FYI to those who are backing up VMWare ESX .dsk files:

  http://support.veritas.com/docs/276790

Of particular interest is the vmware.com documentation
that is referenced at the end of this technote.  A good
starting point for anyone who doesn't know what a VMWare
redo log is...

HTH
rob

On Wed, May 25, 2005 at 07:28:33AM +0200 or thereabouts, KBosma AT rdw DOT nl 
wrote:
>    Hi,
> 
>     
> 
>    We also backup VMWare, but we just use one agent per host. All VMs are
>    suspended by script before being backed up. This is done using the
>    bpstart_notify and bpend_notify scripts. These call a subscript which
>    actually suspends the VMs. This method works fine and recoverability is
>    good.
> 
>     
> 
>    We are investigating the option of installing a SAN Media server instance
>    on each VMWare host. This would facilitate the host to backup directly to
>    tape, using its own HBA instead of streaming the data to a Media Manager
>    first.
> 
>     
> 
>    Kind regards,
> 
>    Kaspar Bosma
> 
>    System Enigeer
> 
>     
> 
>    --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
>    Van: veritas-bu-admin AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu
>    [mailto:veritas-bu-admin AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu] Namens Conner, Mike
>    Verzonden: dinsdag 24 mei 2005 20:27
>    Aan: veritas-bu AT mailman.eng.auburn DOT edu
>    Onderwerp: [Veritas-bu] Backing up VMWare - best practices
> 
>     
> 
>    Just curious if anyone is backing up any instances of VMWare clients.  We
>    have been told by Veritas that we can purchase one agent to backup all
>    instances.  VMWare is saying that we will need a client for each virtual
>    machine.  Anyone with any experience here have any info?
> 
>    Thanks
> 
>    Mike