Creating Virtual Machines

Introduction to Creating Virtual Machines

Virtualization in VMware environments is supported for DPX Block Data Protection.

Note: Ensure that TLS protocol is enabled on the NetApp Storage System. See Enabling or disabling TLS on NetApp's Support site.

DPX supports three types of virtualizationThe process of creating a virtual machine from a snapshotA point-in-time block-level copy of a volume or entire nodeA machine on the network that is part of the Enterprise.. The snapshot exists on a disk storage system for recovery at file, folder, volume, or node level.. Types of virtualization are Instant, Full, and Rapid Return to Production. from two different sources:

Related Topics:

DPX creates virtual machines from Bare Metal RecoveryA disk-based disaster recovery feature that enables administrators to restore an entire system environment for an individual computer. A full recovery using Bare Metal Recovery includes the operating system, point-in-time backed up data, and Oracle, SharePoint, SQL Server, and Exchange data if applicable. If the computer being recovered is a master serverA server that contains the product software including the CatalogA database that stores all job information, retention information, and information about all backed up data. The Catalog is on the master server. and modules that control resource and job management, scheduling, and distributed processing. The master server can also be a client node., Bare Metal Recovery additionally restores the application. (BMR) snapshots stored on a storage systemThe destinationFor a backup, the destination is the location to which data is backed up. For a restore, the destination is the location to which data is restored. The destination is selected in the destination panel of the backup or restore function window, as appropriate. Same as target. for backup snapshots and the sourceFor a backup, the source is the location of data to be backed up. For a restore, the source is the location of the backup. The source is selected in the source panel of the backup or restore function window in the management console, as appropriate. for recoveries. This is sometimes referred to as secondary storage or backup storage.. In the case of RRP, the source is an existing virtual machine created with Instant Virtualization.

Creating virtual machines with DPX is covered in the following main topics:

Terminology Related to Virtualization

- Backup instance
- Source instance
- Recovery point
- Snapshot
- Image snapshot

The terms backup instanceA point-in-time backup that can be selected for restore. and source instance are more general and can refer to either file-level or block-level backups. On the other hand, recovery point, snapshot, and image snapshot refer to Block backups. Virtualization documentation generally uses the term snapshot.

Virtualization from a Snapshot: Full and Instant Virtualization

DPX provides two distinct types of virtualization based on routine snapshots: Full Virtualization and Instant Virtualization.

Note: RRP is a different case, as RRP virtualization is based on an existing Instant Virtualization VM, not a snapshot.

Most Full Virtualization jobs from snapshots of Windows clients are eligible for RRP processing and will transparently use RRP to bring the machine back in minutes. Such jobs are called Full Virtualization with RRP (shortened form, Full with RRP). For more information about RRP, see “Migration from Virtual Snapshot Storage to Local Storage: RRP”.

Note: All the source disks will be created as VMDK files on the specified datastore, based on the snapshot image from the secondary storage system.

VMs created with Instant Virtualization are considered temporary, since they depend on snapshots that may expire or be deleted. Such temporary VMs may also run slower due to network communication constraints. Once a temporary machine is ready for production, it can be made available quickly by using RRP.  See “Migration from Virtual Snapshot Storage to Local Storage: RRP”.

Note: All the source volumes will be virtualized as RDM disks, based on the snapshot image from the secondary storage system.

Migration from Virtual Snapshot Storage to Local Storage: RRP

Rapid Return to Production (RRP) creates a full production VM from an existing VM created with Instant Virtualization. RRP makes the new production VM available for use in minutes, while DPX transfers data behind the scenes, using VMware Storage vMotion to populate the selected datastore

RRP is particularly useful when you have used Instant Virtualization to create a test environment that is ready for production. When migrating a temporary, test VM to a permanent VM, RRP can save many hours, or even days in the case of large data transfer over a slow connection.

RRP is similar to Full Virtualization, but the source for RRP jobs is an existing VM rather than a snapshot.

Tip: RRP virtualization jobs can be scheduled to run just as any other job: once at one or more specific times, daily, weekly or monthly. In most cases, an RRP job is for a single use, so you would schedule it to run once at a specific time.

Note: Most Full Virtualization jobs are eligible for RRP processing. In those cases, RRP is utilized in the background to create a full VM, reducing time to production availability to a matter of minutes. Such jobs are called Full with RRP. Note that Full Virtualization jobs on Linux always run with RRP.

For more information about RRP, see “Rapid Return to Production”.