Virtualization Backup

There are three options available to meet the workload’s backup and restore requirements.

The reason for understanding the type of backup approach for each workload is to:

• Allow for the possibility of grouping workloads with similar backup requirements onto the same hosts. For example, all workloads using the virtualization host backup approach may be placed on the same host.
• Determine the impact that backups will have on the host system from a resource perspective.

Backup can be performed in the following ways:

• While the workload is running and in use. In that case, products such as Microsoft SQL Server^® and Microsoft Exchange Server have specific backup application requirements to ensure that a complete backup is obtained. For example, transactions that are in memory must be backed up, and transaction log files must be committed to the database.
• The workload can be paused while a backup is completed. This will ensure a complete backup, but the applications will be unavailable to users while the backup takes place.

Backup Approaches

Application Backup
Workload Backup
Virtualization Host Backup