Doing IT Virtual

If you are interested in a quick tutorial on setting up DPM 2007 SP1 to perform Hyper-V server-level backups, also referred to as host-level backups, then check out my short video posted today on the VirtualizationAdmin.com site at http://www.virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/videos/microsoft-hyper-v-articles/installation-and-deployment/backing-up-hyper-v-host-using-dpm-2007.html.

Backup a Virtual Machine Using Windows Server Backup

1. Open the Windows Server Backup console from the Administrative Tools

2. In the Actions pane, select Backup Schedule.

3. On the Getting Started page of the Backup Schedule Wizard, click Next.

4. On the Select Backup Configuration page, select Custom and then click Next.

5. On the Select Backup Items page, select the volumes that contain the virtual machine files. By default, system volumes are selected.

6. After you complete your selections, click Next.

7. On the Specify Backup Time page, select Once A Day and specify the time to start the backup, or select More Than Once A Day and specify multiple times to perform backups.

8. After you complete your selections, click Next.

9. On the Select Destination Disk page, click Show All Available Disks, and then select a disk(s) to store your backups. The disk(s) will be dedicated to WSB.

10. After you complete your selections, click Next.

11. You may be presented with a warning that the selected disk(s) will be reformatted and any existing volumes and data on it will be deleted. Click Yes to confirm your disk selections.

12. On the Label Destination Disk page, click Next.

13. On the Confirmation page, review your selections, and click Finish.

14. In the Summary page, click Close.

Restore a Virtual Machine Using Windows Server Backup

1. Open the Windows Server Backup console.

2. In the Actions pane, select Recover.

3. On the Getting Started page of the Recovery Wizard, select This Server, and then click Next.

4. On the Select Backup Date page, select from the available backups, and then click Next.

5. On the Select Recovery Type page, select Applications, and then click Next.

6. After you complete your selections, click Next.

7. On the Select Application page, select Hyper-V.

8. Click View Details for a list of the virtual machines and Hyper-V configuration information that is captured in the backup.

9. Click OK, and then click Next.

10. On the Specify Recovery Options page, select Recover To Original Location if you want to use the source location or select Recover To Another Location if you do not want to use the source location.

11. After you complete your selection, click Next.

12. On the Confirmation page, review your selections, and then click Recover.

13. After you complete your selections, click Next.

14. Windows Server Backup begins the recovery process, and lists a status for each resource that it is recovering.

(This article is adapted from content included in the Microsoft Press Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Resource Kit)

Windows Server Backup (WSB) uses the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to provide backup and restore support for W2K8 volumes, folders, and files. In addition, WSB supports backup and restore operations for roles and applications that provide a VSS-compatible writer, including the Hyper-V role.

Installing Windows Server Backup

WSB is a Windows Server 2008 feature that is not installed by default. Install and configure WSB as follows to support Hyper-V backups:

1. Open the Server Manager, and select Features.

2. In the Features Summary, click Add Features.

3. In the Add Features Wizard, expand Windows Server Backup in the Features tree.

4. Select Windows Server Backup. You can optionally also select Command-Line Tools.

5. After you make your selections, click Next.

6. On the Confirm Installation Selections page, review your selections, and then click Install.

Windows Server 2008 installs the Windows Server Backup MMC, the Wbadmin backup command-line tool, and associated services. If you selected to also install the Command-Line Tools for Windows Server Backup, you can create and manage scheduled backups using Windows PowerShell scripts.

Configuring Windows Server Backup for Hyper-V Support

Before WSB can support Hyper-V, you must register the Hyper-V VSS Writer GUID in the registry.

Follow these steps to register the Hyper-V VSS Writer GUID in the registry using REGEDIT:

1. Open a command prompt using the Run As Administrator option.

2. At the command prompt, enter Regedit.

3. In the Registry Editor, locate the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WindowsServerBackup

4. If the key does not exist, right-click the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion key, and select New, then select Key.

5. Enter WindowsServerBackup as the name of the key, and press Enter.

6. Right-click the WindowsServerBackup key, select New, and then select Key.

7. Enter Application Support as the name of the key, and press Enter.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WindowsServerBackup\Application Support

8. Right-click the Application Support key, select New, and then select Key.

9. Enter {66841CD4-6DED-4F4B-8F17-FD23F8DDC3DE} as the name of the key, and press Enter.

You should now see HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WindowsServerBackup\Application Support\{66841CD4-6DED-4F4B-8F17-FD23F8DDC3DE}

10. Right-click the {66841CD4-6DED-4F4B-8F17-FD23F8DDC3DE} key, select new, then select String Value to create a REG_SZ string. Enter Application Identifier as the value name, and set the value to Hyper-V VSS Writer.

Use caution when you modify the registry. Corrupting the registry can cause system instability, as well as cause the operating system to be unable to boot.

(This article is adapted from content included in the Microsoft Press Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Resource Kit)