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Storage and Backups-Nutanix
Mine™ with Veeam Guide

Mine 3.0

Product Release Date: 2021-07-06

Last updated: 2022-12-12

Release Notes

Release 3.0

Mine™ with Veeam release 3.0 includes the following new features:

  • When deploying a Mine™ cluster, you now have to option to use an existing Veeam Backup & Replication server instead of deploying a new server within the Mine™ cluster (see step 8 in Deploying a Mine™ Cluster).
  • If you deploy a new Veeam Backup & Replication server (instead of using an existing one), the storage capacity of the new server VM has been increased to 400 GiB. The larger size provides expanded replication capacity as the server contains a repository to store metadata for replication jobs.
  • When you deploy a new Veeam Backup & Replication server, the Nutanix AHV plug-in is installed automatically on the deployed server. This allows you to add AHV clusters to the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure and protect Nutanix AHV VMs.
  • The Mine™ dashboard in Prism includes a new capacity trend widget (see Monitoring the Cluster).
  • The Veeam Scale-out Repositories view now reports storage counters from a Mine™ cluster. Mine™ data extents live on the same storage container, and the view displays the physical capacity and free space of the SOBR as a whole (counting summarized resources of all repositories added to the SOBR). If you select the Scale-out Repository, you can refer to the Used Space column to view occupied space on each repository extent.
    Figure. Veeam Scale-out Repository View Click to enlarge example entry for a Veeam scaleout repository

  • Mine™ now supports Veeam Data Mover services on repository VMs. SSH access is disabled on Linux repositories by default. Certificate-based authentication is used instead.
  • The Mine™ console Settings page includes two new tabs, Repositories and Time Zone Settings (see Updating Repositories and Setting Time Zone).

Note the following:

  • The Veeam hardened (immutable) repository option is not supported for a Mine™ cluster.
  • If you upgrade from an older (pre-3.0) Mine™ version, credentials for Mine™ repositories and proxies can appear twice. You can remove the doubled records if the credentials are no longer used (see Editing and Deleting Credentials Records).
  • Keep the Foundation for Mine™ VM turned on at all times. If a job or policy targeted to the Mine™ scale-out repository fails with a "No scale-out repository extents are available" or "Repo-Veeam-Lin-Node3 extent is offline" error message, the reason is likely because the Foundation for Mine™ VM is turned off or there is no connection to it. The same error might occur if the IP address of the Foundation for Mine™ VM is changed or the UID of the Nutanix backup container is changed.
  • If you see a "CD-Rom not found on Foundation for Mine VM" error message when attempting to upload a Windows ISO image during deployment (see step 7 in Deploying a Mine™ Cluster), check that a CD-ROM is present in the VM configuration and reboot the Foundation for Mine™ VM. If the issue remains, recreate the Foundation for Mine™ VM. (Do not recreate the Foundation for Mine™ VM on a deployed cluster.)
  • If the time zone and NTP settings are configured in Prism before deploying the Mine™ cluster, the settings are not applied to the repository VM. To avoid the problem and set the repository VM time zone properly, first deploy the cluster and then log on to the Mine™ console and set the time zone (see Setting Time Zone).
  • You can unintentionally shift the time zone twice after doing the following:
    • Select a time zone in the VM settings when creating the Foundation for Mine™ VM.
    • Select the same time zone for the cluster in the Mine™ console.
    • Set the synchronization mode to HOST .
    To avoid the issue, do the following:
    1. When creating the Foundation for Mine™ VM, select UTC for the Timezone setting.
    2. After creating the VM, log on to the Mine™ console and select the time zone for your region (see Setting Time Zone).
  • This guide provides instructions for installing and deploying a Mine™ cluster. However, only designated Nutanix and Veeam sales or support personnel (or certified VAR personnel) should perform the installation. (The FoundationMine image ISO to create the Foundation for Mine™ with Veeam VM is provided to the designated Nutanix, Veeam, or VAR personnel.)
  • A Mine™ cluster requires a current LTS version of AOS, either 5.20 or 5.15. AOS STS versions are not recommended.
  • After installation, DO NOT delete, reconfigure, or shut down the Foundation for Mine™ with Veeam VM or any of the six deployed VMs ( Veeam-Win-Node1 , Veeam-Win-Node2 , Veeam-Win-Node3 , Veeam-Lin-Node1 , Veeam-Lin-Node2 , Veeam-Lin-Node3 ).
  • Instead of using the default admin account to administer a Mine™ cluster, it is recommend that you create a separate administrator account for Mine™. Using a separate account circumvents two potential issues that could occur when using the default admin account (warnings may appear about external authentication and robot accounts are not obliged under security policies to have password change after every n months).
  • If the custom Mine™ dashboard does not appear in Prism (see Monitoring the Cluster), refresh (clear) the cache on your browser and redisplay Prism. The missing Mine™ dashboard should now appear.
  • When uploading a Windows image to install (see step 7 in Deploying a Mine™ Cluster), be sure it is Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition as that is the only supported version currently.
  • Foundation for Mine™ with Veeam automatically installs Veeam Backup & Replication version 11 Cumulative Patch 2 (11.0.0.837 P20210525).
  • If you see an "Unable to load Mine configuration settings …" error when viewing the Mine™ dashboard in Prism, the problem is likely DNS related. To circumvent the issue, access Prism using an IP address instead of a host name.
  • A default container (named default- xxx ) is created as part of creating a Nutanix cluster. Do not delete or rename the default container before deploying a Mine™ cluster because Mine™ requires this container.
  • The Mine™ dashboard does not appear in Prism when you access the cluster (Prism Element) from Prism Central. It appears in Prism only when you log on to the cluster directly.

