We have had the following experiences with ESX 3 and Networker (and
excuse me if I sound a bit bitter on this one)
1) the vmfs file system is not supported on Networker versions 7.2.2
and lower. I have no idea if it is supported with 7.3.3 or 7.4 bit I
would suspect it is not. So, you can't back up vm instances directly
with networker and you need to use something else.
2) We were never able to get a vcb server to actually work and the
documentation on how to do it is lacking (to be kind)
3) The way I am able to get backups is by scripting vcb snapshots and
backing up the snapshots (at least they are compressed). If you want I
can add a bit more detail on how we do this. It's a bit dumb, but
backups happen and restores work.

So the bottom line is that EMC doesn't support interaction between
their products very well. On the bright side, we just bought enough
licenses for our exs servers for vRanger. This product looks very
promising and we are just starting to roll it into production after
playing with is for a couple of months.

My suggestion is to use vRanger

Ken

On Nov 16, 2007 11:48 AM, Fazil Saiyed <Fazil.Saiyed AT anixter DOT com> wrote:
> Hello,
> I wonder if any one out there is doing Vmware VCB backups via Legato,
> NetApp, Avamar, ESX Ranger, i would like to know their experience,
> problems and benefits.
> Can you summarize why you would use one method instead of other, what
> level of scripting require, hardware and or other configuration
> considerations.
> After reading a lot, my preference seems to fall right now towards
> "AVAMAR" for following reasons.
> Avamar:
> 1. We are Legato Shop and avamar is integrated in Legato as of 7.4.
> 2. We would not need separate backup solution.
> VRANGER:
> 1. What i am not clear on is what actually backup up the VCB mounted vmdk
> luns? i.e can Legato be used ?
> 2. Will it require additional hardware in terms of Tape lib etc to backup
> the mounted luns ? in this case avamar could be more suitable as we
> already have legato.
> 3. How would vranger integrate with backup software, in other words, how
> would i keep track of what vranger backed up to what medium.
> 3. I do like the interface and the way it handles backup, but don't know
> integrating with backup software could prove difficult ?
> NetApp:
> I could use netapp snapshot, since all  the vm's are configured on NetApp
> San, however it may involve heavy scripting and keeping track of them.
> 1. Could i use either avamar or vranger to create the spanshot mount it on
> NetApp San and use ndmp backups, is any one doing this, can you explain
> how?
> 2. NetApp Snapshot are very convenient, so if i could automate it , it
> could provide ideal solution? but will require homegrown expertise ?
>
> Any other solutions out there, please explain, including how other backup
> vendors are integrating VCB backups ?
> Thanks
>
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