During the VMTN Podcast a lot of people had questions about VMware Consolidated Backup for vSphere. As most of you know with vSphere comes a new version of VMware Consolidated Backup and a new product called VMware Data Recovery.
One of the questions was if VMware Data Recovery replaced VCB. As stated in the VMware Data Recovery FAQ, it will not replace VCB both products will co-exist. VMware Data Recovery is a separate product that is built on the VMware vStorage APIs for Data Protection(VADP).
VADP is the next evolution of VCB. Unlike VCB, which requires customers to deploy the VCB component on a proxy, VADP will be integrated natively as a part of backup product. VADP will enable backup applications to restore across both LAN and SAN. Existing VCB partners are planning integrations using VADP.
However to ensure existing VCB customers can continue to backup VMs on vSphere on day zero we are releasing an update to VCB to also support backup of vSphere 4.0 VMs.
VADP will contain multiple enhancements compared to VCB:
Source: vStorage API product page
The vStorage APIs for Data Protection enable backup software to
protect system, application, and user data in your virtual machines in
a simple and scalable way. These APIs enable backup software to:
- Perform full, differential, and incremental image backup and restore of virtual machines.
- Perform file-level backup of virtual machines using supported Windows and Linux operating systems
- Ensure
data consistency by using Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS)
for virtual machines running supported Microsoft Windows operating
systems
