In a previous article we have explored the install and configuration options for Veeam Availability for Nutanix (VAN). In this one we are now ready to create our first job to Backup Nutanix AHV Guests. The configuration is pretty simple and in this scenario we’ll create a job to backup the Windows Server 2016 AHV VM created in a previous step.
The entire process is wizard driven and the options are straight forward. We can backup Nutanix AHV VMs both by adding them to Backup jobs directly or selecting the Nutanix Protection Domains. This means that all AHV VMs or Nutanix Entities part of these groups can be dynamically and automatically added to the Protection Job.
When creating the job to backup Nutanix AHV VMs of course we can select the desired Repository. By mean of the integration with Veeam Backup & Replication it is possible to use the existing Veeam Backup Repositories thus consolidating the Storage requirements. Of course it is also possible to create additional ones specific to Nutanix AHV VMs.
The jobs to backup Nutanix VMs also include file maintenance to automatically remove data pertinent to VMs no longer existing. This also helps to clean up data no longer needed. This setting can be enabled and configured to the desired value.
Last but not least for each Backup Job of course we can also set a schedule which includes the number of restore points to keep on disk, the number of automatic retries in case of failures and also the time window when the backup jobs should operate.
At this point let’s take a look on how to backup Nutanix AHV with Veeam.
Job to Backup Nutanix AHV Guest
From the “Backup Jobs” view we can create and manage the Backup Jobs. Also filter them by “Status”. Let’s proceed with the Add button and follow the wizard.
The wizard consists of 5 simple steps. The first one being specifying a name and a description. The latter is not mandatory.
When it comes down to assign the VMs there is the option to manually select them or choose the available Nutanix Protection Domains configured in Nutanix Prism console. This way all pertinent VM entities part of that group will be automatically added to the Backup Job.
For example we might want to create several Protection Domains to cover different types of Applications like Identity, Databases, Web and a lot more. From the same wizard also the option to exclude specific virtual Disks when required on selected AHV VMs.
At this point we can select the available Veeam Backup Repositories. This wizard will only show the ones where the access permissions are configured accordingly.
From the Advanced button the ability to enable Compression and Encryption (hidden in Beta Preview) and the number of days after which VM data be cancelled after deletion.
In the next step we can configure the backup job schedule. From the same page also the number of restore points we want to keep in the backup chain and the number of retries in case of failures. Last but not least the time window when the backup jobs should operate.
And finally a summary to review the main setting before amending the job configuration.
As soon as we start the job the statistics window shows the progress along with other nice details like processing rate and more.
In this environment the Full Backup Job only took a bit more than 6 minutes to complete. Not bad considering this environment is nested into another hypervisor!
If we now take a look at the Veeam Backup Repository a new Backup to Disk is available. The properties now show the content of that backup in line with what we already know with Backups for VMware and Hyper-V.
This concludes this quick article on hoe to backup Nutanix AHV VM Guests. In the next one we’ll explore the various restore options.
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