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Datrium and Veeam Backup & Replication Reference Framework

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Introduction 3

Prerequisites 3Design Considerations and Use Cases 4

Architecture and Componentry 4

Networking Configuration 5Componentry 6Datrium Compute Node 7Datrium Data Node 8Datrium Blanket Encryption 9Datrium DVX Cloud Data Management 10Veeam Backup & Replication Server 10Veeam Backup & Replication Proxy Server 11Veeam Backup & Replication Repository 13Veeam Backup & Replication Backup Transport Mode(s) 13Virtual Appliance (Hot Add) or Network (NBD) 13Veeam Backup & Replication Replicas 16Veeam Backup & Replication Recovery & Verification 17Datrium VSS Snapshots & Veeam Explorer for SQL Server 18

Consolidated List of Datrium Recommendations 20

Additional References 20

Contacting Datrium 21

Online Support 21Datrium Solutions 21

Document Revisions 21

About the Author 21

Table of Contents

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List of Figures Figure 1. Multi-site distributed VMware deployment with Datrium DVX and Veeam Backup & Replication. 6

Figure 2. Networking diagram illustrating Datrium DVX, VMware vSphere with switching utilizing VPC, VLT or MLACP. 7

Figure 3. Datrium DVX Compute Nodes & HP DL360 Gen 9 servers coexisitng with in a VMware vSphere EVC Cluster. 8

Figure 4. Adding Compute Nodes to Datrium DVX within the Datrium plug-in within the VMware vSphere Web Client. 9

Figure 5. Connectivity between Compute Node and Data Node components with in the Datrium DVX architecture. 10

Figure 6. Blanket Encryption allows administrators to encrypt data in-use, in-flight and at-rest using either FIPS 140-2 validated or approved methods. 10

Figure 7. Enabling encryption is achieved through the DVX CLI. 11

Figure 8. Using VMXNET3 network adapters is considered to be a best practice to achieve optimal performance in environments where 10Gbe network infrastructure is present. 12

Figure 9. To scale the data movement with Veeam Backup & Replication administrators may add additional Proxy Servers to the environment. 13

Figure 10. Parallel processing with in Veeam Backup & Replication is a global setting which is configured to allow the processing of multiple vDisks. 13

Figure 11. The NBDSSL transport method is built into the virtual disk library, so it is always available, and is the fall-back when no other transport method is available. (Image courtesy of VMware). 15

Figure 12. HotAdd is a good way to get virtual disk data from a virtual machine to a Veeam Backup Proxy Server for sending to the Veeam Repository. (Image courtesy of VMware) 15

Figure 13. Comparing performance speeds of HotAdd (left) and NBD (right) backup transport methods. 16

Figure 14. Configuring global traffic rules and preferred backup networks within Veeam Backup & Replication 16

Figure 15. ESXCLI - ESXTOP illustrating HodAdd performance during backup job. 17

Figure 16. ESXCLI - ESXTOP illustrating NBD performance during backup job. 17

Figure 17. Veeam Backup & Replication offers many different restore types, most notably Instant VM Recovery. 18

Figure 18. you may also utilize the Datrium vSphere Datastore as the location to redirect the redo logs to during the Instant VM Recovery process. 19

Figure 19. When the vPower NFS write cache is located on Datrium DVX the process will benefit from the I/O’s being immediately serviced from the Compute Node flash. 19

Figure 20. Datrium DVX provides a VSS Agent, when installed within a Windows Guest OS, is utilized to conduct application consistent snapshots from within Datrium DVX. 20

Figure 21. Veeam Explorer for SQL Server can be used to browse the contents of a SQL VM Snapshot which was initiated from Datrium DVX. 21

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Organizations across the globe are challenged to provide their customers with high-performance applications that are available 24x7, regardless of location. With the adoption of high-perfor-mance solid-state flash technologies on the rise, organizations are able to deliver on this perfor-mance need. When Datrium DVX and Veeam Backup & Replication are deployed together appli-cations and services benefit from Datrium’s innovative software-defined primary storage as well as Veeam’s disaster recovery technologies. This ensures that Administrators are able to meet the rigid performance and availability SLAs in which the business demands. The Datrium DVX plat-form combined with Veeam Backup & Replication provides simplicity, efficiency, and scalability for your Enterprise Cloud.

