Dell EMC CommVault
Dell EMC CommVault
Dell EMC CommVault
Version 11
Dell EMC Storage Engineering
March 2017
March 2017 3.0 Third Release, CommVault v11. Updated to use new template.
Acknowledgements
Author: Kris Piepho
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Dell believes the information in this document is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice.
1.1 Audience
This document was written for technology professionals interested in learning more about best practices for
configuring CommVault 11 to backup and restore data residing on a Dell EMC SC array using Microsoft ®
Windows Server®, and VMware vSphere® .
1.2 Prerequisites
Understanding the material in this document requires advanced working knowledge of:
SC Series arrays provide a unified platform for the ultimate experience in performance, adaptability, and
efficiency.
In addition to raw capacity and I/O performance, other important factors such as monitoring, reporting, data
protection (backups, snapshots, and replication), and the ability to recover in case of a disaster are equally
important. The SC Series array is well suited to provide a solid, proven storage solution for Windows Server
and VMware environments to meet all of these business needs. To learn more about specific SC Series
arrays, visit the dell.com SC Series Storage Solutions page.
2.3.1 CommCell
A CommCell® is the basic organizational unit of a data management system. A CommCell contains one
CommServe® StorageManager, at least one client, and at least one MediaAgent.
2.3.2 CommServe
The CommServe communicates with all clients and MediaAgents and coordinates all operations (such as
backups, restores, copies and media management) within a CommCell. There is only one CommServe per
CommCell. Typically, the CommServe GUI is installed on the CommServe.
Note: A MediaAgent installation is required to back up a server. To create IntelliSnap backups of ESX virtual
machines, a MediaAgent and virtual server agent must be installed on the same server.
Note: For minimal load on host resources, it is strongly recommended that the virtual server agent be
installed on a proxy server that can communicate with the Virtual Center or ESX server being backed up.
The proxy server can be a virtual machine on the Virtual Center or ESX server if sufficient resources are
available on the host.
Note: A single instance of a Virtual Server Agent can support about 30-40 TB of front-end load when
backing up virtual machines. Depending on the amount and size of virtual machines in the environment, a
second Virtual Server Agent may need to be installed on a separate proxy server.
Note: The Windows File System iDataAgent must be installed with a MediaAgent in order to create
IntelliSnap backups of Hyper-V guests, a Windows file server, SQL Server or Exchange Server.
Note: The Windows File System iDataAgent does not need to be installed to create backups of Windows
virtual machines on an ESX server. The Virtual Server Agent handles this process.
Note: The CommVault VSS Provider must be installed to create Windows file system backups.
4. Click Add.
Note: When entering the array IP, always use the SC Series Management IP address. This is the IP address
used in Dell Storage Manager (DSM) to connect to the SC Series array.
8. Click Change.
9. Enter a user name and password that provide administrator access to the SC Series array.
10. Click OK to see the SC Series array displayed in the Array Management window.
Note: To use this CommVault instance to backup volumes on more than one SC Series array, all applicable
SC Series arrays must be added in Array Management.
Note: If “ is not a Compellent device” is displayed during a backup operation, it means the Array
Management entries are not correct.
1. Within the CommCell browser, expand Policies then expand Storage Policies.
2. Right-click on the Storage Policy to use for IntelliSnap backups and then click All Tasks > Create
New Snapshot Copy.
5. Use the Retention tab to configure retention rules for backups created with this policy.
Note: An IntelliSnap backup process creates a new SC Series snapshot every time an IntelliSnap process is
run. As a best practice, use the retention settings within the storage policy for expiring and removing old
snapshots.
Note: To use IntelliSnap to backup VMware virtual machines, follow the directions below to enable
IntelliSnap on the proxy server where the virtual server agent is installed.
The instructions below illustrate how to enable IntelliSnap on a Windows file server. Follow the same process
to enable IntelliSnap on an ESX, SQL, or a Hyper-V server.
1. Within the CommCell GUI, expand Client Computers in the CommCell Browser and locate the client
computer.
2. Right-click the client computer and select Properties.
3. Click Advanced.
Before getting started, it is highly recommended to review Dell EMC SC Series Best Practices with VMware
vSphere 5.x-6.x for information about how to configure a vSphere 5.x-6.x environment for best performance.
Note: As a best practice, do not create virtual machine datastores on the same volume that the vSphere
host uses as its boot volume.
