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Hardware and Software Requirements: Data Protection for VMware V8.1.12

Preventive Service Planning


Abstract

This document details the hardware and software requirements for IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware V8.1.12.

Content

The Data Protection for VMware requirements vary by high-level functional component. Data Protection for VMware has the following high-level functional components:

  • Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI
  • Data mover
  • Mount proxy
  • Recovery agent
  • Note: All Data Protection for VMware functional components must be at the same fix pack level. Within a fix pack level, the interim fix level can differ. Examples:
    • When you upgrade the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI, all other functional components (data movers, recovery agents, and mount proxy nodes) must also be upgraded to the same fix pack level.
    • When you upgrade a data mover from V8.1.12.x to V8.1.12.y (where x<y) you do not need to upgrade of all other functional components to V8.1.12.y. However, all the other functional components must be at the same fix pack level.

This document is divided into linked sections for ease of navigation. Use the following links to jump to the section of the document that you require:



 

Software requirements for Data Protection for VMware

Supported VMware vSphere versions

The following VMware vSphere versions are supported:

  • vSphere 6.5 and 6.5 update and patch levels
  • vSphere 6.7 and 6.7 update and patch levels (beginning with V8.1.6)
    Note: If the Data Protection plug-in is automatically turned off because of vSphere 6.7, follow the steps in the VMware KB article about how to revert the process: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/54751
  • vSphere 7.0 and 7.0 update and patch levels (beginning with V8.1.10)

Note: 

  • Only vSphere Web Client (HTML5) is supported.
  • vSphere 6.0 is not supported by VDDK 7.0, for that reason vSphere 6.0 is not supported by this Data Protection for VMware level.


To view supported vSphere and ESXi host versions by VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) version, check the release notes of VMware's Virtual Disk Development Kit. The release notes for the VDDK versions used are listed in the technote  IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware data mover compatibility guide with VMware's Virtual Disk Development Kit 

Attention: The support statements listed in this Hardware and Software Requirements Data Protection for VMware V8.1.12 technote supersede the supported vSphere versions that are listed in VDDK release notes. To determine hardware and software requirements for Data Protection for VMware V8.1.12, use this Hardware and Software Requirements technote as the definitive guide.


 

Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI

This functional component integrates the product with the VMware vSphere client for backup, restore, and manage virtual machines in the VMware vCenter and includes the Data Protection for VMware command-line interface.

  • Notes:
    • To enable file restore capability, the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI must be installed on a Windows system.
    • To enable file restore for a Linux® virtual machine, in addition to installing Data Protection for VMware on a Windows system, a Linux mount proxy system must also be configured.

Note: For the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI to function correctly with tagging support, ensure that at least one data mover is installed on the same system as the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI.

Attention: Connection to the vCenter Server is required to install the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI. If your vCenter Server uses an RSA key with an encryption length greater than 2048 bits, then download and install the unrestricted JCE policy files before you install the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI. If your RSA key encryption length is 2048 bits or less, you do not need to install the JCE policy files. The instructions are described in the technote Installing the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI: Download unrestricted SDK JCE files

The supported operating systems are listed in section: Operating systems support overview tables


 

Data mover

The following features are enabled by the data mover:

  • Off-host block level incremental backups
  • Application protection for VM guests

The VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) version 7.0 runtime files are used for backing up virtual machines by the data mover. The data mover supports the operating systems if they are also supported by the VDDK version 7.0. For updates on supported operating systems and known issues and limitations regarding the VDDK 7.0, see the VDDK release notes web page.

The data mover uses the VDDK APIs to open, close, read, and write virtual machine disk (VMDK) data. To determine the level of VDDK used in each level of Data Protection for VMware, and compatible ESX/ESXi builds supported by the VDDK level, see technote  IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware data mover compatibility guide with VMware's Virtual Disk Development Kit

Details about the supported applications and required licensed software programs to restore databases or mailboxes with application protection for VM guests are listed in section:  Support and limitations

The supported operating systems are listed in section: Operating systems support overview tables


 

Mount proxy

A mount proxy represents the Linux or Windows system that provides access to virtual machine disks backup or persistent snapshots. Mount proxy systems are required when you use the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI Mount wizard and the file restore portal.