This Datrium and Veeam Backup & Replication Reference Framework helps IT Administrators and Architects understand the design considerations that should be examined whenever deploy-ing the joint solution.

Prerequisites

Organizations are deploying applications and services in multiple locations and users demand the same experience regardless of geolocation. Datrium and Veeam Backup & Replication both fully support a multi-site, multi-cloud deployment model. This Reference Framework will adhere to best practices that both Datrium and Veeam provide for architecting, deploying and adminis-tering the solution in a multi-cloud environment. This Reference Framework also provides links and excerpts to documentation throughout so that you may dive deeper into individual topics if further education is desired.

When architecting a primary storage and backup infrastructure administrators need to be cer-tain that business SLA’s are able to be met both from a primary workload perspective and from a recovery perspective. You should meet with business and application owners regularly to ensure that you are aware of their requirements. This will be a very beneficial relationship to foster as it will allow for an open and cohesive communications channel. When the IT teams are aware of what the business is planning, they’re able to ensure the systems are able to meet their de-mands.

This Reference Framework is intended for those individuals and organizations which utilize Datrium DVX as primary storage for their VMware environment along with Veeam Backup & Rep-lication as their VMware backup solution. This technical document is designed to assist those in technology roles, such as architects, administrators, and operations team members of multi-cloud environments. This paper assumes a prior working knowledge of VMware vSphere, Datri-um DVX and Veeam Backup & Replication.

The examples, illustrations and practices described within this document are based upon Datri-um DVX 4.0 or higher and Veeam Backup & Replication 9.5 Update 3 and higher as well as VM-ware vSphere 6.5 Update ESXi 6.5 Patch 02 and ESXi 6.5 U1 Express Patch 4.

Introduction

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After reading the Reference Framework you will be poised to build and implement a successful Datrium DVX and Veeam Backup & Replication multi-cloud environment.

For further information as well as additional documentation please visit:• Datrium @ https://datrium.com/• Veeam Software @ https://veeam.com

Design Considerations and Use Cases

Datrium DVX and Veeam Backup & Replication are able to provide administrators with every-thing they need to design an environment that’s built to meet the requirements of the business. This document focuses on designing and integrating Datrium DVX with Veeam Backup & Replica-tion to ensure seamless protection of the applications and services the business depends upon. Datrium DVX and Veeam Backup & Replication are able to satisfy even the most stringent envi-ronments where both Recovery Time and Recovery Point objectives are in the realm of seconds to minutes.

This Reference Framework focuses on Datrium DVX as the primary storage location for VMware vSphere VMs as well as Veeam Backup & Replication, associated Veeam Proxy & Repository as the data moving component(s) as well as the associated backup target.

Both Datrium and Veeam Backup & Replication have been designed from the ground up to provide best of breed simplicity, scalability and performance for highly virtualized environ-ments. Both products have been designed to support a distributed and independent architec-ture. Datrium DVX scales performance and capacity independently while Veeam is able to scale its components, Proxy & Repository server independent of each other as well. The illustration below (Figure 1) displays on the left a primary data center with Datrium DVX and Veeam Backup & Replication with a secondary data center on the right where Veeam Replication and Backup Copy Jobs are being sent off to. This is a sample environment which has been designed abiding to the 3-2-1 Rule for Data.

Architecture and Componentry

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The remaining portions of this Reference Framework will focus on this deployment model. As best practice architects and engineers need to be leveraging secondary and potentially tertiary locations for running applications and services. These methodologies are commonly referred to as a Hot-Hot or Hot-Warm deployment. A more common deployment strategy is to house backups, archives and replicas at the DR site – This is known as Hot-Cold and is not a good use of resources as things at DR site are constantly sitting idle.

