VM Explorer - Part 2

VM Explorer - Part 2

I've decided to split this post in two to give the operational side a bit more focus. I got a license so now can do some testing to see how the product operates in more detail. 

One small bug I found is after setting it up you can't just create a schedule to backup all VMs. Even enabling the sceduler doesn't permit you to click on the Add button!! You have to create a single VM backup job and THEN you can click Add in the scheduler to create a "Multi VMs" job!! 

Here is the Add Task Element screen depicted in the documentation but you can't access it until you create a single vm backup schedule! 

Now I can create a Multi VM job. Select the Host, in this case my vCenter:

 Click Select VMs, you then need to Click Add All or just select those you want:

The next option appears to be more for replication or backing up to an ESXi Host:

 The usual VSS options:

 I didn't change anything here:

 You can power off VMs if you want:

 And you can verify the backup, I assume this just checks it boot ok and provides a screenshot:

One interface quirk to be aware of is on the left. The Task Schedule applies to the task shown on the left. If you Click Add as I did it adds the Multi VM backup to the same schedule task. You can choose copy task and create an independent schedule task to use for other backup jobs instead.

This construct makes it awkward to assign schedules to particular jobs but there are a few quirks about the interface like this but once you're aware you will be able to work through it and achieve the desired result. 

So, I'm going to create a Multi VM backup job with one VM, run it once and then move the VM to a different Host. I want to ensure the backup job will follow the VM, basic stuff but important when using DRS. So, I did an initial backup , then moved it and here is the second backup job:

So it found the VM after it was moved and I didn't refresh the hosts, good so far!
The 2003 VM is an 8GB disk, thin provisioned. It has about 4GB of data. This is the VMware Datastore footprint:

 This is the backup footprint afterwards:

So that's a full 8GB used on my backup server. Ok, I could store it on Server 2012 R2 and use DeDuplication and I turned off compression so let's try a few of those options. First I'll enable incremental backups:

Now, let's do another backup, we get an error, ouch:

So let's clean down the backup folder. And note to self - configure the backup jobs the way you want them in the first place!!! This approach worked and here we have a small file and each incremental creates a subfolder with changes in it:

Now, let's try compression. The options are not available:

I can compress but only if incremental is not selected!

Finally because of the way you select VMs, there is no option to automatically add new VMs. 

Task History is available to monitor jobs both current and historical:

Well, that's about all I'll have time to play with. The product supports Tape and replication so there is more to it than just backup. Check out the feature table and backup to cloud options as if the price point is attractive it might suit your needs. Just take time to get used to some of it's quirks and ensure you are comfortable in it's use. 

I definitely feel like improvements are needed but hopefully the suggestions forum and feedback the team receive will drive this to mature the product beyond there it's at. They are releasing new versions regularly so keep an eye out for future changes! 

vSphere Upgrade 5.0 to 6.0 - Part 7

vSphere Upgrade 5.0 to 6.0 - Part 7

This post deals with Site Recovery Manager. In its current state it's not working, has no clue about web interfaces and the plugin is not compatible with vCenter 6.0. The SRA is also out of date so there's no point even trying to use it. We have our new SQL ready to go, new 2012R2 VMs ready to install SRM on but what is the upgrade process going to be?

• Upgrade in place and then move SRM & the Database?
• Move the Database and perform new install on the new VM?

We were unable to attempt the second option with vCenter, but let's see what the KB articles say. Another wrinkle is that we can't upgrade from 5.0 to 6.1.1, we have to go to 5.5.1 first, then 6.0 and finally 6.1.1 !! We saw this in the compatibility guide in the first part of these Posts. 

Migrating an SRM server to run on a different host (1008426)

https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1008426

Check this one out though, very interesting:

Upgrade Site Recovery Manager Server with Migration

https://pubs.vmware.com/srm-60/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.srm.install_config.doc%2FGUID-BB9B6FDC-B1AB-41F6-B985-074518717E05.html

The second link seems to indicate we can perform an upgrade by doing a fresh install on the new VM. Now I'm not going to press my luck by jumping too many versions, I'll try installing 5.5.1 first and then upgrade to 6.0 and from there 6.1.1. While one article indicates going from 5.0/5.1 to 5.5.0 or 5.8.0 is ok, the interoperability guide blocks all lower versions out after 5.5.0 so we'll stick with that. 

If you need it the vmware-dr.xml is in the following folder on the old SRM servers:

C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\config\vmware-dr.xml

Take a note of the name of your old DSN using c:\windows\syswow64\odbcad32.exe mine was called SRMDB and used the SQL Server Native Client 10.0. I've the HP SRA "HP P4000 SRA for VMWare SRM 5" installed version 9.5.0.620 and SRM version 5.0.0.1652 also installed. Grab any certificates to back them up but as I'm moving to a new host I'll need to reissue them as the hostname is going to change here. More fun!! You'll also need the SQL 2012 native client we used previously. 

