HP StorageWorks EBS Solutions Guide for HP Integrity Virtual Machine Backup

HP StorageWorks EBS Solutions Guide for HP Integrity Virtual Machine Backup Executive summary............................................................................................................................... 1 Audience ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Information not provided ...................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 2 HP Enterprise backup environment ..................................................................................................... 2 Virtual infrastructure ......................................................................................................................... 2 Virtual infrastructure components........................................................................................................ 2 HP Integrity VM Host..................................................................................................................... 2 HP Virtual Machine....................................................................................................................... 2 HP Virtual Server Environment ........................................................................................................ 2 Backup and recovery strategy with Integrity VM ...................................................................................... 3 Integration of tape in Integrity VM data protection processes................................................................. 4 Integrity VM host with a local or SAN tape device ........................................................................... 4 Virtual machine with a local or SAN tape device ............................................................................. 5 Off host backup server with a local or SAN tape device used as a dedicated media host ..................... 5 Integrity VM host raw disk LAN backup of VM................................................................................. 6 Virtual machine LAN backups ........................................................................................................ 7 Test environment........................................................................................................................... 8 Hardware.................................................................................................................................... 9 Data protection application/software ................................................................................................. 9 Detailed testing of methods ................................................................................................................. 10 A. Integrity VM host raw disk backups of a virtual machine with a local or SAN tape device .................. 10 B. Virtual machine file system backups with a local or SAN tape device ............................................... 14 C. Off host backup server with a local or SAN tape device used as dedicated media host ..................... 16 D. Integrity VM host raw disk LAN backups....................................................................................... 22 E. Virtual machine LAN backups with a dedicated physical media host ................................................ 23 Appendix ......................................................................................................................................... 24 Integrity VM host disaster recovery ................................................................................................... 24 For more information.......................................................................................................................... 24 Contact HP ....................................................................................................................................... 25 Executive summary This white paper provides technical information and best practices for planning or deploying HP Integrity Virtual Machines (Integrity VM) backup with HP StorageWorks tape libraries. This white paper is not designed to replace documentation supplied with individual solution components; it serves as an additional resource to aid the IT professionals responsible for planning an Integrity VM backup environment. This white paper contains planning information that can help when deploying an Integrity VM environment running on HP Integrity servers and HP StorageWorks storage solutions. Prior to reading this white paper, the reader should understand the architecture of the Integrity VM host and how it virtualizes the hardware. For information about HP Integrity Virtual Machines, see: http://www.hp.com/go/integrityvm. This white paper can also be found at http://www.hp.com/go/ebs. IMPORTANT: The best practices described in this white paper are offered as recommendations, not requirements. The implementation of these best practices has no impact on whether or not your system may be supported by HP. Some of these best practices may not apply to your particular environment. Audience The solutions contained in this white paper are intended for solutions architects, engineers, and project managers