Tech Note - 3-2-1 Rule is an industry best practice for backup & disaster recovery:

3 – Copies of your Data2 – Your data resides on 2 different types of media.1 – Offsite and Offline

Networking Configuration

Before we dive into the individual components which make up the Datrium and Veeam solution, it’s important to have a healthy and properly operating environment. One of the most important pieces of any infrastructure is the health and configuration of the network and its name resolu-tion services. Both forward & reverse lookup must be solid as many different components within the data and backup stack (DNS) heavily rely upon these services.

Figure 1. Multi-site distributed VMware deployment with Datrium DVX and Veeam Backup & Replication.

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There are many documents on the internet which will provide you with the best setup for your environment and specific gear (Cisco, Palo Alto, Juniper, Arista, etc.). At a high-level the best practices will include redundant top-of rack switches for all of your Compute and Data Nodes at all locations with proper cross-switch wiring in place. If your switching vendor supports link aggregation for the Compute Nodes, you should be configuring the environment in this fashion. Be certain whenever you’re configuring the vSwitch within vCenter that you are using route over IP hash for LACP or if you’re using a Failover Team make sure that both adapters are placed in the team. This configuration will provide fault tolerance for switch and cable failure and prevent issues further down the line.

Layer 2 multipath support is implemented by several vendors each having their own proprietary solution. For example, Dell Force10 uses Virtual Link Trunking (VLT), Cisco uses Multi-chassis EtherChannel (MEC) and Virtual Port Channel (vPC), Brocade uses Multi-Chassis Trunking (MCT) and Virtual Link Aggregation Group (vLAG), and Juniper uses Virtual Chassis technology. There are also open standards such as Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) and Short-est Path Bridging (SPB) that as of yet have not seen wide spread adoption in the industry.

The physical switch ports for the Datrium Data Nodes will NOT be configured as a Trunk, Trunk Group or LACP. These ports need to be configured as standard access ports. The Datrium Data Nodes are designed to provide aggregate bandwidth through DVX specific Adaptive Pathing capabilities. This is ideal because the Datrium Data Node network redundancy for the data paths will always be available regardless of the upstream switch – if wired correctly, as previously men-tioned. The illustration below (Figure 2) illustrates a properly configured vSphere environment with Datrium DVX.

Figure 2. Networking diagram illustrating Datrium DVX, VMware vSphere with switching utilizing VPC, VLT or MLACP.

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There are some additional specific networking considerations that will be detailed within the following section(s) as appropriate.

Componentry

This section will focus on the individual components, their use as well as configuration details in order to be deployed within a Datrium DVX and Veeam Backup & Replication environment. Some of this will be a review however, for some it will not – either way the following information will allow you to build the most optimal and best performing environment possible.

Datrium Compute Node

A Compute Node is an x86 server which contains the DVX Hyperdriver (VMware Installation Bundle – VIB) installed within. This Compute Node has flash memory for the DVX platform to utilize. The Compute Node leverages the Hyperdriver for local I/O operations and for access to the virtual machine files on the Data Node. A Compute Node requires a minimum of one SSD which is dedicated for DVX System use, however, depending upon capacity requirements a single Compute Node does support up to 10 SSDs.

The DVX System can manage a heterogeneous compute infrastructure, meaning that the envi-ronment may include Datrium DVX Compute Nodes (CN 2100 or CN 2000) and/or third-party x86 servers running the DVX Software. This open approach allows the deployment of Datrium into any environment, without any additional strict hardware compatibility lists (HCLs) to abide by. The illustration below (Figure 3) is an environment which has HP ProLiant DL360 Gen9 and a Datrium DVX CN2000 servers coexisting within the same VMware vSphere EVC Cluster.

The Datrium DVX Hyperdriver is software which is installed on the Compute Node or third-par-ty server in all cases. The Hyperdriver provides optimized DVX file system access on the local

Figure 3. Datrium DVX Compute Nodes & HP DL360 Gen 9 servers coexisitng with in a VMware vSphere EVC Cluster.

