Backup Exec 21.1 Best Practices

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Product(s): Backup Exec (21.1)
  1. Backup Exec Best Practices
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    2.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec installation
    3.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec tape management
    4.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec disk-based storage
    5.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec data lifecycle management (DLM)
    6.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec catalogs
    7.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec backups
    8.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec backing up critical system components
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      Best practices for Backup Exec Agent for Microsoft Exchange Server
    10.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec Agent for Microsoft SQL Server
    11.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec Agent for Linux
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      Best practices for Backup Exec Agent for Microsoft SharePoint
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      Best practices for Backup Exec Central Admin Server Option
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      Best practices for Backup Exec Agent for Oracle on Windows and Linux Servers
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      Best practices for Backup Exec reports
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      Best practices for Backup Exec Simplified Disaster Recovery
    19.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec Agent for Enterprise Vault and the Backup Exec Migrator
    20.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec Granular Recovery Technology
    21.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec Remote Media Agent for Linux
    22.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec Agent for Microsoft Hyper-V
    23.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec Agent for VMware
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      Best practices for using Backup Exec with server clusters
    25.  
      Best practices for Backup Exec Deduplication Option
    26.  
      Best practices for using Backup Exec Deduplication Option with the Central Admin Server Option
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      Best practices for using hot-pluggable devices such as USB devices in a drive rotation strategy
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      Best practices for Backup Exec database encryption keys
    29.  
      Best Practices for Using the Backup Exec Cloud Connector

Best practices for Backup Exec Agent for VMware

Best practices include tips and recommendations to help you effectively use the Backup Exec Agent for VMware. For more information about the Agent for VMware, see the Backup Exec Administrator's Guide.

General recommendations for using the Agent for VMware

  • Review the Backup Exec Software Compatibility List (SCL) to confirm that the applications that you want to back up are supported in this version of Backup Exec.

    https://www.veritas.com/support/en_US/article.000017788

  • Perform a weekly full backup.

  • Back up to a disk-based storage device instead of to a tape storage device.

  • If you have VMware Tools for vSphere 6.0 or earlier installed, ensure that only one VSS Provider is installed on guest virtual machines. The VMware VSS Provider and the Veritas VSS Provider cannot reside on the same guest virtual machine.

    Both of the VSS Providers can be installed on virtual machines that have VMware Tools for vSphere 6.5 or later installed.

Best practices for selecting VMware data to back up

  • You cannot select individual drives, folders, and files from the virtual machines that appear when you expand VMware vCenter and ESX Servers.

  • Note that if you select the vCenter server or the ESX server as a backup resource, all virtual machines are backed up. For a recurring job, any virtual machines that you add after the job is created are included in the backup.

  • Note that if you select to back up the vCenter server or the ESX server, the backup job does not include the following:

    • Configuration files for the vCenter server or the ESX server

    • Physical Raw Disk Mapping (RDM) devices

    • Independent disks

Best practices for using Granular Recovery Technology (GRT) with the Agent for VMware

  • Install the Backup Exec Agent for Windows on any virtual machines on which you want to use Backup Exec's Granular Recovery Technology.

  • If you want to use GRT for some virtual machines, but not for others, set up jobs as follows:

    • For virtual machines that do not require GRT, create a backup job with all GRT options disabled.

    • For virtual machines that require GRT, create one of the following jobs:

      • For virtual machines that require file/folder GRT, but do not have SQL, Exchange, Active Directory, or SharePoint installed, create a backup job and select the option Use Backup Exec Granular Recovery Technology (GRT) to enable the restore of individual files and folders from virtual machines.

      • For virtual machines that require GRT for SQL, Exchange, Active Directory, or SharePoint, create a backup job and select the appropriate application GRT checkboxes. For example, to use GRT for Exchange, select the option Enable GRT for Microsoft Exchange databases and mailbox items on virtual machines. File/folder GRT can also be enabled in this job if you also require file/folder GRT. The Agent for Windows must be installed on the virtual machines that you include in this backup job. You must provide the appropriate credentials to access the virtual machines and the applications that reside on them.

    • For virtual machines that do not support GRT, such as Linux and Mac, create a separate backup job and deselect the four options to Enable GRT for <Microsoft application name> on virtual machines. If a virtual machine does not support GRT, but the options to enable application GRT are selected, the job will complete with exceptions.

    Note:

    Do not include the same virtual machine in multiple backup jobs. If Agent-based backups are also being performed, schedule them so that they do not overlap with the GRT-enabled backups of the virtual machines.

  • To use GRT for individual items from Microsoft Active Directory, Exchange, SharePoint, or SQL, do the following:

    • Install VMware Tools on the guest virtual machine.

    • Install the Agent for Windows on the guest virtual machine. You must install the VMware Tools before you install the Agent for Windows.

    • Ensure that you have a valid license for each application that you want to protect.

    • Ensure that the credentials for the guest virtual machine are valid for the application you want to protect.

    • Use the same requirements for backing up Microsoft Exchange on a physical computer when you back up Exchange on a virtual machine.

Best practices when using the Instant GRT option for GRT-enabled jobs

  • In a CASO environment, ensure that the logon accounts used for backups are added to the list of logon accounts on the central administration server and the managed Backup Exec servers.

  • The storage that hosts the backup sets must be online when you browse for individual items that you want to restore because Backup Exec mounts the backup sets dynamically. For incremental and differential backup sets, all such related backup sets should also be accessible during restore.

  • If a CASO environment, if a Backup Exec server tries to browse the backup sets of another Backup Exec server and if a firewall is configured between them, you must open ports on the servers.

    Veritas recommends to browse backup sets either from the managed Backup Exec server on which the backup jobs were run or from the central administrative server.

    For the list of ports, see the "Backup Exec ports" and "Backup Exec listening ports" topics in the Backup Exec 15 Administrator's guide.