1. Right-click defaultBackupSet and then select All Tasks > New Subclient.
Note: Although not a requirement, it is recommended that each Subclient name match the datastore it will
be associated with. This makes it easier to keep track of datastores as the environment grows.
8. Select the check box to Use Separate Proxy for Backup Copy.
9. In the Proxy dropdown, select a vSphere host server.
CommVault utilizes the proxy server by mounting snapshots to the proxy server to inventory and
collect metadata about the virtual machines included in the snapshot.
The proxy server selected should be a different server than the host(s) selected to backup virtual
machines.
In order to use a vSphere host as a proxy server, a separate VMware vCenter client must be added
to Client Computers in the CommCell browser. Refer to section 6.1 for instructions on how to add
another VMware vCenter client.
The proxy server must be connected (via Fibre Channel or iSCSI) to the SC Series array where the
vSphere datastore volumes are located. A corresponding server object must also exist within Dell
Storage Manager for the proxy server.
To increase speed of proxy mounting, the vSphere proxy server should have as few connected LUNs
as possible.
12. Open the Content tab and click the Browse button.
13. Click the drop down arrow and select datastores and datastore clusters.
Note: Expanding the datastore will show the virtual machines contained within. Specific virtual machines can
be selected and backed up individually. Selecting the entire datastore will back up all virtual machines
contained within it.
4. The Backup Options window appears for the Subclient. Select the desired backup type.
Note: By default, the first time an IntelliSnap backup runs it will create a full backup set regardless of the
backup type. This is necessary to create a baseline for subsequent backups. A full backup takes more time
to complete because it contains all the data of a subclients contents. Depending on requirements,
subsequent backups can be set to Incremental or Differential.
6. To send a copy of this snapshot to backup media, check the box to Create Backup Copy
immediately.
7. If desired, check the box to Enable Granular Recovery for IntelliSnap.
Note: Enabling granular recovery is not required to recover files and folders from virtual machines running a
Windows Server or desktop operating system. Alternately, using the CommVault Live Browse functionality
allows browsing of a backup set, selecting a specific virtual machine, and then choosing which folders/files
to restore. This process similar to granular recovery; when choosing the virtual machine to restore from,
CommVault mounts the snapshot to the vSphere proxy server, runs an inventory of all the virtual machines
within the snapshot, and then displays those folders and files. Depending on proxy server hardware
configuration, and the amount of virtual machines contained on the snapshot, it may take some time to
mount the snapshot on the vSphere server before displaying files and folders.
11. The backup process is finished when the Job Controller shows a Completed status (Progress =
100%).
1. Within the CommCell Browser expand the Virtual Server and right-click on defaultBackupSet >
Backup All Subclients.
3. When the Backup Options window appears, select the desired backup type.
Note: When backing up all subclients, there is no option to enable granular recovery.
4. Click OK to start the backup. The following error message will appear if the default subclient is not
associated with a Storage Policy.
Note: A separate job will be created for each Subclient that is backed up.
7. The backup process is finished when the Job Controller shows with a status of Completed (Progress
= 100%) for all jobs.
Note: Improve backup performance by spreading virtual machines over multiple datastores. For heavily
utilized virtual machines, Dell EMC recommends fewer virtual machines per datastore.
Individual files/folders (from a Granular Recovery Enabled snapshot, or by using Live View)
Entire volume
Container restore (to restore files like VMDK/VHD or entire guest OS)
Virtual machine
For detailed information on how to perform the above restores, please refer to the CommVault online
documentation.
Before getting started, it is highly recommended to review Dell Storage SC Series Arrays and Microsoft SQL
Server. This document contains important information about how to configure a SQL Server environment for
best performance.
Note: To backup SQL databases with IntelliSnap, the databases must be installed on mapped SC Series
volumes. The databases cannot be installed on local volumes.
Note: In order to use IntelliSnap to backup a virtual instance of SQL server running on ESX, SC Series
volumes must be presented to the virtual machine as raw device mappings (RDMs) from the ESX host. The
SQL databases and transaction logs must be stored on the SC Series volumes.
Install CommVault components on the SQL Server as detailed in the CommVault - SQL Server Deployment
Documentation.
Once the SQL Server iDataAgent has been installed on the SQL Server, the SQL Server is automatically
added to Client Computers in the CommCell Console.
9. Right-click in the Subclient Name column next to the database name. Assign databases to backup to
the default Subclient. Databases not needing backup should be set to Do Not Backup.
1. In the CommCell Browser, navigate to Client Computers. Expand the Windows Server, expand File
System and select defaultBackupSet.