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Compute Node and through a tight coupling with the DVX Data Node(s). The Hyperdriver uses flash, RAM and compute resources on the Compute Node to accelerate storage operations and provide data services such as compression, deduplication, erasure coding, encryption, snap-shots and clones, replication, RAID, and space reclamation for data in the local host and in the Data Node(s). The Hyperdriver software on different Compute Nodes operates independently for the most part, with some transient exceptions. The Compute Nodes are coordinated by software on the Data Node(s). You may easily add additional Compute Nodes to the Datrium DVX within the vSphere Web Client or standalone Datrium DVX UI. This is achieved within the hosts section. When Compute Nodes are added the Hyperdriver is deployed to the ESXi host (Figure 4).

From a Veeam Backup & Replication perspective the Datrium Compute Nodes are responsible for hosting VMs. This should go without saying however, most times the obvious steps are over-looked. As an Administrator you need to ensure that your Compute Nodes are up to date with the latest supported and stable BIOS and Firmware levels as noted by the individual vendors. For customers that have deployed Datrium Compute Nodes (CN200 or CN2100) please consult support@datrium.com or open a Service Request by emailing support@datrium.com for assis-tance or validation. Also, you need to ensure that not only is VMware Tools present, but it is too up to date. VMware frequently releases bug fixes and updates within the toolset which, often times will provide improved performance over previous iterations.

Datrium Data Node

The Datrium Data Node is a rack-mounted, pre-configured 2 rack unit, appliance which is re-sponsible for storing the durable data for use by the Compute Nodes. Each Data Node contains a fully redundant dual controller architecture with separate, fully redundant Management and Data interfaces and NVRAM. The Datrium Data Node is able to scale up to 10 Data Nodes within a single pool to provide over 1.7PB worth of capacity to store your virtual machines (Figure 5).

Figure 4. Adding Compute Nodes to Datrium DVX within the Datrium plug-in within the VMware vSphere Web Client.

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The Datrium Data Node is a critical piece of the DVX architecture, this global pool of persistent storage allows the Compute Nodes to maintain independent copies of data for VMs and become stateless storage appliances within the infrastructure. The Data Node also separates perfor-mance from capacity which allows for the independent and scale-out architecture. This design is drastically different from what legacy Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI) solutions provide.

Datrium Blanket Encryption

The Datrium DVX Platform ships with a software-based Blanket Encryption mechanism that al-lows users to optionally encrypt all data in use, at rest, and in transit (Figure 6). Datrium Blanket Encryption is designed to operate seamlessly with our always-on deduplication and compres-sion engines to provide the infrastructure with optimal system performance and the economies of scale which these data services provide.

Figure 5. Connectivity between Compute Node and Data Node components with in the Datrium DVX architecture.

Figure 6. Blanket Encryption allows administrators to encrypt data in-use, in-flight and at-rest using either FIPS 140-2 validated or approved methods.

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Datrium Blanket Encryption leverages the Intel AES XTS (Advanced Encryption Standard) algo-rithm with a key size of 512 bytes, and it uses the AES-NI (AES New Instruction Set). In all testing exercises conducted within this Reference Framework document Datrium DVX Blanket Encryp-tion was enabled.

To enable Encryption on a Datrium DVX simply SSH to the Mgmt. IP address of the Data Node run:

datastore encryption enable (Figure 7)

Datrium DVX Cloud Data Management

The Datrium DVX platform natively provides its own mechanisms for taking snapshots, clones and replicas of individual VMs or VMs within a Protection Group, which are running within a Datrium DVX cluster. This advanced functionality provides users, applications and services the ability to protect their data. Pretty much all environments have an existing backup application, Datrium is able to work in-tandem with these existing backup applications, like Veeam Backup & Replication to provide a robust and all-inclusive data protection strategy.