involved with HP StorageWorks tape libraries with virtualization solutions. The reader should be familiar with networking in a heterogeneous environment, virtualized infrastructures, and have a basic knowledge of Integrity VM, HP Integrity servers, HP-UX, HP StorageWorks products, and HP element managers. The reader should understand the architecture of an Integrity VM host and how this product is able to virtualize hardware as outlined in the Introduction to Integrity Virtual Machines, available at: http://docs.hp.com/en/vse.html. Information not provided This white paper does not provide information on the following: • Installing and configuring Integrity VM – for more information on installing and configuring Integrity VM, see the Integrity VM document titled HP Integrity Virtual Machines A.03.00 Installation, Configuration, and Administration at: http://docs.hp.com/en/vse.html. • Installing and configuring HP Integrity servers and HP StorageWorks tape libraries—for more indepth information, see the HP StorageWorks SAN design reference guide at: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bc/docs/Support/SupportManual/c00403562/c00403562.pdf and the HP StorageWorks EBS design guide at: http://www.hp.com/go/ebs. 1 Introduction A key component of an Enterprise Backup Solution (EBS), as envisioned by HP, is to maximize the use of shared resources and consolidation. This section provides more information on these concepts. HP Enterprise backup environment Implementing an Enterprise Backup Solution (EBS) can be challenging. HP understands that for any given Storage Area Network (SAN) environment there may be one or more vendor’s hardware and software present. Each of these components, including software, servers, interconnects, and target devices must work together. HP EBS is dedicated to providing thorough integration testing of industry standard, heterogeneous, and multi-vendor SAN environments. The output of this work can be found at http://www.hp.com/go/ebs in the HP StorageWorks Enterprise Backup Solution (EBS) Hardware/Software Compatibility Matrix, the HP StorageWorks Enterprise Backup Solution Design Guide, and the various software guides and white papers such as this one. Virtual infrastructure The primary benefit to virtualization may indeed be consolidation; however, a virtualized infrastructure can be beneficial in many other ways. For example, because an entire operating environment can be encapsulated in several files, that environment becomes easier to control, copy, distribute, and so on. If an organization virtualizes an operating system, its applications, configuration settings, and other desirable elements, that entire operating environment—known as a Virtual Machine (VM)—can be rolled out anywhere in the organization to maintain business continuity. Virtual infrastructure components HP Integrity VM Host The Integrity VM host is an HP-UX server on which the Integrity VM software is installed for virtual portioning, consolidating, and managing computing resources. Integrity VM software allows multiple, unmodified operating systems and their applications to run in virtual machines that share physical resources. HP Virtual Machine HP Virtual Machines (HPVM) run on Integrity VM hosts and emulate various servers based on different operating systems (HP-UX, Windows, and Linux). Each virtual machine represents a complete system with processors, memory, networking, storage, and BIOS. HP Virtual Server Environment The HP Virtual Server Environment (VSE) for HP Integrity provides an automated infrastructure that can adapt in seconds with mission-critical reliability. HP VSE allows you to optimize server utilization in real time by creating virtual servers that can automatically grow and shrink based on business priorities and service-level objectives. To learn more about VSE please go to http://www.hp.com/go/vse. 2 Backup and recovery strategy with Integrity VM Integrity VM adds levels of complexity to existing backup and recovery strategies which lead to questions that should be answered prior to choosing the correct strategy (there may be more questions, depending on a particular environment). The types of questions that should be asked are: • Is file-level recovery required? • Is there application data to back up, such as a database? • Can the application on the VM be shut down during backup? • Is there a backup window? • Is there a locally or SAN attached tape device? • Are there large numbers of VMs to back up? Table 1 shows which backup method to use when answering these questions: Table 1 Backup method to use A. Integrity VM host raw disk backups of a virtual machine with a local or SAN tape device Requires filelevel recovery Database to back up Backup windows required Locally/SAN attached tape drive Large number of VMs to back up No Yes (cold) Yes B. Virtual machine file system backups with a local or SAN tape device Yes Yes (hot/cold) Yes C. Off host backup server with a local or SAN tape device used as dedicated media host No Yes (cold) No D. Integrity VM host raw disk LAN backups E. Virtual machine LAN backups with a dedicated physical media host Yes Yes (hot/cold) Yes No Yes (cold) Yes Yes Yes No No No Not suggested Not suggested Yes Not suggested