In this article, you will learn more about the Hyper-V backup features.
In Xopero ONE, you can enable application-aware backups for Windows Server virtual machines, which allows you to create consistent backups. This functionality is based on Microsoft VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service), which silences applications and suspends write requests for up to 60 seconds. VSS flushes the file system buffer and freezes the file system, ensuring that metadata is saved and data is written in a consistent order. You can also enable the Continue backup on errors option, which allows the backup to proceed even if application-aware issues occur.
Hyper-V RCT (Resilient Change Tracking) is a built-in feature of the Hyper-V architecture that tracks changes in the disk blocks of virtual machines. Similar to VMware’s Changed Block Tracking (CBT), it greatly improves the efficiency of data backup operations. RCT allows incremental and differential backups to run faster and more effectively by providing a direct list of changed blocks since the last backup, eliminating the need to compare current VM disk data with previous backup versions.
RCT works by maintaining a dedicated change tracking log for every virtual disk connected to a VM. This log keeps track of all disk blocks that have been modified since the last backup. When a backup starts, RCT supplies the backup software with a list of these changed blocks, allowing it to copy only the modified data. The tracking log is continuously updated after each backup, ensuring that future backup operations remain fast, incremental, and efficient.
Incremental backups — RCT is highly effective for incremental backups, as it identifies and captures only the data blocks that have changed since the last backup. This approach greatly reduces both the backup duration and storage consumption.
Differential backups — in case of differential backups, which include all changes made since the last full backup, RCT simplifies the process by directly identifying the modified blocks. This makes differential backups faster, more reliable, and easier to manage.
The skip disks feature in Hyper-V allows the backup process to omit certain disks from snapshot creation. This applies to disks where snapshots are not supported or practical, such as shared disks or physical disks directly attached to a virtual machine. By skipping these disks, Hyper-V ensures that the backup operation can continue smoothly without errors or interruptions, maintaining the overall stability and reliability of the backup process.
Skip disks feature highlights Xopero ONE’s adaptability and commitment to delivering a seamless backup experience, even in complex virtualized environments. By leveraging this feature, IT administrators can optimize backup performance, increase flexibility, and ensure reliable protection of their virtual infrastructure against data loss and downtime.
Shared Virtual Hard Disks (VHDX) — when virtual machines use shared VHDX files for clustering, these disks typically cannot be snapshotted. The skip disks feature allows such configurations to be backed up while excluding the shared VHDX, ensuring the process completes successfully.
Physical disks — for VMs that use physical disks through pass-through functionality (directly attached storage), standard snapshot methods do not apply. By skipping these disks, the backup can proceed smoothly, protecting the rest of the environment without interruption.
Virtual machines with Fibre Channel adapters
Learn more about planning your Hyper-V backup.
Using Xopero ONE, you can protect Hyper-V environments with native support for virtual machine backups, as well as file-level and image-level backups of the physical Hyper-V host.
You can protect virtual machines using the Hyper-V backup type, while the Hyper-V host itself can be secured with file-level or image-level backups.
The performance of the Hyper-V host is a key factor, as it determines how many virtual machines can be secured simultaneously.
You can create backup for all machines on the host and automatically include any new machines created in the future. In the backup plan, under Advanced settings in the Task balancing tab, you can specify how many virtual machines should be backed up simultaneously. Alternatively, you can back them up individually with breaks in between.
When protecting virtual machines, Xopero ONE uses the RCT (Replica Change Tracking) function to detect changes in virtual machine disk blocks, enabling much faster backups. Alternatively, you can choose to use the classic, slower method.
You can configure the backup to bypass virtual machine disks that cannot be included in the system snapshot. This ensures the backup proceeds without those disks when snapshot inclusion isn't possible.
Backup of Hyper-V virtual machines is based on system snapshots. Different levels of support are available, but the goal is always to create application-aware snapshots, as they provide the highest consistency.
With the application-aware option, Hyper-V also creates file-system consistent snapshots. For this reason, it is recommended to keep the application-aware option enabled, especially when protecting various Linux distributions.
Learn about virtual disk types that are excluded from backups due to hypervisor snapshot limitations, and how to protect them.
When performing a virtual machine backup (agentless), Xopero ONE relies on the hypervisor's snapshot mechanism to ensure data consistency. Certain disk types are architecturally excluded from snapshots by the hypervisor itself, which means they cannot be included in a standard VM-level backup.
The following disk modes do not support snapshots and cannot be backed up:
Pass-through disks — these disks are directly attached to the physical storage and are bypassed by the Hyper-V checkpoint (snapshot) mechanism.
This is not a limitation of Xopero ONE, but a characteristic of how these virtual disks are designed to operate within VMware and Hyper-V environments. Because a snapshot cannot be created, Xopero ONE cannot guarantee data consistency or access data during a host-level task.
If you need to protect data on pass-through disks, you can use the following method:
Install the Xopero ONE Backup&Recovery Agent directly within the virtual machine’s guest operating system.
Configure a file or image-level backup task with the installed agent.
By using an in-guest agent, Xopero ONE utilizes the internal VSS (Windows) or live-read (Linux) mechanisms to capture the data, effectively bypassing the hypervisor's snapshot limitations.
This article explains the process of creating a backup plan for Hyper-V virtual machines.
One of the key features of Xopero ONE is native Hyper-V backup. It enables you to back up either all virtual machines or selected VMs on both standalone and clustered Hyper-V hosts.
Log in to XMS, go to the Plans tab and click the + Add plan button in the top toolbar.
Select Hyper-V from the platforms list.
Define the name of the backup plan.
In the configuration aside, choose the host you want to protect. You can then either:
Back up all virtual machines (VMs) for comprehensive protection.
Select specific VMs by checking the boxes next to the desired entries.
Configure options specific to Hyper-V backup.
Choose your backup storage location.
Configure the by defining when backups should run and which types of backup copies to use.
Go to the Advanced settings section to customize additional options, including encryption, compression levels, and deduplication. These settings provide greater flexibility and help optimize the backup process.
After completing the configuration, click the Save button. The protection plan will then automatically begin protecting your Hyper-V virtual machines according to the schedule you defined.
Set the retention policy to determine how long backups are stored — any copies exceeding this period will be automatically deleted.
Learn how to protect a Hyper-V host with Xopero ONE.
Hyper-V, Microsoft’s virtualization platform, allows organizations to run multiple virtual machines efficiently on a single host. Ensuring the protection of both the Hyper-V host and its VMs is essential for maintaining business continuity and safeguarding data. This article outlines a simple guide on how to secure your Hyper-V environment using Xopero ONE, along with recommended best practices and additional resources.
To protect a Hyper-V host, start by installing a dedicated version of the Xopero ONE agent designed for Hyper-V environments. Once installed, the host will automatically appear in the Devices tab of Xopero ONE Management Service (XMS) admin panel.
Go to the Plans tab in the XMS dashboard and select + Add plan.
Select Devices from the platform list.
Choose the appropriate backup type based on your requirements and configure the settings to ensure proper protection of your Hyper-V host.
Select the Hyper-V host from the list of available devices and specify the type of data you want to back up.
Define the name of the backup plan.
Choose your backup storage location.
Next, set up the backup schedule and retention policy to define how often backups will run and how long they will be kept. In Advanced settings section you can also enable additional options, such as encryption and compression, to enhance data security and optimize storage usage.
After completing the configuration, click the Save button. The protection plan will then automatically begin protecting your Hyper-V host according to the schedule you defined.
