First look at NAKIVO Backup and Replication v6.1
Earlier this month NAKIVO released version 6.1 of their Backup and Replication application which only adds to their popular 6.0 version adding features like Microsoft Exchange instant object recovery and log truncation as well as other features. As part of the VMware vExpert program NAKIVO has given me a NFR license to try NAKIVO Backup and Replication v6.1 in my home lab and I want to share my initial thoughts about this new version that I’ve had running for the last couple weeks.
Altaro VM Backup Setup Step-by-Step
Altaro VM Backup is a company who offers a backup solution for small to medium sized businesses and have been around for a while that started out offering backup software for Hyper-V, but has now expanded to VMware as well. Altaro asked if I would be interested in trying for free as part of the vExpert program in my home lab.
I help out a few small companies here in town so having another backup solution to possibly suggest certainly wouldn’t hurt, so I decided to give it a try and below are my steps to setting it up and thoughts about the software so far.
How to run Crashplan in Docker on Synology NAS
I am a huge fan of CrashPlan and have been using it for years on my Synology NAS using this install guide I wrote up some time ago.
Admittedly the process in the old guide wasn’t always roses. Crashplan would push out an update and that update would, at times, break the Synology Crashplan client from PC Load Letter and backups would stop running for a couple days – maybe a week. Patters being the awesome guy he is, usually updated his Synology Crashplan package quickly and all was good again.
Then last year in DSM 5.2, Synology added support for Docker which opened up the possibility to run all sorts of software in a virtual container running on your Synology NAS. One such software being Crashplan and below I’m going to show how I now have Crashplan running in Docker on my Synology DS1815+ NAS!
Another CBT bug found in VMware ESXi 6.0
VMware just published KB 2136854 regarding a new bug found in ESXi 6.0 that causes virtual machine backups, which use Changed Block Tracking (CBT), to be inconsistent. VMware says the cause of the issue is this:
This issue occurs due to an issue with CBT in the disklib area, this causes the change tracking information of I/Os that occur during snapshot consolidation to be lost. The main backup payload data is never lost and it is always written to the backend device. However, the corresponding change tracking information entries which occur during the consolidation task are missed. Subsequent QueryDiskChangedAreas() calls do not include these missed blocks, hence a backup based on this CBT data is inconsistent.
How to schedule CrashPlan on Synology NAS
This is a continuation of the previous article, how to install CrashPlan on Synology NAS, by default CrashPlan is always running after the install which prevents your Synology NAS from entering sleep mode.
Below are the steps to schedule when CrashPlan runs in order to allow the NAS to go into sleep mode, thus conserving energy while still being backed up.
How to install CrashPlan on Synology Diskstation
A little while ago I posted several ways to improve the security on your Synology NAS and was recently asked about how to install CrashPlan on a Synology NAS. Synology doesn’t have it’s own pre-built package available, but luckily PC Load Letter from the Synology community has stepped up and made a Synology package that works beautifully – the only downside is his instructions are a bit dated and I found harder than they needed to be.
If you don’t already have a CrashPlan account, go ahead and sign up now.