Not suggested 3 Integration of tape in Integrity VM data protection processes Some common methods for integrating tape devices into the Integrity VM data protection process are: Integrity VM host with a local or SAN tape device With a local or SAN tape drive attached to an Integrity VM host, the following backup type is recommended: Integrity VM host raw disk backup of VM: • Shutdown the virtual machine located on the raw disk. • Back up raw device containing the virtual machine. Figure 1 is an example of Integrity VM host with a local or SAN tape device: Figure 1 Integrity VM host with a local tape device 4 Virtual machine with a local or SAN tape device With a local or SAN tape drive presented to a virtual machine, the following backup type is recommended: Regular file system backups—Backups are written directly to the local or SAN tape drive. Figure 2 is an example of a virtual machine with a local or SAN tape device: Figure 2 Virtual machine with a local tape device Off host backup server with a local or SAN tape device used as a dedicated media host With a dedicated physical media host, the following backup type is recommended: Integrity VM host split mirror/snapshot backup of VM—Backups are written to the off host tape device by using hardware split mirror or snapshot capabilities: • Shutdown the virtual machine located on the raw disk. • Split the mirror or take a snapshot of the Integrity VM host raw disk and present to the off host backup server. • Start up the virtual machine located on the raw disk. • Back up the mirror or snapshot. See Figure 5 on page 8 for an example of an off host backup server environment. 5 Integrity VM host raw disk LAN backup of VM Integrity VM host disk backups of a VM can be accomplished by sending the data over the LAN to a media host. Follow the same procedure as an Integrity VM host raw disk backup of VM to a local or SAN tape device but select a remote media host. Backup data will be sent over the LAN to the media host. Figure 3 is an example of a virtual disk LAN backup: Figure 3 Integrity VM host raw disk LAN backup of VM 6 Virtual machine LAN backups Virtual machine file system backups can be accomplished by sending data over the LAN to a media host. Figure 4 is an example of a virtual machine LAN backup: Figure 4 Virtual machine LAN backup 7 Test environment To test the methods listed above, an environment was created that included the latest version of Integrity VM installed on an HP-UX 11.23 server and HP-UX 11.23 off host media server, and virtual machines running Windows and HP-UX. Figure 5 shows the topology layout of the test environment. Figure 5 Virtual machine raw disk split mirror backup environment 8 Hardware Table 2 shows the operating systems and HBAs used in the test environment. Table 2 Operating systems and HBAs in the test environment Model HP Integrity rx2660 HP Integrity rx2660 HP Integrity rx2600 Operating system HP-UX 11.23 (Integrity VM host) HP-UX 11.23 (Integrity VM host) HP-UX 11.23 (off host media server) HBA AB378A AB378A A6826A Table 3 shows the tape libraries and devices used in the test environment. Table 3 Tape libraries and devices used in test environment HP StorageWorks model MSL6000 VLS6000 HP tape drives/quantity Ultrium 460/2 Virtual Ultrium 960/2 The virtual machine images used in the test environment resided on HP StorageWorks EVA and HP StorageWorks XP storage arrays. Data protection application/software Table 4 shows the disk storage arrays and data protection software used in the test environment. Table 4 Software used in test environment Software/Application HP Data Protector 6.0 RAID Manager 01.20.06 RAID Manager Library 01.12.04 Servers installed on Integrity VM host, virtual machines, off host backup server Integrity VM host, off host backup server Integrity VM host, off host backup server 9 Detailed testing of methods A. Integrity VM host raw disk backups of a virtual machine with a local or SAN tape device An Integrity VM host may have backup application media host software installed. Configured this way, the Integrity VM host can perform backups and restores to a local or SAN tape device. An HP test environment was set up to test this type of configuration. The HP Data Protector Disk and Media Agents were installed on the Integrity VM host using an HPUX Data Protector installation server. An HP Data Protector backup specification was created for the Integrity VM host as follows: • A SAN attached tape device was selected as the backup destination. • A pre-processing script to shutdown the VM prior to performing the backup and a postprocessing script to start the virtual machine after performing the backup were created. The "On client" for the pre-exec and post-exec scripts was set to the Integrity VM host. The vm_shutdown.sh script was created in the /opt/omni/lbin folder on the Integrity VM host. Two shutdown methods were tested: 1. Shutdown using the hpvmstop utility on the Integrity VM host. This method syncs the server disks and does a quick shutdown. Server applications are not properly shutdown using this method. The vm_shutdown.sh script was created with the following contents: #!