Overview

Video: Mine™ Overview This video https://youtu.be/9NQRreAF1I0 is from Nutanix, Inc. on YouTube.

Nutanix Mine™ is the product name for joint solutions between Nutanix and select data protection software vendors. Nutanix Mine™ is a dedicated backup solution, where only backup component VMs run on the Mine™ cluster and the cluster storage are used to store backup workloads.

This version of Mine™ is a fully integrated data protection appliance that combines the Nutanix AOS software with the Veeam Backup & Replication solution. Mine™ can provide data protection for applications running in a Nutanix cluster and for other virtualized workloads running in your datacenter. Mine™ includes the following features:

  • Enterprise-grade data protection to any workload in your datacenter
  • Integrated installation and configuration experience
  • Integrated management experience
  • Seamless scaleout, self-healing, and break-fix functionality
Note: The Mine™ cluster is not a disaster recovery solution, thus restoring primary or production workloads to the Mine™ cluster is not supported currently. Attempting to run restored VMs on a Mine™ cluster disrupts the HA functionality of the cluster. If a node fails, the system might not be able to recover all the Veeam services automatically.

The Mine™ appliance comes in three initial sizes, "extra small" and "small" versions that include one preconfigured NX-1465 block and a "medium" version that includes two preconfigured NX-8235 blocks. You can add more NX-8235 blocks (but not NX-1465 blocks) to scale out the cluster for more capacity.

Table 1. Mine™ Appliance Specifications
Specification X-Small Small Medium Scale Out
Model NX-1465-G7 NX-1465-G7 NX-8235-G7 (x 2) NX-8235-G7
Rack Size 2U 2U 4U 2U
Number of Nodes 4 4 4 2
Processor (per node) 2x Intel Xeon Silver 4210 (10-core 2.2 GHz) 2x Intel Xeon Silver 4210 (10-core 2.2 GHz) 2x Intel Xeon Silver 4214 (12-core 2.2 GHz) 2x Intel Xeon Silver 4214 (12-core 2.2 GHz)
RAM (per node) 192 GB 192 GB 192 GB 192 GB
SSD (per node) 1x 1.92 TB 1x 1.92 TB 2x 1.92 TB 2x 1.92 TB
HDD (per node) 2x 6 TB 2x 12 TB 4x 12 TB 4x 12 TB
Networking (per node) 2 or 4x 10 GbE 2 or 4x 10GbE 2 or 4x 10 GbE, or 2x 25/40 GbE 2 or 4x 10 GbE, or 2x 25/40 GbE
Raw Capacity 48 TB 96 TB 192 TB 96 TB
Effective Capacity 30–50 TB 60-100 TB 120–200 TB 60–100 TB
Veeam Universal Licenses (VUL) 0 (naked Mine) 250 500 250 (additional)

Installation

Installing and configuring your Mine™ with Veeam solution requires the following steps:

  1. Install the Mine™ appliance (see Installing a Mine™ Appliance).
  2. Deploy a Mine™ cluster (see Deploying a Mine™ Cluster).
  3. Configure the Veeam backup and replication solution (see Configuring Veeam).

Installing a Mine™ Appliance

About this task

To install a Mine™ appliance at your site, do the following:

Note: The Mine™ cluster itself only supports AHV as a hypervisor. While Mine™ with Veeam can back up workloads from other hypervisors or physical infrastructure, the Mine™ cluster itself is deployed with AHV as the hypervisor.

Procedure

  1. Unpack the block and nodes (see the Getting Started Guide for steps 1–4).
  2. Mount the block in a rack.
  3. Connect each node to the network.
  4. Create a cluster of the Mine™ nodes with AHV as the hypervisor.

    Use the AHV version bundled with the supported AOS (LTS) package. The recommended memory size for the Controller VMs is 32 GB.

  5. Download the NutanixFoundationForMineWithVeeam- <ver#> .vmdk file from the Nutanix Mine™ download page in the Nutanix Support portal.
  6. After the cluster is up and running, import the Mine™ Foundation VM image (VMDK file) that you downloaded in the previous step (see the "Configuring Images" section in the Prism Web Console Guide ).
    Note: See the "Logging Into the Web Console" section in the Prism Web Console Guide if you need help when logging on to Prism for the first time. In addition, an iSCSI data services IP address should be specified for the cluster before deploying Mine™ (see the "Modifying Cluster Details" section).
  7. Create a "Foundation for Mine with Veeam" VM from the imported image, connect it to the production network, and start it (see "VM Management" in the Prism Web Console Guide ).

    Allocate 4 vCPUs and 4 GB of memory to this VM. Select Clone from Image Service as the operation and FoundationMine as the image when adding the disk.

    Note: The VM is named "Foundation for Mine with Veeam" throughout this document, but you can name the VM anything you want when you create it.

Deploying a Mine™ Cluster

Before you begin

Make sure that AOS and AHV are up and running on the Mine cluster before attempting this procedure.

About this task

Video: Mine™ Deployment Example This video https://youtu.be/e13I-VXVaoo is from Nutanix, Inc. on YouTube.

