In order to run this backup procedure, the following requirements must be met:
- You must have installed at least one Host with flexVM flexVDI and a flexVM flexVDI Manager instance. The installation and configuration process is out the scope of this documentation, but you can find some information in the flexVDI 2.2 installation guideInstallation Guide.
- In order to carry out security copies we have chose chosen Bacula software, as it provides flexibility and it is a free tool. Bacula is built on top of presents a client-server infrastructure architecture and provides backup copies in a Local Area Network. It offers a wide range of functions and features in order to copy and restore damaged or lost files. If you want to have additional inforamtion information regarding the software and its configuration visit the www.bacula.org web page. During this guide we'll assume you know how to manage the software.
- Virtual machines created from the flexVM flexVDI Manager are located in a shared storage that is accessible from all the hosts in of the virtualization environment. In this scenario, the backup procedure can be executed if we install a Bacula client in any Host from this virtualization envirnoment, you can carry out backup copies.
- The security copy backup will be carried out stored in a different storage different from the one where the virtual machine is running. You then need an additional host to manage the security copiesbackups, whether it is in flexVM runs flexVDI or another Operating System.
- The storage volume where the virtual machines is are located must be contain an OCFS2 file system. This file system allows you to use the reflink instruction command, that provides file snap-shot functionalities. You can find additional information about the instruction and the OCFS" OCFS2 filesystem in the following link http://www.oracle.com/us/technologies/linux/025995.htm. You'll also find information regarding OCFS2 configuration in the Configuring OCFS2 Clustering and shared storage guide.You can download reflink from theofficial web page from Oracle: https://oss.oracle.com/~smushran/reflink-tools/
- The reflink command can be installed in any flexVDI host:
yum install reflink
Creating a snapshot of the virtual machine image is mandatory. Without it, the backup cannot be performed without stopping (or at least pausing) the virtual machine. Otherwise, copies would end up corrupted. As an alternative to OCFS2, you can store the virtual machine images in an external volume, in a directory that resides in an LVM logical volume. LVM supports volume-wide snapshots, that can be used instead of using the reflink command, but the procedure is not explained in this guide.