Backup Job Wizard for Hyper-V: Options

On the Options page of the wizard, you can set up backup job options. Proceed as described in the sections below:

• Job Options
• Full Backup Settings
• Pre and Post Job Actions
• Data Transfer
• Completing New Backup Job Wizard for Hyper-V

Job Options

In the Job Options section, you can give a name to the backup job and enable/disable app-aware mode, change tracking, network acceleration, encryption, VM verification, and other.

Job Name

Enter a name for the backup job.

Job Priority

Select a job priority level between 1 and 5, with 1 being the highest priority. Jobs with higher priority levels are prioritized by Transporters during job processing.

Note
This option is only available in the Enterprise, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Plus, MSP Enterprise, and MSP Enterprise Plus editions.

Use Installed VM Agents

Enable this option if you wish to use installed VM agents for this job. Proceed as follows:

1. With the option enabled, click settings to open the Manage VM Agents pop-up menu.

2. Click Scan All to scan each VM in the job for installed VM agents.

3. Once the scan is complete, select the master password you wish to use for the discovered VM agents from the Select credentials drop-down list.

4. In the Certificate column, click Verify to verify the validity of a VM agent’s certificate.

For more information on setting up VM agents, see Using a VM Agent. For more information on setting up master passwords, see Managing Credentials.

App-Aware Mode

If the App-aware mode option is enabled, NAKIVO Backup & Replication will trigger the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) inside guest OS of source VMs prior to making a VM snapshot. The VSS service will instruct VSS-aware applications and databases to flush data from memory to disk and save data in a consistent state. Thus, the VM snapshot taken after triggering the VSS service will contain consistent data. 

We also recommend reading the support articles about the App-aware mode requirements:

• Hyper-V Server configuration

• Linux and FreeBSD guest OS configuration.

Select one of the following options from the App-aware mode drop-down list: 

• Disabled: VM backup will be performed without application awareness.  

• Enabled (fail on error): In the dialog box that opens, select the checkboxes next to the VMs for which you want to create application-aware backups, and then select credentials next to each VM. These credentials will be used to log in to VMs you have selected and trigger the VSS service. When this option is selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication will fail the backup if the app-aware mode fails (for example, due to wrong credentials).  

• Enabled (proceed on error): In the dialog box that opens, select checkboxes next to the VMs for which you want to create application-aware backups, and then select credentials next to each VM. These credentials will be used to log in to the VMs you have selected and trigger the VSS service. When this option is selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication will proceed with the backup even if the app-aware mode fails (for example, due to wrong credentials).

• Under Settings, you can select VMs for which the App-aware mode will be enabled. You need to specify credentials for them.

Use Agent for OS Quiescing

When this option is enabled, NAKIVO Backup & Replication injects an agent into VMs to perform OS quiescing. This option is only available with App-aware mode enabled.

Note
Enabling this option may generate additional data transfer for the creation of shadow copies during job runs.

Change Tracking

Select one of the options from the Change tracking drop-down list:

• Use Hyper-V RCT: Native Hyper-V change tracking method. This option enables the fastest incremental backup. 

• Use proprietary method: When selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication reads the entire contents of all VM disks in order to determine what data has changed since the last job run.

• No change tracking (always full): When selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication always performs a full VM backup of all source VMs. 

Network Acceleration

If the Network Acceleration option is enabled, NAKIVO Backup & Replication uses compression and traffic reduction techniques to speed up data transfer. Select this option if you plan to back up over WAN or slow LAN links. 

Encryption

If the Encryption option is enabled, VM data will be protected with AES 256 encryption while traveling over the network. Data encryption increases the backup time and CPU load on machines running Transporters. Select this option if you are backing up over WAN without a VPN connection.

You need at least one Transporter at the source and target sites to enable encryption.

VM Verification

VM Verification allows you to check the integrity of the backup by starting it and interacting with it. For more details, refer to VM Verification. 

You can choose one of the following VM verification options: 

• Disabled: VM Verification is disabled.

• Screenshot verification: When enabled, all VM backups created by the job are verified: After a backup of a VM is completed, the VM will be recovered from the backup using Flash boot (and will be disconnected from networks) and a screenshot of the recovered VM will be taken once the VM OS has booted, after which the VM will be discarded. VM screenshots will be included in email notifications (if they’re configured. See Notifications & Reports) and displayed on the Dashboard.

• Boot verification: When enabled, all VM backups created by the job are verified as follows. After a VM backup is completed, NAKIVO Backup & Replication recovers the VM using Flash boot, disables networking to prevent network connections, and verifies that system start is successful.
  

Important
Hyper-V Integration Services must be running on the source VMs to successfully enable screenshot verification for your backup job.

After choosing Screenshot verification, do the following in the dialog box that opens:

1. Provide a location of the VMs to be booted:

   • Target Container: Choose a target container (cluster, host, or resource pool) where VMs will be run using Flash boot.

