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

This article applies to:

• Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 Advanced Server - Virtual Edition

Solution

Step 1: 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 (by default):

   %ProgramFiles%\Acronis\ESXAppliance

Step 2: Importing the virtual appliance

Importing the Acronis Agent is similar in VMware Infrastructure 3.5 and VMware vSphere. This section describes both procedures because GUI controls are named differently in those products.

Importing the Acronis Agent virtual appliance into VMware Infrastructure 3.5

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. Follow the Import Virtual Appliance wizard;
3. In Import Location, select Import from file, and then specify the path to the virtual appliance's OVF package — normally:

   %ProgramFiles%\Acronis\ESXAppliance

4. Review the Virtual Appliance Details and click Next;
5. In Name and Location, type the name for the appliance or leave the default name AcronisESXAppliance;
6. In Datastore, leave the default datastore unless it does not have enough space for the virtual appliance. In this case, select another datastore. Skip this step if there is only one datastore on the server;
7. Review the summary and then click Finish. After the successful import is reported, close the progress window.

Importing the Acronis Agent OVF template into VMware vSphere 4

1. Start the VMware vSphere client and log on to the VMware ESX server;
2. On the File menu, point to Deploy OVF Template. Follow the Deploy OVF Template wizard;
3. In Source, select Deploy from File, and then specify the path to the virtual appliance's OVF package — normally:

   %ProgramFiles%\Acronis\ESXAppliance

4. Review the OVF Template Details and click Next;
5. In Name and Location, type the name for the appliance or leave the default name AcronisESXAppliance;
6. In Datastore, leave the default datastore unless it does not have enough space for the virtual appliance. In this case, select another datastore. Skip this step if there is only one datastore on the server;
7. Review the summary and then click Finish. After the successful deployment is reported, close the progress window.

Step 3: Configuring the virtual appliance

1. Starting the virtual appliance

   In the VMware Infrastructure client, display the Inventory, right-click the virtual appliance's name, and then click Power On.

   Select the Console tab. The virtual appliance welcome screen tells you what to do next. Click Close. You will be able to access this screen at any time by clicking the help button in the virtual appliance GUI.

   You are taken to the Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 Agent for ESX/ESXi screen where you continue the Acronis Agent configuration.

2. Time zone

   Under Virtual machine, in Time zone, click Change and select the time zone for the location where the Acronis Management Console is installed.

   An ESX server always works in the GMT time zone. When being imported, a virtual appliance inherits the GMT time zone from the server. If the console works in another time zone, you need to synchronize the virtual appliance with the console to ensure that the tasks scheduled using the console run in the appropriate time.

3. ESX(i)/vCenter

   Under Agent options, in ESX(i)/vCenter, click Change and 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. You can click Check connection to ensure the access credentials are correct.

   If the ESX/ESXi server is managed by a vCenter Server, specify the vCenter Server name or IP address. The virtual appliance will back up and recover virtual machines hosted on its own host through the vCenter Server.

   Make sure that another Acronis Agent for ESX/ESXi is not already managing the same host. A conflict of snapshots may occur if two Acronis Agents try to back up a virtual machine simultaneously. As a result, you will lose the ability to back up this machine.

   License server

   Under Licensing, click Provide license.

   When installing the trial product version, select Use the following trial license key and enter the trial license key. Deduplication is always enabled in the trial version.

   When installing the purchased product, select Use a license from the following Acronis License Server and specify the name or IP address of the machine with the Acronis License Server. To be able to deduplicate backups, the Acronis Agent needs a separately sold license for deduplication. If you have imported this license into the Acronis License Server, you can select the Enable deduplication... check box to let the Acronis Agent acquire this license. After you click OK, the Acronis Agent will connect to the Acronis License Server to acquire the licenses.

   The virtual appliance is ready to work. In addition, you can change network settings:

   Network settings

   The Acronis Agent's network connection is configured automatically by using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). To change the default configuration, under Agent options, in eth0, click Change and specify the desired network settings.

Step 4: Adding the virtual appliance to the Acronis Management Server

The minimum configuration that enables backing up virtual machines from a host includes the Acronis Management Console, the Acronis License Server and the Acronis Agent.

With this configuration, you can back up and recover virtual machines using the direct console-agent connection. If you are planning to use the Acronis Management Server, register the virtual appliance on the server.

To add the virtual appliance to the Acronis Management Server:

1. Start Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 Management Console;
2. Connect the Acronis Management Console to the virtual appliance using the IP address displayed in the virtual appliance console;
3. Select Centralized management and specify the Acronis Management Server IP/name. Click OK;
4. Specify the user name and password for the Acronis Management Server administrator's account. Click OK;
5. In the Machine's registration address, select how the machine will be registered on the Acronis Management Server: by its name or by its IP address;
6. Click OK and the machine will be registered on the Acronis Management Server.

Alternatively, you can add the appliance to the Acronis Management Server on the server's side.

After the virtual appliance is registered, a corresponding group of virtual machines appears on the Acronis Management Server.

More information

See also Acronis Backup & Recovery 10: Deploying Agent for ESX/ESXi.