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Proxmox Backup

Integrating Proxmox Virtual Environment (PVE) and Veeam Backup & Replication (VBR) is a significant step in optimizing backup and recovery policies. This article outlines the key steps to enable the plug-in of VBR, starting with the system architecture, installing and configuring the plug-in, and adding the Proxmox server to the VBR.

Note that the instructions are based on the Beta version of the plug-in, so there may be differences in the official version.

Rereading the article written a few months ago (available on this site at the following link), I believe that those considering virtualization as a commodity will choose PVE to quickly escape the uncertainty caused by Broadcom’s business choices.

Note 1: PVE is a Debian-based Linux distribution with Ubuntu kernel that allows virtual machines and containers to be deployed and managed.

Note 2: Proxmox is a European company based in Austria.

In this first article (of three) we will look at the basic steps to enable the plug-in that allows VBR to implement backup and recovery policies.

Ask your referring Veeam SE to test the Beta version.

Architecture:

Image 1 shows the operation diagram of the integration. The Plug-in is the component that enables communication between the Veeam Backup Server (VBR) and the Proxmox architecture.

Note 3: The Proxy role (referred to here as Worker) is responsible for collecting the data from the VMs to be protected and copying it to the Backup Repository.

The Backup process involves the triggering of snapshots, and the connection between the Proxmox server and VBR is via REST API.

Picture 1

Once the plug-in is installed on the VBR server, it is necessary:

  1. From the console of VBR under Backup Infrastructure add the Proxmox server (images 2 and 3).

picture 2

Picture 3

2. The next images (4 through 9) show the simple steps to add the architecture PVE in the console of VBR.

Picture 4

Picture 5

Picture 6

Picture 7

Note 4: It is possible to select the storage where the snapshots will be saved.

Image 8

Image 9

When finished, you can immediately deploy the worker (proxy). The advantage is to speed up the backup process (image 10).

Image 10

Note 5: For those coming from the world VMware is exactly how to enable the virtual appliance transport method.

In this last step, it is possible to configure which host to deploy the worker, which storage to use (image 11), which resources to assign (image 12), and which networks to operate on (images 13, 14, and 15 ).

Image 11

Image 12

Image 13

Image 14

Image 15

After checking that all configurations meet the desired ones (image 16), clicking finish completes the setup.

Image 16

In the next article, we will see how to configure Backup jobs.

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VMware Broadcom – Cosa fare ?

Broadcom's Acquisition of VMware Closed: What Now?

Broadcom ha dato una grande scossa al  2024.

Dagli ultimi rumors, sembra che il licensing della appena acquisita VMware verrà pesantemente rivisto.

Uno dei primi risultati è che molti clienti si chiedono cosa sia giusto fare.

Non ho la pretesa di conoscere la risposta corretta.

Ho effettuato alcune riflessioni che mi hanno portato a pensare a quattro futuri scenari  dei quali vi parlerò nel presente articolo.

  1. Il cliente continua la collaborazione con VMware/Broadcom.
  2. Il cliente sostituisce la tecnologia Hypervisor.
  3. Il cliente migra il proprio datacenter verso un Hyperscaler o  un Service Cloud Provider Locale.
  4. Il cliente trasforma il proprio Datacenter in un  “Datacenter as a Software”.

Per ogni scenario andrò ora a descrivere i macroscopici pro e contro.

1. Credo che il desiderato di Broadcom sia quello di semplificare il più possibile il licensing al fine di avere a portfolio soluzioni snelle e semplici da proporre.

Ciò implica eliminare alcune delle soluzioni ora presenti per concentrare le  energie unicamente su quelle a maggior rilevanza d’uso e guadagno.

Ora vi domando: Le soluzioni VMware ora presenti nel vostro datacenter sono quelle strategiche anche per Broadcom?

E ancora, siamo certi che l’ottimizzazione Broadcom non toccherà il dipartimento R&D di VMware che sviluppa le soluzioni divenute ora strategiche?

E non per ultimo, quale sarà il prezzo per poter rimanere nell’ecosistema Broadcom-VMware?

2. La prima sfida è quella di fornirsi di strumenti in grado di migrare le VM da una tecnologia HyperVisor all’altra.

La seconda è quella di proteggerle.

(NDR. Meno male che Veeam Backup & Replication permette di realizzare con un solo strumento entrambe le cose 🙂 )

Aggiungo, che bisognerà essere anche fortunati nello scegliere un vendor che non sia nel mirino di una nuova Broadcom, perché finire nello stesso giro dantesco sarebbe diabolico.

Pensare ad una tecnologia open-source based?

3. Il modello degli Hyper-Scaler è quello di fornire una serie di servizi  personalizzabili.

Spesso sento qualcuno affermare che esistano dei “costi nascosti”.  Non è vero, sono tutti ben illustrati, solo che capirli preventivamente è spesso molto difficile.

