Create a Backup Set

Creating a Hyper-V Backup Set

There are two types of Hyper-V backup sets: Cluster and Non-Cluster. These steps will show how to create a Hyper-V backup set on Cluster and Non-Cluster environments. Screenshots used for this guide were based on a Non-cluster environment backup set.

Non-Cluster Environment

Cluster Environment

There are two (2) types of configurations in a Hyper-V Cluster Setup:

• Active/Passive

• Active/Active

Active/Passive

In an Active/Passive configuration, there is at least one node in the cluster which is idle or not running any VM or resources.

Active/Active

In an Active/Active configuration, all VMs are running in all nodes.

1. Click the Backup Sets icon on the main interface of AhsayOBM.

   

2. Create a new backup set by clicking "+" beside "Add new backup set".

   

3. Select the "Backup set type", "Version", and name your new backup set. Then, click Next to proceed.

   

   The “Version” will determine if the backup set is in Cluster or Non-Cluster environment. To create a backup set in Cluster environment, select the version with (Failover Cluster). For Non-Cluster environment, select the regular version.

   

   AhsayOBM will automatically detect the Hyper-V version installed on the host.

4. In the “Backup Source” window, select the guest VM(s) you would like to back up. Click Next to proceed.

   

5. In the “Schedule” window, you may edit the existing backup schedule, or you may create a new schedule for backup job to run automatically at your specified time interval by clicking the Add button.

   

   Click OK when you are done with the settings, then click Next to proceed.

   

6. Select the backup storage destination. Click "+" to add a new storage destination or destination pool.

   

   In the “New Storage Destination / Destination Pool” window, set if the backup set is Run Direct or not by ticking/unticking the Run Direct checkbox. Then select the “Destination storage”.

   

   • For Hyper-V backup sets, the Run Direct feature is enabled by default.

   • For Run Direct enabled backup sets, the storage destination is restricted to Local / Mapped Drive / Network Drive / Removable Drive.

   1. If Local / Mapped Drive / Network Drive / Removable Drive is selected, click the Change button to select the path of the destination. Tick This share requires access credentials if required and input the needed credentials.

      

   2. Click the Test button to verify if AhsayOBM has permission to access the folder.

      

   3. “Test completed successfully” will be displayed once the test is finished. Click OK to proceed.

      

   For Hyper-V cluster backup set with Run Direct enabled, please ensure all nodes have access to the Local, Mapped Drive, Network Drive or Removable Drive destination storage.

   Multiple storage destinations may be added by clicking the Add button and following the steps above. Click Next to proceed once done.

7. If you wish to enable the “Granular Restore” feature, make sure you turn on the “Granular Restore” switch in this menu. Click Next to proceed.

   

   1. Once the Granular Restore feature is enabled and the backup set is saved, it is NOT possible to disable it afterwards, and vice versa. If you wish to change the Granular Restore settings, a new backup set will have to be created.

   2. It is possible to enable both Granular Restore and Run Direct restore on the same backup set. However, AhsayOBM will only allow either Granular Restore or Run Direct restore to run, but not to run both concurrently.

   3. Granular Restore requires an additional OpenDirect / Granular restore add-on module license to work. Contact your backup service provider for further details.

   4. When Granular Restore is enabled, to optimize restore performance both compression and encryption will be disabled for this backup set.

   5. Granular Restore might not be available, this depends on your backup service provider settings. Contact your backup service provider for more information.

8. If you have enabled the “Granular Restore” or “Run Direct” restore feature, the backup data will not be compressed and encrypted to optimize the restore performance. Therefore, you can skip to step 10 of this chapter.

   In the “Encryption” window, the default “Encrypt Backup Data” option is enabled with an encryption key preset by the system which provides the most secure protection.

   

   • For best practice on managing your encryption key, refer to the following article.
     FAQ: Best practices for managing encryption key on AhsayOBM or AhsayACB

   • For local, mapped drive, network drive or removable drive storage destinations with Run Direct enabled the compression type will a be set to No Compression and data encryption is disabled to ensure optimal backup and restore performance. The backup set compression type and data encryption settings will only be applied to AhsayCBS, or Cloud storage destinations for the backup set.

   You may also refer to the Overview (GUI) section for more details.

   Click Next when you are done with the settings.

9. If you have enabled the Encryption Key feature in the previous step, the following pop-up window will show regardless of the selected encryption type.

   

   The pop-up window has the following three options to choose from:

   • Unmask encryption key - The encryption key is masked by default. Click this option to show the encryption key.

     

   • Copy to clipboard - – Click to copy the encryption key, then you can paste it in another location of your choice.

   • Confirm - Click to exit this pop-up window and proceed to the next step.

10. Enter the Windows login credentials used by AhsayOBM to authenticate the scheduled backup job.

    

    If the backup schedule is turned off for the backup set, the Windows User Authentication screen will be automatically skipped. The Windows User Authentication login credentials can be added or updated post backup set creation.

11. Select the temporary directory for storing temporary files, then click Next to finish the setting.

    By default, the temporary directory is set to C:\Users\Administrator\.obm\temp upon creation of backup set. For optimal backup and/or restore performance, the temporary directory should be changed to other available drive (e.g. drive E:\)and not on Windows System C:\ drive.

    

    Refer to Temporary Directory in the Requirements section for details on the temporary directory requirement. To know more about how to set up the temporary directory location, refer to the following article: Tips On Temporary Directory Setup for your Backup Set.

12. Backup set created.

    

13. Optional: Select your preferred "Compression type".

    Go to Others>Compressions, then select from the following:

    • No Compression

    • Normal

    • Fast (Compressed size larger than normal)

    • Fast with optiization for local

    

Verifying the Backup Set Settings for Cluster Environment

1. Click Close and then click on the Hyper-V backup set to complete the setup.

   

2. Go to General and verify if the node has been added.

   

   On the next Hyper-V node, startup AhsayOBM and select the Hyper-V backup set.

3. Go to Backup schedule and enable the "Run schedule backup for this backup set". Set the backup schedule time and click Save once finished.

   

4. Go to General and verify if the node has been added.

   Repeat steps for all Hyper-V Cluster nodes.