Migrating VMware vCenter VCSA 6.7

Overview:

The VCSA is a pre-configured virtual appliance built on Project Photon OS. Since the OS has been developed by VMware it benefits from enhanced performance and boot times over the previous Linux based appliance. 

Furthermore the embedded vPostgres database means VMware have full control of the software stack, resulting in significant optimisation for vSphere environments.

Migrating to VCSA involves the deployment of a new appliance and migration of all configuration (including distributed switches) and historical data using the upgrade installer. 

The VCSA uses a temporary IP address during migration before switching to the IP and host name of the VCS, the Windows box is then powered off.

Migration Considerations:

• The Windows VCS must be v.6.0 or v6.5 (any build / patch) to migrate to VCSA 6.7. Both physical and virtual vCenter Server installations are compatible.
• Any database, internal or external, supported by VCS can be migrated to the embedded vPostgres database within the target VCSA.
• The ESXi host or vCenter where VCSA will be deployed must be running v5.5 or above. However, all hosts you intend to connect to vCenter Server 6.7 should be running ESXi 6.0 or above, hosts running 5.5 and earlier cannot be managed by vCenter 6.7 and do not have a direct upgrade path to 6.7.
• The Windows server is powered off once the VCSA is brought online, this means any other components, VMware or third party, need to be migrated off the Windows server in advance or they will no longer work (don’t forget to move and update any scripts that may live on the Windows server).
• If you are using Update Manager the VCSA now includes an embedded Update Manager instance.
• You must check compatibility of any third party products and plugins that might be used for backups, anti-virus, monitoring, etc. as these may need upgrading for vSphere 6.7 compatibility.
• The VCSA with embedded PSC requires the following hardware resources (disk can be thin provisioned)
• Tiny (up to 10 hosts, 100 VMs) – 2 CPUs, 10 GB RAM.
• Small (up to 100 hosts, 1000 VMs) – 4 CPUs, 16 GB RAM.
• Medium (up to 400 hosts, 4000 VMs) – 8 CPUs, 24 GB RAM.
• Large (up to 1000 hosts, 10,000 VMs) – 16 CPUs, 32 GB RAM.
• X-Large (up to 2000 hosts, 35,000 VMs) – 24 CPUs, 48 GB RAM – new to v6.5.
• Ensure you have a good backup of the vCenter Server and the database.
• Variables such as FQDN resolution, database permissions and access to the licensing portal should all be in place since we are upgrading an existing vCenter solution.
• All vSphere components should be configured to use an NTP server. The installation can fail or the vCenter Server Appliance vpxd service may not be able to start if the clocks are unsynchronized.
• The ESXi host on which you deploy the VCSA should not be in lockdown or maintenance mode.
• You will need the SSO administrator login details and if the Windows VCS service runs as a service account then the account must have replace a process level token permission.
• Local Windows users that have vSphere permissions are not migrated since they are specific to the Windows server, all SSO users and permissions are migrated.

Download VCSA 6.7 iso and launch the installer.exe.

Using this software, you can install a new vcsa server or upgrade or migrate an existing vcenter server and finally restore from backup image.

If you press Migrate option, it launches stage 1 process...... (Deploy Appliance)

Accept the End User License.

Specify the source windows vCenter server information.

Specify the target esxi host information.

Select the Datacenter or Folder to deploy the VCSA 6.7.

Specify the Compute resource (ESXi Host).

Setup the VM name and root password.

Select the deployment size.

Select the datastore.

Configure the Network settings with temporary IP settings.

Now Stage 1 completed successfully.

Then Stage 2 process starts, to migrate.

Specify the AD Domain name to Join.

Select the migration data..

Once the process started, it will shutdown the source vCenter and all the network settings enabled in the target destination vCenter Server.

Now Data Transfer and appliance setup is in progress.

Migration completed successfully.

Now login with vCenter web client to manage.

Veeam Virtual Machine Backup & Restore

Backup

Veeam Backup & Replication produces image-level backups of VMs. It treats VMs as objects, not as a set of files. When you back up VMs, Veeam Backup & Replication copies a VM image as a whole, at a block level. 

Image-level backups can be used for different types of restore, including Instant VM Recovery, entire VM restore, VM file recovery, file-level recovery and so on.

Veeam Backup & Replication is built for virtual environments. It operates at the virtualization layer and uses an image-based approach for VM backup.