/bin/sh VirtualMachine=$1 /opt/hpvm/bin/hpvmstop -P $VirtualMachine -g -Q 10 Notes: • The hpvmstop -g option performs a virtual machine shutdown and power off. • The hpvmstop -Q option omits the normal confirmation dialog. 2. Shutdown using the UNIX shutdown utility on the virtual machine. This method does a graceful shutdown of the server by stopping all applications prior to shutdown. The vm_shutdown.sh script was created with the following contents: #!/bin/sh VirtualMachine=$1 /bin/remsh $VirtualMachine ‘/usr/sbin/shutdown -y -h 120’ /bin/sleep 60 exit 0 Notes: • This method requires host equivalence of the Integrity VM host on the virtual machine by creating a .rhosts file in the root folder of the virtual machine with the Integrity VM host name added to the file. • The shutdown -h option performs a virtual machine shutdown and power off. • The shutdown -y option omits the normal confirmation dialog. • The shutdown 120 parameter causes the virtual machine to give logged in users a 120 second warning prior to server shutdown. This parameter may be modified according to local environment requirements. • The sleep 60 command is required to give the virtual machine time to sync disks prior to completing the server shutdown. If this is omitted, Data Protector may continue the backup job prior to the virtual machine shutdown completion. This parameter may be modified according local environment requirements. The vm_startup.sh script was created in the /opt/omni/lbin folder of the Integrity VM host with the following contents (the hpvmstart -Q option omits the normal confirmation dialog): #!/bin/sh VirtualMachine=$1 /opt/hpvm/bin/hpvmstart -P $VirtualMachine –Q • The Integrity VM host raw device on which the virtual machine resides was specified as the backup source. 11 Backups were run using the backup specification as follows: • The virtual machine was shutdown and powered off. • The raw disk device was backed up to a SAN tape device. • The virtual machine was powered on and booted. Restores were run using the Integrity VM host to read the HP Data Protector backup image directly from the SAN tape device. To restore a virtual machine from a raw disk image, the following was performed: • The virtual machine was powered off. • The entire virtual machine raw disk image was recovered to the point in time of the backup. • The virtual machine was powered on and booted. Advantages of Integrity VM host SAN tape device virtual machine raw disk backup and restore: • Point-in-time image—A point-in-time image allows a virtual machine to be easily restored to a known good point in time. • Backup application not needed on virtual machine—Because the raw disk image backup is run by the Integrity VM host, a backup application does not have to be installed and maintained on the virtual machine. • Virtual Machine image can be used as a template—The point-in-time image can easily be used as a template for creating other virtual machines. Disadvantages of Integrity VM host server SAN tape device virtual machine raw disk backup and restore: • File-level backup and restore is not possible—The raw disk image is a complete image of a virtual machine at a point in time. The entire virtual machine must be recovered to the point in time of the image when being restored. 12 • Heavy use of Integrity VM host resources—Backing up multiple virtual machine raw disk images on the same Integrity VM host in parallel can use a lot of Integrity VM host resources. • Downtime needed—Virtual machine is inaccessible during the backup. 13 B. Virtual machine file system backups with a local or SAN tape device Virtual machines running on an Integrity VM host may have backup application media host software installed, just as any other server. Configured this way, the virtual machines can perform backups and restores to a local or SAN tape device. An HP test environment was set up to test this type of configuration. • The HP Data Protector Disk and Media Agents were installed on the virtual machine using an HP Data Protector installation server. • A SAN tape device was attached to the virtual machine by doing the following on the Integrity VM host: o sctl device files were created on the Integrity VM host by running: # hpvmdevmgmt –I Note: The sctl devices only need to be created once, so hpvmdevmgmt -I should only be executed one time after new tape devices are added to the Integrity VM host. o A tape device was attached to the virtual machine by running the following on the Integrity VM host (the virtual machine host name was hpuxvm1 and the sctl device attached was c0t0d1): # hpvmmodify -P hpuxvm1 -a tape:scsi::attach:/dev/rscsi/c0t0d1 Note: A tape device may only be attached to a single virtual machine at a time on a specific Integrity VM host. • A backup specification was created on the HP Data Protector Cell Manager for running file system backups of the virtual machine. The backup specification was created as a normal file system backup with the virtual machine SAN tape device selected as the destination. 