 sockets of VMware vSphere, 6 sockets of Veeam Backup & Replication, 6 sockets of Veeam Monitor and 6 sockets of Veeam Reporter. That's 3 servers with up to 8 cores (2x4) and 256GB RAM each running VMware ESX(i). Couple that with a free iSCSI solution such as and now you're talking 2 TB of shared data for free (hardware and Windows licensing not included).
I did not include Support and Subscription (SnS) above because for VMware vSphere Essentials it's optional (it's not optional on VMware vSphere Essentials Plus). Veeam's Essentials bundle includes 1 year of support and upgrades in the list price.
Now, let's discuss a few things about the Free Version of ESXi. We've gotten a number of questions on this since we released the "news" and the Essentials bundle on the same day. Below is a simple table explaining what is and isn't supported:
Table of compatibility:
ESX Version
Current Customers As of June 3, 2009
Future Customers
ESX/ESXi 3.x licensed
+
+
ESX/ESXi 4.x licensed
+
+
ESXi 3.5 free
+
-
ESXi 4.0 free
-
-
+ = supported/usable
- = not supported
Now please note that Veeam will not be supporting ESXi Free 4.0 at all. If you're a current customer using Veeam Backup & Replication for ESXi Free 3.x, please contact your Veeam ProPartner or sales person for vSphere options.
While I don't endorse or condone any of the following, I thought I would be doing an injustice if I did not include links to the community's reaction to our announcement regarding dropping ESXi Free support. The list below is just some of the reaction, be sure to read the comments in each as well.
Figured I would blog this...These are not my words, I just copied from Veeam's official release. Let me know in the comments what you think...
As a longtime Premier Technology Alliance Partner and supporter of VMware's product strategy, Veeam Software takes great pride in creating innovative software products that enhance the customer value of VMware ESX, ESXi, and ESXi Free. One such example is support for the free edition of VMware ESXi in Veeam Backup and Replication.
Recently, VMware requested that Veeam Software discontinue support for ESXi Free in Veeam Backup and Replication in order to comply with VMware’s updated licensing policy. In light of VMware's request, and our close technical partnership, Veeam Backup and Replication will no longer support ESXi Free. We will still continue to offer support for ESXi Free to existing Veeam customers who purchased Backup & Replication prior to version 3.1.
For small or branch office environments, Veeam advises its new customers to buy VMware vSphere Essentials and the Veeam Essentials bundle (announced today). This combination costs exactly the same amount of money as purchasing 6 sockets of Veeam Backup at regular list price for use with free ESXi, but it is actually better, because with Veeam Essentials at its special discounted price, customers also get Veeam Monitor and Veeam Reporter.
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