Veeam Backup & Replication does not install agent software inside the VM guest OS to retrieve VM data. To back up VMs, it leverages VMware vSphere snapshot capabilities. When you  back up a VM, Veeam Backup & Replication requests VMware vSphere to create a VM snapshot. 

The VM snapshot can be thought of as a cohesive point-in-time copy of a VM including its configuration, OS, applications, associated data, system state and so on. Veeam Backup & Replication uses this point-in-time copy as a source of data for backup.

Veeam Backup & Replication copies VM data from the source datastore at a block level. It retrieves VM data, compresses and deduplicates it, and stores in backup files on the backup repository in Veeam’s proprietary format.

How Backup Works

Veeam Backup & Replication performs VM backup in the following way:

Backup Architecture

Veeam Backup & Replication uses the following components for the backup process:

• One or more source hosts with associated datastores

• One or more backup proxies
• Backup repository
• [Optional] One or more guest interaction proxies
• [For shared folder backup repository] Gateway server

All backup infrastructure components engaged in the job make up a data pipe. The source host and backup repository produce two terminal points for the data flow. Veeam Backup & Replication processes VM data in multiple cycles, moving VM data over the data pipe block by block.

Veeam Backup & Replication collects VM data, transforms and transport it to target with the help of Veeam Data Movers. Veeam Backup & Replication uses two-service architecture — one Veeam Data Mover controls interaction with the source host, and the other one controls interaction with the backup repository. The Veeam Data Movers communicate with each other and maintain a stable connection.

Backup Chain

Veeam Backup & Replication creates and maintains the following types of backup files:

• VBK — full backup files that store copies of full VM images.
• VIB or VRB — incremental backup files that store incremental changes of VM images.
• VBM — backup metadata files that store information about the backup job, VMs processed by the backup job, number and structure of backup files, restore points, and so on. Metadata files facilitate import of backups, backup mapping and other operations.

In addition to these file types, Veeam Backup & Replication can create the following files on the backup repository:

• VSB — virtual synthetic backup files used for generation of virtual full backups on tapes. 
• VLB and VSM — files that store Microsoft SQL Server transaction log data. 
• VLB and VOM — files that store Oracle archived log data.

Veeam Backup & Replication offers 3 backup methods to create backup chains:

• Forever forward incremental backup
• Forward incremental backup
• Reverse incremental backup

Creating Backup Job:

Launch New Backup Job and specify the job name.

Select the Virtual Machine to take a backup.

Same as you can select a multiple VM's also in the same backup job.

Specify the Backup Proxy and Backup Repository to store the Backup Image.

Select the Backup Mode and If required create a synthetic backup also.

Enable Data De-Duplication.

In Guest Processing, Enable the application aware processing and configure the application settings.

Application Level settings for SQL server and Oracle.

Set the schedule for the backup job.

Complete summary and ready to take a backup.

You can check and monitor the backup job statistics.

Then this will store the backup images in the backup repository location.

Backup Image Files.

Now the backup Job is done successfully.

One full backup is done and it creates one restore point.

If you run the backup job again, this take a incremental backup.

This will enable the CBT(Change Block Tracking) and starts the forward incremental backup.

Backup job report.

Backup job done successfully.

Now you will have a PIT two restore points.

Restore Job:

Veeam Backup & Replication offers a number of recovery options for various disaster recovery scenarios:

• Instant VM Recovery enables you to instantly start a VM directly from a backup file.
• Entire VM recovery enables you to recover a VM from a backup file to its original or another location.
• VM files restore enables you to recover separate VM files (virtual disks, configuration files and so on).
• Virtual disks restore enables you to recover a specific hard drive of a VM from the backup file, and attach it to the original VM or to a new VM.
• Guest OS File Recovery enables you to recover individual guest OS files from Windows, Linux, Mac and other guest OS file systems.

Veeam Backup & Replication uses the same image-level backup for all data recovery operations. You can restore VMs, VM files and drives, application items and individual guest OS files to the most recent state or to any available restore point.

Select your backup image to restore and select the data recovery type.(Instant VM Recovery)

Select the PIT image to restore and recover the data.

Select the restore location.

Select the destination ESXi Host and VM name.

Specify the Datastore to restore the VM.

Restore process started.

VM is Mounted in the destination ESXi host.

The datastore contains the new restore VM and power on.

Application Aware Restore:

Select the backup image and select the application items to restore.

Select the PIT copy.

For restoring applications, veeam MS sql server explorer will open and then select the restore options.

Specify the Database to restore.

Now database successfully restored.