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How to migrate VMware backup proxy from CentOS to new Ubuntu proxy
How to migrate VMware backup proxy from CentOS to new Ubuntu proxy

Migrate VMware backup proxy from CentOS to new Ubuntu proxy

Updated over a month ago

Prerequisites

Ensure you meet the required prerequisites. For more information, see Prerequisites to install the backup proxy.

  • When upgrading from CentOS to a new Ubuntu-based proxy, ensure that your proxy pool includes at least one Ubuntu-based proxy running (version 7.x.x).

    If one is not available, you can deploy an Ubuntu-based proxy in the pool. After it is set up, you can deploy additional proxies in the same pool using the 'Deploy Additional Proxies' option.
    ​

    📝 Note

    • This is applicable for every individual proxy pool.

    • If you do not have a previously deployed proxy, you can deploy a new proxy using the following methods:

      • Druva Proxy Deployer. For more information, see article.

      • OVA deployment. For more information, see article.
        ​

  • To migrate an existing CentOS-based proxy to the new Ubuntu proxy, make sure the existing proxy is connected. In this case, the Connection status to vCenter column status is connected (Green).

Ensure you have the following information:

  • vCenter credentials

  • Web proxy credentials (If you use a Web proxy in your environment)

  • IP settings

  • Existing VMware proxy credentials (if any). The default username is root, and the default password is druvaphoenix.

Procedure

Step 1: Deploy an Ubuntu-based backup proxy

Perform the following:

  1. Log in to the Management Console.

  2. From the top menu bar, select your organization if organizations are enabled.

  3. Click Protect > VMware.

  4. The All vCenters/ESXi Hosts page appears that lists all the registered vCenter/hypervisors.

  5. You can either select the registered vCenter/ESXi host from the card view or list view or select it from the vCenter/ESXi host list in the left navigation pane.

  6. In the left pane, click Backup Proxies.

  7. Click Deploy Proxies.

    1_updated.png

  8. Select the datacenter where you want to deploy the backup proxy.
    ​

    2_updated.png

  9. Select the existing backup proxy pool.

  10. Click Add Proxy and provide the following details.

    • Name: Enter the name of the backup proxy. Ensure that the name is not used by another backup proxy. Also, ensure that the name does not use special characters:

    • ESXi Host: Select the ESXi host.

    • Datastore: Select the datastore. Ensure that the datastore has at least 110 GB of free space.

      📝 Note
      ​
      ​ Click Add Proxy to add more proxies.

      3_updated.png

  11. Click Next.

  12. Provide the Network settings information:

    4_updated.png

    • Static IP:

      Update the following details:

      • IP address - Mandatory

      • Netmask - Mandatory

      • Gateway - Mandatory

      • VM Network - Mandatory (Select network from existing list)

      • Primary DNS - Mandatory

      • Secondary DNS - Optional
        ​
        If you are adding NIC 2 (Recommended for DMZ Environments), update the following details:

        • IP address - Mandatory

        • Netmask - Mandatory

        • Default gateway - Optional

        • VM Network - Mandatory (Select network from existing list)

        • Primary DNS - Optional

        • Secondary DNS - Optional
          ​

          5_updated.png

    • DHCP:
      Select VM Network from an existing list of networks.

      The IP address for a VM is dynamically assigned.

      6_updated.png

    • Web Proxy:
      Select this option if you are using a web proxy in your environment.

      • Choose authentication type:

        • None: Select for unauthenticated proxy.

        • Basic

        • Kerberos
          ​

      • If you select Kerberos authentication method, provide the following details:

        • Enter KDC server name: Provide the FQDN of the Key Distribution Center (KDC) server.

        • Enter KDC user name: Provide a user name that the KDC can authenticate.

        • Enter KDC Password: Provide the password of the user entered in the KDC user name field.

        • Enter KDC port: Provide the KDC port.

        • Enter FQDN of DNS Server Name: Provide the FQDN of the DNS server.

        • Enter DNS Server User Name: Provide a DNS server user name to let the backup proxy virtual machine use the domain you provided in the DNS Server Name field.

