Is Exchange protected by VMware app-aware backups?

SUMMARY

Is Exchange protected by VMware app-aware backups?

ISSUE

Purpose

Is Exchange protected by VMware app-aware backups?

Description

Yes. Exchange is protected by vProtect application-aware backups.

There are three ways to protect Exchange data on VMware virtual machines:

1. vProtect app-aware backup which backs up and quiesces application data. In this case, the backup uses all Microsoft Exchange VSS writers to perform application-level backups. Both the Microsoft Exchange VSS Writer and the Microsoft VSS Service must be installed and running on the guest VM or the backup will fail.
2. Install the Windows Agent which also requires both the Microsoft VSS Writer and the Microsoft VSS Service. After Installing the Windows Agent, the backup will treat your VM like a physical machine. All backup options are supported, and since the Micrsoft Writers are installed, all post backup processing will occur.
3. vProtect backs up to get data but it does not use the Micrsoft VSS Writer or the Microsoft VSS Service, therefore no post backup precessing takes place. An example of post processing is log truncation which is important for quiescing the data and preventing system shut down.