Using a locally attached storage

You can attach an additional disk to Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance) so the agent can back up to this locally attached storage. Such backup is normally faster than backup via LAN and it does not consume the network bandwidth. We recommend using this method when a single virtual appliance manages the entire virtual environment residing in a SAN attached storage.

Data backed up to a locally attached storage does not appear in the centralized catalog. To access a backup stored in a locally attached storage, connect the console directly to the agent.

Using a locally attached storage presumes that the agent always backs up the same machines. If multiple agents work within the vSphere, and one or more of them use locally attached storages, you need to manually bind each agent to all machines it has to back up. Otherwise, if the machines are redistributed among the agents by the management server, a machine's backups may be dispersed over multiple storages.

You can add the storage to an already working agent or when importing the agent from an OVF template.

To attach a storage to an already working agent

1. In VMware vSphere inventory, right click the Agent for VMware (Virtual Appliance).
2. Add the disk by editing the settings of the virtual machine. The disk size must be at least 10 GB.

   Be careful when adding an already existing disk. Once the storage is created, all data previously contained on this disk will be lost.

3. Go to the virtual appliance console. The Create storage link is available at the bottom of the screen. If it is not, click Refresh.
4. Click the Create storage link, select the disk and specify a label for it.

   Details. The label length is limited to 16 characters due to file system restrictions.

To select a locally attached storage as a backup destination

When creating a backup plan, in Where to back up > Location do one of the following, depending on where the console is connected:

• When connected to the management server – Select Store each machine's archive in the specified folder on the machine with agent. Then type the letter corresponding to the locally attached storage, for example, D:\.
• When connected directly to the agent – Type the letter corresponding to the locally attached storage, for example, D:\.

To recover a machine from a locally attached storage

Connect the console directly to the agent where the storage is attached. Click Recover. In What to recover > Select data, select the locally attached storage. Complete the recovery settings as described in the "Creating a recovery task" section.