VMware vSAN Backup: Strategies & Best Practices

VMware vSAN is a storage solution that integrates with vSphere to provide a highly scalable and resilient storage system. vSAN can provide built-in redundancy and fault tolerance, but you still need to configure a proper backup policy to protect your data. In this article, we will provide the strategy for vSAN backup and the best practices for vSAN backup.

Why vSAN Backup is Essential

vSAN can distribute storage with redundancy features like RAID-1 mirroring and RAID-5/6 erasure coding. However, these features only protect against hardware failures within the cluster. They do not safeguard against:

• Data corruption
• Ransomware attacks
• Accidental deletions
• Software bugs
• Disasters (e.g., fire, floods, or complete site failures)

So, to fully protect vSAN environments, organizations need to implement reliable backup and disaster recovery solutions.

vSAN Backup Strategies

1. Agent-Based vs. Agentless Backup

▶Agent-Based Backup: This method involves installing a backup agent within the virtual machine (VM). It provides deep application-aware and file-level recovery but may incur performance overhead.

▶Agentless Backup: This method uses VMware vSphere APIs for Data Protection (VADP) to perform image-based backups without installing an agent on the virtual machine. Due to its efficiency and scalability, it is the preferred choice for most vSAN environments.

2. Image-level vs. File-level Backup

✦Image-level Backup: Captures entire VMs, including OS, applications, and data. This method is useful for disaster recovery and rapid VM restoration.

✦File-level Backup: Targets specific files and folders within a VM. This is ideal for recovering individual files rather than entire VMs.

3. Snapshot-Based Backup Considerations

VMware vSAN supports snapshots but relies on VMware vSphere snapshots rather than traditional storage array snapshots. Snapshots should not be used as a primary backup method because they:

• Consume vSAN storage space
• Increase VM latency
• Degrade performance over time

Best Practices for vSAN Backup

1. Follow the 3-2-1 Backup Rule

• Keep 3 copies of data (primary + 2 backups).
• Use 2 different storage types (e.g., vSAN, NAS, or cloud).
• Store 1 copy offsite for disaster recovery.

2. Leverage VMware vSphere APIs

Use VADP for efficient, agentless backups with Changed Block Tracking (CBT) for incremental backups.

3. Monitor Backup Performance

Regularly test and validate backups to ensure recoverability.

4. Automate Backup Scheduling

Ensure regular backups without manual intervention to reduce risks.

An Easy and Efficient Backup for VMware Backup Solution

AOMEI Cyber Backup is a professional VMware backup software that provides multiple backup scenarios enabling you to backup multiple virtual machines managed by vCenter Server or on a standalone ESXi host. It simplifies the backup process and shows the backup steps through an intuitive GUI.

Automate VMware Backup: You can run VM backup tasks automatically to offer continuous VM protection and reduce human error.

Role-Assignment: It allows one administrator to create sub-accounts with limited privilege, effectively reducing administrator costs and manual errors.

Instant Disaster Recovery: Once the VMware crashes, quickly restore VMware to a normal state and easily migrate the VM to another host.

Multiple Storage Destination: You can backup to a local drive or network destination like Windows Share or NAS.

Step 1. Navigate to Source Device > VMware > + Add VMware Device to Add vCenter or Standalone ESXi, then enter Device Information and User Information and click Confirm.

Step 2. Go to Backup Task > + Create New Task, then set up Task Name, Backup Type, Device, Target, Archive, and Schedule.

• Backup Type: select VMware ESXi Backup as the Backup Type.
• Target: select to backup to a local path, or to a network path.
• Schedule: you can select full, differential, or incremental backup.

Step 3. Click Start Backup and select Add the schedule and start backup now, or Add the schedule only.

Conclusion

A planned VMware vSAN backup strategy is critical for both data protection and business continuity. With best practices such as the 3-2-1 rule, VADP integration, and offsite storage, you can organizations can ensure their vSAN environments remain resilient in the face of data loss, ransomware, and disaster.