Backup Job Wizard for Proxmox VE: Options

On the Options page of the wizard, you can set up backup job options. Proceed as described in the sections below:

Job Options

In this section, you can give a name to the backup job and enable/disable app-aware mode, change tracking, network acceleration, encryption, and other.

Job Name

Enter a name for the backup job.

Job Priority

Select a job priority level between 1 and 5, with 1 being the highest priority. Jobs with higher priority levels are prioritized by transporters during job processing.

Note
This option is only available in the Enterprise, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Plus, MSP Enterprise, and MSP Enterprise Plus editions.

App-Aware Mode

If the App-aware mode option is enabled, NAKIVO Backup & Replication will trigger the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) inside guest OS of source VMs prior to making a VM snapshot. The VSS service will instruct VSS-aware applications and databases to flush data from memory to disk and save data in a consistent state. Thus, the VM snapshot taken after triggering the VSS service will contain consistent data. 

Select one of the following options from the App-aware mode drop-down list: 

  • Disabled: VM backup will be performed without application awareness.  

  • Enabled (fail on error): In the dialog box that opens, select the checkboxes next to the VMs for which you want to create application-aware backups, and then select credentials next to each VM. These credentials will be used to log in to VMs you have selected and trigger the VSS service. When this option is selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication will fail the backup if the app-aware mode fails (for example, due to wrong credentials).  

  • Enabled (proceed on error): In the dialog box that opens, select checkboxes next to the VMs for which you want to create application-aware backups, and then select credentials next to each VM. These credentials will be used to log in to the VMs you have selected and trigger the VSS service. When this option is selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication will proceed with the backup even if the app-aware mode fails (for example, due to wrong credentials).

  • Under Settings, you can select VMs for which the app-aware mode will be enabled. You need to specify credentials for them.

Change Tracking

Select one of the options from the Change tracking drop-down list:

  • Use native change tracking: Native Proxmox VE change tracking method. This option enables the fastest incremental backup. 

  • Use proprietary method: When selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication reads the entire contents of all VM disks in order to determine what data has changed since the last job run.

  • No change tracking (always full): When selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication always performs a full VM backup of all source VMs. 

Network Acceleration

If the Network Acceleration option is enabled, NAKIVO Backup & Replication uses compression and traffic reduction techniques to speed up data transfer. Select this option if you plan to back up over WAN or slow LAN links. 

Note

The Network acceleration option is not available if the Backup encryption option is enabled.

Network Encryption

If the Network Encryption option is enabled, VM data is protected with AES 256 encryption while traveling over the network. Data encryption increases the backup time and CPU load on machines running transporters. Select this option if you are backing up over WAN without a VPN connection.

You need at least one transporter at the source and target sites to enable network encryption.

Backup Encryption

When enabled, backup data is protected with AES 256 block cipher encryption with a 256-bit key length. You can protect the backup file by creating a new password or selecting an existing one. For more information, refer to Enabling Backup Encryption.

Notes

  • This option is available only if the Disk or Tape destination type was chosen on the Destination page of the wizard.

  • The Backup encryption option is not available if the Network acceleration option is enabled.

  • If enabled, the created recovery points are encrypted.

  • The Backup encryption option is not displayed for a backup job where forever incremental repositories are selected as the only target repositories.

  • The Backup encryption option cannot be enabled if multiple targets with a mix of supported and unsupported (SaaS repositories or forever incremental repositories) repositories are selected as destinations.

  • It’s recommended that you enable the (AWS) Key Management Service. If KMS is enabled, all backup encryption passwords encrypted with the Key Management Service cryptographic key are available for recovery in case of product re-installation. For more information, refer to Enabling KMS.

Exclude Swap Files and Partitions

With this option enabled, NAKIVO Backup & Replication automatically excludes swap files and partitions during the backup process. 

Exclude Unused Blocks

With this option enabled, NAKIVO Backup & Replication automatically excludes unused disk blocks and blocks occupied by deleted files during processing of source objects running Windows OS. This feature allows for reducing backup storage space and object processing time.

Full Backup Settings

If the type of the Backup Repository that you selected on the Destination page is set to Incremental with full backups (Store backups in separate files option is selected), you can specify the following options:

  • Create full backup: Specify how often full backups should be created. 

  • Full backup mode: Specify how the full backup should be created. You can choose one of the following options:

    • Synthetic Full: When this option is selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication first performs an incremental backup (that is, transfers only the data that has changed since the last backup) and then transforms the available data into a full backup file. The benefits of this approach are:

      • The Synthetic Full backup is usually faster than the Active Full backup.

      • The load on the network is lower as less data is transferred.

      • The load on the source datastores running your production VMs is lower.

    • Active Full: When this option is selected, NAKIVO Backup & Replication reads all VM data from the source datastore and transfers it to the Backup Repository.

    • If a full backup fails, create a full backup on the next job run: With this option selected, the next job run creates a full backup if the current job run fails to do so.

