NetApp SMB Share / Microsoft DataProtection Manager

[#1]

Hi all, I'm looking for a 'yes' or 'no' answer but first, let me set up the question. Let's say there's a six node Win2012R2 Hyper-v cluster using an 8TB NetApp SMB 3.0 share to store virtual machine configuration and .vhdx files. This is made possible by having an SMI-S server set up so that MS Virtual Machine Manager(VMM) can talk to the NetApp and provision NetApp shares for use by the Hyper-v cluster. The cluster works fine with this configuration. Enter MS Data Protection Manager. DPM is installed on a Hyper-v virtual machine. DPM needs a storage pool to write back ups to. Two questions really: 1-Can I add a 10TB .vhdx file, that's located on a NetApp share, that's managed by VMM, to the DPM virtual machine and use DPM to back up all of the virtual machines in the hyper-v cluster to that .vhdx file? The second question is: Does anyone know if DPM will back up Hyper-v virtual machines located on a NetApp SMB share? I've seen it written where you have to install an agent on the file server where the vm storage is located. That's not possible. Any feedback appreciated.    

[#2]

don't really know the answer to this - but quick question, certainly at the VM level, is there a reason not to use SnapManager for HyperV to back up the VM's, expecially if you are backing up the VM's to a 10Tb VHDX installed within a VM...

i don't see in principal a problem with the VHDX in the share - but you're right, you won't be able to drop the agent on the SVM

maybe worth looking at the NetApp tools if you can...

[#3]

One of the reasons i'm testing out MS DataProtection Manager is that it offers an option for doing Disk-to-Disk-To-Cloud(Azure) backups. Once a DPM virtual machine backup is completed to the DPM storage pool disk, which i am hoping would be a .vhdx disk, located on a NetApp SMB share, attached to the DPM virtual machine, which is managed by VMM, you supposedly can copy the backups to the Azure cloud. The intent would be to get a copy of hyper-v virtual machine backups into the cloud and off of the NetApp system for DR purposes.  I'm fishing to see if anyone has this type of configuration set up and functioning. I've dabbled with Snap Manager for Hyper-v but that doesn't get the virtual machine backups off of the the NetApp system. Thanks for the feedback so far.  

[#4]

That makes sense, not really sure enough of the DPM mechanism though to see if that would work - the issue about whether DPM can trigger a snapshot of the SMB share without some kind of agent i don't kow unfortunately.

there are potential ways of getting the data from a NetApp snapshot off into the cloud if you need to though - but get what you are trying to do using the DPM cloud "plug in" and just send it straight out.

unfortuntaley don't really know the answer on this - good luck... i'd be interested if someone is doing this though, an interesting option.

There is some futures stuff that maybe able to help doing this natively from NetApp to the cloud - but at the minute not quite there.

[#5]

Unfortunately, as you've already guessed, you can't backup Hyper-V VMs on an ONTAP SMB3 share with DPM.

However, I think a great option to look at is using an AltaVault virtual appliance to natively dump SMHV snapshots up into the cloud. The AltaVault virtual appliance can be deployed as an OVA on VMware or using the Amazon AWS AMI.

[#6]

although AltaVault is indeed a great appliance, i think the issue is still going to be how to get the backups to it, currently we can't natively Mirror or Vault from a FAS controller to an AV box - unless i've missed that announcement.

Alta Vault is also available as a HyperV VM as well as an Azure appliance - but the question will be how to get the data across - in a future release (disclaimer, this may or may not happen! :-) ) you would be able to use SMHV to do the backups, vault these out to Alta Vault and this will then send them off to a cloud repository of your choice...

but not there right now, as i say, unless i missed something...