14 • Backups were run using HP Data Protector to send data from the virtual machine directly to the SAN tape device. • Restores were run using HP Data Protector on the virtual machine to read data directly from the SAN tape device. Advantages of virtual machine local tape device backup and restore: • Frees LAN for other purposes—Data is written directly to a local or SAN tape device so the LAN is not overburdened. • No dependency on an external media host—The virtual machine acts as its own media host. • No downtime—HP Data Protector online integration agents can be used as usual. Disadvantages of virtual machine local tape device backup and restore: • Heavy use of Integrity VM host resources—Backing up virtual machines to local or SAN tape devices can use a lot of Integrity VM host resources. • No tape device sharing—Only one virtual machine may use the local or SAN tape device. 15 C. Off host backup server with a local or SAN tape device used as dedicated media host HP Business Copy XP provides a way to take a copy of a Integrity VM host raw disk containing a virtual machine and present the copy to an off host server, which can back up the data to a local or SAN tape device. Using this method, virtual machine backups run with minimal impact on the virtual machine and Integrity VM host. When using this method only full-image backup is available for all virtual machines. An HP test environment was set up to test this type of configuration. • The HP Data Protector Disk, Media, and XP Agents were installed on the Integrity VM host and off host backup server using an installation server. • LDEVS to be used as business copy pairs were presented to the off host backup server using the Command View XP AE web-based GUI on the Command View XP AE server. • Business copy pairs were created on the HP StorageWorks XP disk array by using the Command View XP AE web-based GUI. Note: For more information on configuring business copy pairs on the HP StorageWorks XP disk array, see the HP StorageWorks Business Copy XP User Guide found at http://hp.com/go/XP (click HP StorageWorks Disk Array Family Software > HP StorageWorks XP Business Copy Software > Related Products > Technical documentation). 16 • XP RAID Manager and RAID Manager Library were installed and configured on the Integrity VM host and the off host backup server. • The XP RAID Manager HORCM configuration file was setup to allow XP RAID Manager to control the business copy LDEVS on which the virtual machines reside. Note: For more information on installing and configuring XP RAID Manager and RAID Manager Library, see the HP StorageWorks XP RAID Manager User Guide found at http://hp.com/go/XP (click HP StorageWorks Disk Array Family Software > HP StorageWorks XP Business Copy Software > Related Products > Technical documentation). • A HP Data Protector backup specification was configured as follows: 1. A new backup specification was created with a backup type of Split mirror backup and a subtype of HP StorageWorks XP. 2. The HP StorageWorks XP integration options were selected specifying the Integrity VM host as the Application system and the off host backup server as the Backup system. 17 3. In the options section under HP StorageWorks XP Application options: o A Stop the application script was setup to shutdown and power off the VM prior to splitting the business copy of the VM raw disk (the vm_shutdown.sh script was the same script used for the Integrity VM host raw disk backups of a virtual machine with a local or SAN tape device). A Restart the application script was setup to power on and boot the VM after splitting the business copy of the VM raw disk (the vm_startup.sh script was the same script used for the Integrity VM host raw disk backups of a virtual machine with a local or SAN tape device). o 18 4. A backup object was created to specify the VM raw disk to split the mirror and present the mirror to the off host backup server for disk image backup. The flow chart in Figure 6 illustrates the HP Data Protector HPVM business copy off host backup process. 19 Figure 6 HPVM business copy backup with HP Data Protector 20 To restore a full-image off host backup of a virtual machine, the following was performed: • The virtual machine was powered off. • HP Data Protector was used to restore the full-image backup to the virtual machine raw disk device residing on the Integrity VM host. • The virtual machine was powered on and booted. Advantages of a dedicated off host backup server: • Frees Integrity VM host for other purposes—The data backup is performed by an off host, so the Integrity VM host is free to perform other tasks. • HP Data Protector is not required on the virtual machine—The backups are run on the off host, and restores are run on the Integrity VM host, so HP Data Protector is not required on the virtual machine. Disadvantages of a dedicated off host backup server: • Requires a dedicated backup server—A dedicated backup server must be available for the virtual machine backups. • Only supports full-image backups and restores. • Downtime needed—Virtual machine is inaccessible while splitting the mirror disk prior to backup. 