Get started to protect VMware virtual machines
Enterprise Workloads Editions: Business Enterprise Elite
Deploy backup proxy and configure virtual machines on ESXi hypervisors or vCenter Servers for backup.
Before you begin
- Ensure you have read the prerequisites to install the backup proxy and prerequisites for configuring virtual machines for backup.
- Review the the supported backup and restore privileges for vCenter and ESXi.
Step 1: Choose VMware configuration
- Decide whether you want to configure Druva for protecting VMware ESXi or vCenter Server.
- For standalone VMware ESXi, you'll need at least one backup proxy installation for each ESXi hypervisor.
- If you choose VMware vCenter Server, you'll need one backup proxy installation for each vCenter Server.
- Allocate backup proxy installations accordingly.
Step 2: Check resource availability and storage considerations
- Ensure your VMware setup has sufficient resources to deploy the backup proxy. When you deploy the appliance, a new Ubuntu virtual machine is created along with an installation of the backup proxy.
- Ensure you have adequate storage for your backup needs. The Support team can help create and assign storage, and you can request additional storage if necessary.
Step 3: Register and configure your VMware setup
- Access the Management Console using your credentials and deploy one or more backup proxy instances on ESXi hypervisors or vCenter Servers, depending on your specific backup needs.
- During virtual machine registration, Druva generates an activation token that you can use to activate the backup proxy.
Step 4: Configure your virtual machines
- Once the backup proxy is activated, your virtual machines hosted on ESXi will appear under "All Virtual Machines" on the VMware Setups page.
- Configure your virtual machines to schedule automatic backups.
- Druva also supports backing up Microsoft SQL Server databases running on virtual machines. During configuration, you can choose to back up SQL Server databases alongside image-level virtual machine backups.
- You can also configure virtual machines for Instant Restore, a quick recovery option.