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Creating an agentless vSphere job

Use these instructions to create an agentless vSphere job.

1. Make sure you have added your controller and replication appliances. See Adding servers for instructions on adding your controller appliance and Adding replication appliances for instructions on adding your replication appliances.

2. Click Get Started from the toolbar.

3. Select Double-Take Availability and click Next.

4. Select Protect virtual servers on vSphere with agentless replication and click Next.

5. Choose your source ESXi server. This is the ESXi server or cluster that contains the virtual machines that you want to protect. This is also where your source replication appliance is located. The list shows the ESXi servers or clusters currently associated with your controller appliance.

   

6. Click Next to continue.

7. Select the virtual machines on your source that you want to protect. A separate job will be created for each source that you select for protection. You can only select the number of virtual machines equal to the number of free licenses you have available.

   

8. Click Next to continue.

9. Choose your target ESXi server. This is the ESXi server or cluster where the replica virtual machines will be hosted. This is also where your target replication appliance is located. The list shows the ESXi servers or clusters currently associated with your controller appliance.

   

10. Click Next to continue.

11. You have many options available for your agentless vSphere job. Configure those options that are applicable to your environment.

    All agentless vSphere jobs will have the following sections available on the Set Options page.

    • Virtual Switch Mappings
    • Replication Interval
    • Encryption
    • Snapshots
    • Compression

    If you are protecting just one virtual machine, you will also have the following sections.

    • General
    • Replica Virtual Machine Location
    • Replica Host and Replication Appliances

    If you are protecting more than one virtual machine, you will have the Virtual Machines Mappings section instead, which is similar to the location and appliances sections.

    As you can see, if you are protecting more than one virtual machine, there are a few settings that you will not have access to during job creation. In this case, default values will be used. You can modify the default values after the jobs have been created.

     

    Click a link below to see the options available for that section of the Set Options page.

    General

    

    For the Job name, specify a unique name for your job.

    Virtual Machines Mappings

    

    • For each virtual machine, select the target host, target datastore for the virtual machine configuration files and the replication appliances—The first table allows you to configure each virtual machine.
      • Replica Virtual Machine—Specify the name of the replica virtual machine. This will be the display name of the virtual machine on the host system.
      • Target Host—Select the specific server that you want to use, if your target is a cluster. If your target is not a cluster, this field will automatically be populated with your target.
      • Target Datastore—Specify the datastore on the target where you want to store the replica virtual machine configuration files. Make sure the selected datastore has enough free space. The datastore you select here will become the selected datastore in the next table.
      • Source Replication Appliance—You can specify a source replication appliance or select Auto Select to have Double-Take select a replication appliance for you based on the current load on all of your replication appliances.
      • Target Replication Appliance—You can specify a target replication appliance or select Auto Select to have Double-Take select a replication appliance for you based on the current load on all of your replication appliances.
    • Select a virtual machine above and then select the target datastore for the virtual machine hard disk files—The second table is dynamically linked to the first. Select a virtual machine in the first table and configure the virtual disks for that virtual machine. Then select another virtual machine in the first table and configure the virtual disks for that virtual machine. Continue until you have configured the virtual disks for each virtual machine.
      • Target Datastore—By default, the datastore you selected in the first table will be selected in this table. If desired, specify a different datastore on the target where you want to store the replica virtual machine disk files. Make sure the selected datastore has enough free space for the size of your source (plus growth) and the source's disk format (thick, thin, or flat). Additionally, if you are going to be enabling snapshots of the replica on the target, make sure you select a datastore that has enough space for the replica virtual machine disks and the snapshots.
    • Show additional target datastores information—Click this link to see storage information for the datastores on your target. This will help you select the appropriate datastore for your replica virtual machines.
    Replica Virtual Machine Location

    

    • Enter the replica virtual machine display name—Specify the name of the replica virtual machine. This will be the display name of the virtual machine on the host system.
    • Select the target datastore for the virtual machine configuration files—Select one of the datastores from the list to indicate where on the target you want to store the replica virtual machine configuration files. Make sure the selected datastore has enough free space. The datastore you select here will become the selected datastore in the next table.
    • Select the target datastore for the virtual machine hard disk files—By default, the datastore you selected in the first table will be selected in this table. If desired, specify a different datastore from the Target Datastore list to indicate where on the target you want to store each of th replica virtual machine disk files. Make sure the selected datastore has enough free space for the size of your source (plus growth) and the source's disk format (thick, thin, or flat). Additionally, if you are going to be enabling snapshots of the replica on the target, make sure you select a datastore that has enough space for the replica virtual machine disks and the snapshots.
    Replica Host and Replication Appliances

