Data Protection for VMware and Application Data in Mission Critical Environments

Backup agent in the virtual machine
This approach simply is the traditional approach to backups. The backup agents are installed inside
each virtual machine exactly as it would be done on a physical server. Backups are performed over the
LAN. This method does not require any additional skill set or procedural changes. It allows file-level
recovery and the restore process is unchanged. This method is suitable for virtual machine OS and
application backups. Through the use of application backup agents, this method can provide
application-consistent backups.
Challenges:
1. With multiple backup agents running in each virtual machine, the VMware physical server can
quickly be overtaxed for CPU and network bandwidths.
2. This method does not take advantage of the virtual infrastructure encapsulation of virtual machines.
3. Long RTO: Backup windows can be longer as backups must be staggered to avoid overlapping
back jobs.
Figure 2: Backup agent in Virtual Machine
ESX Server
Apps
Apps
Apps
Apps
BACKUP
AGENT
LAN
Backup Infrastructure
Guest
OS
Guest
OS
Console
OS
Guest
OS
BACKUP
AGENT
BACKUP
AGENT
ESX Server
Apps
Apps
Apps
Apps
BACKUP
AGENT
LAN
Backup Infrastructure
Guest
OS
Guest
OS
Console
OS
Guest
OS
BACKUP
AGENT
BACKUP
AGENT
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