Virtual machines (VMs) are becoming more common in modern computing systems. It’s critical to have the right systems and configurations in place to manage and monitor your virtual machines. Large amounts of data or functionality can be lost if a virtual machine or a collection of virtual machines has a problem.
Regularly backing up your virtual machines to protect their configurations and any data saved on them is an important piece of the VM puzzle. Failure to back up your virtual machines could cause major business disruptions, as well as a jumble of orphaned or invalid virtual machines, virtual machine sprawl, and wasted time and storage space.
Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem: you can use virtual machine backup software and related tools to keep your virtual machine settings well-managed, tidy, and functional, even during downtime. Before you begin backing up your virtual machines, clean up your VM environment with a solution like SolarWinds Virtualization Manager (VMAN) to eliminate sprawl and orphans. You’ll wind up backing up unneeded computers and wasting space if you don’t.
Importance of Backing up
Virtual machines assist real machines in a variety of ways. They can be used to run a different operating system, whether for testing or to install software that isn’t compatible with the one you’re currently using. Furthermore, VMs are “sandboxed” from the rest of your IT systems, providing an additional layer of protection when testing or running software. If something goes wrong, it won’t have an impact on the rest of your IT system. Virtual machines are frequently used for storage and to host virtual servers.
When you’re running a variety of virtual machines for varied purposes, you’ll need to back them up to save configurations, data, and different virtual machine setups. Virtual machines are frequently backed up in the same way as physical machines are, with VM data being stored on conventional storage. However, a single physical system can host a large number of virtual machines, and as the number of virtual machines grows, the backup procedure gets more difficult, necessitating the use of the software.
Choosing VM Backup Software
Let’s look at how to choose virtual machine backup software before we go into your options. Small and medium-sized enterprises that don’t require the advanced features of more comprehensive VM backup software may be able to get by with a free service. Large enterprises that need to manage complicated VM settings, on the other hand, should choose enterprise or professional backup software.
There are two options if you require a virtual machine backup and restore strategy that can handle several related jobs. To cover all bases, some of these solutions require extra tools, which means paying for more items and maintaining more tools. Another option is to use a single, all-in-one VM backup software program that is ready to use right away.
Perhaps you need a long-term solution that can stay up with emerging technology. In this instance, a backup program that integrates with cloud services is likely to be of interest.
The Best VM Backup Software Tools
Following are some common Virtual Machine backup tools widely used:
1. SolarWinds Virtualization Manager – FREE TRIAL
You should have a tool ready to clean up software instances before looking for virtual server backup software to make your backups more efficient. Before performing a backup, SolarWinds Virtualization Manager (VMAN) can assist you in ensuring that your virtual machines are configured appropriately.
Because VMs can be tailored and designed to meet specific demands, configuration settings are critical; the better the configuration, the better the VM will work within its resources and capabilities. Poor configuration or configuration updates might cause slow performance, and you don’t want to back up VMs that aren’t working or are incorrectly configured. Before you back up, VMAN can assist you in resolving these difficulties.
A “Virtual DNA” feature in the software allows you to see historical changes to VM configurations over time, making troubleshooting easier. Before backing up, you may examine a contextual dependency map to see the relationships between servers and objects, as well as dependencies between VMs or VM clusters, application groups, storage, and VMs and hosts.
Pros:
- Excellent dashboard that can scale to comfortably monitor multiple hosts and VMs in an enterprise environment
- Supports monitoring individual VM resources
- Can integrate with cloud products like Azure and Amazon EC2
- Provides recommendations for improvements along with color-coded health metrics
- Offers capacity planning and detailed reporting options
Cons:
- Designed specifically for the enterprise, home users and small businesses will likely prefer SolarWinds VM Monitor
You can get a clear picture of what you’re backing up and how related dependencies might be affected by this graphic. VMAN offers a 30-day free trial that is completely functional.
Free Trial: Click here to download and start using this tool.
2. N-able Cove Data Protection
N-able Cove Data Protection is a software-as-a-service platform that allows users to back up entire drives or certain types of backups, such as VMWare systems. Hyper-V can also be backed up using this service. This virtualization backup technique has the advantage of taking a snapshot of the completely virtual environment, not just the virtual server.
Pros:
- Cloud-based backup solution
- Can backup the individual VMs, or the entire server
- A simple console helps highlight important issues
- Supports multiple vendors and backup locations
Cons:
- Designed for larger networks and system administrators
N-able Cove Data Protection uses AES encryption with a 256-bit key to protect all of its transmissions. The system also caches the most recent transfers to provide a quick recovery option. The Backup package contains a backup management panel from which you can also execute a restore and replicate a server using the saved data.
3. Veeam Backup and Replication
Veeam Backup and Replication (VBR) uses VMware’s APIs to provide enterprise scalability, enhanced replication, file-level restoration across various operating systems, and advanced recovery. Because VBR does not require any additional software, agents, or utilities, it is less expensive than comparable enterprise backup, restore, and recovery systems.