I've a newer SRA version 12.6.0.48 and SRM versions 5.5.1 to deploy. 

Note: It's a bit tricky to get particular SRM versions without maintenance. Trial's will only get you the latest version so unless you have other sources or downloaded them previously you may be stuck. I'm missing 6.0.0 and the following KB says this will not work from 5.8.x:

Upgrading VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5.8 to 6.1 if you have already upgraded vSphere Replication to 6.1 (2136677)

https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2136677

So to start with I've shut down the two legacy SRM VMs. Next I've backed up and restored their SRM databases to the new SQL 2014 instances and upgraded the compatibility levels. I've recreated the SQL accounts for SRM and assign them to that database. Finally I've generated new SSL Certificates for them and created the PFX files so we're all ready to go. 

On the new SRM VMs create 64-bit DSN's to connect to the migrated SRM DBs on SQL 2014, use the SQL 11 Native Client driver. I'm using the same DSN name as on the legacy SRM VMs. I'm not installing or messing with vSphere Replication. 

Run the installer as administrator to be sure. 

So, I'm getting error code -1 when the installer asks for vCenter Server info and you give it the name of vCenter and credentials to connect. This might be to do with SSLv3 being disabled although it's connecting on port 80, but maybe vCenter 6.0 has some other restrictions....? I tried 5.5.0 and got the same error. Then I tried 5.8.0 and the same. One thing I forgot to check is what would happen to SRM after I upgraded straight from 5.0 to 6.0. Only SRM 6.x is compatible so I think I may have missed a step. I should be installing 6.0 now not 5.x. I think it would have been wise to upgrade SRM BEFORE upgrading vCenter. There's NO overlap in SRM versions though. 

I'm certainly not going to install vCenter 5.5 just to get SRM 5.5.0 installed which is a bit crazy. I'm wondering if manually backing up the configuration is going to be necessary, exporting recovery plans and then piecing it all back together again? 

Just for kicks I gave it the SRM 6.1.1 installer. It asks for the PSC address and credentials. Now it gets past the screen I was stuck on before and asks to confirm the vCenter address, then ti confirms the extension information, the plugin ID, then you get this:

So, it's not a compatible upgrade...let's continue and see what happens...

Note: SSL differences in SRM 6.0 from previous versions. You used to have to use the same common name in both sites SSL Certs, no longer the case. Just use the same process for generation except choose the SRM template. Then when you get to the screen below change from IP Address to FQDN as shown or you will get a mismatch error later:

Mismatch if you don't change the IP to FQDN to match the certificate details:

I'm using the following commands with openssl to generate the certs:

openssl req -new -nodes -out rui.csr -keyout rui.key -config openssl.cfg

openssl pkcs12 -export -in rui.crt -inkey rui.key -name rui -passout pass:hiccuptest -out rui.pfx

For SRM: rename rui.pfx to rui.p12

Now I can specify the DSN and the credentials but then encounter this error:

What?!!! The compatibility guide says it support SQL 2014 RTM & SP1 so what gives?! Checked the error in the following file:

C:\Users\administrator.LAB\AppData\Local\Temp\2\VMSrmInst.log and saw this:

VMware: Srm::Installation::Database::CheckDbPopulatedAndNeedsUpgrade: INFORMATION: Database already contains product tables.

VMware: Srm::Installation::Database::CheckDbPopulatedAndNeedsUpgrade: INFORMATION: Database data version: 5.0.0

VMware: Srm::Installation::Utility::CompareVersion: INFORMATION: Comparing: 5.0.0 to 5.8.0

VMware: Srm::Installation::Utility::CompareVersion: INFORMATION: 5.0.0 older than 5.8.0

VMware: Srm::Installation::Utility::CompareVersion: INFORMATION: Comparing: 5.0.0 to 6.1.1

VMware: Srm::Installation::Utility::CompareVersion: INFORMATION: 5.0.0 older than 6.1.1

VMware: Srm::Installation::Utility::GetMsgFromErrorTable: INFORMATION: Error message is The provided database version is not supported. Please enter a supported database.

So version 5.8.0 might work but 5.0.0. certainly won't. I can always wipe the database and do a fresh install but it will require additional rework to reconfigure SRM afterwards and the config will be lost. I would export the recovery plans and mappings etc and refer to them when recreating them on the new version. If I find any other way without having to install multiple vCenter versions I'll revert but I think that effort would be wasted. 

Note: I cheated and edited the SQL 2014 SRM Database Table "dbo.dr_product_info" to change the values "data_version" and "version" from 5.0.0 to 5.8.0 and got past the error. 

