Configuring a VMware backup policy to protect SQL Server
Through a VMware backup policy, NetBackup can create full application-consistent backups of the SQL Server databases that reside on a virtual machine. Optionally you can use NetBackup Accelerator. VMware policies let you exclude certain virtual disks from the VMware backup. If you want to exclude specific SQL Server components, use a MS-SQL-Server policy.
To truncate logs, you must first perform a full VMware backup without log truncation. When this backup is complete, then enable log truncation in the policy.
Note that before you create a policy, you must perform additional configuration requirements.
See About configuring NetBackup for VMware backups that protect SQL Server.
More information on Accelerator is available:
See the NetBackup Administrator's Guide, Volume I.
To configure a VMware backup policy to protect SQL Server
- On the left, select Protection > Policies.
- Add a new policy or open the policy that you want to edit.
- Select the Attributes tab.
From the Policy type list, select VMware.
In the Policy storage list, select a disk storage unit.
If you want to use NetBackup Accelerator, select a supported storage unit type. The NetBackup device mapping files list all supported storage types.
If you want to use NetBackup Accelerator, select Use Accelerator.
Accelerator uses the initial full backup to establish a baseline. Any subsequent backups that are performed with Accelerator can run significantly faster. You may want to create an additional policy schedule that enables the Accelerator forced rescan option. This option establishes a new baseline for the next Accelerator backup.
Perform block-level incremental backups is automatically selected and grayed out. On the VMware tab, the Enable block-level incremental backup option is also selected and grayed out.
- On the Schedules tab, create a schedule for full backups.
- On the Clients tab, do the following:
Select Select automatically through VMware intelligent policy query.
From the NetBackup host to perform automatic virtual machine selection list, select the host you want to use.
Use the Query builder to create the rules that select the virtual machines you want to back up.
- On the VMware tab:
Select the Primary VM identifier to use to catalog the backups.
Select Enable file recovery from VM backup.
Locate Application protection and select Microsoft SQL Server.
This option allows recovery of the databases from the virtual machine backups. If this option is disabled, you can recover the entire virtual machine from the backup, but you cannot recover the databases individually.
Do not enable Truncate logs at this time. You must first perform a full backup without log truncation, described later in this procedure.
(Conditional) Select Enable T-SQL snapshots.
This snapshot type creates a full SQL Server backup (not copy-only) that can be used as a basis for SQL Server incremental and transaction log backups. For this snapshot type, the only valid option for snapshot handling is Stop the backup if any snapshots exist, which is automatically selected.
Note: T-SQL snapshots were added with SQL Server 2022 and are strongly recommended for systems with SQL Server 2022 or later. This type of snapshot is not supported with SQL Server 2019 and earlier.
- If you want to exclude certain disks from the VMware backup, select the Exclude disks tab.
NetBackup excludes those disks from the VMware backup that protects SQL Server. Be sure that any disks that you exclude do not contain database data.
- Select Save to save the policy.
If you do not want to truncate transaction logs, no further action is necessary.
If you want to truncate transaction logs, continue with step 9.
- Perform a full backup without log truncation.
When the backup completes, open the policy that you created in step 2.
- Select the VMware tab.
- Locate Application protection and select Microsoft SQL Server. Then select Truncate logs.
For SQL Server, this option truncates the transaction logs when the VMware snapshot of the virtual machine is complete.
- Select Save to save the policy.
- Perform a full VMware backup.