Fast and Efficient VMware Backups with BackupChain
BackupChain is a powerful VMware server backup software that has been optimized to backup large files, such as virtual machines stored as VMDK running under Windows Server and workstation platforms.
The following VMware's powerful virtualization platforms can be backed up using BackupChain:
1. VMware Server 2.0 or later running on 32 and 64 bit Windows
2. VMware Workstation; and,
3. VMware Player.
As an advanced backup software, BackupChain offers several key features to enable data centers as well as small businesses to protect their virtual machines efficiently:
Restore Old Virtual Machine Versions in One Step
Backing up and restoring VMware is a simple process. To set up your backup, you simply select the folder containing the VMX and VMDK files.
To restore, you can access your backed up files via Windows Explorer or use BackupChain's Restore Screen. The Restore Screen is a convenient way to restore older file versions. The example below shows how to restore Ubuntu Desktop.vmdk of April 26th 2011:
Also note the enormous savings achieved through data compression and deduplication: The initial backup on Feb 13, 2011 was 19.95 GB large; however, recent backups taken in idle state only took 14.1 KB and 8.87 MB to complete!
Full VMware Backup Integration with VMware VSS Writer and Microsoft Volume Shadow Service
Because hot backups have become an industry standard, no VMware backup software should lack VSS integration. VMware's new VSS writer is critical for generating application-consistent live backups. In order to perform a VMware backup, the backup software needs to connect to the VMware VSS writer service which takes care of creating the virtual machine guest snapshot. The virtual machines then write out their cache and prepare for a live backup.
This mechanism requires an interplay of the Volume Shadow Copy Service on the guest side as well. It is crucial, therefore, that the VMware Integration Services are installed on each guest virtual machine to ensure the VSS signal is properly processed in the VM. BackupChain works with the VMware Volume Shadow Service Writer and activates it when a virtual machine is in use.
Local and Online VMware Backup Targets
Since virtual machine files (VMDK file format) tend to be many GB large, they need to be processed more efficiently than regular files, which are considerably smaller. For best performance, the backup target should be another RAID or SCSI drive, an eSATA external drive, an USB drive, or another server on a Gigabit network. BackupChain supports all these constellations and in addition, BackupChain permits FTP and FTPS targets to enable data centers to back up their virtual machines to other geographic locations.
Differential and Incremental VMware Backups with Smart Delta Compression
It is a common misunderstanding to interpret incremental backups as simple file change updates. In the case of VMware virtual machine backups, the VMDK files are so large that it is not feasible to retain a full copy of each VM at each backup cycle. BackupChain provides a solution to this problem using its proprietary in-file delta compression technology, which ensures that backups use only minimal amounts of storage space. This compression type reduces the load on the backup server but it also reduces bandwidth because only the actual byte-level changes within the virtual machine are stored. This is why BackupChain is perfectly suited for remote virtual machine backups, even via FTP. BackupChain's backup technology does not require a locally stored history of VMs from previous backup cycles, so your VMware Servers can run on minimal hardware. And since most VMs change only minimally each day, you can easily move incremental and differential backups over the Internet straight from your VMware backup host.
Superior VMware Backup Compression Rates
Data compression is standard feature in most backup software programs; however, when it comes to VMware virtual machine backups, it is necessary to achieve the best compression rate within reasonable use of CPU resources. In order to keep the backup time to a minimum, optimal resource usage is necessary. BackupChain offers full CPU utilization as a standard feature. There are no CPU or CPU core number limitations in BackupChain. BackupChain compresses and optionally encrypts backups with AES-256 (HIPAA compliant) and utilizes all CPUs and CPU cores simultaneously. This technology also ensures the highest possible data rate is drawn from RAID controllers and other high-speed drives.
Flexible Multithreaded Backup Scheduling
BackupChain VMware backup software was implemented with a flexible scheduler that permits complex schedule settings and concurrent execution. This VMware backup feature allows administrators to utilize their resources to fullest extent possible and start VMware backups at complex intervals as needed.
Remote Virtual Machine Backup and Restore Feature
BackupChain is the only backup software on the market with a built-in FTP server and client, which are the building blocks needed to quickly set up a private remote backup system. VMware virtual machines can hence easily be backed up and restored off-site over the Internet to a remote location without the need for additional software. Administrators concerned about security can switch on the military-strength encryption feature and transmit over FTPS as an option.
Compatibility with Hyper-V Server
Are you running both VMware Server and Hyper-V Server in one organization? BackupChain is fully compatible with both; hence, you can save money by purchasing only one license to cover your VMware backup as well as Hyper-V backup needs in your organization.
Download a full function 20 day trial of BackupChain from our Hyper-V backup software download page