70276: Acronis Cyber Protect 15: How to deploy and update Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance)

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Applies to: 

Last update: 26-04-2023

How to install, configure and update Virtual Appliance

This article applies to:

  • Acronis Cyber Protect 15 - On-premises deployment
For instructions on installing and updating Virtual Appliance in Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud or cloud deployment of Acronis Cyber Protect see Acronis Cyber Protect: How to deploy and update Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance)

Introduction

This article describes how to deploy and set up Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) in vSphere environments.

Solution

Deploying the OVF template

  1. After the management server is installed, the virtual appliance's OVF package is located in the folder %ProgramFiles%\Acronis\ESXAppliance (in Windows) or /usr/lib/Acronis/ESXAppliance (in Linux).

    The folder contains one .ovf file and two .vmdk files.

  2. Ensure that these files can be accessed from the machine running vSphere Client.

Deploy the OVF template.

1. Connect VMware vSphere Host Client to the ESXi host.

2. Click Create/Register VM, and then choose Deploy a virtual machine from an OVF or OVA file:

   

3. Select the .ovf and .vmdk files of Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) from the ESXAppliance folder, and specify a name for the deployed virtual machine

4. Proceed with the remaining steps of the deployment wizard: select storage and other deployment options.

  1. Select a proper virtual network that will allow Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) to connect to the Internet.
  2. The Disk provisioning type can be set to Thin, since the disk format does not affect the appliance performance.

5. Review the summary, then click Finish

(!) Depending on your network configuration, the import may take some time. Make sure that the operation completed before proceeding with the next steps.

Configuring the virtual appliance

1. Start the virtual appliance

In vSphere Host Client, open the Virtual Machines list, find the deployed Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) virtual machine, power it on, and then open its console:

2. Proxy server

Follow the instructions below if a proxy server is enabled in your network. Otherwise, skip this step.

3. Network settings

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

4. Specify the vCenter Server/ESX(i) host

Under Agent options, in vCenter/ESX(i), click Change, and then specify the vCenter Server or ESXi host name or IP address. The agent will be able to back up and recover any virtual machine managed by the vCenter Server or ESXi host.

Normally, backups run faster when the agent backs up virtual machines hosted on its own host.

Specify the credentials that the agent will use to connect to the vCenter Server or ESXi. We recommend using an account that has the Administrator role assigned. Otherwise, provide an account with the necessary privileges on the vCenter Server or ESXi.

To verify that the access credentials are correct, click Check connection

5. Management Server

Under Agent options, in Management Server, click Change. From the drop-down menu, choose Local server type. Specify the host name or IP address of the machine where the management server is installed; specify the user name and password of a management server administrator.

6.Time zone

Under Virtual machine, in Time zone, click Change. Select the time zone of your location to ensure that the scheduled operations run at the proper time:

[Optional] Configure local storages

You can attach an additional disk to the virtual machine so that Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) can back up to this locally attached storage. This kind of backup is normally faster than a backup via LAN and it does not consume the network bandwidth.

The virtual disk size must be at least 10 GB.

Add the disk by editing the settings of the virtual machine, and then click Refresh.  The Create storage link becomes available. Click this link, select the disk, and then specify a Label for it.

Updating and re-deploying the virtual appliance

To update virtual appliance version 15.24426 or later:

  1. Download the Update package for Agent for VMware from Download page (see http://kb.acronis.com/latest for more information).

  2. Save the update package tar.bz file (or replace the existing one) in the following directory of the management server machine:

    • Windows: C:\Program Files\Acronis\VirtualAppliances\va-updates

    • Linux: /usr/lib/Acronis/VirtualAppliances/va-updates

  3. In the Cyber Protect web console, click Settings > Agents.

    The software displays the list of machines. The machines with outdated virtual appliances are marked with an orange exclamation mark.

  4. Select the machines that you want to update the virtual appliances on. These machines must be online.

  5. Click Update agent.

  6. Select the deployment agent.

  7. Specify the credentials of an account with administrative privileges on the target machine.

  8. Select the name or IP address that the agent will use to access the management server.

    By default, the server name is chosen. You may need to change this setting if the DNS server is unable to resolve the name to the IP address, which results in error during the virtual appliance registration.

The update progress is shown on the Activities tab.

During the update, any backups that are in progress will fail.

To update a virtual appliance (Agent for VMware or Agent for Scale Computing HC3) whose version is below 15.24426 (released September, 2020), follow the procedure in user guide: Updating agents.