From: higuita <higuita@GMX.net> - 2010-06-28 23:27:07
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Hi > > Windows, OTOH, is a completely new animal for me. Can anyone give me > > some best practices on what to back up on a Windows VM? Or would it > > be better to just back up the VM lock, stock and snapshot? The VM is > > running on VMware ESXi 4.0, so I am still learning how snapshots and > > what not work. For plain window machine, i use the backup+rsync server+VSS: http://www.goodjobsucking.com/?p=62 as the windows disk are in a snapshot state due to the VSS, you can copy everything. To restore, install a windows, boot from knoppix or something and rsync everything back. *Please note* that metadata, permissions and probably more things are lost, because rsync is unable to save this info (there is a app/script to store the permissions/acl to a file in the net). i still didnt test this restore, but should work...famous last words, right ;) i just do full backup on 2 machines, all others i just backup the c:\Users and any special work dir... people have too much junk installed (i use backuppc only for workstations, not servers) the only problem that i'm having is that i have about 3 machines that the VSS fail and i suspect that is because they are win64 machines, but i have to debug it a little more when i have more free time. For ESX, i read wonders about this script: http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-8760 i don't use it, but i plan to test it. Backing up full VMs requires alot of space, usually backing up the machine file system you can use the backuppc deduplication, where in the VM backup it will be useless (the backuppc deduplication is file bases, for deduplicate VMs you need block level deduplication)... on the other hand, restores are plain easy with backup of the VMs have fun! higuita -- Naturally the common people don't want war... but after all it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country. -- Hermann Goering, Nazi and war criminal, 1883-1946 |