Datrium DVX supports the following native data protection capabilities:• Snapshot(s)• Clone(s)• Protection Group(s)• Restore VMs and Files• Blanket Encryption

All testing done within this Reference Framework was done in tandem with existing Protection Groups, Snapshots and Replication windows. For more information about these capabilities checkout: https://www.datrium.com/datrium_solutions/cloud-data-management/

Veeam Backup & Replication Server

Veeam components are able to be deployed on both virtual or physical hardware as long as the operating system is supported – most often times the choice is virtual for many reasons and ben-efits. Whenever you are deploying your Veeam Backup & Replication Server and it’s correspond-ing components – Proxy and Repository Server on VMs you should utilize the VMXNET 3 adapter type, this will allow you to achieve the best performance possible when using Hot-Add and NBD transport modes. Note that VMXNET 3 is not the default, E1000 is, and you will need to drill into

Figure 7. Enabling encryption is achieved through the DVX CLI.

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the adapter type to change. You specify the adapter type when the NIC is provisioned and to change you have to remove the NIC and re-add. (Figure 8).

As previously discussed, Veeam Backup & Replication has been designed in a distributed and modular manner allowing for scalability in many different environment types. The main compo-nent of their deployment is the Backup Server. When deploying Veeam in a multi-site environ-ment it is their best practice to install a second Veeam server at the DR site. This is beneficial in the event of a disaster, you can easily bring the backup services online quickly and begin recovery.

Datrium’s TakeWhen virtualized, the Veeam Server may be deployed on Datrium DVX.

Make certain that the Veeam Backup & Replication Configuration File is being protected to an alternate location on an alternate media. For this Veeam, recommends using the File Copy Job to move the Configuration File to alternate media.

Veeam Backup & Replication Proxy Server

Veeam Backup & Replication Proxy server is the component which is responsible for handling data between the vSphere infrastructure and the backup environment – i.e. This component is responsible for moving data. By default, when Veeam Backup & Replication is installed all com-ponents are installed on the Backup Server making installation simple and easy. In advanced deployments, to scale the backup environment in a distributed manner and increase the ability to process additional vDisks, Administrators should add additional Veeam Proxy Servers to the environment. The Proxy server role is able to be installed on either Desktop Experience of Win-dows or the Core version if you’re into somewhat of an appliance-based deployment we recom-mend Windows Core version for the Proxy Server role. Administrators may also utilize Windows 10 as well for the Proxy Server role to minimize Windows Server licensing requirements.

Figure 8. Using VMXNET3 network adapters is considered to be a best practice to achieve optimal performance in environments where 10Gbe network infrastructure is present.

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Veeam operates in a source and target data moving fashion – when there is a proxy server on each side communication and traffic flow is efficient. As a best practice, Administrators should deploy at least one (1) proxy server at all geographic locations. Whenever deploying the Proxy Server role there are a few choices that you need to make, each with different considerations. (Figure 9) To maximize throughput performance and to minimize latency during the backup Administrators should consider deploying a virtual Veeam Proxy server on each Compute Node within the en-vironment. Note, this is not an absolute requirement, backups will operate as expected without virtual Proxy Servers on each Compute Node, however to maximize performance, this approach should be considered.

1.) Each vCPU on a Veeam Proxy Server equates to a concurrent task for parallel process-ing. For instance, if there is a server with multiple VMDK’s – each VMDK is designated as a parallel or concurrent task. Now, if your Veeam environment has upgraded from previous versions of Veeam parallel processing may not be enabled.

Figure 9. To scale the data movement with Veeam Backup & Replication administrators may add additional Proxy Servers to the environment.

• Sizing Consideration: Max Concurrent Tasks & Parallel Processing

Transport Mode Datrium Take• Automatic• Direct Storage Access• Virtual appliance (Hot-Add)

• Network (NBD)

Datrium Recommended ApprroachNot Applicable

Choose Automatic, when virtual proxy servers are deployed this method will be utilized.

Fail safe way of performing backups.

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Datrium’s TakeWhen virtualized the Veeam Proxy Server may be deployed on Datrium DVX

Veeam Backup & Replication Repository

Veeam supports many different types of disk-based solutions as their target for Veeam Backup & Replication files including:

• Microsoft Windows Server• Linux Server• CIFS / SMB Share• Repositories with rotated drives• Deduplication Storage Appliances (Data Domain, ExaGrid, HPE StoreOnce, Quantum, etc)

It is neither recommended or a best practice to store your VM backups within a VM that operates on the same storage device as the VMs being protected. The 3-2-1 rule illustrates this recom-mendation as having multiple copies of your data, on different types of media with the off-site requirement being met should be the design architected across all environments regardless of size.

