Introduction

Running a virtual environment is cost-efficient and convenient with a Hyper-V infrastructure. But, at the same time, you need to think about how to protect your Hyper-V data from ransomware attacks, natural disasters, hardware malfunctions and other events that can result in data loss. A backup is the best approach to recover your data in case of a disruptive event. Your data should be recoverable and instantly available no matter the situation. If you can't afford to have downtime, find backup software with the best features for safeguarding your Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs). To find the best backup solution for your business, consider these 15 tips for backing up your Hyper-V environment.

Tip # 1: Perform Agentless Backups

An agent is a component of backup software that you may need to install on your VM. It enables your backup software to perform backups of your entire VM and data. Agent-based or guest-level backups have certain disadvantages. First, they can take plenty of time since you need to install an agent on every VM. Second, a guest-level backup won't capture all configuration parts of your VM, such as virtual disks, CPU, memory, and networks.

On the other hand, host-level or hypervisor-level backups don't require an agent and can back up your entire VM along with the virtual disks and other components such as CPU, network cards, processors, etc. In other words, host-level backups include the configuration of the VMs. That's why you don't have to configure a new VM upon recovery. Host-level backups take up less computing resources and they are easier to run and manage than guest-level backups.

Tip # 2: Ensure App-consistent Backups

Application-aware or app-consistent backups are critical for data recovery. During the backup process, your data should be consistent across the applications. If an employee changes some data during the backup time, this change should be recognized and reflected in your backup. For example, if an employee changes a file in the database, your backup software should pick up on that change to ensure a full-fledged backup.

Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is the most critical tool for creating app-consistent backups. VSS works by freezing the disk volumes and taking a snapshot of the disk. When VSS quiesces the disk, the VM's OS freezes for a moment and VSS captures data. If VSS can't quiesce the disk volumes, the backup can't be transactionally consistent and critical data may be lost.

Tip # 3: Back up Individual VMs

Use a backup solution that enables you to back up individual VMs instead of backing up the whole Hyper-V host. The reason behind this is that some VMs require frequent backups, others you don't have to back up at all. For example, you don't have to back up a VM that you keep for testing purposes. However, the VM that runs your business files may require frequent, even hourly backups. If you back up just those VMs that you need, you can save plenty of disk space. An efficient backup solution allows you to select certain VMs for a backup. You can also choose to back up the selected VMs to various repositories.·

Tip # 4: Run Incremental Backups

Incremental backups save time and space. You can run incremental backups by using Microsoft's Resilient Changed Block Tracking (RCBT). This technology is designed solely for the Hyper-V environment. After you run a full backup, you have a representation of your virtual machine. Afterward, you can run incremental backups. The RCBT technology produces a map of all data blocks used by a virtual machine. During your next backup, some blocks may change. The RCBT technology can pick up on that change and copy only those blocks that have changed since your last backup.

Tip # 5: Be Able to Perform Full and Granular Recoveries

If you experience a major data loss event or system failure, you may need to run a full recovery. Your backup solution should be capable of booting your Hyper-V VMs from any backup location. During a disruptive event, your goal is to restore your business operations instantly. Thus, your full recovery should be fast and efficient. On the other hand, if you've lost a single object, file, or folder ' run a granular recovery. Granular recovery allows you to retrieve individual items without performing a full recovery.

Tip # 6: Ensure Low Storage Cost and Fast Backup Speed

You can diminish your storage costs by lowering the size of your backups. A state-of-the-art backup solution allows you to save storage space by offering such features as global deduplication, compression, log truncation, and the exclusion of swap data, such as unused blocks and partitions.

Your network is a route that transmits your backup packets from one location to the other. A fast backup can save time and improve your infrastructure performance. The Network Acceleration feature compresses the amount of data sent over the network, increasing your backup speed X 2 and in WAN or LAN domains. You can also increase your backup speed by using LAN-free data transfer. This feature allows you to bypass LAN by sending data directly to the storage via a Storage Area Network (SAN).

Tip # 7: Create Disaster Recovery Workflows

Disaster events can take place unexpectedly and be the reason for data loss. Disaster events include ransomware attacks, natural disasters, or equipment failures. To avoid financial strain and reputation loss, you should have a disaster recovery plan. A modern backup solution allows you to perform automated disaster recovery or site recovery. To perform a site recovery, you should store replicas of your VMs in an offsite location. If disaster strikes, you can automatically switch to the recovery site, power on the replicas, and continue running your environment with zero downtime. You can set up the recovery workflows for multiple scenarios, such as planned failover, emergency failover, failback or data center migration.

