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Chapter 2
Before You Install
1. Using the first (primary) NIC, connect the vRanger server, the vCenter Server, and Service
Console 1 of each ESX Server host. This becomes the primary production network for VM
traffic.
2. In each ESX Server host, configure a second Service Console, connecting it to a dedicated NIC.
3. Using the second NIC, connect: the vRanger server; each Service Console 2; each vRanger
VA; and each repository. This becomes the dedicated backup network.
Note: For the backup network, fibre NICs are preferred and will provide better throughput than
1Gb/sec Ethernet NICs;
NIC Teaming
NIC Teaming is a feature of VMware Infrastructure that allows you to connect a single virtual switch
to multiple physical Ethernet adapters. To utilize NIC teaming, two or more network adapters must be
up-linked to a virtual switch. The main advantage of NIC teaming is increased network capacity for
the virtual switch hosting the team.
When bonding NICs into a team, it is important to use NICs from the same vendor as different NIC
vendors achieve bonding differently. When using teamed NICs with vRanger, it is critical that the
NICs are teamed for performance rather than load balancing. vRanger backups are streamed as a
continuous file - changing NICs during a data stream will cause backup errors.
Note: For more information on NIC teaming, please refer to the VMware Knowledge Base article
1004088: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1004088
2.3.1.c
LAN-Free Backups [Virtual Machines Only]
When vRanger is installed in a virtual machine, LAN-Free backups are made possible by VMware’s
HotAdd disk transport.
During backups with HotAdd, the source VM’s disks are mounted to the vRanger virtual machine,
allowing vRanger direct access to the VM’s data through VMware’s I/O stack. Backup processing
occurs on the vRanger VM, with the data then being send to the configured repository.