To deploy a new Mine™ cluster, do the following:

Procedure

  1. Do one of the following to access the Mine™ console:
    • If DHCP is configured for the production network, open a web browser and enter http:// foundation_for_mine_with_veeam_vm_ip_addr . This defaults to port 8743, which is the port for the Mine™ web console.
      Note: The supported browsers are the current version and two major versions back of Firefox, Chrome, and Safari, plus Internet Explorer version 11.
    • If DHCP is not configured, log on to Prism, go to the VMs dashboard, select the Foundation for Mine with Veeam VM, and click the Launch Console button (below the table) to open the console. In the console, do the following to manually set the IP address:
      1. Log on to the VM (both user name and password are "veeam").
      2. Open the /etc/network/interfaces file for editing. For example, to use the nano editor, enter 
        sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces
      3. Find the following lines in the file: 
        auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp
      4. Replace those lines with the following lines: 
        auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address yourIpAddress
netmask yourSubnetMask
gateway yourAddressAddress
      5. Save the file and then run the following command: 
        sudo service networking restart

        If you require an Active Directory join, you also must specify a DNS server with a proper Active Directory record.

  2. Enter your credentials (user name and password) in the appropriate fields.

    The default user name and password are both " veeam ". When you log on the first time, you are prompted to change the password. Be sure to remember (save somewhere safe) the new password.

    Figure. Mine™ login Screen Click to enlarge Nirvana login screen
  3. In the Nutanix Mine with Veeam Configuration screen, click the Setup box.
    Figure. Mine™ with Veeam Configuration Menu Click to enlarge Mine™ appliance configuration main menu

    The Nutanix mine with Veeam cluster setup screen appears. The setup work flow appears on the left with the step details on the right.

  4. In the End User License Agreement screen, read the license agreements, check the two boxes at the bottom ( I accept the terms of license agreement and I accept the terms of the third-party components license agreement ), and then click Next .
    Figure. Cluster Setup: EULA Click to enlarge end user license agreement page
  5. Configure a virtual network for guest VM interfaces.
    For information on configuring virtual networks, see Configuring a Virtual Network for Guest VM Interfaces .
    Note: If the virtual network is not configured, the Foundation for Mine VM unable to utilize connected network for setup error message appears.
  6. In the Nutanix Cluster Credentials page, do the following in the indicated fields:
    Figure. Cluster Setup: Prism Credentials Click to enlarge cluster credentials page
    1. Prism Element IP Address/Hostname : Enter the virtual IP address for the cluster (if configured) or the IP address (or host name) of a Controller VM in the cluster.
      Note: It is recommended that you use the cluster virtual IP address. If a Controller VM IP address is used and that node goes down, contact Nutanix customer support to reconfigure Mine™ to work with a different node IP address.
    2. Description (optional): Enter a description for the cluster.
    3. Prism Element User Name : Enter the cluster administrator (Prism) user name.
      Note: It is recommended that you create a separate local account for Mine™. Active Directory is not recommended as an issue with Active Directory could prevent access to the Mine™ cluster.
    4. Prism Element Password : Enter the cluster administrator password.
  7. In the Nutanix Mine with Veeam Cluster Information page, review the information and then click the Next button.

    This page displays information about the nodes in the cluster. Verify that the information is correct before proceeding.

    Figure. Cluster Setup: Node Information Click to enlarge cluster information page
  8. In the Windows Upload page, choose one of the following and then click the Next button.
    • To upload a Windows ISO file from your workstation, click the Use External ISO option, click the Browse button, and select that ISO file on your workstation.
    • If the ISO file is already loaded, click the Use internal ISO option and select Windows from the pull-down list.
    Note: Windows Server 2019 Standard Edition is the only supported version.
    Figure. Cluster Setup: Upload Windows ISO Click to enlarge Windows ISO upload page
  9. [new Veeam server only] In the Veeam Backup & Replication Deployment Settings - License Upload page, click the Upload File button, upload your Veeam license file, and then click the Next button.
    Note: Only VUL licenses are accepted. If you are an existing Veeam customer and do not have instance-based (VUL) licenses, obtain an evaluation license from Veeam and enter the evaluation key here. Once the deployment is complete, you can apply your current Veeam license through the Veeam Backup & Replication console.
    Figure. Cluster Setup: Upload Veeam License File Click to enlarge Veeam license file upload page
  10. In the Veeam Backup & Replication Deployment Settings page, do one of the following:
    • To deploy a new Veeam server instance for Mine™, check the Deploy New Veeam Backup & Replication Server option and click the Next button. (Skip to the next step.)
    • To use an existing Veeam server instance for Mine™, check the Use Existing Veeam Backup & Replication Server option and do the following:
      Note: The following are prerequisites for using an existing Veeam server instance:
    Figure. Cluster Setup: Select Veeam Server Click to enlarge select Veeam server page
    1. In the IP Address field, enter the IP address of the Veeam server instance to use for Mine™.

      You can specify Veeam Backup & Replication version 11 Cumulative Patch 2 (11.0.0.837 P20210525) or later. Backup repositories and backup proxies deployed within the Mine™ cluster will be connected to the specified Veeam Backup & Replication instance.

    2. In the User Name and Password fields, enter the Windows server administrator credentials (any user account with administrator privileges).
    3. Click the Test Connection button to verify the network connection, authentication, compatibility, and license validity between the Veeam server instance and Mine™ cluster.

      If there is a problem, an error message appears. Address the indicated problem and then retry the Test Connection button. When the test completes successfully, click the Next button. (Skip to step 12.)

