Xopero ONE 1.6.5: direct support for backup and restore of Microsoft Hyper-V

We did it! Introducing direct support for backup and restore of Microsoft Hyper-V virtual machines. Check out the capabilities we have prepared in the first release 🚀 

 

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Many users have been waiting for this update! From now on, Xopero ONE allows for backups of any number of virtual machines from individual Hyper-V hosts (standalone) and clusters. 

With Xopero ONE, users can now secure their chosen virtual machines, enabling restoration to their original Hyper-V environment or to a different one. The initial release of Xopero ONE for Hyper-V comes with features for the complete protection of virtual machines. Let’s focus on these individual capabilities and explore them more thoroughly from a technical perspective. 

 

Creating Microsoft Hyper-V backups 

Virtual machine backups are performed in accordance with Microsoft Hyper-V documentation and principles. An agent operating on the Hyper-V host prepares a snapshot and exports the machine, eliminating the need to save it in a temporary location (unlike scripts). Users have the option to configure the following options in the backup policy: 

• Application-Aware backup (recommended): This allows for the preservation of data consistency for running applications. 
• Skipping disks for which snapshot creation is impossible (e.g. shared disks): This option allows you to exclude disks for which snapshot creation is not possible. 

Each Hyper-V agent includes a built-in Server Agent license, allowing for additional data protection directly from the Hyper-V host. 

 

Restoring Microsoft Hyper-V backups

Hyper-V virtual machines can be restored to the same, or any other Hyper-V environment integrated with Xopero ONE. At the moment, the only option for recovery is to restore machines in their entirety, but soon other recovery options will be available, including instant restore. Stay tuned! 

Before starting the restoration, User selects either the original or a different location to where the machine’s configuration files and its disks are to be restored. It’s also possible to map network interfaces.

 

Licensing

Hyper-V is licensed similarly to VMware – per socket. It requires the installation of a separate, dedicated agent on Hyper-V hosts. In the case of securing clusters, all hosts within the cluster must have a Hyper-V agent with a valid license. Each Hyper-V agent includes a Server Agent license, enabling additional data protection directly from the Hyper-V host.

Backup management and recovery are conducted directly from the web management console, right from your browser.

Supported Operating Systems

Xopero ONE supports Hyper-V on the following operating systems:

• Windows 10+
• Windows Server 2016+

Of course, we don’t just limit ourselves to backup and data recovery for Hyper-V – all other features, such as the security package and ransomware protection, are also available. Learn more about all the possibilities, or better yet, test them out for yourself, log in to your Xopero ONE account or start a free trial. 

 

Additional improvements 

Xopero ONE for Microsoft Hyper-V was definitely the star of this release, but we’ve also introduced several other enhancements. 

• Adding devices to a plan using the ‘Assign to plan’ option from the device list previously opened a sidebar for device selection in the plan. Since the user had already chosen these devices on the list, this action was contrary to their intention. From this release, devices are now immediately assigned to the plan, eliminating the need for their re-selection. 
• We have increased the bandwidth limits that a user can set for backup creation and data restoration processes. The previous maximum value was 2047 Mb/s, and it has now been increased to an impressive 4194304 Gb/s. 
• Popup messages during data store editing have been updated for clearer communication, helping users better understand the system’s information.