        • Enter DNS Server User Password: Provide the password of the user entered in the DNS Server User Name field.
          ​

          📝 Note
          ​
          ​ Ensure that the FQDNs of the KDC, DNS server, and the web proxy host resolve to the appropriate servers. If the FQDNs do not resolve, add the FQDNs and the respective IP addresses in the /etc/hosts file of the backup proxy virtual machine.​​​​

    • Proxy Type: Druva supports the following proxy types:

      • http

      • socks4

      • socks5

    • Proxy Server IP: Valid IP of proxy server.

    • Proxy Port: Respective proxy port number.

    • Username: Valid proxy username.

    • Password: Valid proxy password.
      ​

  13. Click Deploy Now.
    You can see the status of the deployment of backup proxy on the All Jobs page. Click the Backup Proxy Deployment job to see the deployment status of each backup proxy.
    ​

    8_updated.png

📝 Note
​
​ If the configuration during deployment fails, the virtual machine is powered-off.

Step 2: Verify the configuration

The proxy/proxies deployed in Step 1 have Druva default configuration.
If you have changed any default proxy settings in the existing backup proxy (version 6.3.2-359254 or earlier), you can verify these settings and apply the same to the newly deployed VM backup proxy.

Verify the following VM and Druva-specific configurations:

VM configuration

To check the VM settings in an existing proxy (version 6.3.2-359254 or earlier), see article.

Follow the quick steps:

  1. Go to the VMware console.

  2. Click on your proxy VM.

  3. Select Actions and click Edit Settings to check the VM configuration.

  4. To change the settings, power off the VM and click Edit Settings.

  5. Apply the settings to the newly deployed proxy.

Druva-specific configuration

For VMware backup proxy with version prior to 7.0.0, Druva-specific configurations are present in the Phoenix.cfg file at /etc/Phoenix/VMWARE/Phoenix.cfg.

However, for VMware proxy version 7.0.0 and later Druva-specific configurations are present in the VMwareConfig.yaml file located at /etc/Druva/EnterpriseWorkloads/vmware/VMwareConfig.yaml.

Compare the configuration file in the existing proxy with the configuration file in the newly deployed proxy, and then replace only the following parameters if they are different (ignore all other parameters).

  • VM_MAX_CONCURRENT_BACKUPS or vm_max_concurrent_backups: Use this parameter to control the number of concurrent backup jobs running on the proxy.

  • VMWARE_EXCLUDE_FILTER or vmware_exclude_filter: Set the value to 'True' if you want to exclude the default files, i.e., pagefile.sys and swap partition.

  • _VM_BACKUP_TRANSPORT_MODE or _vm_backup_tranport_mode: Set a value to override the transport mode at the time of backup. For example, if you want to use ‘ nbd,’ then set the value of the transport mode in Phoenix.cfg to ‘ nbd.’

  • _VM_RESTORE_TRANSPORT_MODE or _vm_restore_transport_mode: Set a value to override the transport mode at the time of restore. For example, if you want to use ‘ nbd,’ then set the value of the transport mode in Phoenix.cfg to ‘ nbd.’

  • _VM_BACKUP_BLOCK_SIZE or vm_backup_block_size: Specify the maximum chunk size that will be uploaded in a single call. It should be a multiple of 256 KB and a maximum of 4 MB.

  • VM_PROXY_PRESERVE_CONNECTION_CONFIG or vm_proxy_preserve_connection_config: Static routes will be deleted from the VMware backup proxy after the proxy is rebooted. Set the value of this parameter to 'True' to preserve such connection configurations.

  • __FLR_GUEST_VM_PORT_RANGE or flr_guest_vm_port_range: Use this parameter to allow DruvaVMwareRestoreAgent.exe (Windows) or guestossvc (Unix) service to communicate on specific ports for restore.

  • PRESERVE_FOLDER_TIMESTAMP or vm_preserve_folder_timestamp: Use this parameter in VMware File-level restore (FLR) to retain the modified date of the restored folders.

Step 3: Remove the existing CentOS backup proxy

  1. Remove the existing CentOS backup proxy from Management Console For more information, see article.

  2. Remove the existing backup proxy (version 6.3.2-359254 or earlier) from the VMware console. For more information, see article.

How to upgrade packages in Ubuntu proxy?

For more information, see Commands to upgrade packages in Ubuntu proxy.

Related Articles
How to deploy the first backup proxy and register the VMware setup
How to deploy additional VMware backup proxies
How to manually install the VMware backup proxy using the OVA
How to reactivate VMware backup proxy
How to reconfigure VMware backup proxy settings
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