Tip # 8: Include the Hyper-V Host into a Work Group

Include your Hyper-V host into a workgroup to make your Hyper-V host accessible at all times. For example, let’s say your Domain Controller (DC) runs on a VM that resides on a Hyper-V host that is a member of that domain. If the VM with the DC goes down in case of an emergency, you won't be able to log in to the Hyper-V host. Yet if you include your Hyper-V host into a workgroup, your backup application can reach the Hyper-V host and recover your VM with the DC.·

Tip # 9: Don't Ever Perform Direct Backups of the CSV Devices

Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) is a shared storage that contains New Technology File System (NTFS). CVS can be accessed by multiple Hyper-V hosts for read/write purposes. CVS store the virtual disk files of your VMs. Avoid backing up the CVS devices directly, on the disk level, because the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) won't be able to see this backup. As a result, the VSS will be unable to quiesce the VM's data and application states. To ensure that your Hyper-V backup is app-consistent, back up your CSV devices at the host level.

Tip # 10: Use Fixed-size Virtual Disks to Back up Your Hyper-V VM

The type of hard disk you use for your Hyper-V backup can impact the performance of your Hyper-V host. Dynamically expanding virtual disks are subject to file fragmentation. Because of this, it may require an intense disk activity to locate the parts of the disk used by the blocks of your files. On the other hand, fixed-size virtual hard disks offer a high level of security and performance. Therefore, you should use fixed-size virtual disks to back up your Hyper-V environment.

Tip # 11: Make Sure Your Disk Can Do the Job

Monitor your disk to make sure there is enough space for a new backup. A lack of disk space may cause your backup jobs to fail. Remove your oldest backup jobs before starting the new ones; check if your backup solution can do it automatically.

Tip #12: Check the Disk Warnings

Pay attention to the disk warnings. You can get a disk warning if your disk becomes damaged. If the disk on which you have your VM becomes damaged, all new backups may turn out not bootable. If there is an issue with your destination storage, you can't use backups that reside on that storage. In case your disk ends up damaged, make a copy of the disk data and then replace the disk.

Tip # 13: Run Regular Backups

Back up your VMs regularly according to your Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs). The RTO values define how fast you should recover your infrastructure in the event of a disaster. Whereas the RPO values define how much data your business can afford to lose. If your organization can lose zero data, you can't afford downtime and should recommence your business operations instantly. You should schedule and perform your backups regularly based on your RTO and RPO values. Running regular backups can help you recover your data in case of a disruptive event.

Tip # 14: Keep One Backup Copy at a Remote Location

To keep your Hyper-V backups safe, keep one backup copy offline and store at least one copy offsite or in the cloud. Keeping VMs and their backups at the same place is not safe. If your VMs become affected by a natural disaster or cyber attack, your backups can also become damaged or corrupted. If you keep your backups on connected media, there is also a chance that ransomware can get to your backups. That's why you should consider offline storage. The 3-2-1 approach recommends preserving at least three backup copies: your primary data and two backups of the data. For example, if you keep your primary data on an internal hard drive, you can store your backups on an external hard drive, optical disk, digital tape, cloud or NAS device. You should keep one copy at a remote location to enhance security and another one onsite for launching a fast recovery when needed.

Tip # 15: Verify Your Backups at All Times

If you face a situation where you need to recover your files, you should have a good backup on hand. There is nothing worse than to find out that your backup is not viable in the midst of the crisis, and that is the only backup you have. Your data may become corrupted during the backup process. That's why you need to verify your backups right when you create them. An efficient backup solution allows you to confirm if your backup data is identical to the source VM data. Then, verify that your VM is recoverable. You can check your backup with screenshot verification. This method involves powering on the VM and taking a snapshot of its booted OS. Another way to verify your backup is boot verification. Boot verification allows you to listen to the OS heartbeat to ensure that the VM's OS runs well.

Conclusion

Your Hyper-V infrastructure needs ongoing protection. You want to avoid data loss at all costs because it can inflict negative consequences. Data loss can cause reputation damage, legal compliance issues and loss of valuable data that you need to run your business. Thus, to protect your Hyper-V data, you should run frequent backups and follow Hyper-V best practices. To be able to run efficient Hyper-V backups, you need to select a state-of-the art backup solution that has the most current and effective features for backing up your Hyper-V VMs.

NAKIVO Backup & Replication is a powerful backup solution used by more than 19,000 customers worldwide. NAKIVO Backup & Replication offers cost-effective and comprehensive backups for your Hyper-V VMs. NAKIVO Backup & Replication offers:

• Agentless, image-based backups
• App-aware, incremental backups
• Installment on Linux, Windows, NAS
• Full and instant granular recovery
• Instant boot from compressed backups
• Advanced Automation Policies
• Multiple storage and space savings
• Replication and site recovery
• Replication from a backup
• Backup and replica verification
• LAN-free data transfer

Learn more about Hyper-V backup by clicking here.