Datrium’s TakeWhile not a best practice, when virtualized the Veeam Repository Server may be deployed

on Datrium DVX.

Veeam Backup & Replication Backup Transport Mode(s)

Veeam offers quite a few different backup transport modes which we listed out earlier. The trans-port mode is the mechanism in which data is read from the source host and written off to the target repository. Datrium DVX allows users to choose from two (2) different transport modes. Regardless

Figure 10. Parallel processing with in Veeam Backup & Replication is a global setting which is configured to allow the processing of multiple vDisks.

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of whichever transport method is utilized the Datrium DVX platform is designed to service a huge majority of reads directly from flash without ever having to reference the Data Node.

Virtual Appliance (Hot Add) or Network (NBD)

Virtual Appliance is often times referred to as Hot Add within some documentation and litera-ture. Virtual Appliance transport mode utilizes the Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) and the SCSI Hot-Add capability to transfer data from the VMDK’s to the Veeam environment. The illus-tration below (VMware Figure 11) illustrates how this operates within the infrastructure. Hot-Add does add overhead to the backup process time as the adding and removing of the VMDK’s via the Hot-Add process takes time, however you will get better overall performance with Hot-Add over Network (Figure 12).

Image Courtesy of VMware

Network or otherwise known and referenced as NBD is the easiest transport mode as it requires zero additional setup to operate. When users choose “Automatic” within the Proxy Server wizard Veeam will first try Direct SAN, Virtual Appliance and last NBD as a last resort. There are caveats to using NBD which are highlighted below in our performance testing.

Image Courtesy of VMware

Figure 11. The NBDSSL transport method is built into the virtual disk library, so it is always available, and is the fall-back when no other transport method is available. (Image courtesy of VMware).

Figure 12. HotAdd is a good way to get virtual disk data from a virtual machine to a Veeam Backup Proxy Server for sending to the Veeam Repository. (Image courtesy of VMware)

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Earlier in this Reference Framework we discussed deploying Veeam components with the VMX-NET 3 adapter. Virtual Appliance mode is able to take full advantage of the performance benefits that the VMXNET 3 adapter provides like 10GB Ethernet, whereas E1000 adapters are limited to 1GB. In our testing, Virtual Appliance backup mode was able to provide over 2x better perfor-mance to the backup throughput and decreased the backup window by half (Figure 13).

Veeam Backup & Replication offers the ability to specify networks over which VM data is trans-ported. In our testing, Datrium has created a separate networking configuration to which all backup data will be sent. All servers within the Veeam stack (Backup Server, Proxy Server & Re-pository) must have an interface on the backup network for this to work appropriately. However, as you can see in the illustration below (Figure 14) 192.168.47.0/24 has been configured as the preferred backup network.

The images below illustrate the ESXTOP from the host performing backup of the SQL2012-01 VM within the environment during the backup operations. Testing proves that Virtual Appliance, Hot-Add mode was able to consistently provide around 900 MB/s, whereas Network mode pro-vided approximately 300MB/s. VMware throttles traffic, by approximately 40% over the desig-nated vmkernel port. Furthermore, with vSphere 6.5 NBDSSL is required which has an additional

Figure 13. Comparing performance speeds of HotAdd (left) and NBD (right) backup transport methods.

Figure 14. Configuring global traffic rules and preferred backup networks within Veeam Backup & Replication

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10% overhead. Veeam Backup & Replication 9.5 Update 3 supports the latest vSphere VDDK which removes the requirement of NBDSSL removing the additional overhead required for NBD processing. If you choose to utilize NBD, make sure you update to 9.5 Update 3. The illustrations below (Figures 15, 16) also provide proof that the Preferred Networks designation is in use.