   • Target Datastore: Choose a datastore that will host changes to the recovered VMs.

   • Proxy transporter: Choose a proxy Transporter from the list of available Transporters.

2. Set verification options:

   • Verify not more than x VMs simultaneously: Specify the maximum number of VMs that can be started on the Target Container simultaneously. 

   • Recovery time objective: Specify the amount of time allocated for verification of each VM backup. If a VM OS does not start within the specified amount of time, verification will be considered failed.

   • Screenshot delay: The amount of time that the product should wait after the guest OS starts before taking a screenshot.The specified time must be sufficient to fully start the VM OS. Try increasing this amount if the default amount is not sufficient.

     

After selecting Boot verification, do the following in the dialog box that opens: 

1. Provide a location of the VMs to be booted as described for the Screenshot verification option.

2. Set verification options:

   • Verify not more than x VMs simultaneously: Specify the maximum number of VMs that can be started on the Target Container simultaneously. 

   • Recovery time objective: Specify the amount of time allocated for verification of each VM backup. If a VM OS does not start within the specified amount of time, verification will be considered failed.

     

Exclude Swap Files and Partitions

With this option enabled, NAKIVO Backup & Replication automatically excludes swap files and partitions during the backup process. 

Exclude Unused Blocks

With this option enabled, NAKIVO Backup & Replication automatically excludes unused disk blocks and blocks occupied by deleted files during processing of source objects running Windows OS. This feature allows for reducing backup storage space and object processing time.

Full Backup Settings

If the type of the Backup Repository that you selected on the Destination page is set to Incremental with full backups (Store backups in separate files option is selected), you can specify the following options:

• Create full backup: Specify how often full backups should be created. 

• Full backup mode: Specify how the full backup should be created. You can choose one of the following options:

  • Synthetic Full: When this option is selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication first performs an incremental backup (that is, transfers only the data that has changed since the last backup) and then transforms the available data into a full backup file. The benefits of this approach are:

    • The Synthetic Full backup is usually faster than the Active Full backup.

    • The load on the network is lower as less data is transferred.

    • The load on the source datastores running your production VMs is lower.

  • Active Full: When this option is selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication reads all VM data from the source datastore and transfers it to the Backup Repository.

  • If a full backup fails, create a full backup on the next job run: With this option selected, the next job run creates a full backup if the current job run fails to do so.

    Note
    On a full active backup, the entire source disks will be read even if Hyper-V RCT is selected.

Pre and Post Job Actions

NAKIVO Backup & Replication provides you with the ability to enable certain actions before a backup job begins and after it has completed. You can choose to send job run reports, truncate Exchange and SQL Server logs on specified VMs, and run local pre- and post- job scripts.

Email Notifications

NAKIVO Backup & Replication can send email notifications on job completion status to specified recipients. This feature complements global notifications and provides you with the ability to configure notifications on a per-job level. To enable this option, configure your Email settings.

To send email notifications, do the following:

1. In the Pre and Post Actions section, select the Send job run reports to option.

2. Specify one or more email addresses in the text box. The semi-colon character should be used to separate multiple email addresses.

Truncation of Microsoft Exchange Server Transaction Logs

Microsoft Exchange Server database transaction logs record all changes to a Microsoft Exchange server database. Over time, these log files accumulate and can consume all of the available disk space, if not periodically removed. NAKIVO Backup & Replication provides you with the option of deleting (or truncating) Microsoft Exchange Server logs on the source VMs after job completion.

The transaction logs are deleted after the job is completed so that the log files are available in the VM backup. Note that the product deletes only those transactions which have already been committed to (available in) the Microsoft Exchange database.

To set up Microsoft Exchange log truncation, do the following:

1. In the Pre and Post Actions section, select the Truncate Exchange logs option.

2. In the dialog box that opens, select the checkboxes next to the VMs running Microsoft Exchange and then select credentials next to each VM. These credentials will be used to log in to VMs you have selected.

Truncation of Microsoft SQL Server Transaction Logs

Microsoft SQL Server database transaction logs record all changes to a Microsoft SQL Server database. Over time, these logs accumulate and can consume all of the available disk space if not periodically removed. NAKIVO Backup & Replication provides you with the option for deleting (or truncating) Microsoft SQL Server logs on the source VMs after job completion.

The transaction logs are deleted after the job is completed so that the original log records are available in the VM backup. Note that the product deletes only those transaction logs that are already committed to (available in) the Microsoft SQL Server database.

To set up Microsoft SQL Server log truncation, do the following:

1. In the Pre and Post Actions section, select the Truncate SQL logs option.

2. In the dialog box that opens, select the checkboxes next to the VMs running Microsoft SQL Server and then select credentials next to each VM. These credentials will be used to log in to the VMs you have selected.

File System Indexing

Select this option to create an index of files and folders during the backup job run.

