TomHD Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 Hello All, I have noticed that our Backup Exec hasn't completed a backup since middle February! I am looking into what problems it has. What I would like to know is: What is the best and easiest way to backup SIMS and Exchange (both VMs accessed using vSphere) without using Backup Exec? I'd rest much easier knowing I have the SIMS data backed up somewhere! Cheers, TomHD
win Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 Export those VMs to an external HDD until you solve the problem. If you have 2012r2 you can export them live. 1
TomHD Posted March 5, 2015 Author Posted March 5, 2015 Thanks win, do I do that via the vSphere client? Select the VM>File>Export>Export OVF Template? And the VMs are running 2008 R2 so will have to be done this eve out of hours? Cheers, TomHD
TomHD Posted March 5, 2015 Author Posted March 5, 2015 Thanks jamin but I already have a proper solution, just not working 100% at the mo. All I am really after is knowing that the SIMS/FMS data is safe
win Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 2008rs means you need shutdown the vm and then export. - shutdown vm - on physical host open hyperv manager, right click vm then export - browse to your external HDD. (export can take a few hours) you can easily import the vm in worse case scenario to any 2008r2 server
Davit2005 Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 Another vote for Veeam It blows Backup Exec out of the water, I don't work for work for Veeam or get commission I just love the product. Watched BE go down hill for years i.e. Exchange explorer for Veeam (even in the free edition), you mount the backup as a file level restore (Guest Files), browse to the edb location within the restore wizard, then browse to the logs for same exchange database, you can then restore whole mailboxes individual mail items the lot. The new Active Directory Explorer for Veeam does an equally impressive job restoring AD objects.
Marshall_IT Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 Used Veeam before at my last school and I'm just moving back to it again none. Fantastic!
PotNoodleTech Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 Thanks jamin but I already have a proper solution, just not working 100% at the mo. No offence but if you had a proper solution you wouldn't be posting. Backup Exec has been totally eclipsed by products like Veeam - franky if your virtualised using VMware or HyperV you should be looking to ditch backup exec. In terms of your immediate worry which is ensuring you have a solid back up right now - my advice would be to download the free version of veeam, you can use that to run a manual backup of all VMs one at a time. This will ensure you have a solid recent backup. You can then look into fixing backup exec. I suspect once you've used Veeam you won't want to go back to BE....
TomHD Posted March 5, 2015 Author Posted March 5, 2015 No offence but if you had a proper solution you wouldn't be posting. Backup Exec has been totally eclipsed by products like Veeam - franky if your virtualised using VMware or HyperV you should be looking to ditch backup exec. In terms of your immediate worry which is ensuring you have a solid back up right now - my advice would be to download the free version of veeam, you can use that to run a manual backup of all VMs one at a time. This will ensure you have a solid recent backup. You can then look into fixing backup exec. I suspect once you've used Veeam you won't want to go back to BE.... No offence taken. Have just looked at Veeam's site, their slogan is "It just works!" and that the majority of their customers have switched from BE! I now think my issue with BE is using imported media tapes that prompt for overwrite so the job is missed because nobody is there to say yes to the overwrite! I have a valid tape loaded for tonight's jobs and hopefully they should succeed. I will still be looking into Veeam on the recommendations in this thread 1
Davit2005 Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 One note is if you are going to test Veeam on the same server you have to disable/stop the Backup Exec services or the tape device may not be seen. 1
TomHD Posted March 5, 2015 Author Posted March 5, 2015 BE is on our SIMS server, I'll test Veeam on the Exchange server so I can leave BE alone for now I take it that will be OK?
Davit2005 Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 BE is on our SIMS server, I'll test Veeam on the Exchange server so I can leave BE alone for now I take it that will be OK? Not a problem, just thought I'd mention that just in case 1
DMcCoy Posted March 5, 2015 Posted March 5, 2015 No offence but if you had a proper solution you wouldn't be posting. Backup Exec has been totally eclipsed by products like Veeam - franky if your virtualised using VMware or HyperV you should be looking to ditch backup exec. In terms of your immediate worry which is ensuring you have a solid back up right now - my advice would be to download the free version of veeam, you can use that to run a manual backup of all VMs one at a time. This will ensure you have a solid recent backup. You can then look into fixing backup exec. I suspect once you've used Veeam you won't want to go back to BE.... Backup Exec still works, and is useful for single server sites as you can backup to tape. It's a pain that it needs a staging area to restore a VM, however the v-ray edition is quite well priced for this. I assume tape support in veeam is as terrible as last time I looked, no support for hardware encryption without having a library to do it for you? I've used Veeam and wanted to go back to BE.. (admittedly with the 2010 interface would be nice, policies were great). I've yet to find a replacement for when you have to backup with the same box that is the server.
Sylv3r Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 Another vote for Veeam. It's been pretty much rock solid for us since we bought it in September for our VMWare setup.
Davit2005 Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 (edited) Backup Exec still works, and is useful for single server sites as you can backup to tape. It's a pain that it needs a staging area to restore a VM, however the v-ray edition is quite well priced for this. I assume tape support in veeam is as terrible as last time I looked, no support for hardware encryption without having a library to do it for you? I've used Veeam and wanted to go back to BE.. (admittedly with the 2010 interface would be nice, policies were great). I've yet to find a replacement for when you have to backup with the same box that is the server. The tape support/features in Veeam aren't a match for BE I've got to admit but for us it works and is a reliable backup which is more important. At the moment we have 96 VM's and Veeam works quite nicely. Edited March 6, 2015 by Davit2005
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