  11. [new Veeam server only] In the Veeam Backup & Replication Deployment Settings – Network Settings page, do the following in the indicated fields:
    Figure. Cluster Setup: Veeam Deployment Network Settings Click to enlarge Veeam B&R deployment network settings page
    1. Network Name : Displays the network name.

      The field is read-only for the primary network configuration. If you create a guest network (later in this procedure), select the name for the guest network from the pull-down list for an existing network or enter the name for a new network.

    2. VLAN ID : Displays the VLAN ID for the network.

      The field is read-only for the primary network configuration, but you specify the VLAN ID for a guest network. If you specify a VLAN other than 0, make sure that network switches are configured accordingly.

    3. Starting IP : Enter a starting IP address. The VMs are assigned sequential IP addresses after the starting IP address.

      Mine™ requires eight available IP addresses.

    4. Subnet Mask : Enter the subnet mask.
    5. Gateway : Enter the gateway IP address.
    6. DNS1 and DNS2 : Enter the DNS server IP address in the DNS1 field. To specify a second DNS server, enter that address in the DNS2 field.

      If you require an Active Directory join, you must specify a DNS server with a proper Active Directory record.

    7. VM Hostname and IP Address : Update the VM names or IP addresses as needed.

      The VM names and IP addresses are populated automatically. There are three Windows VMs named Veeam-Win-Node x and three Linux VMs named Veeam-Lin-Node x with x being a sequential number from 1 to 3. You can change the name of a VM by entering a different name in the VM Hostname field. The IP addresses are assigned sequentially to the VMs starting after the Starting IP address, but you can change that address in the IP Address field for a VM.

      The Windows VMs are configured with 8 vCPUs and 16 GB memory, and they are used to manage the Veeam Backup & Replication application. The Linux VMs are configured with 8 vCPUs and 128 GB memory, and they are used to manage the Veeam scale out backup repository.

      Note: If you have multiple Mine™ clusters, it is recommended that you provide custom host names instead of the defaults to prevent duplicate namespace issues.
    8. (optional) To create an additional network for guest processing, check the create additional network for guest processing box.

      If you want the VMs to be backed up on a different network than the Veeam infrastructure, you can create this additional network for that purpose. (Creating an additional network is optional.)

    9. When all the fields are correct, click the Next button.

      The installer verifies the network configuration before proceeding.

  12. [new Veeam server only] If the guest network box was checked in the previous step, the network configuration screen reappears with an additional Network field at the top. Enter the values for the guest network and then click the Next button.

    In the Network field, select either New (for a new network) or Existing (for an existing network) from the pull-down list.

  13. In the Windows Credentials page, do the following in the indicated fields:
    Figure. Cluster Setup: Windows Credentials Click to enlarge Windows credentials page
    1. Local Windows Administrator : Enter the user name for the Windows administrator.
    2. Password : Enter the user password.
    3. Repeat Password : Reenter the password.
    4. To enable Microsoft Active Directory integration, check the box. This displays the following four fields.
      Note: Joining to Active Directory is optional and not recommended in most cases.
    5. Domain Name : Enter the AD domain name.
    6. User Name : Enter the AD administrator user name in the domain\name format.
    7. Password : Enter the AD administrator password.
    8. When all the fields are correct, click the Next button.
  14. In the Review Configuration Settings page, review the information and then do one of the following:
    • If the information is correct, click the Start Install button.
    • If the information is incorrect, click the Previous button and fix the configuration as needed in the preceding screens. Return to this page and click the Start Install button.

    The top part of the page displays information about the VMs Mine™ will create, and the bottom part displays cluster information including virtual IP address, storage capacity, and node count.

    Figure. Cluster Setup: Review Configuration Settings Click to enlarge review configuration settings page

    The installation begins. It typically takes over an hour (sometimes over 2 hours) for the installation to complete. A progress bar appears with status messages as the installation progresses. You can monitor the progress in more detail by logging on to Prism and checking the Task and VM dashboards (see Monitoring the Cluster).

    Figure. Cluster Setup: Installation Progress Click to enlarge installation progress page
  15. When the Windows Licensing page appears, do one of the following:
    • To activate Windows (optional), check the box, enter a Windows license key for each VM in the Product Keys fields, and then click the Activate button.
    • To continue without activating Windows, click the Next button.
    Figure. Cluster Setup: Windows Licensing Click to enlarge installation progress page

    When the installation completes, a success (or error) message appears. The success message includes a link to Prism; click the link to log on to Prism so you can monitor and manage the Mine™ cluster.

    Figure. Cluster Setup: Installation Complete Click to enlarge installation success/failure page

What to do next

Deploying a Mine™ cluster creates a volume group, and both the volume group and Foundation for Mine™ with Veeam VM are added automatically to a protection domain. A schedule is set up to take daily snapshots of the protection domain. Tune the schedule (if needed) per your company security policy.

It is recommended that you enable erasure coding (disabled by default). Erasure coding can provide significant storage savings for a Mine™ cluster. See the "Erasure Coding" and "Modifying a Storage Container" sections in the Prism Web Console Guide for more information.

Configuring Veeam

About this task

To configure the Veeam backup and replication solution for a Mine™ cluster, do the following:

Procedure

  1. Log on to Prism.
  2. Go to the Mine with Veeam dashboard (see Monitoring the Cluster) and click the Launch Console link in the Cluster widget.