Guest file system indexing, different backup options, one-click file restore, recovery verification, and multiple hypervisors are all included in Veeam’s solution.
Pros:
- Easy to use for both technical and non-technical users
- Supports system-level recovery and backups
- Can run on Windows or Linux operating systems
- Ideal for small businesses and home users
Cons:
- Would like more integrations into more hardware storage and NAS solutions
- Would benefit from FTP backup integration
Veeam’s Scale-Out Backup Repository and Veeam Cloud Tier provide users with infinite storage. Backup strategies can also be tested and automated to guarantee mission-critical applications are protected. VBR can backup virtual, physical, and cloud-based systems; it specializes in VMware vSphere support, but it also works with Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
4. Veritas NetBackup
The Veritas NetBackup product, which was previously known as Symantec NetBackup until 2016, is ideal for businesses looking for an all-in-one solution that can manage both hosted and virtual machines from a single location. One of the most common misconceptions among system administrators is that virtualized environments are not the same as their physical counterparts. They are dissimilar in some aspects. However, they are similar in many aspects.
If you believe that “a server is a server regardless of abstraction or underlying hardware,” you can also believe that all of your systems should be backed up and restored using classic agent-based backups. Your heterogeneous environment gains some uniformity by having a consistent backup environment.
This need for consistency is met by using a single backup solution. One such solution is Symantec NetBackup. Your virtual systems can use the same standard corporate backup and restore procedures as your physical systems using NetBackup.
Pros:
- Designed with enterprises in mind
- A solid option for those looking for an on-premise solution
- Can mirror cloud-storage environments locally
- Ample 60-day trial period
Cons:
- The interface feels outdated, making it tougher to navigate
NetBackup has built-in deduplication, quick file recovery, backup, and recovery for popular programs, and is simple to install. VMware vSphere, Microsoft Azure Hyper-V, IBM SoftLayer, OpenStack Swift, and SwiftStack are all supported by NetBackup.
5. IBM Spectrum Protect
IBM Spectrum Protect, formerly Tivoli Storage Manager, is the 800-pound Gorilla of agentless corporate backup and recovery solutions. Spectrum Protect provides mission-critical data and application security from IBM, the company that coined the terms “mission-critical”, “enterprise”, and “data”. Spectrum Protect is used by some of the world’s largest and most powerful corporations to provide 100% data security.
Progressive incremental backups, policy-based management, comprehensive archive management, source and target deduplication, compression for decreased storage, continuous data protection, and built-in cloud integration are just a few of the significant features. This VM backup tool’s scalability, which allows it to manage billions of objects each backup, is one of the features that makes it so beneficial for businesses.
Pros:
- Uses agentless technology for performance-based backups
- Can backup at the VM level, or the entire server
- Offers cloud integration for offsite backups
- Supports incremental as well as full backups
Cons:
- Designed specifically for enterprise environments
Because of its agentless architecture, IBM Spectrum Protect was designed as complete data protection and recovery platform that is simple to deploy and maintain. Companies can also choose from a choice of cloud and on-premises storage alternatives.
6. Altaro VM Backup
Altaro VM Backup prides itself on being a simple VM backup and replication utility. It can be set up in less than 15 minutes with no complicated settings, allowing your IT team to reserve resources and begin backing up and restoring jobs right away. Regardless of their location, system administrators can manage VMs and easily make backups from a single console (hosted locally or in the cloud).
Altaro’s backup and restoration software formerly only supported Hyper-V, but it now also supports VMware Hypervisor. Data retrieval is rapid and easy thanks to its simple interface with cloud storage providers like Microsoft Azure, Amazon S3, and Wasabi. Backups can be completed rapidly using the Augmented Inline Deduplication technique, which reduces storage requirements and backup times.
Pros:
- Great interface, easy to see key backup metrics
- Supports virtualization recovery
- Has a version for MSPs and resellers
- Can detect changes in data and replace files, acting as a DLP tool
Cons:
- Would like to see more database recovery options, specifically recovering single databases rather than the entire VM
- Large datastores can corrupt if not carefully monitored
Backups can be set to run on a daily, five-minute, or even continuous basis to ensure that all recoveries are current. It also keeps track of backup health; if any blocks are corrupted, Altaro VM Backup can fix them when they’re next backed up.
7. Nakivo Backup and Replication
Nakivo Back and Replication is a fast and dependable VMware backup solution for businesses. It can be installed on physical machines as well as virtual machines. IT companies may use deduplicated backups to automate VM protection, test backups in real-time, coordinate and automate site recovery, and swiftly recover entire VMs, files, and objects. You can avoid purchasing an expensive standalone disaster recovery (DR) software by automating and orchestrating disaster recovery.
