Domain.vmfile

The domain.vmfile option specifies the virtual machines to include when you perform off-host file-level backups of VMware virtual machines.

VMware file-level backups are only available for Windows guest backups that are performed from a Windows backup proxy. Template virtual machines are not included in file-level backups.

The virtual machines that are specified with the domain.vmfile option are only processed when the backup vm command is issued without a virtual machine, a list of virtual machines, or the -vmlist option specified.

You can specify the all-windows domain to include all Windows virtual machines that are defined to the Virtual Center or to the ESX Server that is specified on the vmchost option.

Supported Clients

This option is valid for Windows clients. The server can also define this option. This option is not valid for Hyper-V backups.

Options File

Place this option in the client options file (dsm.opt), or on the command line. You can also set this option on the VM Backup tab of the Preferences editor.

Syntax


                  .-;-------------------------------------.   
                  V .-vmname1,vmname2-------------------. |   
>>-DOMAIN.VMFIle----+-----------------------------------+-+----><
                    +-VM=vmname1,vmname2----------------+     
                    +- -VM=vmname1,vmname2--------------+     
                    +-ALL-WINdows-----------------------+     
                    +-VMHost=srv1,srv2------------------+     
                    +-VMFolder=foldername1,foldername2--+     
                    +-VMHOSTCLUSTER=cluster1,cluster2---+     
                    '-VMDATASTORE=datastore1,datastore2-'

Important: Multiple keywords must be separated by a semicolon. There cannot be any spaces following the semicolons. Multiple machine or domain names must be separated by commas, with no space characters. See vm=vmname for examples.

You can use these keywords to easily add groups of virtual machines:

all-windows
vmhost
vmfolder
vmhostcluster
vmdatastore

When you include virtual machines by using one of these domain levels, Tivoli® Storage Manager detects any new virtual machines added to the domain after the initial VMware environment was set up.

Parameters

vmname: Defines the virtual machine host name that you want to process or a list of virtual machine host names that are separated by commas.
vm=vmname: The VM keyword specifies that the next set of values are virtual machine host names. VM is the default and it is not required.
-vm=vmname: You can exclude individual virtual machines from the domain by specifying the exclude operator (-) before this keyword. For example, -VM=vm1,vm2 excludes the vm1 and vm2 virtual machines from a backup operation. You cannot use any domain exclusion operator (-) in front of any domain keywords.
all-windows: Process all virtual machines that are defined to the Virtual Center or the ESX server that is specified on the vmchost option that have a guest operating system type of Windows. This parameter also allows for automatic inclusion of newly added virtual machines.
vmhost=hostname: Process all virtual machines that are defined to the Virtual Center or to the ESX server that is specified on the vmchost option. The host name that you specify must match the fully qualified host name or IP address, as it is specified in the vCenter server Hosts and Clusters view.; All newly added to this host are automatically included in backup and restore processing. To be included, the virtual machines must also be running on the ESX server that is specified by the host name.; This parameter can include multiple ESX servers that are separated by commas. When the Virtual Center contains multiple ESX servers, this option does not determine the ESX server from which a snapshot is taken. The ESX server from which a snapshot is taken is determined by the VMware VirtualCenter web service.; When you connect directly to an ESXi or ESX host, the vmhost keyword applies only if the VM host is the ESXi you connect to. If it is not, a warning level message is issued to the console and is recorded in the client dsmerror.log file; it is also recorded as a server event message.
vmfolder=foldername: Process all virtual machines that are defined to the Virtual Center or to the ESX server that is specified on the VMCHOST that are defined as residing in the VMware folder that is specified by the foldername value. The foldername can include multiple VMware folders that are separated by commas. Allows for automatic inclusion of newly added virtual machines.
vmhostcluster=hostclustername: Process all virtual machines that are defined to the Virtual Center or to the ESX server that is specified on the vmchost option. The virtual machines must also be running on the ESX host cluster that is specified by the host cluster name. To include more than one host cluster name, separate the cluster names with commas: VMHOSTCLUSTER=cluster1,cluster2.; A VMware host cluster is not available if you connect directly to an ESXi or ESX host. If you connect directly to an ESXi/ESX host and a domain is processed that includes a host cluster, a warning level message is issued to the console and is recorded in the client dsmerror.log file; it is also recorded as a server event message.
vmdatastore=datastorename: Process all virtual machines that are defined to the Virtual Center or to the ESX server that is specified on the vmchost option. The virtual machines must also have their configured datastore location match the datastore name that is specified by datastorename. The datastore name can include multiple datastores that are separated by commas: VMDATASTORE=datastore1,datastore2; It is possible for virtual machines to have their disk (vmdk files) on more than one datastore; but there is only one default datastore location. This default datastore location is defined in the virtual machine configuration and is always where the virtual machine configuration file (.vmx file) is located. When a machine is selected for backup by using a domain keyword, the virtual machine configuration file, and all of the virtual machine's disks are included in the backup, including the disks that are located in a different datastore than the one specified on the domain.

Examples

Options file:

Run a file-level backup of all virtual machines that have Windows operating systems.

domain.vmfile all-windows

Run a file-level VM backup of all virtual machines that are defined to VM folder TSMSvt and TSMdev.

domain.vmfile "vmfolder=TSMSvt,TSMdev"

File-level VM backup of all virtual machines that are defined to VM folders TSMSvt and TSMdev and virtual machines testvm1 and testvm2.

domain.vmfile "vmfolder=TSMSvt;VM=testvm1,testvm2"

Process all Windows virtual machines for file-level backup vm command, except for the virtual machines named machine1 and machine 2.

domain.vmfile	 "all-windows;-vm=machine1,machine2"

Process the virtual machines vm1 and vm2 during a file-level backup.

-domain.vmfile="vm1,vm2"

Command line:

dsmc backup vm -domain.vmfile="vm1,vm2"