Configuring a VMware backup policy to protect SQL Server
The following steps describe how to configure VMware backups of a SQL Server database.
To configure a VMware backup policy to protect SQL Server
- Log on to the master server as administrator.
- Start the NetBackup Administration Console.
- Create a new policy or open the policy you want to configure.
- In the Policy dialog box, click the Attributes tab.
- From the Policy type list, select VMware.
- In the Policy storage box, select a disk storage unit.
If you want to use NetBackup Accelerator, select a PureDisk storage unit type (MSDP or PureDisk). The NetBackup device mapping files list all supported storage types.
- If you want to use NetBackup Accelerator, click Use Accelerator.
Accelerator uses the initial full backup to establish a baseline. Any subsequent backups that are performed with Accelerator can run significantly faster. You may want to create an additional policy schedule that enables the Accelerator forced rescan option. This option establishes a new baseline for the next Accelerator backup. For more details on NetBackup Accelerator, see the following:
See Using NetBackup Accelerator to increase speed of full VMware backups.
NetBackup for VMware Administrator's Guide
When you enable Accelerator, on the VMware tab the Enable block-level incremental backup option is also selected and grayed out.
- On the Schedules tab, create a schedule for full backups.
- On the Clients tab, click Select automatically through query.
- Select NetBackup host to perform automatic virtual machine selection and the host you want to use.
- Use the Query Builder to create a rule(s) that selects the virtual machines you want to back up.
For more details on the Query Builder, see the NetBackup for VMware Administrator's Guide.
- Click the Backup Selections tab.
This tab displays the query you created on the Clients tab.
- Click the VMware tab.
For details on the options in this dialog box, see the NetBackup for VMware Administrator's Guide.
- Select the Primary VM identifier to use to catalog the backups.
- Click Enable file recovery from VM backup.
This option must be enabled for application protection of SQL Server.
- Click Enable SQL Recovery.
This option enables recovery of the SQL databases from the virtual machine backups. If this option is disabled, you can recover the entire virtual machine from the backup, but you cannot recover the databases individually.
- If you want to truncate logs, do not enable Truncate logs at this time. You must first perform a full backup without log truncation, described later in this procedure.
- If you want to exclude certain disks from the VMware backup, click the Exclude Disks tab.
NetBackup excludes those disks from the VMware backup that protects SQL Server. Be sure that any disks that you exclude do not contain Exchange data.
For details on the Exclude Disks tab, see the NetBackup for VMware Administrator's Guide.
- Click OK to save the policy.
If you do not want to truncate transaction logs, no further action is necessary.
If you want to truncate transaction logs, continue with step 20.
- Perform a full backup without log truncation.
Without this initial full backup, the ASC job fails.
- When the backup completes, open the policy that you created in step 3.
- Click the VMware tab.
- Under Enable SQL Server Recovery, select Truncate logs.
For SQL Server, this option truncates the transaction logs when the VMware snapshot of the virtual machine is complete. For additional information on truncating logs and requirements, see the following topic.
See About truncating logs with a VMware backup that protects SQL Server.
- Click OK to save the policy.
- Perform a full VMware backup.