Configurar HYCU Backup (EN)

Objective

HYCU for Nutanix is a backup software available for Nutanix.

Find out how to install, configure and use HYCU on a Nutanix cluster with Object Storage storage provided by OVHcloud.

Requirements

• A valid HYCU for OVHcloud license in your OVHcloud account (the first step of this guide will detail the procedure to follow) or a HYCU license purchased from a third-party provider.
• A Nutanix on OVHcloud cluster in your OVHcloud account.
• Access to your OVHcloud Control Panel.
• Access to the cluster via Prism Central.
• A Public Cloud project with a High Performance Object Storage type storage bucket, with a user with read and write permissions for this bucket. You can find more information on how to create a Public Cloud project and how to use the High Performance Object Storage service on the following pages:
  • Creating your first OVHcloud Public Cloud project.
  • Getting started with Object Storage.
  • Object Storage - Managing object immutability with Object Lock (WORM)
• 60 GB of storage, 8 GB of memory, and 8 cores on your Nutanix Cluster for the HYCU Instance/Appliance.

Instructions

Content Overview

• Order a HYCU for OVHcloud license
  • Activate the license
  • Regenerate a HYCU for OVHcloud license
  • Cancel a HYCU for OVHcloud subscription (and its associated license)
  • Upgrade a HYCU for OVHcloud license
• Install and configure HYCU
  • Add the HYCU installation image
  • Configure the IP address for ISCSI
  • Add a user account in Prism Element for HYCU
  • Create the virtual machine for HYCU
  • Configure URL redirection for HYCU to the public network
  • Configure HYCU
• HYCU update
  • Add sources for a new HYCU version
  • Start the update from HYCU
• Configure backups in HYCU
  • Set passwords for virtual machine connections
  • Create backup strategies
  • Assign backup strategies
• Check the backup status
• Restore from HYCU
  • Restore a virtual machine
  • Retrieve a file
  • Restore an application

Order a HYCU for OVHcloud license

We offer different license packs based on the number of virtual machines (VMs) used by your Nutanix workloads.

Log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel and navigate to Hosted Private Cloud and Storage and Backup.

Click on HYCU then All My Licenses.

Click the Get Started button to choose and order a HYCU for OVHcloud pack.

Once your order is complete, you will receive a confirmation email and your subscription will appear in the All My Licenses dashboard.

Click on your license to proceed with activation.

Activate the license

Activate the HYCU license

When you click on a license in your dashboard, a menu will appear allowing you to rename, activate, renew, or cancel your HYCU for OVHcloud license.

Click the Activate License button (in the Shortcuts box).

A window will open to upload the license request file.

To obtain your license request file, log in to your Hybrid Cloud HYCU instance/appliance and go to the Licensing menu.

Click Download Request and download the file.

Back in the OVHcloud Control Panel, drag and drop the downloaded file into the open window, then click Activate.

After verification, the status of your license will change to Active.

Once the license is active, click the Download License button (at the bottom of the General Information box).

Return to the Licensing menu of your Hybrid Cloud HYCU instance/appliance and upload the license you just downloaded from the OVHcloud Control Panel.

A window will inform you that your license has been validated.

Regenerate a HYCU for OVHcloud license

If your HYCU technical configuration has changed, you will need to make a new request to obtain a new license file compatible with your HYCU controller.

Regenerate a HYCU for OVHcloud license

Log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel and navigate to Hosted Private Cloud and Storage and Backup. Click on HYCU.

Once in your license dashboard, click the Regenerate License button (in the Shortcuts box).

As with the activation of your license, download and upload your license request.

Then follow the same process as for license activation:

• Download the license key.
• Upload the license key to your Hybrid Cloud instance/appliance.

Cancel a HYCU for OVHcloud subscription (and its associated license)

How to cancel a HYCU for OVHcloud subscription

Log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel and navigate to Hosted Private Cloud and Storage and Backup. Click on HYCU.

Once in your license dashboard, click Cancel License in the Subscription box.

Then confirm the cancellation by typing TERMINATE in the provided box, then click Cancel.

Upgrade a HYCU for OVHcloud license

To upgrade your offer, you must first cancel your current HYCU for OVHcloud subscription (see above) and then order a new subscription with the required virtual machines pack.

Install and Configure HYCU

Add the HYCU installation image

Log in to Prism Central.

For more information on how to connect to the cluster, refer to the Go further section of this guide.

From the main menu, click Images from the Compute & Storage menu.

Click Add Image.

Choose URL as the source type, enter the URL https://download.hycu.com/ec/v4.X.X/hycu-4.X.X-XXXX.qcow2 in Enter Image URL, and click Upload file.

Remove the .qcow2 extension behind the name and leave hycu-4.X.X-XXXX. Enter a description and click Next.

Click Save to import the image.

On the Prism Central dashboard, click the cluster name in the Cluster Quick Access section to go to the Prism Element.