3. In the default subclient properties window, check the Use VSS box. Also select the For all files and
Fail the job radio buttons.
Note: IntelliSnap backups of a Windows File System will fail if VSS is not used.
9. Click OK.
10. On the Content tab, click Browse and specify content for the Subclient.
Note: If nothing is selected to backup, CommVault will attempt to IntelliSnap all volumes on the server
(including local volumes). This will cause the backup to fail.
Note: By selecting an entire drive (i.e. D:), CommVault will backup all files on the drive, and allow for the
restore of all files. Selecting specific files and folders only allows for the restore of those files and folders.
11. When first selecting a drive or file to backup, the following message will appear:
12. Click Yes to disable auto detection. Click OK to return to the Content tab.
13. Uncheck Backup System State and click OK to exit to the CommCell Console.
2. The Backup Options for Subclient: default appears. Select the desired backup type.
Note: By default, the first time an IntelliSnap backup runs it will create a full backup set regardless of the
backup type. Depending on requirements, subsequent backups can be set to be incremental or differential.
Before getting started, it is highly recommended to review the Dell SC Series Storage and Microsoft Hyper-V
best practices guide. This document contains important information about how to configure a Hyper-V
environment for best performance.
Note: Ensure the SC Series array where the Hyper-V hosts and their virtual machines reside have been
added in array management. The steps for this process are outlined in Chapter 3 of this document.
Note: In order to use IntelliSnap to backup virtual machines on stand-alone Hyper-V hosts or Hyper-V
clusters, the CommVault Media Agent and Virtual Server iDataAgent must be installed on all Hyper-V host
server(s) and configured to communicate with the CommCell server. Instructions for installing the Media
Agent and Virtual Server iDataAgent can be found in CommVault online documentation.
3. Click the Add button to add Hyper-V servers. Make sure to add all nodes of a Hyper-V cluster.
1. In the CommCell browser, expand the Hyper-V client > Virtual Server > Hyper-V and right-click
defaultBackupSet. Select All Tasks > New Subclient.
Note: Although not a requirement, in clustered Hyper-V environments it is recommended that each Subclient
name match the CSV it will be associated with. This makes it easier to keep track of CSVs as the
environment grows.
3. Click the IntelliSnap Operations tab. Check the box to enable IntelliSnap. Click OK on the warning
message.
5. Select the Storage Device tab, and select a Storage Policy from the drop-down.
9. Expand Cluster Shared Volumes. Select a specific CSV to backup all VMs contained within, or select
individual VMs.
10. Click OK when finished.
Note: By default, the first time an IntelliSnap backup runs it will create a full backup set regardless of what
the Backup Type is set to. This is necessary to create a baseline that is applied to subsequent backups. A
full backup will take more time to complete as it contains all the data that comprises a subclients contents.
Depending on requirements, subsequent backups can be set to Incremental or Differential.
5. Click Advanced.
6. To send a copy of this snapshot to backup media, check the box to Create Backup Copy
immediately.
7. If desired, check the box to Enable Granular Recovery for IntelliSnap.
Note: It is not required to enable granular recovery to recover files and folders from virtual machines running
a Windows server or desktop operating system. Alternately, using CommVault’s Live Browse functionality
allows browsing of a backup set, selecting a specific virtual machine, and then choosing which folders/files
to restore. This process works in much the same way granular recovery does, in that when choosing the
virtual machine to restore from, CommVault mounts the snapshot to the Hyper-V proxy server, runs an
inventory of all the virtual machines within the snapshot, and then displays those folders and files.
Depending on proxy server hardware configuration, and the amount of virtual machines contained on the
snapshot, it may take some time to mount the snapshot on the Hyper-V server before displaying files and
folders.
11. The backup process is finished when the Job Controller shows a status of Completed (Progress =
100%).
1. Within the CommCell Browser expand the Virtual Server and right-click on defaultBackupSet >
Backup All Subclients.
3. When the Backup Options window appears, select the desired backup type.
Note: When backing up all subclients, there is no option to enable granular recovery.
4. Click OK to start the backup. The following error message will appear if the default subclient is not
associated with a Storage Policy.
5. Click OK to ignore the error.
6. Monitor the status of all backup jobs in the Job Controller window.
Note: A separate job will be created for each Subclient that is backed up.
Note: Improve backup performance by spreading virtual machines over multiple CSVs. For heavily utilized
virtual machines, Dell EMC recommends fewer virtual machines per CSV.
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