Avrà quindi particolare importanza la fase di creazione del progetto di migrazione che dovrà essere particolarmente accurata al fine di non ritrovarsi brutte sorprese  a fine mese .

4. Data Center as a Software è sinonimo di un’architettura Cloud Native.

Ciò implica riscrivere applicazioni e servizi in modo tale che siano  indipendenti dal HyperVisor.

E’ il nuovo approccio che negli anni diventerà un comune standard per scrivere codice.

Nel sito troverete una serie di articoli sul mondo Container e kubernetes ai quali vi rimando.

Tante domande, una sola risposta giusta?

No, credo che la migliore strategia sia quella di ricercare il miglior bilanciamento nell’utilizzo delle diverse opzioni disponibili, per arrivare a regime con la soluzione che si adatta al meglio alle necessità della vostra azienda in un corretto bilanciamento tra costi e benefici.

Ultima nota: Non dimenticate mai di aggiungere dei piani di formazione del personale perchè il training on the job in scenari particolarmente complessi NON è mai la via migliore per rendere sicuri i vostri sistemi ovunque questi siano

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XFS – Resize the immutable file system

In the Veeam Backup & Replication environment, it may be necessary to expand the allocated space of a Linux repository.

In my environment, there is an Ubuntu 22.04 server to which a second disk(dev/sdb) was added, formatted as xfs, and made available as mount point /mnt/backup/ .

The server is used in hardened repository mode (immutability)
(https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/hardened_repository.html?ver=120).

Let’s look at the simple procedure:

  • The packages to install are cloud-guest-utils and gdisk:
    “sudo apt -y install cloud-guest-utils gdisk”
  • To find out the structure of the file system use the command:
    “sudo lsblk”

      • The result shows the sizing, and mount point of Ubuntu server file system:
        NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
        sda 8:0 0 16G 0 disk
        ├─sda1 8:1 0 1M 0 part
        ├─sda2 8:2 0 1.8G 0 part /boot
        └─sda3 8:3 0 14.2G 0 part
         └─ubuntu–vg-ubuntu–lv 253:0 0 10G 0 lvm /
        sdb 8:16 0 100G 0 disk. └─sdb1 8:17 0 80G 0 part /mnt/backup
        sr0 11:0 1 1024M 0 rom
  • To find out if the file system has additional space to allocate:
    “sudo growpart /dev/sdb 1”

    • The result shows the item changed
      CHANGED: partition=1 start=2048 old: size=167770079 end=167772126 new: size=209713119 end=209715166
  • The final command that widens the file system is: sudo “xfs_growfs /mnt/backup/”
  • Check the result through the command already seen: “sudo lsblk”
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Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator – Creating the plan

We have arrived at the latest article on Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator version 5.

In this last part, we will concentrate on the efforts made previously and available on this site, to implement the Disaster Recovery Orchestration plan.

After logging in, the dashboard illustrates the status of the completed plans (image 1).

Picture 1

Note that, unlike the previous VDrO version, it is possible to filter planes based on “scopes” (image 2).

picture 2

A second and very useful novelty of version 5 is the presence of the inventory items (image 3), where the VM Groups are reported.

This option immediately verifies that in the chosen “scope” there is the group of VMs that will implement the DR plan.

Picture 3

Image 4 shows the details of the Orchestration plans already created.

Picture 4

Let’s see now how to create a plan:

From the manage, menu selects the New item (image 5).

Picture 5

And continuing with the wizard, we enter a name (image 6), the scope (image 7), and the type of floor (image 8).

Picture 6

Picture 7

Image 8

After adding the VM group to be orchestrated (image 9, 10 and 11)

Image 9

Image 10

Image 11

It is possible to customize the Recovery options, (for example whether to process the VMs in parallel or sequential mode) (image 12).

Image 12

Now I add the steps necessary for the realization of the plan (in the example the shutdown of the production VM was added as the first activity of the plan) (see images 13, 14, 15, and 16).

Image 13

Image 14

Image 15

Image 16

The wizard ends with:

  • The option to backup the VMs that were started during the DR plan (image 17)
  • The RTPO values that must be respected for the plan to be executed (image 18)
  • The choice of the language of the template to be used (image 19)
  • The time at which the reports will be automatically generated (image 20)
  • Whether to immediately create the readiness report (which verifies all components of the plan) (image 21)

image 17

image 18

image 19

image 20

image 21

Now you can test and start your orchestration plans later

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Veeam CDP – Manual Upgrade

In my lab, the Disaster Recovery site consists of a single ESX 7.01 host .

The DR environment is managed by a vCenter , located on the ESX 7.01 host and named vCenter-DR.

Last month Veeam Software released Veeam Backup & Replication version 11 update ( 11A).

Among the various improvements introduced, my attention was focused on the new drivers (called I / O filters ) of the CDP component.

If in the main cluster, the upgrade was simple, immediate, and painless (given the presence of multiple hosts under another vCenter), a complication related to the present architecture was generated for the Disaster Recovery site.

