Automating Veeam Backup with Cisco Intersight Orchestration

Summary

This demonstration showcases the integration of Veeam Backup & Replication with Cisco Intersight Cloud Orchestrator (ICO). The presenter walks through deploying backup agents on bare metal Windows servers using automated workflows in ICO. Key steps include claiming targets, using PowerShell scripting, creating protection groups, and setting up backup jobs for server recovery. The demo highlights the simplicity of the automation, the mapping of input parameters to tasks, and the execution of the workflow, all resulting in the successful creation of backup jobs in the Veeam console, ready for scheduled backups.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Demonstration of Veeam Backup and Replication with Cisco Intersight Cloud Orchestrator (ICO).
• 💻 ICO is used to define workflows, and the demo focuses on a workflow named 'vbr Windows agent' for deploying agents on bare metal servers.
• 🔧 Setup includes claiming targets like Veeam Backup and Replication (vbr11a) and using a PowerShell endpoint for automation.
• ⚙️ The demo highlights how ICO uses workflows to deploy agents on both Windows and Linux servers.
• 🔒 Credential management and checking are crucial tasks, ensuring proper access before further tasks are executed.
• 🛠️ The protection group is created as part of the workflow to back up bare metal servers.
• 📅 Backup jobs are configured for the protection group, which can consist of one or multiple servers.
• 🎯 Parameters such as username, password, IP address, operating system, and job type are manually input for this demo, though the process can be automated.
• 🔄 Once executed, ICO automatically creates a protection group and a backup job within the Veeam Backup and Replication console.
• 🕒 The backup job is scheduled to run daily at 11 PM, ensuring full server protection and bare metal recovery.

Q & A

What is the purpose of this demonstration?

The purpose of the demonstration is to showcase the integration of Veeam Backup and Replication with Cisco Intersight Cloud Orchestrator (ICO), specifically for automating workflows such as deploying agents on bare metal servers.

What does ICO stand for in this demonstration?

ICO stands for Intersight Cloud Orchestrator, which is used in this demonstration to manage and automate workflows for Veeam Backup and Replication.

What operating systems can be used with the Veeam Backup and Replication agents?

The Veeam Backup and Replication agents can be deployed on both Windows and Linux operating systems, although this particular demonstration focuses on a Windows agent.

What type of servers are being backed up in this demo?

The demo demonstrates backing up bare metal servers using Veeam Backup and Replication with Cisco Intersight Cloud Orchestrator.

What scripting language is used for automation in this demo?

PowerShell scripting is used for automation in this demo, particularly for integrating with Cisco Intersight Cloud Orchestrator.

What is a 'protection group' in the context of this demo?

A protection group is a group of servers that are being backed up as part of a backup job. It can consist of one or more bare metal servers, and it allows for streamlined management of backups.

How are parameters like credentials and job settings passed into the workflow?

Parameters such as user credentials, agent IP address, operating system, and job type are passed into the workflow manually in this demonstration, but the process can be automated for larger deployments.

What happens after the workflow is executed in ICO?

After the workflow is executed, the necessary parameters are passed, and the tasks such as creating a protection group and a backup job are completed. The demo shows the protection group and backup job appearing in the Veeam Backup and Replication console.

What kind of recovery does the backup job support in this demo?

The backup job in this demo supports bare metal recovery, meaning the entire server can be restored from the backup in case of failure.

What schedule is set for the backup job created in this demonstration?

The backup job is scheduled to run daily at 11 PM.