You need a Windows mount proxy system to access a Windows virtual machine. You need a Windows and Linux mount proxy pair to access a Linux virtual machine.

For a mount proxy on a Linux or Windows operating system, IBM Spectrum Protect data mover V8.1.12 must be installed and configured. To install a data mover on a remote system, run the Data Protection for VMware installer and take one of the following actions:

  • On Linux operating systems, select Custom from the Install Set list in the configuration wizard. Ensure that Data Protection for VMware data mover is selected. This option is selected by default.
  • On Windows operating systems, select Advanced Installation > Install the data mover feature only in the configuration wizard.
  • Requirements for operations:
    • For file restore operations from persisted snapshots on the local hardware storage (local backups) on VMware Virtual Volumes, VDDK is required on the mount proxy system and is installed by default when you choose the installation of the data mover option.
    • For mount or file restore operations from server backups, iSCSI connection is required on the mount proxy system. For a Windows mount proxy system, IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments recovery agent V8.1.12 must be also installed and configured.
      • Note:
        • For mount proxy on Windows operating systems, the iSCSI Initiator service must be running during the virtual machine disk mount operation and the file restore operation. By default, the iSCSI service is started manually. If the system where this service is running restarts, the iSCSI service must be restarted manually.
        • For mount proxy on Linux operating systems, the iSCSI service must be configured and running during the VMDK mount operation and the file restore operation. By default, the iSCSI service is started manually. If the system where this service is running restarts, the iSCSI service must be restarted manually.

The supported operating systems are listed in section: Operating systems support overview tables


 

Recovery agent

This service enables the mounting of any snapshot volume from the IBM Spectrum Protect server. You can use iSCSI protocol to access the snapshot from a remote computer.
Note: To view the snapshot locally with read-only access on the client system, use IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware V8.1.4 or earlier versions.

In addition, the recovery agent provides the instant restore function. A volume used in instant restore processing remains available while the restore process proceeds in the background.

The recovery agent is accessed with the recovery agent GUI or command line interface.

The supported operating systems are listed in section: Operating systems support overview tables


 

Operating systems support overview tables

Operating systems support tables for all V8.1.12 Data Protection for VMware functional components:
 

Table 1. Operating system support on Linux x86_64.
Operating systems Data Mover & Mount Proxy* GUI Recovery agent
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.7(1)(3)
Client and Server Editions		 --
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8(1)(3)(6)
Client and Server Editions
(RHEL 8 support beginning with V8.1.10)		 --
SUSE Enterprise Linux (SLES) 12 SP5 (2)(3)(4)
Desktop and Server Editions		 --
SUSE Enterprise Linux (SLES) 15 SP1(2)(3)(4)(5)
Desktop and Server Editions
(SLES 15 support beginning with V8.1.8)		 --

Indicates that the operating system version is supported by this Data Protection for VMware functional component. Later maintenance and modification levels to the operating system version are also supported.

*The data mover and mount proxy support the same operating system levels, which are also supported by the VDDK version 7.0.
For updates on supported operating systems and known issues and limitations regarding VDDK 7.0, see the VDDK release notes web page.
Note: Beginning with Data Protection for VMware V8.1.10 levels the functional components cannot support RHEL 6 and SLES 11 since those operating systems are not supported by VDDK 7.0.
 

Notes:

  • (1) For backup or restore VMware virtual machines, the libfuse.so2, libxml2.so, and libexpat.so, shared object libraries must be installed on Red Hat Enterprise Linux system. Install the fuse-libs version 2 package. Some distributions might not install this fuse-libs version 2 package.
  • (2) For backup or restore VMware virtual machines, the libfuse.so.2 shared object library must be installed on a SUSE Linux system. Install the libfuse version 2 package. Some distributions might not install this libfuse version 2 package.
  • (3) To ensure that the data mover node is configured cleanly, the environment must have:
  • (4) On SLES12SP4 and later or SLES15 and later, the installation of libssh2-1 library to implement the SSH2 protocol is required. The library is available to be installed from the media.
  • (5) On a virtual machine with Linux kernel 5.1 or earlier, restore operations of a volume with the Linux kernel 5.2 or later Ext 4 casefold feature activated are not supported.
    (6) On RHEL 8.0 and later, the installation of the libssh2 library to implement the SSH2 protocol is required. The library is available for installation from the media or from the Red Hat repository. 
     
