Recently NAKIVO released their new product NAKIVO Backup and Replication version 7. Some of the key features of this version are as follows.
Support for Hyper-V Backups and Replication
- Support for Hyper-V 2012 and 2016.
- Image-based, application-aware and forever incremental backups.
- Compression and dedupe supported.
- Support for offiste copies to AWS and Azure.
Support for vSphere 6.5
- Support for latest vSphere build.
- Includes new features such as encrypted VMs.
Skip Swap File
- Automatically skips swap files in vSphere and Hyper-V VMs reducing storage space and speeds up backups.
To see more information see https://www.nakivo.com/resources/whats-new-in-v7.html.
Version 7 release notes can be found at https://www.nakivo.com/helpcenter/display/RN/v7.0+Release+Notes.
The following will be my hands on experience with the new version and will illustrate the biggest new feature - support for Hyper-V.
I will not show the full deployment as this is very similar to v6.2. To see the full deployment see my previous post here. I am using the virtual appliance in my lab, you can install updates via the admin page but in my lab I will deploy the v7 appliance as if it was new.
Luckily I can export and import configuration from one appliance to another which will save me some time. To do this I first export the configuration from the live v6.2 appliance. Log onto the admin page - Configuration - General - System Migration - Export System Configuration.
Once exported I can deploy the new appliance. The .ovf will deploy a 520GB thick provisioned disk by default, be wary of this in your lab.
I needed to change this to Thin provisioned as I dont have enough free space.
Once deployed you need to change the hostname and IP address, this needs to be done at the console of the VM. You need to use F10 to save any changes.
Now browse to
>https://FQDN_or_IP:4443
Once logged in the first screen will display an option to Import System Configuration. Note the new build number in the bottom left corner.
Point the wizard to the previously downloaded configuration file and wait for it complete.
Now my previous config has been imported, very handy!
Now if I go Configuration - Inventory - Add New. I now see Hyper-V options.
I now add my Hyper-V settings. Note - the firewall on the Hyper-V server needs to be configured to allow access.
Once added I can now see vCenter, AWS and Hyper-V in my inventory.
Now if I go back to the main page I can now create backup and replication jobs using Hyper-V.
The job setting are now very familiar to other jobs. In version 7 the windows are layed out slightly different to v6.2 which I think is definitely an improvement. First pick the source VM from my Hyper-V host.
Pick a destination, I will be using a standard CIFS share. This repository was imported from my previous setup. Its worth noting I also configured a local repository on my old appliance, this obviously didnt import as I havent configured the VM with the disks. This step would need to be done again.
I then pick a schedule.
I then need to pick a retention policy.
Now I can pick some advanced settings such as encryption or network acceleration. The option to use RCT/CBT tracking is only available in Hyper-V 2016, my lab is still on 2012.
I then just need to run the job just as before.
Very easy just as the previous version. I can only restore a Hyper-V backup to a Hyper-V destination, it would be great if you could restore to another source such as vSphere.