In fact, the update failed, as it was impossible to put the ESX 7.01 host in maintenance mode without actually turning off the vCenter-DR that managed it (see image 1).

Picture 1

Is it possible to overcome the obstacle without adding an additional ESX 7.01 Host to the cluster?

The procedure I followed is simple and uses the Vmware kb 2008939 ( https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2008939 ).

It costs two main stages:

  1. The copy of the Veeam CDP package to the ESX 7.01 host (veecdp-offline-bundle.7.0.0.zip)
  2. The installation through the command “esxcli software vib update -d /yourpath/veecdp-offline-bundle.7.0.0.zip”

Once the above operation has been completed correctly, from the VBR console it is necessary to repeat the driver update procedure as shown in the next images (2,3 and 4).

image 2

 

image 3

 

image 4

The check that guarantees that the procedure followed is correct is to create a CDP Replication Job, wait for it to finish without errors and for the failover procedure to be started.

Note 1 : The I / O filters update procedure is available in the manual on the following page: (https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/cdp_io_filter_remove.html?ver=110).

Note 2 : Before proceeding it is mandatory to compare yourself with Veeam support by opening a tiket ( my.veeam.com )

Soon

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Creativity, Gymnastics, and Gestures. The Italian way

( Semi-serious article on one of the characteristics of us Italians)

  1. Is the atavistic laziness of us Italians justifiable in practicing sports?
  2. At the same time, is it possible to make sense of our colorful way of communicating?

Presenting a single answer is difficult as the questions seem to deal with two distinct topics.

But is it really so?

Let’s start with the gymnastic-sports theme:

We Italians are a people notoriously not inclined to sport activities (but more to ” extra-sporting ” ones :-)).

If in Asian cultures the care of one’s spirit passes through gymnastic rituals such as Taijiquan in China, do we men and women with long boots have some gymnastic-spiritual discipline to move our muscles ?

Yes, let’s think of prayer, where the faithful exercise hamstrings, gluteus maximus, quadriceps, and calf when they kneel as a sign of devotion and obedience.

Also joining the palms of the hands, also they are trained forearms, biceps and triceps.

It is a discipline with a history of two millennia, the result of the thrust in the Christian faith which in recent decades with the waning of religious passion is less and less practiced.

The new times have become the stadiums that see 22 Semi-Gods playing football on Sunday.

From the stands, thousands of spectators celebrate with dances and shouts the result of 90 minutes , thus creating a new type of spiritual-gymnastics (Figure 1)

Figure 1

But the luminaries of the gymnastic sciences claim that any sporting activity must be practiced several times during the week.

Does Football “Help “?

Since every 3 days, there are games of every value, it would seem so.

The only drawback is that the cost/benefit ratio is economically so disadvantageous that this activity can not be counted as mass sports.

Note1: There are those who claim that getting up from the sofa while on TV their team scores the decisive goal is a gymnastic moment. This is not really true since:

  1. It is said that his team always wins matches. (we are not all fans of Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG, Real Madrid ………)
  2. The sporting gesture (click) is always minimized by the presence in the hands of beers, chips, and sandwiches…
  3. Monthly pay-TV subscriptions are often expensive (Dazn, Sky, TimVision …) and not suitable for all budgets.

Have we therefore lost the game with oriental cultures?

The genius Italica responds with all its strength by shouting NO!

For millennia we Italians have added to verbal communication a series of gymnastic movements that have become distinctive of our culture.

Let’s talk about the famous “Italian Gestures” that make the messages between the interlocutor’s clearer since they reinforce the nuance of the meaning.

Let’s think of the classic ” What do you want ” (figure 2)

Figure 2

which becomes almost a threat if the hands become two (figure 3)

Figure 3

There are thousands of them, a good initial collection is represented by figure 4:

Figure 4

Some are so funny and complete that they were brought back in a 2011 comic GAG by the late actor / teacher Joan Peter Sloan :

Now the crucial question:

Can gestures be a form of gymnastics capable of responding to daily movement needs?

If we assume that they are complete exercises (science does not help us here), then we need to know how many gestures are done daily.

According to theguardian, the number is equal to 250, thus confirming that ” the gesture world ” is a free gym!

It is also one technique so well developed , which can be used without to have in front of any interlocutor , (for example during a phone call with earphones) and which can be practiced in any place , (from own home to a public park ), on any transportation means , (from your own car to a bus or still in plane )

I imagine the new motto of Italian language schools for foreigners:

” Learn Italian, you will have to gain in health! “

Finally, we can now answer the initial questions, asserting that gestures are a type of gymnastics that also helps to improve one’s communication making it even more effective.

The gesture that I consider more ” fun “?

It is the one described so well by the actress Jessica Chastain in a 2018 interview in the program “ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ” per minute 4:00 . A beautiful performance. Thanks Jessica !