Note: This section describes how to configure a VRA to protect a new vCenter. To replace a version 7.3x vSphere Agent and run existing jobs without reseeding, see Re-register a vSphere Recovery Agent as an existing vSphere Agent.
After a VRA is installed and registered with Portal, you must configure the Agent by doing the following:
•Provide information and credentials for the vCenter that you want to protect. The user should have administrative rights to the vCenter.
•Change the CBT setting. Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is a VMware feature that tracks changed disk sectors and improves the performance of VM backups. By default, the vSphere Agent enables Changed Block Tracking (CBT) for VMs.
•Add a vault connection. A vault connection provides vault information and credentials so that the Agent can back up data to and restore data from the vault.
You can also change these settings after the initial configuration. See Change vCenter information for a vSphere Recovery Agent, Change the CBT Setting for a vSphere Recovery Agent and Add vault settings.
Optionally, you can do the following:
•Add a description for the Agent. The description appears for the vSphere environment on the Computers page. See Add a description.
•Add retention types that specify how long backups are kept on the vault. See Add retention types.
•Configure email notifications so that users receive emails when backups complete, fail, or have errors. See Set up email notifications for a computer.
•Specify the amount of bandwidth consumed by backups. See Configure bandwidth throttling.
To configure the vSphere Recovery Agent:
1. On the navigation bar, click Computers.
The Computers page shows registered computers.
2. Find the unconfigured vSphere Recovery Agent, and expand its view by clicking its row.
If the Agent has not been configured, the Configure Automatically and Configure Manually boxes appear.
3. If an Associate this computer with a site list appears, choose a site for the Agent.
The site list appears if you are signed in as an Admin user in a parent site that has child sites. The list includes the parent site if it has a vault profile, and all child sites in the parent site.
4. To add a vault connection for the Agent, do one of the following:
•Choose a vault from the Choose a vault list, and then click Configure Automatically. If the vault connection is added successfully, a message appears. Click Go to Agent.
If the vault connection is not added successfully, you can add the vault connection manually.
•Click Configure Manually. On the Vault Settings tab, click Add Vault. In the Vault Settings dialog box, do the following:
•In the Vault Name box, enter a name for the vault connection.
•In the Address box, enter the vault host name or IP address.
Specifying the host name is recommended. This will allow DNS to handle IP address changes.
•In the Account, Username, and Password boxes, enter an account name and credentials for backing up data to and restoring data from the vault.
Click Save.
5. On the vCenter Settings tab, do the following:
•In the vCenter Address box, type the host name or IP address of the vCenter that you want to protect. Specifying the host name is recommended. This will allow DNS to handle IP address changes.
•In the Domain box, type the domain of the account for authenticating with the vCenter. The domain is not required if you specify the domain in the Username box.
•In the Username box, type the account that is used to authenticate with the vCenter. You can type the account as username, domain\username, or username@domain.
The user must have administrator permissions for the vCenter.
•In the Password box, type the password for the specified user.
6. To validate the vCenter settings, click Test vCenter Connection. If the credentials are valid, a Success message appears. Click Okay.
7. Do one of the following:
•To enable CBT for VMs that do not have it enabled, select Enable Change Block Tracking (CBT) for Virtual Machines during backup.
•To stop the VRA from enabling CBT for VMs, clear Enable Change Block Tracking (CBT) for Virtual Machines during backup.
8. Click Save. A Success message appears. Click Okay.
The VRA is now ready for creating backup jobs. See Add a vSphere backup job.