Quick configuration checklist to protect AHV virtual machines

Use NetBackup web UI to protect and recover the virtual machines that are created on the AHV platform. You can also use APIs and command line options for the same.

See Using APIs and command line options to manage, protect, or recover AHV virtual machines.

The following table describes the high-level steps or a checklist to protect the AHV virtual machines:

Table: Configure and protect AHV virtual machines using NetBackup

Step overview	Description and reference
Deploy NetBackup to protect AHV VMs	On a very high level to protect AHV VMs you need: NetBackup primary server NetBackup media server (Recommended) NetBackup client that can act as a backup host The operating system of the backup host must be a Linux RHEL, SUSE, or Windows. The backup host can be a NetBackup media server or a client, or an NetBackup Appliance. NetBackup appliance including Flex appliance and Flex scale appliance is also supported as a NetBackup media server that can act as a backup host. NetBackup uses an agentless architecture to protect the AHV VMs. The communication between NetBackup and AHV cluster happens through Nutanix AHV APIs.
Configure an AHV access host for backup and recovery	An AHV access host acts as a backup host and a recovery host during backup and recovery respectively. The access host is involved in the data movement during the backup and restore operations. If you plan to use a backup host that is not a NetBackup media server or an appliance, add the backup host to the NetBackup AHV Access Hosts list. Note: A backup host which is not a media server or an appliance needs to have the NetBackup client installed on it. See Add an AHV access host.
Enable secure communication between NetBackup and AHV	The following sections contain more information about setting up a secure communication between NetBackup and AHV: Secure communication See Configure secure communication between the AHV cluster and NetBackup host and Nutanix Prism Central and NetBackup host. Communication ports See About the ports that NetBackup uses to communicate with AHV.
Manage AHV clusters, Prism Central server, and intelligent VM groups	Managing AHV clusters See Add or browse an AHV cluster. Managing Prism Central server See Add a new Nutanix Prism Central. Managing intelligent VM groups See Create an intelligent VM group. See Remove the intelligent VM group.
Protect the AHV VMs	Prerequisite: Adding an AHV cluster requires the Default AHV Administrator role. Best practices See Things to know before you protect AHV virtual machines. Protecting virtual machines See Protect AHV VMs or intelligent VM groups using Protection plan.
iSCSI Transport for Windows backup hosts	Prerequisite For Windows 2012 or later, iSCSI client initiator is present on Windows. By default, the iSCSI initiator service is stopped or disabled on Windows. See Enable the iSCSI initiator service on windows backup host. Note: If a backup or a recovery host that is selected is on Windows, ensure that iSCSI service is running on windows computer to avoid failure of backup or restore jobs.
iSCSI Transport for Linux backup hosts	Prerequisite To use iSCSI, `scsi-initiator-utils` package must be installed. By default, it is installed on the RHEL/SUSE. See Install the iSCSI initiator package on Linux backup host. Note: To use the NFS protocol on the Linux backup or recovery host, NFS allowed listing of the host on the Nutanix AHV Prism Console is required. For details, refer https://www.veritas.com/content/support/en_US/doc/127664414-132725336-0/v127698742-132725336. If the `iscsi-initiator-utils` package is already installed on the backup or the recovery host, ensure that the iSCSI daemon is running. To check the status of the daemon use the command systemctl status iscsid. If the daemon is disabled then run the command systemctl enable iscsid and then run the command to start the iSCSI daemon systemctl start iscsid.
Configure CHAP settings for iSCSI secure communication with Nutanix AHV clusters	One-way CHAP: iSCSI initiator authenticates with the target (AHV) using the random generated CHAP password/secret. Mutual CHAP - automatic: NetBackup Credential Management Service (CMS) automatically generates a credential with the prefix AHV_ISCSI_MUTUAL_AUTO_ for the backup/recovery host CHAP password. This credential is used for mutual authentication between the iSCSI initiator that is NetBackup backup/recovery host and the target that is AHV. You can set a retention period for these auto-generated CHAP passwords. The default retention period for the auto-generated CHAP passwords is 90 days from the date of creation. Note: The default configuration is one-way CHAP. To enable the Mutual CHAP option: See Configure CHAP settings for iSCSI secure communication with AHV clusters.
Set global limits on the use of AHV resources	VMs are automatically protected, when they are created, over a period of time the number of VMs protected concurrently can grow large. The large number of concurrent backups can affect the AHV performance as well as backup performance. You can set the global limits to manage the AHV resources efficiently. See Change resource limits for AHV resource types.
NetBackup Automatic Backup Host selection	NetBackup Automatic backup host selection option internally uses NetBackup media server load balancing to allocate snapshot/backup jobs to an available, supported media servers. NetBackup avoids sending jobs to busy media servers. Note: Application consistent backups require NetBackup 9.1 or later on the media server. Prerequisite In the NetBackup web UI, click Storage > Disk storage. Then click the Storage servers tab. Add all the supported media servers for load balancing. Click Storage > Storage units. Select the storage unit name. Under the Media server click Edit. Then select Allow NetBackup to automatically select. When you create an AHV Protection plan, select Automatic for the Select server or host to use for backups setting.

Quick configuration checklist to protect AHV virtual machines

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