Best method(s) to backup VMs running on HyperV?

Posted by Kara Marfia on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by Kara Marfia
Published on 2009-05-06T18:38:53Z Indexed on 2010/04/01 22:33 UTC
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hyper-v

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backup

We're in the middle of P2V'ing most of the network, so the current backup method is likely the worst - the backup agent is still installed on the guest OSs, and the backup device is dutifully pulling them onto tape, one file at a time.

I suspect there's a clever way to script (PowerShell?) a suspend on the VMs, then backup of the .vhd files, and unsuspend the VMs. This seems like it would provide big speed benefits, while losing file-level restore (might be best for things like DCs and app servers).

What methods/policies have you hammered out?

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