    This opens a Veeam console window at the login screen. Enter the Windows administrator credentials you supplied when deploying the cluster (see Deploying a Mine™ Cluster).

    You can also launch the Veeam console by going to the VMs dashboard, selecting the Veeam-Win-Node1 VM, and then clicking the Launch Console button below the table.

  3. Click the Veeam Backup icon on the desktop to open that application.
    Figure. Veeam VM Desktop Click to enlarge example desktop view of Veeam icon display

  4. Configure the Veeam backup and replication solution as desired. See the Veeam Backup & Replication for Nutanix Mine™ (Getting Started Guide) for instructions.

    Depending on which systems you want to back up with Nutanix Mine™, also check the relevant guides from the following list to configure Veeam Backup & Replication for your environment:

The backup Infrastructure and Workflow

The backup infrastructure of Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV includes the following components:

  1. Veeam Backup & Replication : a starting point in the deployment process. In the Veeam Backup & Replication console, you can add components required to protect Nutanix AHV VMs.
  2. Veeam Backup & Replication : a starting point in the deployment process. In the Veeam Backup & Replication console, you can add components required to protect Nutanix AHV VMs.
  3. Nutanix AHV Plug-in : an installer component that deploys AHV Backup Proxy services on the Veeam Backup & Replication server. After you install Nutanix AHV Plug-in, you can add AHV clusters and AHV Backup Proxy instances to the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure.
  4. Veeam Backup & Replication : a starting point in the deployment process. In the Veeam Backup & Replication console, you can add components required to protect Nutanix AHV VMs.
  5. Nutanix AHV Plug-in : an installer component that deploys AHV Backup Proxy services on the Veeam Backup & Replication server. After you install Nutanix AHV Plug-in, you can add AHV clusters and AHV Backup Proxy instances to the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure.
  6. AHV Backup Proxy : the main component that manages backup and restore processes. AHV Backup Proxy allows you to create VM backups, snapshots and restore VMs from backups to an AHV cluster.

    AHV Backup Proxy is deployed as a VM on the AHV cluster. For one Nutanix AHV cluster, one AHV Backup Proxy is required. To back up and restore VMs on multiple clusters, you must deploy an AHV Backup Proxy appliance on each cluster.

    AHV Backup Proxy includes the following other components:

    • Data Mover : a service that transports VM backup data from AHV cluster to backup repositories.
    • AHV Backup Proxy web console : a web console that allows you to manage backup and restore operations, configure notifications and configure settings of AHV Backup Proxy.
  7. Backup repository a storage location where AHV Backup Proxy stores backup files. The backup repository also includes a Data Mover service that is responsible for receiving VM backup data from the AHV cluster.

You can add multiple repositories and select the required one within settings of a specific backup job.

Figure. Workflow of Nutanix AHV cluster Click to enlarge workflow of Nutanix AHV cluster

  1. The web console sends the backup job configuration data to AHV Backup Proxy.
  2. AHV Backup Proxy starts a backup job and forwards the backup session data to Veeam Backup & Replication.
  3. AHV Backup Proxy connects to the AHV cluster over Nutanix REST API and takes a snapshot of VMs or a PD added to the job.
  4. AHV Backup Proxy creates a volume group (VG) on the AHV cluster and mounts VM disks through iSCSI and retrieves VM data on block level.
  5. Veeam Data Mover compresses and duplicates the VM data and forwards it to the backup repository in the Veeam proprietary format.

Administration

After deploying a Mine™ cluster, you can monitor activity and perform administrative tasks as needed.

Note: Depending on the task, administration is through either the Mine™ or Prism web console. To access the desired console, open a web browser and enter one of the following addresses:
  • Mine console: http:// foundation_for_mine_with_veeam_vm_ip_addr . This defaults to port 8743, which is the port for the Mine™ web console.
  • Prism console: http:// cvm_ip_addr where cvm_ip_addr is the IP address for one of the Controller VMs in the cluster or the virtual IP address if one was created. This defaults to port 9440, which is the port for the Prism web console.
  • You can monitor cluster usage and health through Prism (see Monitoring the Cluster).
  • You can expand the cluster storage capacity by adding Mine™ blocks (see Expanding the Cluster).
  • You can upgrade the Mine™ version for the cluster (see Upgrading Mine Using Mine Console).
  • You can upgrade AOS in a Mine™ cluster, but it requires a few extra steps (see Upgrading AOS).
  • You can update your Veeam, Mine™, or Prism user credentials (see Updating User Credentials).
  • You can set the Mine™ cluster time zone (see Setting Time Zone).
  • You can install or update the Veeam Data Mover service for a Mine™ repository (see Updating Repositories).
  • If you encounter a problem with the cluster, you can download a support bundle that contains various logs and other relevant data (see Downloading a Support Bundle).
  • If the installation fails or you want to start over for any reason, you can reset the cluster back to the original state (see Resetting the Cluster).
  • If you want to perform cluster actions that require the backup processes be suspended, you can enable a maintenance mode (see Maintenance Mode).

Monitoring the Cluster

You can monitor the Mine™ cluster health and activity through Prism. The Prism Web Console Guide describes how to use Prism. (To determine the AOS version your Mine™ cluster is running, go to the About Nutanix option under the user_name drop-down list in the Prism main menu.)

Mine™ with Veeam Dashboard

The Prism web console includes a custom Mine with Veeam dashboard specific to a Mine™ cluster, which appears by default when you first log on to Prism. To view this custom dashboard at any time, select Mine with Veeam from the pull-down list on the far left of the main menu.

