Administrator Guide

Protect Microsoft SQL Server 2016, Microsoft SQL Server 2014 or Microsoft

SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Groups

Replay Manager can be used to back up databases that belong to an AlwaysOn Availability Group.

However, a database cannot be restored while it is part of an Availability Group. Just as with native

Microsoft SQL Server restores, a database must be removed from the Availability Group before it can be

restored with Replay Manager.

1. Remove the database from the Availability Group.

2. Restore the database using Replay Manager.

3. Remove any existing replica databases.

4. Add the database back into the Availability Group.

5. Start data synchronization to the replica databases, if not done when the database was added back

into the Availability Group.

VMware

Replay Manager supports backing up and restoring VMware datastores and virtual machines on VMware

vSphere hosts (version 5.0 or later) that are managed by a vCenter Server (version 5.0 or later).

Backup Extensions for VMware

Two VMware-specific backup extensions, VMware Datastores and VMware Virtual Machines, support

VMware integration. Although both extensions provide flexible 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 will also be included such as templates and .ISO files which are commonly found in virtual

datacenters. This extension is ideal for virtual machines that have a single virtual machine disk file (.vmdk)

or that have multiple .vmdk files 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 fit each of the virtual machines on the datastore. Only one Replay Manager job is

needed for a datastore. This helps to prevent Replay Manager jobs from overlapping.