Simplivity local cluster backups - move to External StoreOnce - No CLI that I can find

[shaunenright514]

Hello guys, 

I have been working on the last steps of my project to implement StoreOnce VSA to my Federation
Need to find out in cli or powershell the following function
Simplivity Backup are performing perfectly
StoreOnce External Backups are performing perfectly as well (each 4 hours)

My goal for this setup is to have the following 
1 Hour backups with retention of 31 days handled locally 
once job is completed, I want the job to be sent to the StoreOnce in associated Catalyst

the rest of the backup policy can be sent to the Catalysts ( daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, 7 year) 
I configured straight from the Simplivity to the Catalyst and with the total amount of vm's I am backing up, it queues and makes a horrible mess. 

I have tried several cli commands and I cannot get the right one to perform the job. 
Also, need a CLI string command to be able to copy / move local backups to external store and then after 30 days delete from the local datastores. 

[Mahesh202]

Hi shaunenright514

I understand that you are having an issue with HPE SimpliVity local cluster backups - move to External HPE StoreOnce.
I request you have a look at the video (URL) shared below. This video demonstrates how you can back up straight to the HPE StoreOnce appliance using GUI.

https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/videoDisplay?videoId=vtc00000111en_us

Hope this helps.!!

Regards
Mahesh

[shaunenright514]

Hi there, 

Although this might work for some people who just want a simple "Manual" backup, this is not the case for someone who has over 80 VMS running. 

The video shows simply how to use the gui ... 

I am looking for the following options 

I have been using Simplivity for over 1 year. 
Cannot see why certain functions are not able to be performed without the need of redundant coding.
Worked with the support team to perform certain options but none exist. 

I have a VM, this VM is configured for local and remote backups. Backups are performed with local policy.

Simplivity copies locally and to remote sites - I want to be able to do the following things.

Site A copies backup to Site B 
Site B copies to site A 

----- What I want -----

*** Site B or A can perform a Move to External store StoreOnce located at Site B or A for cold storage ***  This would be much easier on I/O as the data is at the same location already. 

Presently I need to perform this function in CLI, and it is only a copy function. So then, the Simplivity local copy has to 'expire', it stays and takes up space on the cluster, or I go back into the CLI and query the backup job and delete them with date wildcards.  

---- Other item ----

*** perform multiple copies of the same VM's in a datastore to external storage without using filename in CLI *** 

Presently need to copy local or remote copies to external storage with the following command .. 

svt-backup-copy --datastore  Datastorename --VMname  --FILENAMEbackup 2023-02-09T04:00:00-05:00   --src-clustername  --dst-external-store name

and then re-code to each different file name. 

I have presently over 30,000 Backups in local and remote ... 

That is not logical 

Other item 

*** Site B can perform an export to Simplivity to allow file restoration *** 

Presently, I need to create a VM then export copy to a VM, then perform file restauration at the level I was able to before in local / remote Simplivity options  

This will be a HUGE improvement for ALL Simplivity users and you can promote this function to sell both StoreOnce and Simplivity. Please look into these items and perform the following Enhancement Requests as it will help all Simplivity Owners 

[Mahesh202]

Hi shaunenright514

You might want to consider these workarounds:

For moving backups to external StoreOnce storage: One workaround is to use the CLI to copy the backup files to the external StoreOnce storage, then manually delete the original backups from the Simplivity cluster. Another workaround is to use HPE's RMC (Recovery Manager Central) software to manage backups and storage across different environments.

For performing multiple copies of the same VMs: You could try scripting the backup copy commands to automate the process of copying the same VMs to external storage with different filenames. Alternatively, you could look into third-party backup and recovery software that offers more flexible options for managing and copying backups.

For exporting backups to Simplivity for file restoration: You could try using HPE's Simplivity File Level Restore tool, which allows you to restore individual files and folders from backups without having to restore the entire VM. This tool can be installed on a separate VM and can connect to backup files stored on external storage.

Hope this helps.!!

Regards
Mahesh

[gustenar]

Hello @shaunenright514,

Backing up every hour to StoreOnce sounds like the perfect recipe to get backups queued, especially if your link isn't able to handle all the traffic fast enough. HPE Simplivity Administration guide recommends backing up to StoreOnce no more than once a day; see link https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docLocale=en_US&docId=a00126375en_us page 74.

Some other best practices are to use a 10GbE link and add the StoreOnce Catalyst Store to the Simplivity federation network. I don't think your problem is related to a command, it's the frequency of the backups. My recommendation is to keep local backups with a shorter retention period and send backups to StoreOnce once a day with the longer retention periods. If you must have hourly backups, keep them locally and define the shortest retention period you can afford, then send a daily backup to StoreOnce that you can keep for a longer period of time. 

Regarding your other question, check the command svt-backup-copy. It gives you the option to make a copy of a backup to external store. See more details here: 

https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docLocale=en_US&docId=a00126368en_us

Page 16.

Hope it helps.

[shaunenright514]

Guys I appreciate the links and the commands. I have been through 99% of them. 

My request is for the following actions 

FACT - Simplivity performs the backup from server A to the remote server B at another site
FACT - Remote server B holds the remote backups locally in it's cluster datastore for server A and vise-versa
Since the remote backup is already performed, timestamped, block allocated and finished. That part of the task is finished.

We should be able to perform a svt-backup-copy cluster - VM tree or something like that to external-store "Catalyst name"

It has to be done file by file.
svt-backup-copy --datastore  Datastorename --VMname  --FILENAMEbackup 2023-02-23T04:00:00-05:00   --src-clustername  --dst-external-store name
svt-backup-copy --datastore  Datastorename --VMname  --FILENAMEbackup 2023-02-23T05:00:00-05:00   --src-clustername  --dst-external-store name
svt-backup-copy --datastore  Datastorename --VMname  --FILENAMEbackup 2023-02-23T06:00:00-05:00   --src-clustername  --dst-external-store name
svt-backup-copy --datastore  Datastorename --VMname  --FILENAMEbackup 2023-02-23T07:00:00-05:00   --src-clustername  --dst-external-store name

svt-backup-copy / export / move - datastore  Datastorename -- %ALLVM% ----src-clustername  --dst-external-store name

Why is it not possible to 'move' or copy over from the Remote server B multiple Daily Backups to StoreOnce located at the same site, on the same network.  The only way presently is with Backup Policies. And, you can only have 1 Backup Policy per VM. These copies sometimes are so small in 'DATA SIZE' that the transfer from the Clusters to the StoreOnce is fine performing hourly jobs using the External Store as my destination.

I know all about the commands in CLI, I've spent the last 2-3 months perfecting what I want. The only option is to perform this with single file handling as I mentioned above.. There is NO wildcard to perform this action.  It has to be done file by file. There should be an easier way to copy whichever VM that was sent to Simplivity nodes to StoreOnce. 

Thanks for the help

[gustenar]

The command doesn't offer a wildcard option, unfortunately. It might work for you doing the hourly backups local to the nodes with a short retention period  (1 day maybe or less) and send a remote backup to StoreOnce once a day with a longer retention period. Although you can only have one policy per VM, you can have multiple rules within the policy.