Table 2. Operating system support on Windows x64.
Operating systems Data Mover & Mount Proxy* GUI Recovery agent
Windows Server 2012 (1)
Essentials, Standard, and Datacenter Editions
Windows Server 2012 R2
Essentials, Standard, and Datacenter Editions
Windows Server 2016** (2)
Essentials, Standard, and Datacenter Editions
(beginning with V8.1.4)
Windows Server 2019** (3)
Essentials, Standard, and Datacenter Editions
(beginning with V8.1.10)

Indicates that the operating system version is supported by this Data Protection for VMware functional component. Later maintenance and modification levels to the operating system version are also supported.

*The data mover and mount proxy support the same operating system levels, which are also supported by the VDDK version 7.0.
For updates on supported operating systems and known issues and limitations regarding VDDK 7.0, see the VDDK release notes web page.

** Only Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) products are supported.


Notes:

  • (1) This functional component provides support for Windows Storage Server 2012 for functionality that is also available and supported by this functional component on the Windows Server 2012 Editions.
  • (2) This functional component provides support for Windows Storage Server 2016 for functionality that is also available and supported by this functional component on the Windows Server 2016 Editions.
  • (3) This functional component provides support for Windows Storage Server 2019 for functionality that is also available and supported by this functional component on the Windows Server 2019 Editions.



 

More software requirements

The following software is required to use Data Protection for VMware:

  • Tivoli Storage Manager Server V7.1 and later interim fixes and fix packs, or
  • IBM Spectrum Protect Server V8.1 and later interim fixes and fix packs



 

Support and limitations

Data Protection for VMware components support the following applications:

  • The following browsers are supported by Data Protection for VMware:
    • Microsoft® Internet Explorer version 11 on Windows
    • Google Chrome 50 or later on Windows and Linux
    • Mozilla Firefox 45 Extended Service Release or later on Windows and Linux
       
  • Application protection for VM guests
    Application protection supports the following 64-bit applications on the Windows x64 system for granular restore:
    • Microsoft Exchange Server
    • Microsoft SQL Server
     

    Application protection backup is enabled by the data mover for the operating systems that are listed in section: Operating systems support overview tables
    Note: The data mover, which enables application protection backups, is only supported on Windows with 64-bit guest operating systems only.

    In addition to Data Protection for Virtual Environment Recovery Agent and Data Mover, the application protection feature requires at least one of the following separately licensed software programs to restore individual databases or mailboxes:

    • For Microsoft Exchange Server: IBM Spectrum Protect for Mail
    • For Microsoft SQL Server: IBM Spectrum Protect for Databases

    For more information, see Application Protection Requirements: Data Protection for VMware

Data Protection for VMware limitation:

  • During installation, the /tmp directory must have more than 2 GB free space and must not be mounted with the option noexec



 

Hardware requirements for Data Protection for VMware

Hardware requirements vary and depend on the following items:

  • Number of protected servers
  • Number of protected volumes
  • Data set sizes
  • LAN and SAN connectivity

The following table describes the hardware requirements for installation of Data Protection for VMware:

Component Minimal requirement Preferred
System Intel® Pentium D dual cores Intel® Pentium D eight cores
Memory 4 GB Random-Access Memory,
4 GB virtual address space		 8 GB Random-Access Memory,
8 GB virtual address space
Available hard disk 4.4 GB 9.0 GB
Network 1 GbE 10 GbE

For more information about data mover hardware specifications, see How to determine how many data movers are appropriate to protect a vSphere environment

More hardware limitations are listed in section: Support and limitations



 

Where to download IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments V8.1.12

The IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments download document provides information about how and where to obtain the IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments V8.1.12 package, see Download Information: Version 8.1.12 IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments
Note: The download technote is published at General Availability date.



 

Hardware and Software requirements for other releases of Data Protection for VMware

The hardware and software requirements for other releases and fix packs for all IBM Spectrum Protect Data Protection for Virtual Environment components are located in the website: IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments - All Requirements Doc
 



 

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Document Information

Modified date:
23 April 2021

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ibm16415651

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