To use a temporary agent for file system indexing:

1. Make sure that the Use installed VM agents option is disabled in the Job Options section.

2. Enable the File system indexing option and click the settings link to open the File system indexing popup.

3. In the Instances tab, select the appropriate credentials for each VM for which you would like to enable file system indexing in the Select credentials column. You may also manage your existing credentials or create new ones in the Credentials tab. See Managing Credentials for more information.

Notes

• The source VM must be turned on during backup for data to be indexed.

• If the source VM contains files/folders a user has no access to, data about such files/folders is not indexed.

• If the backup jobs fails or is stopped, or the existing recovery point is removed, the index is deleted.

• If the original backup is removed but a copy is retained, the indexed data is retained.

• If the existing backup job is removed but the backup is retained, the indexed data is also retained.

• Indexing starts with VM processing within a running backup job.

• Indexed data is not duplicated when a backup copy to tape job is created.

Pre Job Script

To run a script before the product begins backing up VMs, do the following:

1. Place a script file on the machine on which the Director is installed.

2. In the Pre and Post Actions section, select the Run local pre job script option.

3. Specify the following parameters in the dialog box that opens:

• Script path: Specify a local path to the script on the machine on which the Director is installed. Script interpreter should be specified. 

  • Example (Windows): cmd.exe /c D:\script.bat

  • Example (Linux): bash /root/script.sh

• Job behavior: Choose either of the following job behaviors in relation to script completion:

  • Wait for the script to finish: If this option is selected, VM backup will not be started until the script is completed.

  • Do not wait for the script to finish: If this option is selected, the product will run the script and will start backing up VMs at the same time.

• Error handling: Choose either of the following job behaviors in relation to script failure:

  • Continue the job on script failure: If this option is selected, the job will perform VM backup even if the script has failed.

  • Fail the job on script failure: If this option is selected and the script fails, the job will be failed and VM backup will not be performed.

Post Job Script

To run a script after the product has finished backing up all VMs, do the following:

1. Place a script file on the machine on which the Director is installed.

2. In the Pre and Post Actions section, select the Run local post job script option.

3. Specify the following parameters in the dialog box that opens:

   • Script path: Specify a local path to the script on the machine on which the Director is installed. Script interpreter should be specified. 

     • Example (Windows): cmd.exe /c D:\script.bat

     • Example (Linux): bash /root/script.sh

   • Job behavior: Choose one of the following job behaviors in relation to script completion:

     • Wait for the script to finish: When selected, the job will be in the "running" state until the script is completed.

     • Do not wait for the script to finish: When selected, the job will be completed even if the script execution is still in progress.

   • Error handling: Choose either of the following job behaviors in relation to script failure:

     • Continue the job on script failure: When selected, script failure will not influence the status of the job.

     • Fail the job on script failure: When selected and the script has failed, the job status will be set to "failed" even if the VM backup has been successful.

Data Transfer

In the Data Transfer section of the Options page, you can specify a Transporter load and configure bandwidth throttling.

Transporter Load

You can limit the maximum number of Transporter tasks used by the job. By default, it is set to 3 concurrent tasks.

To change the default number of tasks, do the following:

1. In the Data Transfer section, select the Limit transporter load to checkbox.

2. Specify the number of concurrent tasks in the corresponding box.

Bandwidth Throttling

Follow the steps below to regulate the speed of data transfer over the network for your backup job:

1. For the Bandwidth throttling option, choose Enabled.

   Note
   If bandwidth throttling is disabled for the current job, global bandwidth rules may still apply to your job. Refer to Bandwidth Throttling for details.
   

2. Click the Settings link that becomes available.

3. The Job Bandwidth Rules dialog box opens displaying you the list of available rules. You have the following options:

   • Create a new bandwidth rule for your backup job:

     1. Click the Create New Rule button.

     2. The New Bandwidth Rule dialog box opens. Refer to Bandwidth Throttling for details on creating a bandwidth rule.

     3. Click Save.

   • Activate an existing bandwidth rule for your job. Select the checkbox to the left of the necessary bandwidth rule. To deactivate a bandwidth rule for your job, clear the corresponding checkbox.

   • Edit a bandwidth rule. Click the Edit link for a bandwidth rule and modify it in the Edit Bandwidth Rule dialog box that opens.

   • Disable a bandwidth rule. Click the Disable link. The bandwidth rule will be disabled for all jobs.

   • Remove a bandwidth rule. Click the Remove link and then click Delete to confirm your operation.

Bottleneck detection

When the Bottleneck detection option is enabled, additional information is collected and recorded in NAKIVO Backup & Replication logs in the course of data transfer for the purpose of bottleneck detection. Check this option to enable the Bottleneck detection capability of the Transporters engaged in the job.

Completing New Backup Job Wizard for Hyper-V

Click Finish or Finish & Run to complete the job creation.

Note
If you click Finish & Run, you will have to define the scope of your job. Please refer to Running Jobs on Demand for details.