The custom dashboard displays the following eight information tiles (widgets):

  • Cluster . The cluster tile provides quick visual indicators for the following components: cluster health (overall), Veeam implementation, Mine™ components, and storage capacity (available). Green indicates a healthy component, yellow indicates a warning condition, and red indicates a critical condition.
    • Click the Launch Console link to open a Veeam console.
    • Click the Mine Platform link to open the Mine™ console.
  • Physical Cluster Usage . The physical cluster usage tile displays a timeline graph of storage usage in the cluster.
  • Storage Throughput . The storage throughput tile displays a timeline graph of storage throughput in the cluster.
  • Protection . The protection tile displays a summary of the VMs and hosts protected currently.
  • Capacity Usage . The capacity usage tile summaries the current storage usage and available capacity (see Monitoring Storage).
  • Job Status . The job status tile displays a summary of the running, disabled, and idle jobs in the cluster currently.
  • Capacity Trends . The capacity trend tile displays a timeline graph of free space in the cluster, including a low space warning line. The widget requires some time to collect data before it starts to show capacity trends. The widget simply displays "N/A" until enough data is collected to show a trend line.
  • Veeam Backup & Replication Alerts and Events . The Veeam alerts and events tile displays a list of the current Veeam-specific alerts and events.
  • Nutanix Alerts . The Nutanix alerts tile displays a list of the current Nutanix-specific alerts.
Figure. Prism Mine™ Dashboard Click to enlarge example Prism Mine™ dashboard

Other Dashboards

The Prism web console includes other dashboards to monitor specific elements of your cluster.

Note: All the following section and chapter citations are located in the Prism Web Console Guide.
  • You can monitor the Mine™ VMs through the VMs dashboard. This dashboard provides a summary table of the VMs and allows you to view details about each VM. See the "VMs Dashboard" section for more information.
    Figure. Prism VMs Dashboard (table view) Click to enlarge example Prism VMs dashboard table view

  • Mine™ creates automatically a storage container and volume group that you can monitor through the Storage dashboard. This dashboard provides summary and detailed information about storage containers, volume groups, and storage pools. See the "Storage Dashboard" section for more information.
    Figure. Prism Storage Container Tab Click to enlarge example Prism storage container tab

    Figure. Prism Volume Group Tab Click to enlarge example Prism volume group tab

  • You can monitor the progress and outcomes for Mine-related tasks through the Tasks dashboard. See the "Task Status" chapter for more information.
  • You can review the Mine-related alerts and events through the Alerts dashboard. See the "Alert and Event Monitoring" chapter for more information.

Monitoring Storage

When a Mine™ cluster is full, the cluster may become unavailable, and you will not be able to continue backup operations. To prevent such a situation, Mine™ includes a special monitoring feature (sometimes referred to as a "watchdog") that dynamically monitors storage usage and takes action as necessary to avoid reaching a storage full condition. If available storage space in the cluster falls below the minimum amount, the monitor automatically stops and disables Veeam Backup & Replication jobs. The monitor is regulated by three thresholds:

  • "Low on space" threshold ( restart_jobs_threshold_percent parameter). When available storage space on a cluster reaches the specified threshold, Veeam Backup & Replication starts to upload the VM backup files to Capacity Tier. For details, see the "Capacity Tier" section of the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide .
  • "Job processing is impacted" threshold ( cancel_jobs_threshold_percent parameter). When available storage space on a cluster reaches the specified threshold, Mine™ disables all Veeam Backup & Replication jobs. Already started jobs continue the session, but subsequently scheduled runs are suspended until more storage space become available.
  • "Immediate stop" threshold ( stop_issuing_jobs_threshold_percent parameter). When available storage space on a cluster reaches the specified threshold, Mine™ immediately stops all running jobs.

The monitor automatically calculates and defines the threshold values according to your environment resources. (If you want to change default threshold values, contact technical support.) In addition, the monitor regulates the location of VMs. If Veeam repository extends and backup proxies are deployed on different AHV nodes, the monitor transfers them to one node.

By default, Mine™ reserves enough storage space for node rebuild should one of the nodes fail. If you want to add new VMs on the cluster or change the default monitor threshold values, consider leaving enough space for the rebuild of the node.

Note: When you free up space on a Veeam backup repository, it may take up to six hours until you see the change reflected in the Mine™ dashboard.

Expanding the Cluster

About this task

To increase the storage capacity of your Mine™ cluster, you can add an expansion block (see Overview). To add the nodes in an expansion block to the cluster, do the following:

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Mine™ console and enable maintenance mode (see Enabling Maintenance Mode).
  2. Log on to the Prism console and add the new nodes in the standard way (see Expanding a Cluster in the Prism Web Console Guide ).
  3. Disable maintenance mode (see Disabling Maintenance Mode).

Upgrading Mine

You can upgrade the Mine software whenever a new version is available.

Upgrading Mine Using Mine Console

You can upgrade the Mine™ software using the Mine console whenever a new version is available.

About this task

To check for and install an update, do the following:

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Mine™ console.
  2. Select Check updates from the main menu screen.
    Figure. Main Menu (check updates option) Click to enlarge main menu check updates option

  3. In the Updates page, do the following:
    Figure. Check Updates Page Click to enlarge check updates page example

    1. To check for available updates, click the Check updates button.

      Check the appropriate box to automatically check for available updates.

