Version 9
Requirements
- MS .NET Framework 4.8 or higher is required
- It requires new ports to be opened on the Offsite Backup Server, specifically 36000, 36001 and 36100
- [Hyper-V] The Offsite Backup Server must be installed on a Windows server OS which is the same as the one where production VMs are running. Below you can find a list of supported OS that you can replicate to:
Host OS Supported Replication Offsite Backup Server OS 2012 to 2012 2012R2 to 2012R2 2016 to 2016 2019 to 2019 2022 to 2022 Azure Stack HCI Azure Stack HCI - [VMware] The host added to the Offsite Backup Server must be the same OS as the source host being replicated from. Below you can find a list of supported OSs that you can replicate to:
Host OS Supported Replication Host OS 5.5 to 5.5 6.0 to 6.0 6.5 to 6.5 6.7 to 6.7 7.0 to 7.0
8.0 to 8.0
- [VMware] On ESXi hosts you will see the replicated VMs in the vSphere console when you enable replication for your VMs. It is imperative that you do not boot the VM outside of the Offsite Backup Server. The replicated VM is fully managed by VM Backup and will essentially end up discarding any changes made if booted outside of the Offsite Backup Server.
Replicated VMs are NOT to be:
- manually started from vSphere (outside of Offsite Backup Server)
- deleted from vSphere
- manual merging/management of disks/snapshots
Setting it Up
Setting up Replication is actually really easy, however here's a quick guide on how to do so. Obviously, before you start, ensure that your primary backup location has already been set, then proceed to enabling replication.
- Firstly, you will need to add an Offsite Backup Server in your [Backup Locations] screen. This will be used as your Replication target. If you're new to setting this up, you can find more instructions on this here.
Simply click on [Add Offsite Location] and then put in the Server Address, Username and Password (which you've just created) and click [Finish] to add the Offsite Backup Server.
So at this stage, you should have an Offsite Backup Server added, like below:
Note: In order to set up Replication, there is no need to Drag & Drop VMs to this location. That is only required for taking offsite backups to this AOS. In fact, you're able to set up Replication and Offsite Backups to 2 completely different locations. - Then go to the [Replication] menu option
Then simply click on [Enable Replication] next to the VM of your choosing - Next, you will need to choose the Replication Offsite Backup Server for your VMs to the DR site. Select the one you'd like from the drop-down menu and click on [Enable Replication]
CDP will be automatically enabled and will backup the VM every 5 minutes. This is reflected for the Replication frequency as well. If you wish to change this, you can do so from the CDP Settings screen.
Version 8
Requirements
- .NET Framework 4 or higher is required
- It requires a new port to be opened on the Offsite Backup Server, specifically for Replication Data Transfer - 35120
- [Hyper-V] The Offsite Backup Server must be installed on a Windows server OS which is the same as the one where production VMs are running. Below you can find a list of supported OS that you can replicate to:
Host OS Supported Replication Offsite Backup Server OS 2012 to 2012 2012R2 to 2012R2 2016 to 2016 2019 to 2019 2022 to 2022 Azure Stack HCI Azure Stack HCI - [VMware] The host added to the Offsite Backup Server must be the same OS as the source host being replicated from. Below you can find a list of supported OSs that you can replicate to:
Host OS Supported Replication Host OS 5.5 to 5.5 6.0 to 6.0 6.5 to 6.5 6.7 to 6.7 7.0 to 7.0
8.0 to 8 .0 (V9 Only)
- [VMware] On ESXi hosts you will see the replicated VMs in the vSphere console when you enable replication for your VMs. It is imperative that you do not boot the VM outside of the Offsite Backup Server. The replicated VM is fully managed by VM Backup and will essentially end up discarding any changes made if booted outside of the Offsite Backup Server.
Replicated VMs are NOT to be:
- manually started from vSphere (outside of Offsite Backup Server)
- deleted from vSphere
- manual merging/management of disks/snapshots
Setting it Up
Setting up Replication is actually really easy, however here's a quick guide on how to do so. Obviously, before you start, ensure that your primary backup location has already been set, then proceed to enabling replication.
- Firstly, you will need to add an Offsite Backup Server in your [Backup Locations] screen. This will be used as your Replication target. If you're new to setting this up, you can find more instructions on this here.
Simply click on [Add Offsite Location] and then put in the Server Address, Username and Password (which you've just created) and click [Finish] to add the Offsite Backup Server.
So at this stage, you should have an Offsite Backup Server added, like below:
Note: In order to set up Replication, there is no need to Drag & Drop VMs to this location. That is only required for taking offsite backups to this AOS. In fact, you're able to set up Replication and Offsite Backups to 2 completely different locations. - Then go to the [Replication] menu option
Then simply click on [Enable Replication] next to the VM of your choosing - Next, you will need to choose the Replication Offsite Backup Server for your VMs to the DR site. Select the one you'd like from the drop-down menu and click on [Enable Replication]
CDP will be automatically enabled and will backup the VM every 5 minutes. This is reflected for the Replication frequency as well. If you wish to change this, you can do so from the CDP Settings screen.