    

    • Select the replica host—If you target is a cluster, select the specific server that you want to use. If your target is not a cluster, this field will automatically be populated with your target.
    • Source replication appliance—You can specify a source replication appliance or select Auto Select to have Double-Take select a replication appliance for you based on the current load on all of your replication appliances.
    • Target replication appliance—You can specify a target replication appliance or select Auto Select to have Double-Take select a replication appliance for you based on the current load on all of your replication appliances.
    Virtual Switch Mappings

    

    Map source VSwitches to the target VSwitches—Identify how you want to handle the network mapping after failover. Map each Source VSwitch to a Target VSwitch. If you reconfigure your virtual switches after you have created your job, you will need to edit the job to update your mappings, if you want to use the new configuration. You can also choose to failover the NIC and IP addresses but leave them in a not connected state.

    Replication Interval

    

    Transmit data after this interval—Specify the interval (in days, hours, or minutes) for transmitting the replication snapshot. For more details on how the replication interval works, see Agentless vSphere replication process.

    Encryption

    

    Enable encryption—Enable this option if you want to encrypt the mirroring and replication data before it is sent to the target.

    Snapshots

    

    A snapshot is an image of the source replica data on the target taken at a single point in time. You can failover to a snapshot. However, you cannot access the snapshot to recover specific files or folders.

    Turn on Enable scheduled snapshots if you want Double-Take to take snapshots automatically at set intervals.

    • Take snapshots on this interval—Specify the interval (in days, hours, or minutes) for taking snapshots.
    • Maximum number of snapshots—Because of VMware snapshot limitations and Double-Take replication processing, the maximum number of snapshots that you can retain is 29. At this point, the oldest snapshot will be deleted when a new snapshot needs to be created. If desired, you can decrease the number of snapshots that will be retained.

    Snapshots are stored on the target datastore, so be sure that you have selected a datastore that has enough space for the replica virtual machine and the snapshots.

    See Agentless vSphere replication process for details on how the snapshot of the source replica on the target works with the replication process.

     

    Compression

    

    To help reduce the amount of bandwidth needed to transmit Double-Take data, compression allows you to compress data prior to transmitting it across the network. In a WAN environment this provides optimal use of your network resources. If compression is enabled, the data is compressed before it is transmitted from the source. When the target receives the compressed data, it decompresses it and then writes it to disk. You can set the level from Minimum to Maximum to suit your needs.

    Keep in mind that the process of compressing data impacts processor usage on the source. If you notice an impact on performance while compression is enabled in your environment, either adjust to a lower level of compression, or leave compression disabled. Use the following guidelines to determine whether you should enable compression.

    • If data is being queued on the source at any time, consider enabling compression.
    • If the server CPU utilization is averaging over 85%, be cautious about enabling compression.
    • The higher the level of compression, the higher the CPU utilization will be.
    • Do not enable compression if most of the data is inherently compressed. Many image (.jpg, .gif) and media (.wmv, .mp3, .mpg) files, for example, are already compressed. Some images files, such as .bmp and .tif, are decompressed, so enabling compression would be beneficial for those types.
    • Compression may improve performance even in high-bandwidth environments.
    • Do not enable compression in conjunction with a WAN Accelerator. Use one or the other to compress Double-Take data.

    All jobs from a single source connected to the same IP address on a target will share the same compression configuration.

     

12. Click Next to continue.

13. Double-Take validates that your source and target are compatible. The Summary page displays your options and validation items.

    Errors are designated by a white X inside a red circle. Warnings are designated by a black exclamation point (!) inside a yellow triangle. A successful validation is designated by a white checkmark inside a green circle. You can sort the list by the icon to see errors, warnings, or successful validations together. Click on any of the validation items to see details. You must correct any errors before you can enable protection. Depending on the error, you may be able to click Fix or Fix All and let Double-Take correct the problem for you. For those errors that Double-Take cannot correct automatically, you will need to modify the source or target to correct the error, or you can select a different target. You must revalidate the selected servers, by clicking Recheck, until the validation check passes without errors.

    Before a job is created, the results of the validation checks are logged to the Double-Take Management Service log on the target.

14. Once your servers have passed validation and you are ready to establish protection, click Finish, and you will automatically be taken to the Manage Jobs page.

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