Configuring the IP address for ISCSI

Go to the settings by clicking on the gear icon.

Click Cluster Details.

Enter an unused local IP address in the Data Services IP field and click Save.

Check your choice and click Yes.

The IP address is displayed in virtual IP.

Adding a user account in Prism Element for HYCU

Click the gear to go to the Prism Element configuration.

Scroll down the menu and click Local User Management.

Click New User.

Enter these values:

• Username: svc_hycu
• First Name: HYCU
• Last Name: HYCU
• Email: hycu@example.com
• Password: password

Select the Cluster Admin checkbox and click Save.

The user is then created.

Creating the virtual machine for HYCU

Go to Prism Central.

In the main menu, click VMs from the Compute & Storage menu.

Click Create VM.

Name the virtual machine and change the properties of the virtual machine with these settings:

• CPU: 4 vCPU
• Cores Per CPU: 2 Cores
• Memory: 8GB

Click Next.

Click Attach Disk.

Enter these values:

• Type: Disk
• Operation: Clone from Image
• Image: hycu-4.X.X-XXXX

Click Save.

Click Attach Disk.

Choose these options:

• Type: Disk
• Operation: Allocate on Storage Container
• Image: default-container
• Capacity: 32Gib

Click Save.

Click Attach to Subnet.

Select the infra network from the Subnet drop-down menu, select Connected in the Network Connection State drop-down menu. Then click Save.

Click Next.

Create a yaml file by editing these values:

• < IP address >: The local IP address of the virtual machine with the subnet mask as XX.XX.XX.XX/XX.
• < GATEWAY >: Local gateway for the virtual machine to access the Internet.
• < DNS >: DNS used on the Internet.

#cloud-config
bootcmd:
- /opt/grizzly/bin/cloud_init_setup.sh hycubc < IP address > < GATEWAY > < DNS > `hycu.local,ntnx.local`

Modify Guest Customisation options by selecting Cloud-init (Linux) in the Script Type drop-down menu. Select Custom Script in the Configuration Method drop-down menu.

Copy the contents of the yaml script and paste it to the field below Clear Script. Then click Next.

Click Create VM.

Select the virtual machine created by using the checkbox to the right of the virtual machine.

Click Power On in the Actions menu.

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The virtual machine is started and has the IP address defined in cloud-init.

Configuring HYCU URL redirection to public network

In this section, we will configure a redirection so that you can configure HYCU using the web interface from outside your cluster.

In the OVHcloud Control Panel, select Bare Metal Cloud, then click on your Load Balancer in the menu bar on the left-hand side.

In the Server clusters tab, click Add a server cluster.

Name your server cluster, then select TCP and enter this information:

• Port: 8443
• Datacenter: ALL
• Private network: nutanix

Click Add to confirm the server farm creation.

Click Add a server.

Enter these values:

• Name (optional): VM-HYCU
• IPv4 address: ipaddresshycu
• Port: 8443

Click Add to confirm the cluster creation.

Next, click on the Front-ends tab, and Add a front-end.

Name your front-end, choose the TCP protocol, and modify these values:

• Port: 8443
• Datacenter: ALL
• Default server cluster: HYCU (TCP)

Click Add.

Click Apply configuration.

Select the Datacenter and click Apply configuration.

In the Tasks tab, you can track the progress of applying the changes.

For more information on the OVHcloud Load Balancer, please refer to the Go further section of this guide.

Configuring HYCU

Connect with a web browser to the HYCU administration interface, which should be similar to https://nutanixfqdncluster:8443. The fqdn variable corresponds to the URL provided when the Nutanix cluster was created.

Enter the default password and click Sign In.

Change the login password for more security.

Click Change Password in the admin menu in the top right-hand corner of the interface.

Enter the default password in the OLD PASSWORD field, the new password in the PASSWORD and CONFIRM PASSWORD fields.

Then click Save.

We will now connect HYCU to the Nutanix cluster.

Click the Administration gear icon in the top right corner and choose Sources

Enter information about Prism Element:

• URL: https://url_prism_element_local:9440
• USERNAME: Prism Element user
• PASSWORD: Prism Element user password

Click Next.

Enter this information about Prism Central:

• URL: https://url_prism_central_local:9440
• USERNAME: Prism Central user
• PASSWORD: Prism Central password

Click Next.

The VALIDATION SUCCESSFUL information appears to indicate that the entered information is correct. Click Save.

Click Close.

Select Targets in the menu on the left and click + Add in the top right of the interface.

Enter the configuration settings and authentication keys for your Object Storage user with read/write access to the Object Storage bucket used as explained below:

• name Name
• Size: Storage size
• Type: AWS S3/Compatible

Enable ENABLE COMPRESSION and scroll down through the window.

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Complete the information:

• SERVICE ENDPOINT: Object Storage URL
• BUCKET NAME: Bucket name
• ACCESS KEY ID: Object Storage User Access Key
• SECRET ACCESS KEY: Object Storage User Secret Key

Enable TARGET ENCRYPTION and click Save.