Pre and Post Job Actions

NAKIVO Backup & Replication provides you with the ability to enable certain actions before a backup job begins and after it has completed. You can choose to send job run reports, and run local pre- and post- job scripts.

Email Notifications

NAKIVO Backup & Replication can send email notifications on job completion status to specified recipients. This feature complements global notifications and provides you with the ability to configure notifications on a per-job level. To enable this option, configure your Email settings.

To send email notifications, do the following:

  1. In the Pre and Post Actions section, select the Send job run reports to option.

  2. Specify one or more email addresses in the text box. The semi-colon character should be used to separate multiple email addresses.

Pre Job Script

To run a script before the product begins backing up VMs, do the following:

  1. Place a script file on the machine on which the Director is installed.

  2. In the Pre and Post Actions section, select the Run local pre job script option.

  3. Specify the following parameters in the dialog box that opens:

  • Script path: Specify a local path to the script on the machine on which the Director is installed. Script interpreter should be specified. 

    • Example (Windows): cmd.exe /c D:\script.bat

    • Example (Linux): bash /root/script.sh

  • Job behavior: Choose either of the following job behaviors in relation to script completion:

    • Wait for the script to finish: If this option is selected, VM backup will not be started until the script is completed.

    • Do not wait for the script to finish: If this option is selected, the product will run the script and will start backing up VMs at the same time.

  • Error handling: Choose either of the following job behaviors in relation to script failure:

    • Continue the job on script failure: If this option is selected, the job will perform VM backup even if the script has failed.

    • Fail the job on script failure: If this option is selected and the script fails, the job will be failed and VM backup will not be performed.

Post Job Script

To run a script after the product has finished backing up all VMs, do the following:

  1. Place a script file on the machine on which the Director is installed.

  2. In the Pre and Post Actions section, select the Run local post job script option.

  3. Specify the following parameters in the dialog box that opens:

    • Script path: Specify a local path to the script on the machine on which the Director is installed. Script interpreter should be specified. 

      • Example (Windows): cmd.exe /c D:\script.bat

      • Example (Linux): bash /root/script.sh

    • Job behavior: Choose one of the following job behaviors in relation to script completion:

      • Wait for the script to finish: When selected, the job will be in the "running" state until the script is completed.

      • Do not wait for the script to finish: When selected, the job will be completed even if the script execution is still in progress.

    • Error handling: Choose either of the following job behaviors in relation to script failure:

      • Continue the job on script failure: When selected, script failure will not influence the status of the job.

      • Fail the job on script failure: When selected and the script has failed, the job status will be set to "failed" even if the VM backup has been successful.

Notes

  • Pre- and post-job scripts can be executed only on the machine on which the Director is installed. 

  • When Integration Services are used on Hyper-V 2016 and above, custom pre/post scripts are unavailable for Windows VMs.

Data Transfer

In the Data Transfer section of the Optionspage, you can specify a transporter load and configure bandwidth throttling.

Transporter Load

You can limit the maximum number of transporter tasks used by the job. By default, it is set to 3 concurrent tasks.

To change the default number of tasks, do the following:

  1. In the Data Transfer section, select the Limit transporter load to checkbox.

  2. Specify the number of concurrent tasks in the corresponding box.

Bandwidth Throttling

Follow the steps below to regulate the speed of data transfer over the network for your backup job:

  1. For the Bandwidth throttling option, choose Enabled.

    Note
    If bandwidth throttling is disabled for the current job, global bandwidth rules may still apply to your job. Refer to Bandwidth Throttling for details.

  2. Click the Settings link that becomes available.

  3. The Job Bandwidth Rules dialog box opens displaying you the list of available rules. You have the following options:

    • Create a new bandwidth rule for your backup job:

      1. Click the Create New Rule button.

      2. The New Bandwidth Rule dialog box opens. Refer to Bandwidth Throttling for details on creating a bandwidth rule.

      3. Click Save.

    • Activate an existing bandwidth rule for your job. Select the checkbox to the left of the necessary bandwidth rule. To deactivate a bandwidth rule for your job, clear the corresponding checkbox.

    • Edit a bandwidth rule. Click the Edit link for a bandwidth rule and modify it in the Edit Bandwidth Rule dialog box that opens.

    • Disable a bandwidth rule. Click the Disable link. The bandwidth rule will be disabled for all jobs.

    • Remove a bandwidth rule. Click the Remove link and then click Delete to confirm your operation.

Bottleneck detection

When the Bottleneck detection option is enabled, additional information is collected and recorded in NAKIVO Backup & Replication logs in the course of data transfer for the purpose of bottleneck detection. Check this option to enable the Bottleneck detection capability of the transporters engaged in the job.

Completing New Backup Job Wizard for Proxmox VE

Click Finish or Finish & Run to complete the job creation.

Note
If you click Finish & Run, you will have to define the scope of your job. Please refer to Running Jobs on Demand for details.