User`s guide

Table Of Contents

Chapter 4

Defining a Backup Strategy

The Plug-in for VMware uses Quest NetVault Backup Plug-in for FileSystem (Plug-

in for FileSystem) for performing file-level backups.

4.1.2.a Available File-Level Backup Types

The Plug-in for VMware supports the following types of file-level backups of virtual

machines.

Note: Only the Windows version of the Plug-in for VMware supports file-level

backups of virtual machines.

 Full Backup – A Full Backup backs up all selected files and directories. Full

backups take longer to complete and consume more backup media.

However, restores are faster since the plug-in only requires to restore a single

saveset. Full Backups serve as the baseline backups for subsequent

Incremental and Differential Backups.

 Differential Backup – A Differential Backup backs up files that are new or

have changed since the last Full Backup. Differential Backups speed up

recovery since the plug-in only is only required to restore two savesets.

However, they consume more storage space and take longer than the

Incremental Backups. Differential Backups duplicate the data backed up by

previous backups of the same type.

 Incremental Backup – An Incremental Backup backs up files that are new or

have changed since the last Full or Incremental Backup. Incremental

Backups consume minimum storage space and are quicker to perform.

However, data recovery takes longer and may require the plug-in to access

several savesets depending on the number of incremental savesets that must

be restored.

4.2.0 Defining a Backup Strategy

A well-designed backup strategy helps you recover from the damages caused by

failure and resume normal operations as quickly as possible. Before you start

using the plug-in for backing up data, ensure that a good backup plan is in place

that protects your data from different failure modes, like media failure, accidental

deletion of disk files, data corruption, or complete loss of a data centre. Typically,

your backup plan should include the frequency of backups, the retention period for

backups and media rotation policies, and how you will store the backup media.

Answering the following questions will help you determine your data backup and

storage requirements:

 How many virtual machines need protection?

 What is the amount of data to be backed up?

 Does it comprise mainly of large files or smaller ones?

 What is the frequency of updates and changes?