Knowledge Base

Acronis Agent for ESX/ESXi is delivered as a virtual appliance

Introduction

Install the ESX/ESXi Virtual Appliance

Extract the virtual appliance’s files:

1. Run the Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 installation file;

2. Extract ESX/ESXi Virtual Appliance;

   The extracted file will be called AcronisVirtualAppliance.msi

3. Run the extracted AcronisVirtualAppliance.msi file. 

   After the installation is complete, the virtual appliance's files will be located in the folder %CommonProgramFiles%\Acronis\ESXAppliance.

Import the virtual appliance to VMware ESX Server:

1. Start the VMware Infrastructure client and log on to the VMware ESX Server;

2. On the File menu, point to Virtual Appliance, and then click Import;

3. Click Import from file, then click Browse, and then select the virtual appliance's OVF package:

   C:\Program Files\Common Files\Acronis\ESXAppliance\AcronisESXAppliance.ovf 

4. Click Next, and then type a name for the appliance (e.g. AcronisESXAppliance);

5. Click Next, and then click Finish.

(!) See also Installation of Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 Over Beta Versions.

Solution

To use Acronis Agent for ESX/ESXi, specify the VMware ESX/ESXi Server that the agent will manage and the credentials for connecting to the agent remotely:

In the VMware Infrastructure client, right-click the virtual appliance's name in the list of virtual machines, and then click Power On. 

1. To specify network parameters for the agent, click Configure network. By default, the network parameters are configured automatically by using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). 
2. Click Provide license, and then type the name or IP address of the Acronis License Server, or type your trial license key. After you click OK, the agent will connect to the license server to acquire a license. 
3. Click Configure connections, and then specify: 

• The name or IP address of a VMware ESX/ESXi Server whose virtual machines you want to back up and recover, and the user name and password for logging on to that server;
• The password for remote connection to the agent. The user name is root.

More information

(!) It is necessary to have ESX Service Console Port added to the same network switch which is assigned to the ESX agent virtual appliance.

VMware Tools have to be installed on the guest systems:

• Run the VMware Infrastructure client;
• Connect to the ESX server;
• Select the virtual machine and run the guest operating system;
• Right-click the virtual machine and select Install/Upgrate VMware Tools;
• Follow the onscreen instructions.