Moving Replica Files to Another Location

The SP may need to move tenant VM replica files to another location, for example, if the initial storage is running out of space. This operation can be performed on the VMware vSphere platform, on the Microsoft Hyper-V platform, as well as in VMware Cloud Director.

The operation does not require any actions on the tenant side. For the tenant, VM replica files remain on the same cloud host, in the same cloud storage.

Moving Replica Files in VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V

Before you move tenant replica files, check the following prerequisites:

• The new datastore (for VMware vSphere platform) or storage volume (for Microsoft Hyper-V platform) must be connected to the same host or cluster as the initial datastore/volume.
• All active replication job sessions and failover tasks must be stopped for VM replicas created by tenants whose replica files are moved to another datastore/volume.

The SP must complete the following tasks:

1. Remove the SP-side network extension appliances used by tenant VM replicas in the initial location.

1. Open the Cloud Connect view.
2. In the inventory pane, click Tenants.
3. In the working area, right-click the necessary tenant and select Properties.
4. At the Replica Resources step of the wizard, clear the Use Veeam network extension capabilities during partial and full site failover check box.
5. Click Finish.
6. [Optional] If more than one tenant is subscribed to the hardware plan that utilizes storage resources of the initial VM replica location, repeat steps a–e for each tenant whose replicas you plan to move to a new location.

2. Move tenant data from the initial location to the new location:

• [For VMware vSphere] Use Storage vMotion to move tenant VM replicas to the new datastore.
• [For Microsoft Hyper-V] Use the Move option in Hyper-V Manager (or Failover Cluster Manager) to move tenant VM replicas to a path on the new storage volume.

3. Change storage allocation settings in the hardware plan settings:

1. Open the Cloud Connect view.
2. In the inventory pane, click Replica Resources.
3. In the working area, right-click the hardware plan for which you want to change storage settings and select Edit Hardware Plan.
4. At the Storage step of the wizard, select the cloud storage that uses quota on the initial storage from which VM replicas have been moved and click Edit.
5. In the Edit Storage window, change the datastore/path for the cloud storage:

• [For VMware Hardware Plan] In the Datastore section, click Browse and select the datastore to which VM replicas have been moved.

• [For Hyper-V Hardware Plan] In the Path section, click Browse and specify a path to the folder to which VM replicas have been moved.

6. Click OK.

7. At the Apply step of the wizard, wait until Veeam Backup & Replication updates the hardware plan settings. Then click Finish.

4. Deploy the new SP-side network extension appliances in the new location where you have moved tenant VM replicas.

1. Open the Cloud Connect view.
2. In the inventory pane, click Tenants.
3. In the working area, right-click the necessary tenant and select Properties.
4. At the Replica Resources step of the wizard, select the Use built-in network management capabilities during failover check box.
5. At the Network Extension step of the wizard, specify settings for the new SP-side network extension appliance that will be used by tenant VM replicas in the new location. To learn more, see Specify Network Extension Settings.
6. Click Apply. Then click Finish.
7. [Optional] If more than one tenant is subscribed to the hardware plan that utilizes storage resources of the new VM replica location, repeat steps a–e for each tenant whose replicas you have moved to the new location.

Veeam Backup & Replication will deploy the new SP-side network extension appliances on the datastore or storage volume where you have moved tenant VM replicas. Tenants subscribed to the hardware plan will be able to continue running replication jobs and performing failover tasks targeted at the cloud host.

Moving Replica Files in VMware Cloud Director

If the tenant uses an organization VDC as a cloud host, the SP moves tenant VM replica files by migrating the tenant storage policy to another datastore in VMware Cloud Director. Tenant VM replicas and their restore points are preserved, and the tenant does not need to create replicas from scratch.

The SP must complete the following tasks:

1. Ask the tenant to disable replication jobs targeted at the organization VDC. Alternatively, disable the tenant account.

For details, see Disabling and Enabling Tenant Accounts.

2. In VMware Cloud Director, make sure that the target datastore is available to the organization, and that the target storage policy is created and assigned to the organization VDC that is used as a cloud host.
3. In the Veeam Backup & Replication console at the SP side, rescan the VMware Cloud Director server.

For details, see the Rescanning Servers section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

4. In VMware Cloud Director, move tenant VM replica files to the target datastore:

1. Open the organization to which the organization VDC is allocated and go to Storage Policies.
2. Select the initial storage policy and use the Migrate Storage option.
3. Select the target storage policy and wait until the storage migration is completed.

5. Ask the tenant to specify the target storage policy in the settings of replication jobs targeted at the organization VDC.

For details, see Creating Replication Jobs.

6. [Optional] If tenant VM replicas use SP-side network extension appliances, redeploy the appliances in the Veeam Backup & Replication console at the SP side.

For details, see Specify Network Extension Settings.

7. Enable the tenant account and ask the tenant to enable the replication jobs.

At the next replication job session, Veeam Backup & Replication will continue the existing replica chains on the target datastore. The tenant will be able to continue running replication jobs and performing failover tasks targeted at the cloud host.