How to Schedule VCSA 6.7 Backup – Feature Overview

Posted by on in , | 3559 Views

As we aware,  inbuilt file-based backup and restore feature of VCSA was introduced in With vSphere 6.5.  It is the inbuilt feature available with the management interface of vCenter server appliance 6.5 (VAMI) page. With this native Backup and Restore VCSA 6.5 features removes the dependency on third-party native backup tools to backup and restore vCenter server appliance. The native Backup feature of VCSA 6.5 supports the backup and restore of vCenter server appliance and also platform services controller. We don’t need any backup agents to backup the VCSA appliance. The backup files are then streamed to a backup target using one of the supported protocols: FTP(s), HTTP(s), and SCP. These are all the files that make-up the VCSA, including the database. Even though we have inbuild backup for VCSA but Scheduling option is not available with VCSA 6.5. With the release of VCSA 6.7, We now have a new built-in backup scheduling option. Here we can configure the backup schedule including location, frequency, and time. In this article, I will explain the detailed step by step procedure to Configure and Schedule VCSA 6.7 Backup.

How to Configure and Schedule VCSA 6.7 Backup

Login to VCSA 6.7 Management UI using the below URL using root credentials

https://<IP-or-hostname of VCSA>:5480

Once Logged into the VCSA Management UI, Click on Backup -> Click on “Configure” to configure the VCSA 6.7 backup.

Schedule VCSA 6.7 backup

With VCSA 6.5, We need to specify the protocol and backup location separately. It is now changed with VCSA 6.7 backup.  Now the backup protocol is part of the backup location, using the following format: Protocol://Server Address: Port/Backup Folder/Subfolder.

The backup folder and subfolder do not need to be created before running the backup schedule wizard. A default backup folder called vCenter will be created during the backup if one is not supplied. Subfolders with the corresponding VCSA FQDN will also be created.

Specify the username and password for the backup location and mention the schedule for the VCSA backup. Additionally, you can also specify the retention policy. Click on Create.

 

Schedule VCSA 6.7 backup

Once VCSA 6.7 backup is configured and scheduled, you will be able to see the backup settings under Backup Schedule.  Apart from the backup schedule, you can also run the instant manual backup by clicking on “Backup Now”

Schedule VCSA 6.7 backup

You can monitor the progress of the manual backup job and also the Backup file name and full path of the backup location.

Schedule VCSA 6.7 backup

All the backup jobs and progress will be visible under the Activity option.

Schedule VCSA 6.7 backup

You can validate the backup files in the specified backup location. You can notice the Folder called “vCenter” is created in the specified backup location

Schedule VCSA 6.7 backup

Understanding VCSA 6.7 Backup File and Folder Structure

We are done with configuring and schedule VCSA 6.7 backup.  It is also important to understand the backup filename of VCSA 6.7 backup file and folder structure.  The folders on a remote backup location are structured in a particular way for easy query and retrieval of metadata of all the backups. The folder structure is common for both manual and scheduled backups. In my case, the structure looks like this:

<SCP_ROOT>/vCenter/sn_mdlab-VC-01.lab.com/M_6.7.0.10000_20180801-155404_

This means the following:

  • vCenter Server name: sn_mdlab-vc-01.lab.com
  • Job type: M = Manual, S = Scheduled
  • Version: vCenter Server version
  • Date & time: date and time when the backup was created
  • Comment: Comment string (if any) associated with the backup. It is base64 encoded so it will not be readable.

That’s it. We are done with configuring and schedule VCSA 6.7 backup. I hope this is informative for you. Thanks for reading !!!. Be social and share it on social media, if you feel worth sharing it.