Testing Altaro VM Backup v7.6

For taking care of my backups on my lab environment I have tested and updated to the new Altaro VM Backup to version 7.6 that now have some really nice features:

  • Augmented Inline Deduplication
  • Continuous Data Protection (CDP)
  • Concurrency
  • Offsite Backup Replication
  • Grandfather-Father-Son Archiving (GFS)
  • Cloud Backup to Azure

Setup and updating

In the console there is a check update and when pressing that I get redirected to the download page on Altaro

Installing the update keeps the settings and license so no fuzz there!

Configuring is really easy and getting the backup up and running was a breeze. Altaro have made it easy with good info and guidance on schedules and configurations needed!

Management

After Install of the mother I see in the console that my agent on the other Hyper-V server needs to be updated also to work properly.

Offsite backup and restore

One really nice feature is the Cloud Backup to have a storage account in azure as offsite location where the backups can be sent. I can set the storage account to cool and thus save a bit on the cost!

Start up with creating a storage account in Azure at a preferred region. As I already have backup onsite I do not need geo-replication within Azure also

After setup in Azure you need to configure Altaro Backup and add an offsite location.

Once I have setup the offsite storage I can then add a backup to be replicated there. And doing a restore from an Azure storage account took about 7 minutes for a 12 GB VM, I have in my lab a 250 Mbit broadband connection and the other side will probably not be the limiting factor 🙂

Cloud Management

Another great feature that can be configured is the Altaro Cloud Management Console that makes it easy to stay on top of your backups and you can reach it from anywhere with a browser!

Reporting

To set up backup reporting via email I can utilize a Office 365 account and the smtp.office365.com

Once setup I can expect an backup report every morning at 8 AM

Summary

Getting the Altaro Backup solution up and running is really straight forward and easy! I have not yet tested it in a large scale environment yet but it seems really great and have as I described above some very good features!

For us that have an automation approach we can connect to the Altaro Rest API to check and do stuff for larger environments. Being an MSP and having BaaS is crucial as a competitive offer and the licensing for Altaro Backup in an MSP scenario goes into number of VM instead of CPU

I urge you to take it for a test run and see for your selves!

Passed the 70-537 AzureStack Operator Exam

I have been part of the beta test group for the AzureStack Operator exam and last week I got the result!

It was quite a difficult exam and you will have to had some hands-on experience on a Azurestack stamp to succeed on this exam!

As you can see on the exam page there are some areas that you need to know about:

Deploying and Integrating an Azure Stack Environment (20-25%)

  • Build test environments by using the Azure Stack Development Kit (ASDK).
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: use PowerShell commands; install updated ASDK; troubleshoot failed installs; post-deployment registration
  • Configure DNS for data center integration.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configure external DNS name resolution from within Azure Stack; configure Azure Stack DNS names from outside Azure Stack
  • Configure connectivity for data center integration.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: manage firewall ports needed at the edge; configure connectivity to the data center; install and renew certificates for public endpoints
  • Connect to and perform API-based administration on Azure Stack.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: connect to the stack by using PowerShell; configure client certificates; configure firewall to support remote administration; establish RBAC roles for the Azure Stack fabric; create subscriptions for end users

Configuring PaaS and IaaS for an Azure Stack Environment (25-30%)

  • Configure and administer the App Service resource provider.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configure system; configure source control; configure worker tiers; configure subscription quotas; scale worker tiers and App Service infrastructure roles; add custom software; configure Azure Stack networking security
  • Configure and administer database resource providers.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: configure and administer the SQL adapter; configure and administer the MySQL adapter; set up SKUs; set up additional hosting capacity
  • Configure and administer IaaS services.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: implement virtual machine images; prepare Linux and Windows images; prepare a custom image; upload an image

Providing Services to and Enabling DevOps for Azure Stack Tenants (25-30%)

  • Create and manage quotas, plans, and offers.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: create quotas; configure plans; configure offers; configure delegated offers; create add-on plans
  • Manage tenants.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: add new tenants; remove tenants; manage authentication and authorization; establish RBAC roles for the tenant space
  • Manage the Azure Marketplace.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: enable Azure Marketplace on Azure Stack; plan new packages; create and publish new packages; download Azure Marketplace items
  • Enable DevOps for tenants.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: enable version control for tenants; manage ARM templates; deploy ARM templates; debug ARM templates; use Microsoft Visual Studio Team Services to connect to Azure Stack; use continuous integration and continuous deployment to automate a pipeline that targets Azure Stack

Maintaining and Monitoring an Azure Stack Environment (20-25%)

  • Plan and implement a backup-recovery and a disaster-recovery solution.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: back up Azure Stack infrastructure services; perform cloud recovery of Azure Stack, replicate and fail over IaaS virtual machines to Azure; back up and restore PaaS resource data; back up and restore backup and restore of user IaaS virtual machine guest-OS, disks, volumes, and apps
  • Manage and monitor capacity, performance, updates, and alerts.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: manage storage; monitor available storage; integrate existing monitoring services; manage public IP address ranges; monitor infrastructure component health; monitor Azure Stack memory, public IP addresses, and storage tenant consumption; apply updates; update system firmware; review and react to alerts
  • Manage usage reporting.
    • This objective may include but is not limited to: provide access to the usage database; test usage by using the ASDK; collect the usage data by using the Provider Usage API and the Tenant Usage API; investigate the usage time versus the reported time