BackupEDGE 3.0 VMware Compatibility - Linux
BackupEDGE can be used to backup individual Linux guest operating systems on VMware hosts, both to network and to physical devices attached to guests through VMware. See "Summary - Resources" below for a complete list.
A host-attached physical device can only be logically attached to one powered-on guest operating system at a time. One BackupEDGE license is required for each virtual guest to be protected.
Compatibility tests were all conducted under VMware ESXi 4.1U1 and 4.1U2. As some host and guest settings products optimal results, please see the "Best Practices" settings for your particular guest. Only these setting are supported for use with BackupEDGE.
Device Attachment Instructions:
See "Best Practices" below. All devices should be configured as "SCSI Devices" in VMware.
- Power off the guest.
- Click "Edit Machine Settings"
- Click "Add".
- In "Add Hardware", select "SCSI Device" and click "Next".
- In the "Connections" section, select the desired tape, library, optical or REV device in the drop down window.
- In the "Virtual Device Node" section, select the desired controller and SCSI ID from the drop down window. For instance, "SCSI (0:2)" would mean SCSI controller 0, SCSI ID 2. Click "Next", then "Finish".
- Power up the Linux guest. Resources will be detected automatically by the operating system.
- Insert Media and run the BackupEDGE autodetector to find the new Resource(s).
Summary - Resources
Network Backups
| Type | Supported | Notes |
| FTP Backups |  |
Works with any NIC type Make RecoverEDGE ISO Image, copy to PC or Datastore Folder. |
| Amazon S3 Backups | |
FTP and S3 Backups work well under VMware. See "Best Practices" below for recommended NIC types for Linux guests.
Host-Connected Devices
| Type / Physical Connection | Logical Connection (How guest sees device) |
Supported | Notes |
| SCSI / SAS Tape Drive | SCSI / SAS | |
Full Read/Write Support. |
| SCSI / SAS Tape Library | SCSI / SAS | |
Full Read/Write Support. |
| SATA Optical (Blu-ray Disc / CD / DVD) | SCSI / SAS | |
Full Read/Write Support when mapped as a logical SCSI device. |
| USB Optical (Blu-ray Disc / CD / DVD) | SCSI / SAS | |
Full Read/Write Support when mapped as a logical SCSI device. |
| USB REV / REV Changer | SCSI / SAS | |
Drive and changer mapped as separate logical SCSI devices. |
| SATA / IDE Optical (Blu-ray Disc / CD / DVD) | IDE | Limited | Most Linux OSes see this as a Read-Only Device |
Microlite highly recommends that all devices connected to a phyical host, no matter what the connection type, be mapped to Linux guests as logical SCSI devices. This provides full read/write capability.
vSphere Client (PC) Connected Devices
| Type / Physical Connection | Logical Connection (How guest sees device) |
Supported | Notes |
| SATA Optical (Blu-ray Disc / CD / DVD) | IDE | Limited | Full Read/Write Support for CD / DVD. Blu-ray Disc write tests failed. |
| USB Optical (Blu-ray Disc / CD / DVD) | IDE | Limited | Full Read/Write Support for CD / DVD. Blu-ray Disc write tests failed. |
VMware creates a virtual “placeholder” CDROM for times when no physical CDROM is attached. Leave this as the primary CDROM. Set to IDE 0:0 (primary master) and attach as necessary. The placeholder drive can be mapped to read the physical CD / DVD / Blu-ray disc drive in your PC, or a local or datastore-based ISO image, by the vSphere client.
When you want to write to optical devices it is best to attach them as mapped SCSI devices, which will make them appear as the second CDROM device.
Best Practices - Review
VMware works by hiding all aspects of the physical machine from the guest OS.
All VMware guest Network Interface Cards (NICs) are mapped to one of three logical NICs.
| Intel E1000 Series | AMD PCNet (AKA Flexible) |
VMXNET |
| Hardware Emulation | Hardware Emulation | Paravirtualized Driver |
All Host Adapters are mapped to one of four logical host adapters.
| BusLogic SCSI | LSI Logic SCSI | LSI Logic SAS | PVSCSI |
| Legacy Emulation | Legacy Emulation | Emulation | Paravirtualized |
Best Practices - VMware Linux Guests
Network Interface Cards (NICs)
- If the operating system supports VMware paravirtualized NIC drivers, the VMXNET 3 or later NIC mode and driver should be used. This driver is usually installed via VMware Tools, but in some newer distributions it is included in the base operating system.
- If not (1), then the Intel E1000 NIC emulation mode and driver should be used.
- In legacy instances only, the AMD PCNet, also known as the "Flexible", emulation mode and driver should be used.
Host Adapters (HAs)
- If the operating system supports VMware paravirtualized HA drivers, the PVSCSI HA mode and driver should be used. This driver is usually installed via VMware Tools, but in some newer distributions it is included in the base operating system.
- If not (1), then the LSI SAS emulation mode and driver should be used.
- In legacy instances only, the LSI SCSI or BusLogic SCSI modes should be used. However, although they may work, these are not officially supported for BackupEDGE hardware resources.
The primary hard drive may also be set to IDE. This imposes other possible operating system performance and size limitiations and is not highly recommended. If used, the additional storage resources should use a logical Host Adapter as listed above.