Acronis Backup appliance

With Acronis Backup appliance, you can easily obtain a virtual machine with the following software:

• CentOS
• Acronis Backup components:
  • Management Server
  • Agent for Linux
  • Agent for VMware (Linux)

The appliance is provided as a .zip archive. The archive contains the .ovf and .iso files. You can deploy the .ovf file to an ESXi host or use the .iso file to boot an existing virtual machine. The archive also contains the .vmdk file that should be placed in the same directory with .ovf.

Note VMware Host Client (a web client used to manage standalone ESXi 6.0+) does not allow deploying OVF templates with an ISO image inside. If this is your case, create a virtual machine that meets the requirements below, and then use the .iso file to install the software.

Requirements for the virtual appliance are as follows:

• Minimum system requirements:
  • 2 CPUs
  • 6 GB RAM
  • One 10 GB virtual disk (40 GB recommended)
• In VMware virtual machine settings, click Options tab > General > Configuration Parameters, and then ensure that the disk.EnableUUID parameter value is true.

Installing the software

1. Do one of the following:
   • Deploy the appliance from .ovf. After the deployment has completed, power on the resulting machine.
   • Boot an existing virtual machine from the .iso.
2. Select Install or update Acronis Backup, and then press Enter. Wait for the initial setup window to appear.
3. [Optional] To change the installation settings, select Change settings, and then press Enter. You can specify the following settings:
   • The host name of the appliance (by default, AcronisAppliance-<random part>).
   • The password for the "root" account that will be used to log in to the backup console (by default, not specified).

     If you leave the default value, after Acronis Backup is installed, you will be prompted to specify the password. Without this password, you will not be able to log in to the backup console and the Cockpit web console.

   • Network settings of a network interface card:
     • Use DHCP (by default)
     • Set static IP address

     If the machine has several network interface cards, the software selects one of them randomly and applies these settings to it.

4. Select Install with the current settings.

As a result, CentOS and Acronis Backup will be installed on the machine.

Further actions

After the installation is completed, the software displays the links to the backup console and the Cockpit web console. Connect to the backup console to start using Acronis Backup: add more devices, create backups plans, and so on.

To add ESXi virtual machines, click Add > VMware ESXi, and then specify the address and credentials for the vCenter Server or stand-alone ESXi host.

There are no Acronis Backup settings that are configured in the Cockpit web console. The console is provided for convenience and troubleshooting.

Updating the software

1. Download and unpack the .zip archive with the new appliance version.
2. Boot the machine from the .iso unpacked in the previous step.
   1. Save the .iso to your vSphere datastore.
   2. Connect the .iso to the machine's CD/DVD drive.
   3. Restart the machine.
   4. [Only during the first update] Press F2, and then change the boot order so that CD/DVD drive comes first.
3. Select Install or update Acronis Backup, and then press Enter.
4. Select Update, and then press Enter.
5. Once the update is completed, disconnect the .iso from the machine's CD/DVD drive.

As a result, Acronis Backup will be updated. If the CentOS version in the .iso file is also newer than the version on the disk, the operating system will be updated before updating Acronis Backup.