    2. When an update is available, the displays changes. Click the Start update button to start the update.
      Figure. Start Update Page Click to enlarge start update page example

    3. If an update requires a reboot and you want to specify when that reboot occurs, check the appropriate box and specify the time in the clock field to the right.

      If a time is not specified, the reboot (if required) happens immediately when triggered as part of the upgrade process.

Upgrading Mine Using Veeam VM Console for Dark Sites

You can upgrade the Mine software for a dark site using a Veeam VM console. You can use the dark site upgrade process to upgrade the Mine software at locations without Internet access.

Before you begin

Ensure that you download the following packages if you are upgrading from Mine 1.0.
Table 1. Packages
Package Download Location
libonig4_6.7.0-1_amd64.deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/libo/libonig/
libjq1_1.5+dfsg-2_amd64.deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/j/jq/
jq_1.5+dfsg-2_amd64.deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/j/jq/

About this task

To install an update for the Mine software at a dark site (offline upgrade), do the following:

Procedure

  1. Download the .deb package from Nutanix portal.
  2. Open console to Foundation for Mine with Veeam VM
  3. Log on with your credentials and run the following command: 
    $ sudo systemctl start ssh
  4. From a terminal on the local machine, SCP the .deb file to the Foundation for Mine with Veeam VM using the following command: 
    $ scp NutanixMineWithVeeamUpdate_v3.0.0.deb veeam@<ip_address>:~/

    Where, <ip_address> is the IP address of the Foundation for Mine with Veeam VM.

  5. Install the update on the Foundation for Mine with Veeam VM.
    1. If you are upgrading from v1.0, install the packages (libonig4, libjq1, and jq) using the following commands: 
      $ sudo dpkg -i libonig4_6.7.0-1_amd64.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i libjq1_1.5+dfsg-2_amd64.deb
$ sudo dpkg -i jq_1.5+dfsg-2_amd64.deb
    2. Run the update using the following command: 
      $ sudo dpkg -i NutanixMineWithVeeamUpdate_v3.0.0.deb
  6. To restart Nirvana Management service to complete the upgrade, run the following command: 
    $ sudo systemctl restart NirvanaManagement
    Note: You can also reboot the Foundation for Mine VM for the upgrade to complete.

Upgrading AOS

Upgrading AOS requires a few additional steps for a Mine™ cluster.

About this task

To upgrade the AOS version in a Mine™ cluster, do the following:

Note: It is recommended that you upgrade AOS only to a current (5.20 or 6.5) LTS version. Do not upgrade to an STS version.

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Mine™ console and enable maintenance mode (see Enabling Maintenance Mode).
  2. Upgrade AOS for the cluster (see the "AOS Upgrade" chapter of the Acropolis Upgrade Guide for the target AOS version).
  3. After the AOS upgrade completes successfully, disable maintenance mode (see Disabling Maintenance Mode).
    Note: The Mine™ dashboard is a custom feature in Prism, and that dashboard disappears after upgrading AOS. The following step redeploys the Mine™ dashboard.
  4. To redeploy the Mine™ dashboard, do the following:
    1. Log on to the Mine™ console.
    2. Select Maintenance from the main menu screen.
      Figure. Main Menu (maintenance option) Click to enlarge main menu maintenance option

    3. Select Redeploy Mine Dashboard from the maintenance menu screen.
      Figure. Maintenance Menu (redeploy Mine™ dashboard) Click to enlarge maintence menu redeploy Mine™ dashboard option

    To verify the Mine™ dashboard is redeployed, log on to Prism, refresh the screen, and check that the dashboard appears again (see Monitoring the Cluster).

Updating User Credentials

You can update your Veeam, Mine™, or Prism user credentials at any time.

About this task

To update user account credentials, do the following:

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Mine™ console.
  2. Select Credentials manager from the main menu screen.
    Figure. Main Menu (credentials manager option) Click to enlarge main menu credentials manager option

  3. In the Credential manager window, do one or more of the following:
    Figure. Credential Manager Window Click to enlarge credentials manager window

    • To update your Veeam user name or password, click the Veeam Backup & Replication Update button. In the pop-up window, update your user name or password in the indicated fields and then click the OK button.
      Figure. User Name and Password Window Click to enlarge credentials manager window

    • To update your cluster (console) user name or password, click the Acropolis Cluster Update button. In the pop-up window, update your user name or password in the indicated fields and then click the OK button.
    • To update your Prism user name or password, click the Nutanix CVM Update button. In the pop-up window, update your user name or password in the indicated fields and then click the OK button.
    • To update your Mine™ user information, click the Set button. In the pop-up window, enter the current account (user) name and password in the first two fields and then the new account name and password in the next two fields (and reenter the new password in the last field to confirm). When all the fields are correct, click the OK button.
      Figure. User Name and Password Window Click to enlarge credentials manager window

Setting Time Zone

You can set (or update) the time zone for a Mine™ cluster at any time.

About this task

To set the time zone, do the following:

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Mine™ console.
  2. Select Settings > Time Zone Settings from the main menu screen.
  3. In the Time Zone Settings tab, do the following in the indicated fields:
    1. Current Time (read-only field): Displays the current time of the cluster clock.
    2. Current Time Zone : Select the desired time zone from the pull-down list.

      Typically, the time zone is set to either the local time or a universal (UTC) time.

    3. Synchronization Mode : Select the desired mode ( HOST or NTP ) from the pull-down list.
    4. NTP Servers : If you selected NTP in the previous step, enter the IP address of the NTP server to use for synchronization.

