04/03/2025

11. Oracle Linux KVM Backup Solution

One of the important things to consider when using server virtualization solutions such as Oracle Linux KVM and VMware vSphere is backup. It goes without saying that backups are important for systems used in production, but in a virtual server environment, multiple virtual machines run on one physical server. Therefore, if a problem occurs with the physical server or storage that hosts the virtual machines, the damage can be enormous.

To ensure stable system operation, regular backups of virtual server hosts and virtual server guests (virtual machines) are necessary. This time, we will introduce a backup solution for Oracle Linux KVM.

Figure 1. Basic system configuration for Oracle Linux KVM

1. Oracle Linux KVM Backup Basics

First, let’s organize backups in Oracle Linux KVM. There are two perspectives: what and how. I will explain each of them.

What: Backup target files (what to back up)
How: What tool will you use to back it up?

1.1. What: Files to be backed up

What to back up depends on how the KVM is configured.

Configuration using KVM included in Oracle Linux (non-Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager configuration)
Oracle Linux KVM configuration using Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager configuration)

1.1.1. What to Back Up in a Non-Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager Configuration

The following diagram shows the files to be backed up when a KVM environment is configured without using Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager.

Figure 2. Non-Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager configuration

The reason why it is necessary to back up “① Host OS” is in case the host server becomes unavailable due to hardware failure or human error.

The reason why you need to back up “② Files that make up the guest OS (qcow2, xml)” is because they are files that make up a virtual machine. A virtual machine uses an image file called qcow2 as a storage volume. In addition, the virtual machine’s configuration information (such as memory size, number of CPU cores, and device information such as NIC) is managed in xml.

For example, to back up a specific virtual machine, follow these steps:

virsh shutdownStop the virtual machine with
virsh dumpxmlBack up your XML files with
virsh domblklistView the image files that make up the virtual machine
Back up the image files that make up the virtual machine

This is the minimum backup target. Furthermore, if a database or other data is running on the virtual machine, a backup according to the database’s methodology must be performed within the guest OS. For example, if it is an Oracle Database, a backup using Data Pump or RMAN is required.

Another way to back up a guest OS is to take a backup from within the guest OS, just like with conventional physical servers. However, the backup method is the same as before, so we won’t explain it here.

1.1.2. What to back up in an Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager configuration

The following diagram shows the files to be backed up when configuring a KVM environment using Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (OLVM).

Figure 3. Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager configuration

The reason why you need to back up “① Host OS” is the same as in 1.1.1. above.

The reason why “② Files that configure the guest OS (qcow2, xml)” need to be backed up is the same. However, in an Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager environment, virshyou cannot operate virtual machines with commands. Therefore, to automate it with a script, you need to use the oVirt REST API of Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager.

You can also use the oVirt Ansible Collection to call the oVirt REST API from Ansible . The oVirt Ansible Collection contains many modules, and you can use the ovirt_vm module to operate virtual machines. The oVirt Ansible Collection is provided as the ovirt-ansible-collection package in the Oracle Linux oVirt repository.

Reference: Simon Coter Blog “Ansible with Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager”

In the Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager configuration, you also need to back up “③OLVM configuration information”. This is because the Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager configuration information is stored in PostgreSQL. For this reason, engine-backupwe provide a command to back up this configuration information.

1.2. How: What tools to use for backup

Next, you need to choose a tool to use for backup. There are two main methods. We will explain each of them below.

Use scripts (including OSS)
Using third-party software

1.2.1. Using scripts (including OSS)

This is the most basic backup method, using scripts such as bash. If you are aiming for a certain degree of automation, you can also combine it with open source backup software such as Bacula, Amanda, or Bareos. virshIf you call a script (using commands) that operates the virtual machine before and after the backup, you can also back up the guest OS.

The following table shows the backup methods for each Oracle Linux KVM configuration. For Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager configuration, it is more difficult because you need to use the oVirt REST API.

Table 1. Oracle Linux KVM configuration and backup methods

What to back up	Non-OLVM configuration	OLVM Configuration
Host OS	Conventional backup tools (*1)	Conventional backup tools (*1)
Guest OS	virsh command etc.	OLVM GUI, oVirt REST API
OLVM configuration information	Not required	engine-backup command

*1. The following manual introduces several backup methods. Also, in “Backing up files and storage volumes for disaster recovery,” it introduces a system backup tool called ReaR (Relax and Recover).