ESXTOP during Virtual Appliance (Hot-Add) Transport Mode:

ESXTOP during Network Backup Transport Mode:

Virtual Appliance (Hot-Add) Transport Mode is the recommended approach for conducting back-ups off of Datrium DVX with Veeam Backup & Replication to achieve optimal performance and maximum throughput. It is worth noting that you should deploy a Veeam virtual proxy server on each Compute Node within the environment (https://www.veeam.com/kb1681).

Datrium’s TakeUse Virtual Appliance (Hot-Add) Transport Mode!

Veeam Backup & Replication Replicas

Veeam Backup & Replication offers a host-based replication engine at no additional cost. The main difference between Veeam backup files and Veeam replicas is the fact that replicas are already fully hydrated VMs that reside in an alternate location and ideally an alternate vCenter. This deployment strategy allows for the quick recovery of applications and services whenever disaster strikes.

Figure 15. ESXCLI - ESXTOP illustrating HodAdd performance during backup job.

Figure 16. ESXCLI - ESXTOP illustrating NBD performance during backup job.

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Datrium offers native snapshot and replication technology to a secondary Datrium DVX whereas Veeam Replication allows customers to replicate from Datrium DVX to alternate locations. Most customers leverage both Datrium and Veeam Replica’s together, in tandem to provide optimal protection. There are benefits to both approaches, for instance, Datrium Snapshots and Replicas are able to leverage the native, built-in and always-on compression and deduplication – even over the wire to the secondary site without having to deploy any type of WAN acceleration like Riverbed or Veeam Backup & Replication WAN Acceleration. A perfectly, acceptable use case and sample scenario would be to utilize Datrium replication to DR, recover the VMs within the Protection Group to vCenter and begin to replicate using Veeam Backup & Replication. In this scenario Datrium is able to efficiently Replicate VMs as a seed without any application or perfor-mance overhead at the primary location since zero VMware snapshot occurs. Just be certain that there is no overlapping schedules between the products.

Veeam Backup & Replication Recovery & Verification

Veeam is known widely in the data protection space for their vast array of recovery options. Us-ers may recover individual files, application objects, virtual machine files (VMX, VMDK, etc.) and entire VMs as well. These recovery options provide users with the flexibility they need to be able to recover exactly what the business wants, when they want it. (Figure 17)

One of the most well-known features is their patented vPower NFS technology. This technology is leveraged with in the U-AIR (Universal Application Item Recovery), On-Demand Sandbox and Instant VM Recovery. The vPower NFS Mount Server is specified during the creation or editing of a Veeam Backup & Replication Repository. Regardless of the repository type chosen the vPow-er NFS service and mount runs on a Windows Server Operating System. You must have at least 10GB capacity available on this location. (Figure 18)

Figure 17. Veeam Backup & Replication offers many different restore types, most notably Instant VM Recovery.

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As an alternative, you may also utilize the Datrium vSphere Datastore as the location to redirect the redo logs to during the Instant VM Recovery process (Figure 19). In both cases, when the vPower NFS write cache is located on Datrium DVX the process will benefit from the I/O’s being immediately serviced from the Compute Node flash.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Figure 18. You may also utilize the Datrium vSphere Datastore as the location to redirect the redo logs to during the Instant VM Recovery process.

Datrium VSS Snapshots & Veeam Explorer for SQL Server

In this Reference Framework the discussion has been focused on how to make best use of Datrium and Veeam Backup & Replication, together. Building upon this story leads us to our final section around application-level backup and recovery. Veeam Backup & Replication is best known for their many different recovery options that you can leverage from a single, image-level

Figure 19. When the vPower NFS write cache is located on Datrium DVX the process will benefit from the I/O’s being immediately serviced from the Compute Node flash.

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VM backup. However, at times these backups come with a penalty – a VMware snapshot penalty. At this point-in-time Datrium and Veeam do not provide native backup from storage snapshot capabilities, so for highly transactional services like SQL for instance – there can be instances whenever a clustered instance of SQL may experience transient problems.