The second option might be safer but I'll try the first as it's a Lab....Ooops...so close!:

VMware: Srm::Installation::CisRegistration::ValidateVcUuid: INFORMATION: The database is older than 6.0, no VC UUID exists

I re-ran the installer and chose this time to overwrite the existing Database. Creating database tables is where it died the last time but this time it worked. I was shocked! I know this is NOT SUPPORTED however so I think a fresh database and fresh install is my best solution.

I did the same steps on the other SRM server, edited the version in the Database table and chose recreate the data in the SRM 6.1.1 installer. Now install the SRA adapter software on both servers.

Note there is no SRM plugin for the C# Client anymore, you must use the web client. Let's see how SRM looks:

There it is, top row on the right hand side!

Now I'm stuck on pairing options!! This can be due to underlying certificates not being correctly setup so back to the drawing board.

In summary I think I'll do a fresh install of SRM 6.1.1 and recreate the configuration as the SRM 5 to 6.1.1 is just too large a jump unless accompanied by vCenter 5.5 interim which would bore me to death just to get this product upgraded. 

Update: I tried several times to get the underlying stack all built and correctly ssl certificated but usually one small typo defeated me. I reset half the lab but this broke SSO! I've run out of time to try again so all I can offer is to take your time, and you should see the Pairing section work. 

VM Explorer - Part 1

VM Explorer - Part 1

HPE recently bought Trilead and acquired VM Explorer their backup product. You can find all the marketing stuff on the website but I wanted to try it and see how it operates, not having used it before. I'm a strong promoter of Veeam so I was interested in how it stacked up.

The current version of VM Explorer 6.1.005 can be downloaded as a trial version and it's only 36.5MB in size!! It is configured via a web browser post install so is light and lean. After using it I've found it to be good enough, like Hyper-V vs VMware. VMware is far more capable, but Hyper-V is good enough in it's current incarnation for most customers. The extra cost is what you have to consider. Once you go above 3 hosts and no longer fit the SMB model and can use Essentials or educational bundles you are going to pay full whack.

Veeam is a fantastic product and even though it's Enterprise Plus license isn't cheap, you get what you pay for. What's the price of not having good backups or the ability to drill into a VM backup to pull out an an email, sql table or AD object? A lot of wasted time or being forced to deploy a more complicated backup model. Still, when people have larger environments and we are bidding on a contract, price matters. VM explorer is a hell of a lot cheaper, seriously so. For that reason alone it can't be quickly discounted. It does a nice enough job of backing up VMs but has no fancy features. It doesn't currently integrate strongly with HPE products yet but that will change as the product matures and HPE invests in it. I was contacted after downloading the demo to see how I getting on which was a surprise so they are particularly interested in how it's being used and ensuring they receive clear feedback.

So, onto the product. Most of the install screens are the usual type next, next etc so here is the post install screen - you get a new icon, click on it and you get an option to launch the web interface:

 Now you can set a password. Note the damn administrator username is "admin" not administrator!

 You might find you normal password is not accepted, check out the policy below:

 Now, remember to write it down as I forgot and had to reinstall!!

 Click OK

 Set a Language and Click Save

 Login using "admin" and you get welcomed to the start screen:

Next Select your Hypervisor, I'm selecting vCenter

 Enter a Display Name

 Enter the vCenter Hostname and credentials - best use a scoped account in Production though

 Leave the default HTTPS port

 Wait for the test connections to finish

 Click Save

One thing I don't like is the fact that you've to now configure each ESXi host one by one?! What's up with that? If you had 40 hosts wouldn't that be fun?!!

So, let's add the Hosts, glad I've not a big lab!! Right Click and choose Edit Server:

 You've to give it root access:

 Accept the Default Ports:

 So on the next screens I tried using the VM Explorer Agent WITHOUT SSH but it requires it:

 This is with SSH option enabled:

 The VD service sounded interesting....

 I downloaded the zip file, browsed to it and initialised the service:

 Almost there:

 Next:

 Here we go:

 Now, let's use this VD service:

 Oh Dear, like the scheduler, this won't run in free mode:

 The test connection also fails as a result:

 Backtrack and remove the use VD service option and we get further:

 It asks about target Datastores which is odd, I guess this is more for replication:

 Done!

 Now we have the scheduler page, this is disabled without a full license:

 And we can set a default backup location here, but make sure you click the "save" button, if you can find it....!!

So, I've requested a trial license key and once I get hold of that I can hopefully do a little more. The option to install software onto each ESXi host instead of using their API is a little worrisome to me. The API works for everyone else. Also SSH isn't something I'd leave on, I'd recommend a firewall rule around it to ensure the VM Explorer server can use SSH but the rest of your Production network can't? 

There is a feedback form for requesting new features:

https://trilead.uservoice.com/forums/206865-vm-explorer-features

One thing that was asked for was if new VMs are created, they are added automatically to a backup job, seriously, it doesn't do that right now?! Not that mature. Now I know the price is far cheaper but seriously?!!!