Backing Up Virtual Machines
Table Of Contents
- 1 About this document
- 2 Supported virtualization platforms
- 3 Backup at a hypervisor level
- 3.1 Features and capabilities
- 3.2 Limitations
- 3.3 What does a virtual machine backup store?
- 3.4 Working in VMware vSphere
- 3.4.1 Getting started with Agent for VMware
- 3.4.2 Installation of Agent for VMware
- 3.4.3 Operations with agents
- 3.4.4 Flexible configuration of the agents
- 3.4.5 Using a locally attached storage
- 3.4.6 Configuring ESX(i)-related options
- 3.4.7 Support for VM migration
- 3.4.8 Support for datastore clusters and Storage DRS
- 3.4.9 Backing up fault tolerant machines
- 3.4.10 Backing up independent disks and RDMs
- 3.4.11 Backing up virtual machine templates
- 3.4.12 Privileges for VM backup and recovery
- 3.5 Working in Microsoft Hyper-V
- 3.6 Backing up Linux logical volumes and MD devices
- 3.7 File-level recovery
- 3.8 Virtual machines on a management server
- 3.9 VM-specific backup and recovery options
- 3.10 Limitations for backup and recovery options
- 4 Backup from inside a guest OS
- 4.1 Working with Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization
- 4.1.1 Overview of the RHEV platform
- 4.1.2 How Acronis Backup works with RHEV
- 4.1.3 Backup and recovery of RHEV virtual machines
- 4.1.4 Migrating a physical machine to a virtual machine
- 4.1 Working with Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization
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3.4.11 Backing up virtual machine templates
A virtual machine template (or simply a template) is a set of files and parameters that represents a
complete virtual machine. Templates are typically used to create multiple similar virtual machines.
Virtual machine templates appear in the All virtual machines group on the management server along
with other virtual machines.
In terms of backup and recovery, a virtual machine template acts as a normal virtual machine. You
can back up its disks, recover its disks and files, add it to static or dynamic groups, and perform other
operations described in this document.
Virtual machine templates are unrelated to OVF templates that are used to deploy Agent for VMware
(Virtual Appliance).
3.4.12 Privileges for VM backup and recovery
Once Agent for VMware is deployed to a vCenter's host, any user of the vCenter Server can connect a
management console to the agent. The scope of available operations depends on the privileges a
user has on the vCenter Server. Only those actions are available that the user has permission to
perform. The below tables contain the privileges required for backup and recovery of ESX virtual
machines and, additionally, for virtual appliance deployment.
If the agent was deployed directly to an ESX(i) host or manually imported to the host, and you want
the vCenter users to be able to connect to the agent and the below privileges to take effect, connect
the agent to the vCenter Server rather than to the ESX(i) host. To change the connection, access the
virtual appliance GUI using the vSphere Client and specify access credentials for the vCenter Server in
the ESX(i)/vCenter setting.
Privileges on vCenter Server or ESX(i) host
Outlined in the below table are the privileges a vCenter Server user must have to perform operations
on all the vCenter hosts and clusters.
To enable a user to operate on a specific ESX host only, assign the user the same privileges on the
host.
Operation
Object
Privilege
Back up a
VM
Back up a
VM's disk
Recover to a
new VM
Recover to
an existing
VM
VA
deployment
Datastore
Allocate space
+
+
+
+
+
Browse datastore
+
Configure datastore
+
Low level file
operations
+
Global
Licenses
+
+
+
+
Host > Configuration
VM autostart
configuration
+