21 D. Integrity VM host raw disk LAN backups An Integrity VM host without a local or SAN tape device may be set up to do backups over the LAN to a media host. Configured this way, Integrity VM host can perform backups and restores to a remote tape device. An HP test environment was set up to test this type of configuration. In the HP test environment, this type of backup was set up much the same as the “Integrity VM host raw disk backups of VM with a local or SAN tape device” previously covered in this document in which the virtual machine is shutdown during the backup using a pre-processing script. The two changes in the setup for LAN backup are: • Only the HP Data Protector Disk Agent is installed on the Integrity VM host. • In the HP Data Protector backup specification, a remote media host tape device is selected for the backup. Advantages of Integrity VM host raw disk LAN backup and restore: • Point-in-time image—A point-in-time image allows a virtual machine to be easily restored to a known good point in time. • Backup application not needed on virtual machine—Because the raw disk image backup is run by the Integrity VM host a backup application does not have to be installed and maintained on the virtual machine. • Local tape device not needed on Integrity VM host. Disadvantages of virtual disk LAN backup and restore: • File-level backup and restore is not possible: The image is a complete image of a virtual machine at a point in time. The entire virtual machine must be recovered to the point in time of the image when being restored. • Heavy use of Integrity VM host resources—Backing up virtual machines to remote tape devices can use a lot of Integrity VM host resources. • Remote media host is required—There must be a remote media host to send data to. • Heavy LAN usage—A dedicated LAN should be configured for this type of backup for good data throughput. • Downtime needed—Virtual machine is completely inaccessible during the backup. 22 E. Virtual machine LAN backups with a dedicated physical media host A virtual machine without a local or SAN tape device may be set up to do backups over the LAN to a media host. Configured this way, the virtual machine can perform backups and restores to a remote tape device. An HP test environment was set up to test this type of configuration. • The HP Data Protector Disk Agent was installed on each virtual machine using an HP Data Protector installation server following the standard HP Data Protector installation server procedures. • Backup specifications were created on the HP Data Protector Cell Manager for running file system backups of each virtual machine. The backup specifications were created as normal file system backup specifications with the media host tape library devices selected as the destination. • Backups were run by sending data from the virtual machine over the LAN to the media host, which then wrote the data to a tape device. • Restores were run using the media host to read data from the tape device, which then sent the data over the LAN to the virtual machine. Advantages of virtual machine LAN backup and restore: • Simple setup—There are no add-ons to install and configure, so it is the same as setting up any LAN client. • File-level backup and restore. • Any HP Data Protector media host can be used—Any HP Data Protector host in the cell that is running a Media Agent can be used for writing the data to a tape device. Disadvantages of virtual machine LAN backup and restore: • Data must be sent over the LAN—Configurations with large amounts of data may result in slow backups and restores. • Heavy use of Integrity VM host resources—Care must be taken to set up backup specifications so that multiple virtual machines on the same Integrity VM host are not running backups and/or restores in parallel due to the Integrity VM host I/O resources required. 23 Appendix Integrity VM host disaster recovery The Integrity VM host is a standard HP-UX server. Care should be taken for disaster recovery just as would be done with any HP-UX server. Once the Integrity VM host has been restored (including the Integrity VM configuration) the virtual machines residing on the Integrity VM host can be recovered from a full-image raw disk backup that was taken per one of the methods described previously in this document. For more information For more information about Enterprise Backup Solutions (EBS), see: http://www.hp.com/go/ebs For information on HP Data Protector software, see: http://www.hp.com/go/dataprotector HP StorageWorks SAN design reference guide: http://h18006.www1.hp.com/storage/saninfrastructure/index.html For information on the HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Array (EVA), see: http://h18006.www1.hp.com/storage/arraysystems.html For information on HP StorageWorks XP arrays, see: http://h18006.www1.hp.com/storage/xparrays.html For information on the HP StorageWorks Command View EVA, see: http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storage/software/cmdvieweva/index.html For more information on HP StorageWorks Command View XP, see: http://www.hp.com/products1/storage/products/disk_arrays/xpstoragesw/commandview/index.html To learn more about HP Integrity Virtual Machines, see: http://www.hp.com/go/integrityvm To access HP Integrity Virtual Machine and HP Virtual Server Environment documentation, see: http://docs.hp.com/en/vse.html 24 Contact HP For worldwide technical support, telephone numbers are listed on the HP support website at: http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/contact_us.html © 2008 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. 4AA1-7075ENW, January 2008