Pros:
- Supports Hyper-V as well as VMWare
- Can detect and protect data from ransomware attacks
- Supports a wide range of backup options including incremental backups
- Has a simple yet intuitive interface
Cons:
- Does not include cloud storage – better suited for on-prem backup solutions
- Could use a longer trial period
Nakivo published the beta for version 10 of its backup product in June of 2020. VMware’s server virtualization platform, vSphere 7, is now supported in this latest version. Full P2V Recovery, which generates virtual clones of actual machines, is also included. It can deliver backups and copies of workstations, Oracle databases, and Amazon EC2 instances via the Wasabi cloud storage platform, which is both economical and flexible. The new Linux Workstation Backup tool can swiftly restore files and objects from backups and recover workstations.
8. Uranium Backup Pro Virtual
When you’re ready to start backing up your virtual machines, this is the type of tool you’ll use. Uranium Backup Pro Virtual allows you to backup machines on both Hyper-V and VMware hosts and executes an unlimited number of backups. It can be used to back up, replicate, and restore VMware and Hyper-V virtual machines.
You can back up on any machine on your network and produce pictures of files that you can recover from with Uranium. You may do incremental backups with the program, and thin provisioning backups are also supported. This decreases the amount of disc space used and speeds up the copying process.
Pros:
- Extremely simple backup tool for administrators
- Supports thin provisioning as well as full and incremental backups
- Offers offsite replications as well as to cloud-based sources
- Exports as VHDX (making manual recovery an option)
Cons:
- Best for smaller environments
- Could use a longer trial
Uranium Backup Pro Virtual also offers a “Replica” capability that allows for quick recovery of VMs from backup in the event of a disaster. It also works with cloud backup services like Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Dropbox. Uranium Backup Pro Virtual offers a free trial period of 21 days.
9. Vembu Backup and Disaster Recovery
Vembu Backup & Disaster Recovery (BDR) provides several features that make backing up your virtual machines a breeze. To begin, you can schedule your VM backups and replications to occur at predetermined times (e.g., every 15 minutes, once a day, or on particular days). You may also swiftly recover virtual machines, mount discs and restore files, and restore backed-up data, all of which helps you maintain business continuity and minimize downtime.
Vembu BDR can replicate virtual machines from one host to another, ensuring that users’ most critical VMs are in sync. This also aids users in maintaining data security and availability in the event of a disaster. For added security, you can back up to offsite sites or the Vembu Cloud.
Pros:
- Offers a full suite of BDR tools
- Supports full and incremental backups
- Leverages agentless technology to perform backups with minimal performance impact
- Supports offsite backups
Cons:
- Better suited for small to medium-sized networks
Boot checks, mount checks, and integrity tests are all options for Vembu BDR recovery. Reports on backup procedures can be accessed via email or the tool’s console. Vembu BDR provides a free 30-day trial.
10. Iperius Backup
Iperius Backup is a backup software for Windows computers, servers, databases, and virtual machines (VMs). It enables VMware virtual machines to be backed up and replicated regularly. You may backup incremental or full data from VMware to a variety of media, including NAS, USB, LTO Tape, and the network. You may also backup and synchronize to various cloud storage services.
Pros:
- Supports integrations into cloud services like Google Drive, OneDrive, and Amazon S3
- Automatically encrypts backups using AES-256 bit encryption
- Supports database formats like MySQL and PostgreSQL, making it a solid choice among DBAs
Cons:
- Could use an updated interface
You can do hot (agentless) backups of VMware ESXi, vCenter, and vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi Free) virtual machines with Iperius Backup. Using the CBT/VDDK technology, you can select between complete and incremental/differential VMware backups. You can restore entire ESXi VMs (as well as individual files) or individual files right away.
11. Unitrends Backup
Unitrends Backup is an all-in-one solution that includes backup, replication, deduplication, archiving, and fast recovery. It is appropriate for medium-sized businesses, organizations, or MSPs. VMWare vSphere is fully protected without the need for any agents. It provides safety at both the guest and hypervisor levels. It protects both ESXi and ESXi-free virtual machines, and its management features are fully integrated with vCenter and vCloud.
All Unitrends Backup options have application-level awareness, which ensures that all copied data is identical. VMware VMs running Microsoft apps like MS Exchange, Active Directory, SharePoint, and SQL can benefit from application-aware VSS backups.
Free VM Tools
There are various free VMware backup solutions and Hyper-V backup utilities available. These can be useful when working in a small business or putting up virtual machines at home, but they shouldn’t be your first choice in an enterprise situation.
Veeam Community Edition is a good-quality free VM backup tool for home and small business users. It supports up to 10 instances and provides strong, simply configurable, and changeable restore options for managing virtual machines and configurations. It allows direct restore to Microsoft Azure and connects with applications like SharePoint, Exchange, Active Directory, and SQL Server, just like the commercial version.
Conclusion
SolarWinds Virtualization Manager is our top option for a VMWare backup tool. This package will allow you to monitor VMWare vSphere servers across many sites, as well as multi-vendor systems like Hyper-V and Nutanix AHV instances. With this on-premises package, you can keep track of all activity and manage systems.