If your database does not have the requirement of performing periodic transaction log backup Datrium and Veeam, together, can overcome the snapshot stun challenge. Throughout the day customers are able to perform frequent Datrium VSS snapshots of individual SQL Server instanc-es or an entire application suite. This provides lower RTO than only performing a backup once per day but while also removing the impact to the production systems as no VMware snapshot is required. During the backup window Veeam Backup & Replication can perform backup of your SQL servers with Application-Aware Image Processing enabled. This methodology will also man-age log truncation.

When it comes time for recovery – the most important part of any backup – users can leverage tools they’re already accustomed to using. Datrium initiated snapshots are stored long-term, based on the retention defined, within the Data Node Snapstore. The Snapstore is an isolated name space where the snapshot scheduling, retention, deletion and replication references. When recovery is required users have the option to Clone, Restore or Replicate along with recov-er virtual hard disks (.vmdk) or VM files (for instance .vmx). (Figure 20)

In the case of needing to recover a SQL Server table or stored procedure a user has a few op-tions:

1.)Recover the entire SQL Server and then utilize SQL Management Studio to perform the required actions. A benefit of this approach is that the recovery would be quicker than traditional recovery from backup

a. This recovery method is also a good test / development use case as well.2.)When individual object recovery (table or stored procedure for instance) is required you

would choose to recover the virtual disk with the .mdf and .ldf and mount to a Windows Server, attach a drive letter then utilize Veeam Explorer for SQL Server. (Figure 21)

Figure 20. Datrium DVX provides a VSS Agent, when installed within a Windows Guest OS, is utilized to conduct application consistent snapshots from within Datrium DVX.

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• Properly configured network infrastructure is critical to the success of the Datrium DVX and Veeam Backup & Replication solution.

• Update Compute Node BIOS and Firmware levels to the latest supported and stable ver-sions.

• Update VMware Tools on all VMs in environment.• Utilize VMXNET 3 network adapter type on Veeam component servers.• Utilize Virtual Appliance transport mode on all Proxy Servers backing up off of Datrium DVX.• Utilize both Datrium DVX & Veeam Backup & Replication replicas to provide robust data

protection – Just don’t overlap schedules.• Follow best practices for Virtual Appliance Transport Mode on NFS based storage devices

by placing virtual Veeam Proxy Server on each Compute Node.• Configure vPower NFS write cache to be located on Datrium DVX for best performance

when performing vPower NFS activities

Veeam Backup & Replication Best Practiceshttps://www.gitbook.com/book/veeam/veeam-backup-replication-best-practices/detailshttps://bp.veeam.expert/

VMware vSphere Disk Transport Modeshttp://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-6-5/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vddk.pg.doc%2FvddkDataStruct.5.5.html

Additional References

Figure 21. Veeam Explorer for SQL Server can be used to browse the contents of a SQL VM Snapshot which was initiated from Datrium DVX.

Consolidated List of Datrium Recommendations

Datrium Knowledge Basehttps://support.datrium.com

Datrium Cloud Data Managementhttps://www.datrium.com/datrium_solutions/cloud-data-management/

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Datrium values your feedback on the products and services provided as well as this Reference Framework, thus contacting Datrium is easy.

Online SupportTo receive technical support or to view the Knowledge Base 24x7, you may visit the Datrium Sup-port site at https://support.datrium.com. You may also email Support@Datrium.com.

Datrium SolutionsTo provide comments or feedback regarding this document or any other documentation avail-able you may email Solutions@Datrium.com. Also, please visit the Datrium Resources page for additional documentation, https://datrium.com/resources.

Date DescriptionMarch 2018 Original publication

Document Revisions

About the Author

Clint Wyckoff is a Technology Evangelist and Senior Solutions Engineer at Datrium. He is an avid technologist and virtualization fanatic with more than a decade of enterprise data center architecture experience. Clint is an energetic and engaging speaker and places a large emphasis on solving the real-world challenges IT professionals face. Additionally, he is a 2x Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for Cloud and Datacen-

Contacting Datrium

ter Management, VMware vExpert for 2015, 2016 & 2017 and 2018 as well as Co-Founder and Leader of vBrisket. Clint is also an AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Veeam Certified Engineer (VCME) and Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP).