Hyper-V Backup - How to bind to a specific management class?

cmoeller

ADSM.ORG Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
41
Reaction score
0
Points
0
PREDATAR Control23

Hi everyone!

I have not been a 'TSM guy' for a long time but ever since then adsm.org has always provided me with valuable answers. For the problem at hand however I could not find anything so it was finally time to register. So hi! :)

We are using Server 2008 R2 based Hyper-V proxies. I am now trying to implement the BA client's Hyper-V backup capability (which I have just discovered) but have run in to a (seemingly) simple problem I have not found a solution for - how in the world can I bind Hyper-V backups to a specific management class?

I really, really don't want this on the default management class and the parameter VMMC applies only to VMWare backups (so says the reference).

Is this correct? Can Hyper-V backups indeed be backed up only to the TSM server's default management class? Or did I miss something?

Thank you!

Regards,
Chris

*edit* Damn I missed there's a sub forum for virtual machines. Could a mod move my topic? Sorry for that!
 
PREDATAR Control23

Oh the cruelty when hope for enlightenmend is crushed by spam.


On topic though, I have not found a way yet. Letting in run into the default management class and define a maxsize of ~20GB to it is not a solution I'd call clean. Maybe it is, I don't know, yet I appears wrong somehow ...

Guess I have to wait and see what future updates bring.
 
PREDATAR Control23

You have probably found a solution to this by now, but I can share what I have done in the past...but it still may not be the best solution. I ended up creating a new policy domain specifically for the virtual host servers that utilize Hyper V. I created a default management class that met my needs on space requirements and then configured my host servers to use that new policy domain.

Like I said, probably not the best solution, but for the most part has worked for us.
 
PREDATAR Control23

You have probably found a solution to this by now, but I can share what I have done in the past...but it still may not be the best solution. I ended up creating a new policy domain specifically for the virtual host servers that utilize Hyper V. I created a default management class that met my needs on space requirements and then configured my host servers to use that new policy domain.

Like I said, probably not the best solution, but for the most part has worked for us.

Hm I like your idea a lot better than mine. I've not been using TSM's "hyper-v backup" method by the way. Some virtual machines, for whatever reason, seem to have some sort of problem with VSS - in which case TSM suspends the machine to back it up. I cannot have that on production machines so for now I'm still doing the dirty file-level backup of the virtual disks.

I have not found a switch for TSM to just skip and report these so that I could "dirty-backup" only those.

Well what can you get for not using VMWare I suppose ...
 
PREDATAR Control23

I know this is an older thread, but I thought this info could prove useful to someone else searching.

I accomplished this task using a combination of custom management class, powershell scripting, and automated task scheduling.

For the sake of clarity:
-<Export Path> = The full path to your preferred export directory
- <VMName> = The name of the VM, as it is displayed in Hyper-V Manager

  • Create a Management Class on your TSM Server with the desired retention settings (I named mine VM_IMAGE).
  • Create a powershell script that contains the following, and save it as a PS1 file to the location of your choosing:
    • #The following line bypasses Script Execution Policy
    • Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass
    • #The following line deletes the <Export Path>\<VMName> Directory
    • Remove-Item -Path <Export Path>\<VMName> -Recurse
    • #The following line exports the <VMName> Virtual Machine
    • Export-VM -Name <VMName> -Path <Export Path>


  • The above script needs elevated permissions to run, so create a scheduled task that runs the following command at whatever schedule you desire:
    • Command: Powershell
    • Argument: start-process powershell -verb runas <Full Path and File name for PS1 Script>
  • Add the following to the Virtual Host Server’s dsm.opt file to assign this backup a different management class:
    • INCLUDE.BACKUP "<Export Path>\...\*" VM_IMAGE

End result...the scheduled task runs, initiating the powershell script that flushes your export directory, then exports a current copy of the target VM to the specified directory. Your Hyper-V Host Server's dsm.opt file is configured to assign backup data in this directory to a specific management class.

Benefits:

  • VM remains online and available while being exported (Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V Host)
  • VM does not need to have the TSM client installed, nor does it need to be on the same network as the TSM Server (only the host VH does)
  • VM backups are not subject to Virtual Host’s assigned management class retention settings
 
Last edited:
Top