      To specify a list of NTP servers, enter the IP addresses in a comma-separated list.

    5. When the fields are correct, click the Apply button.
    Figure. Time Zone Settings Tab Click to enlarge time zone settings tab

Updating Repositories

You can update the Veeam Data Mover service for a Mine™ repository at any time.

About this task

Periodically, Veeam releases hot fixes and updates of Veeam Backup & Replication. If you update Veeam Backup & Replication, you must also update the Veeam Data Mover service on Mine™ repositories.

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Mine™ console.
  2. Select Settings > Repositories from the main menu screen.
    The Repositories tab appears with a list of the Mine™ repositories. Each entry in the list displays the repository name, IP address, transport service version (or installation state), and an update or install button.
    Figure. Repositories Tab Click to enlarge repositories tab

  3. To install (or update) the data mover service for a Mine™ repository, click the Install (or Update ) button for that repository.

    The Update button is always in the active state. If you click Update , Veeam Backup & Replication scans the Mine™ repository and updates the Data Mover service only if the service is outdated.

  4. Repeat the previous step for all repositories that require the Data Mover service be installed or updated.

Downloading a Support Bundle

If you encounter a problem, you can download a support bundle to troubleshoot the problem.

About this task

The support bundle contains service logs and other related data that can help locate and diagnose system issues. To download a support bundle, do the following:

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Mine™ console.
  2. Select Maintenance from the main menu screen.
    Figure. Main Menu (maintenance option) Click to enlarge main menu maintenance option

  3. Select Download support bundle from the maintenance menu screen.
    Figure. Maintenance Menu (download support bundle) Click to enlarge maintenance menu download support bundle option

    This step downloads a ZIP (compressed) file to your workstation named logs_veeam_ date&time .zip that contains the support bundle.

    Note: It is recommended that you generate a support bundle and provide it to Nutanix customer support when you open a support case.

Resetting the Cluster

About this task

If the installation is not successful or you want to start over for any reason, you first need to clean up and reset the environment. To reset a Mine™ cluster, do the following:

Caution: Resetting your cluster destroys all backed up data on the cluster and cannot be undone.

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Mine™ console.
  2. Select Maintenance from the main menu screen.
    Figure. Main Menu (maintenance option) Click to enlarge main menu maintenance option

  3. Select Reset Mine™ Cluster from the maintenance menu screen.
    Figure. Maintenance Menu (reset mine cluster) Click to enlarge maintenance menu destroy mine cluster option

  4. In the Nutanix Cluster Credentials screen, do the following in the indicated fields and then click the Next button:
    1. Prism Element IP Address/Hostname : Enter the virtual IP address for the cluster (if configured) or the IP address (or host name) of a Controller VM in the cluster.
    2. Prism Element User Name : Enter the cluster administrator (Prism) user name.
    3. Password : Enter the cluster administrator password.
    Figure. Cluster Credentials Screen Click to enlarge example reset cluster credentials screen

  5. In the Reset Settings screen, check the boxes for the virtual machines, networks, images, volume groups, and storage containers you want to reset.

    Click the plus sign for an entity tab (virtual machines, networks, and so on) to see the list of those entities. All virtual machines, volume groups, and storage containers are checked by default; the networks and images are not. Review the list for each entity and adjust (add or remove check marks) as desired.

    Figure. Reset Settings Screen Click to enlarge example reset settings screen

  6. When the settings are correct, enter I agree in the field at the bottom on the page and then click the Reset button.

    The reset process begins. Time estimates and a progress bar appear. When the process completes, the message "Reset process has been completed successfully" appears. Click the Close button. This redisplays the Nutanix Mine™ with Veeam Configuration screen.

    Figure. Reset Settings Progress Screen Click to enlarge example reset settings progress screen

Maintenance Mode

Mine™ provides a maintenance mode that stops and disables all running backup jobs which are targeted at the scale-out backup repository. Maintenance mode allows you to reconfigure cluster settings, expand the cluster, and perform additional tasks that might otherwise disrupt backup operations. When cluster maintenance is complete, you can disable maintenance mode, which resumes the scheduling of backup jobs. (However, backup jobs that were stopped during the maintenance window are not restarted.)

Enabling Maintenance Mode

About this task

To enable maintenance mode, do the following:

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Mine™ console.
  2. Select Maintenance from the main menu screen.
    Figure. Main Menu (maintenance option) Click to enlarge main menu maintenance option

  3. Select Enable maintenance mode from the maintenance menu screen.
    Figure. Maintenance Menu (enable maintenance mode) Click to enlarge maintenance menu enable maintenance mode option

    To verify maintenance mode is enabled, check the cluster widget on the Mine™ dashboard (see Monitoring the Cluster). The text "maintenance mode on" appears when maintenance mode is enabled.

Disabling Maintenance Mode

About this task

To disable maintenance mode, do the following:

Procedure

  1. Log on to the Mine™ console.
  2. Select Maintenance from the main menu screen.
    Figure. Main Menu (maintenance option) Click to enlarge main menu maintenance option

  3. Select Disable maintenance mode from the maintenance menu screen.
    Figure. Maintenance Menu (disable maintenance mode) Click to enlarge maintence menu disable maintenance mode option

    To verify maintenance mode is disabled, check the cluster widget on the Mine™ dashboard (see Monitoring the Cluster). The text "maintenance mode on" no longer appears when maintenance mode is disabled.