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The target is enabled for Nutanix cluster backups.

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Updating HYCU

HYCU regularly provides updates for which we detail the process below.

Adding sources for a new version of HYCU

From the Prism Central main menu, click Images from the Compute & Storage menu.

Click Add Image.

Select URL.

Enter the URL for the qcow2 image of the latest version of HYCU, such as:

• https://download.hycu.com/ec/v4.X.X/hotfixes/4.X.X-XXXX/hycu-4.X.X-XXXX.qcow2

Click Upload file.

Remove the extension .qcow2 behind the name hycu-'4.X.X-XXXX, enter a description and click Next.

Click Save to import the image.

Runing the update from HYCU

Log in via the URL provided when you created the Nutanix cluster, replacing the port https://fqdnclusternutanix:8443.

Go to the HYCU configuration by clicking the Administration gear icon and choose Power Options.

Select Suspend All, check AUTO RESUME AFTER and leave the Hours field at 1, then click Save.

Click Software Upgrade from the Administration gear menu.

Choose the latest version from the AVAILABLE VERSIONS drop-down menu and click Software Upgrade.

Click Yes to start the update process.

A backup copy is made during the update process so that it can be restored if there are any issues.

Log in to the HYCU administration interface.

Click the gear icon and click Power Options.

Uncheck Suspend All and click Save.

Configuring backup in HYCU

Setting up VM login passwords

Virtual machine login passwords enable backup of applications such as a Microsoft SQL database or Exchange server.

Log in via the Virtual Machines menu on the left and click the key-shaped Credentials button at the top right of the interface.

Click the + sign.

Enter these values:

• NAME: password storage name
• PROTOCOL: AUTOMATIC
• USERNAME: virtual machine user account
• PASSWORD: password

Click Save.

Click the + sign to add another account.

Enter these values:

• NAME: password storage name
• PROTOCOL: AUTOMATIC
• USERNAME: virtual machine user account
• PASSWORD: password

Click Save.

Click Close.

Select the virtual machines that will use a password by ticking the box to the right of the virtual machine, then click the credentials key button.

Select the password you want to use and click Assign.

Select another virtual machine that will use a password by ticking the box to the right of the virtual machine, then click the credentials key button.

Select the password you want to use and click Assign.

Creating backup policies

Go to the policies menu on the left and click the + button in the top right corner.

Enter this information:

• NAME: HYCU VM
• BACKUP EVERY: 4 hours
• BACKUP THRESHOLD: 42

Leave the BACKUP option checked and use the scroll bar on the right.

Click Save.

This policy is created for the HYCU virtual machine.

In the policies menu, click the + button in the top right corner.

Set the policy name BACKUP to Object Storage OVHcloud and local SNAPSHOTS in the NAME field.

Check the FAST RESTORE option, leave the BACKUP option checked.

Change the backup options in Backup and change the BACKUP THREESHOLD value to 25. Then scroll down the page.

Edit the Fast restore option with your settings and click Save.

This strategy makes a backup on OVHcloud Object Storage and also takes snapshots inside the Nutanix cluster, allowing for faster recovery.

Assigning backup policies

Select all VMs via the check box next to NAME, then click the shield-shaped Policies button in the top right to assign a policy to all VMs.

Choose the Exclude policy and click Assign.

Select the HYCU virtual machine by selecting the check box next to it, then click the Policies button to assign a policy to this virtual machine.

Choose the HYCU VM policy and click Assign.

Select four virtual machines and click the Policies button to assign a policy.

Choose the BACKUP to Object Storage and local SNAPSHOTS policy and click Assign.

Monitoring backup status

Go to the Dashboard menu on the left to view the dashboard and view the backup status.

Open the Jobs menu on the left to view the job status.

Restoring from HYCU

Use the Virtual Machines menu and click a backed up virtual machine.

Restoring a virtual machine

Click the Restore VM button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Select Restore VM and click Next.

Leave the default options and click Restore.

The virtual machine is fully restored.

Retrieving a file

Click the Restore files button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Leave AUTOMATIC in the RESTORE FROM drop-down menu and click Next.

Select the file to restore and click Next.

Leave the default options and click Next.

Choose Rename restored and click Restore.

The restored file is located inside the virtual machine with a new name so as not to delete the old file.

Restoring an application

Click the Applications menu and then choose an application to restore by clicking an application below Name.

Click the Restore button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Select Restore Databases and click Next.

Choose a database and click Next.

Disable OVERWRITE EXISTING DATABASES and click Restore.

The database is restored into a new database.

Go further

Nutanix on OVHcloud - High-level documentation

Nutanix Hyper-Convergence

Object Storage - Managing object immutability with Object Lock (WORM)

HYCU Home Page

HYCU documentation

OVHcloud Load Balancer documentation

Our OVHcloud Object Storage solutions

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