Undoubtedly, many appreciators of virtual technologies and cloud-based resources are familiar with the VMware company developing software for these particular cases. Thus, this enterprise’s creations include virtualization, network and security management, and applications for data processing centers and data retention. The first such product was the VMware Workstation program, which allowed any user to install one or several non-physical machines on their PC. It was a kind of imitation of the device’s hardware “filling” in the form of a CPU, video card, HDD, optical disc drives, etc., a sort of “a PC in a PC” situation.
Utilizing this first creation”s server environment, coupled with the hypervisor VMware ESX, the user can run multiple VMs on the same physical site. At this, each of the virtual machines may be equipped with its own OS. Therefore, several different operating systems can be active on a single server at once. Simultaneously, all installed virtual machines share available resources (network card and random access memory) but work independently of each other. The main products in this direction are the VMware vSphere platform, the VMware ESX, VMware ESXi hypervisor, VMware Server, and vCenter Server.
And, of course, none of the programs dealing with data, just like none of the physical or virtual computers storing that data, can do without backups. Luckily, VMware has a realm of reserve-copying options, as well as high-end tools supported by its software products.
Backing Up VMware Virtual Computers: The Essence
In brief, there are two main VMware backup methods:
- Traditional reserve copying using an agent introduced in a virtual machine.
- Agentless backup, when the reserve copying is performed at the vCenter or ESXi interaction layer with the backup system.
As for the guest operating system’s participation, it is highly advisable to make backup utility contact with it as little as possible. Backup systems should be transferred immediately to the virtualization level. When applying the following technique, the guest OS doesn’t “realize” the procedure of reserve copying, which doesn’t consume the node’s vital reserves. To make it all possible, VMware has developed a unique application programming interface for reserve-copying utilities – the vStorage API for Data Protection (aka VADP) – that allows backup programs to interact immediately with nodes and storage devices.
With the help of VADP, the users can access virtual disc files in a much more effective way. The composition of virtualization ensures a galore of unique ways to perform backing up of virtual computers compared to “ordinary” physical hosts. Therefore, before planning a reserve-copying session, it is crucial to study the features that virtualization offers carefully.
VMware Backup Modern Solutions and 2021 Tendencies
At the VMworld 2020 conference, attended by more than 200,000 people, VMware presented many new solutions and partner projects in digital transformation. VMware has introduced innovative solutions for protecting digital infrastructure. For example, VMware Carbon Black Cloud Workload provides workload protection, reduced attack surface, and a high security level built into the vSphere platform.
Due to the computer technology industry’s continuous development, we have a large selection of tools for implementing VMware backups. The utilities listed below have established themselves as the most popular and convenient reserve-copying solutions for VMware virtual machines in recent years. In the upcoming year, they will certainly maintain their positions, especially taking into account the growing popularity of VMware products:
- NAKIVO Backup & Replication (visit NAKIVO official website for further details)
- Synology Backup Solution
- Acronis Cyber Backup
- Altaro VM Backup
- Unitrends Backup
- Vembu BDR Suite
- Iperius Backup
Meanwhile, the California-based company itself announced many updates in its products (VMware vSphere 7 Update 1, VMware vSAN 7 Update 1, and VMware Cloud Foundation 4.1) and the introduction of new projects (“Project Monterey” and “5G Telco Cloud Platform”). Moreover, for the coming year, VMware has hopes for fruitful cooperation with many giants of the techno-industry and the field of information security, such as Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., NVIDIA, Menlo Security, and Zscaler. 2021 will be a year of triumphant growth for the company and innovation for fans of cutting-edge computer technologies.