Overview

 

Once we understand data movement by folder, we get an idea of how much data each node moves. Remember that you may be using multiple nodes to move data under a single folder. The folder dictates the Changed Block Tracking reset time, which is the point at which we follow differential backups with a full backup. One or more folders may be assigned to a policy that controls the start of a SmartMotion backup, the NAS backup destination, and the retention period (how long we keep the data).

 

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Example

 

The following illustration descibes this flow.

A VM is set to export without the options of VSS, Log Truncation, and CBT.

  

 

 

The VM is then assigned to a folder. All VM's are part of the Default folder until they are moved to another folder.  As shown above, the DXi VM is assigned to the LinuxLab folder. In this instance we are moving both of the members of this folder using the same node. This isn't always true.

 

The folder is then assigned to a policy. A policy can send multiple folders to a single storage point, but it cannot send to more than one storage point. If multiple storage points are needed, create a separate policy for each storage point. VM's can be backed up at multiple times to different storage points by assigning a folder to multiple policies.

 

 

The policy allows you to configure the data retention with a Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Annual expiration schedule.

 

 

Understanding how much data a folder is moving is helpful when adjusting CBT resets, Policy Start Times, and retention. But ultimately, this doesn't help us balance timely backups. We can see each node's aggregate data movement by running a 'du' command on each vmPRO node on the vm_proxy_fs (as mounted on /export). The GUI (Master node) provides this data in one central place.

 

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What's Next?

Data Movement By Node >