To minimize VMware Aria Operations downtime and data loss in the event of failure, back up regularly. If your system fails, you can recover it by restoring to the last full or incremental backup.
You can back up and restore VMware Aria Operations single-node or multi-node clusters by using backup tools. You can perform full or incremental backups and restores of virtual machines.
All data nodes are backed up and restored at the same time. You cannot backup and restore individual nodes. Backup of remote collectors is optional because the components are replaceable and do not store data.
Guidelines for Planning Backups
Verify that the following prerequisites are met before you back up VMware Aria Operations systems using any tool.
If the cluster cannot be taken offline, do not quiesce the file system.
Use a resolvable host name and a static IP address for all nodes.
All nodes must be in the same power state and accessible during backup.
Back up the entire VM. You must back up all VMDK files that are part of the virtual appliance.
Do not change the state of the cluster when the backups are in progress.
Verify that the following prerequisites for the vCenter server where VMware Aria Operations is deployed.
There is sufficient disk space available for your Avamar instance. The amount of disk space needed depends on the size of the multi-node cluster that you want to back up.
In the vSphere Web Client, verify that the virtual machines have the latest VMware Tools installed.
Do not perform a backup when dynamic threshold (DT) calculations are running because the backup might lead to performance problems or loss of nodes. By default, DT calculations run at 2 a.m. The initial backup might take longer to complete depending on the cluster size and number of nodes. To minimize the time to back up, turn off the DT. Schedule the differential or incremental backups so that they end before the DT calculations begin.
If you are using backup tools, such as Avamar, and have manually created vSphere snapshots of any of the VMs to be backed up, the tools delete all existing snapshots at the time of the backup or restore.
It is highly recommended to take a backup during quiet periods. Since a snapshot-based backup happens at the block level, it is important that there are limited or no changes being performed by a user on the cluster configuration. This ensures that you have a healthy backup.
It is best to take the cluster offline before you back up the VMware Aria Operations nodes. This ensures the data consistency across the nodes and internally in the node.
If the cluster remains online, backup your VMware Aria Operations multi-node cluster using Avamar or other backup tools, deactivate quiescing of the file system.
Offline backups are recommended but not mandatory. VMware Aria Operations can be successfully restores from online and offline backups.
Common Backup Scenarios
The common backup scenarios for VMware Aria Operations systems include a full backup of a single node virtual appliance system and a full backup of a multiple node virtual appliance cluster.
Single-Node Virtual Appliance
To back up a single-node system on the same host.
Assign a static IP address.
Ensure that the power is on for the entire backup process.
Multiple-Node Virtual Appliance Clusters
To back up multiple-node virtual appliance clusters.
Assign a static IP address for each node.
Ensure that all nodes that are configured with high availability are accessible and are configured for high availability.
Ensure that the power remains on during the entire backup process.