1.2.2. Using Third Party Software

The most advanced and simplest method is to use third-party commercial backup software. This software has many features that reduce management costs, such as various automation functions, support for large-scale environments, deduplication of backup data, and online backup of Oracle Database. Although the introduction of the product requires the purchase of licenses and support fees, it is not expensive considering that it can significantly reduce the costs of developing and maintaining backup scripts and provide high functionality.

The most important thing to consider when selecting a product is whether it is compatible with Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (oVirt). There are two main reasons to use Oracle Linux KVM:

Less expensive than VMware vSphere
Hard partitioning is permitted, allowing you to optimize your Oracle licenses

To achieve hard partitioning, you need to configure with Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager. As explained in Table 1, to perform backup operations with Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager configuration, the oVirt REST API must be supported. Backup software that is only compatible with Linux KVM cannot be used.

Next, we will introduce third-party backup software that is compatible with Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager.

2. Third-Party Backup Software

Once you have decided to use third-party backup software, you need to select which software to use. This article will show you how to select software that is compatible with Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager.

2.1. Find compatible software

To find software that is compatible with Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager, search for the following criteria in the Oracle Linux ISV catalog :

item	Checked options
Certified For	Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager
Software Category	Backup/DR/HA Management

Oracle Linux ISV Catalog Search Results

Based on the above criteria, the following software was displayed (as of April 2024). This list alone is not enough to help you make a selection, so we will look into each one.

Commvault Platform
Rackware Hybrid Cloud Platform
SEP Sesam
Storware backup and recovery
Veritas NetBackup
Vinchin Backup & Recovery
Veeam Backup

2.2. List of software supported by Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager

The software listed above is summarized in Tables 2 and 3 under the following headings. Since it would be difficult to read if it was listed in a single horizontal row, we have divided the tables in the middle and arranged them vertically.

Website
Availability of published manuals
Presence of a Japanese corporation or domestic distributor
Whether or not there is a trial version. Items marked as “inquiry required” require a phone inquiry.
My short comment

Table 2. Backup software list (1)

	Commvault Platform	Rackware Hybrid Cloud Platform	SEP Sesam
Website	https://www.commvault.com/	https://www.rackwareinc.com/	https://sepusa.com/virtualization/#oracle https://www.sepsoftware.com/sep-sesam/
manual	https://documentation.commvault.com/		https://wiki.sepsoftware.com/wiki/index.php/SEP_sesam_Documentation
Japanese corporation or domestic distributor	can be	none	none
Trial version	Available (please enquire)	can be	can be
Short review	Previous versions of Simpana were widely used in Japan. I have used it myself. Commvault Systems Japan, the Japanese subsidiary, has not released any news since 2021. It appears that domestic distributors are selling and supporting it, but there is little recent information in Japanese, so it is necessary to check the situation.	It seems like they are in communication with Oracle in the US, but there is little information available because the manuals are not publicly available.	It also supports RHEV and seems to have a decent track record.

Table 2. Backup software list (2)

	Storware backup and recovery	Veritas NetBackup	Vinchin Backup & Recovery
Website	https://storware.eu/solutions/virtual-machine-backup-and-recovery/oracle-linux-virtualization-manager-backup-and-recovery/	https://www.veritas.com/ja/jp/protection/netbackup	https://www.vinchin.com/jp/oracle-linux-virtualization-manager-backup.html
manual	https://storware.gitbook.io/backup-and-recovery/	https://www.veritas.com/support/ja_JP/article.100040135	https://www.vinchin.com/jp/support/software-documentation-downloads.html
Japanese corporation or domestic distributor	none	can be	none
Trial version	can be	Available (please enquire)	can be
Short review	Same amount of information as SEP Sesam and Storware	Both the company and its products have a long history and proven track record in Japan.	There is a Japanese website, but purchasing and support are done from the US

2.3. Select your product

Due to the nature of this backup software for corporate use, if support in Japanese is essential, you should choose from the products below. Since we have not evaluated important aspects for actual implementation, such as functionality and price, we will narrow down the options further based on functionality and price, and ultimately use the trial version to make our selection.

Commvault Platform
Veritas NetBackup
Veeam Backup

Also, support and purchasing can be done in English, and it may be fine as long as the product or company does not disappear. In particular, prices can vary greatly depending on the product, so clarifying your available budget will help reduce unnecessary evaluations.

Companies that operate and develop systems in-house may be able to hedge some of their risks themselves. In such cases, they may be able to choose software that supports Red Hat Virtualization, even if it does not officially support Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager.

3. Conclusion

We plan to compare the products we selected this time in more detail in the future. We would also like to introduce any cheap and easy-to-use products that were not included in this selection.
Finally, we will add a supplement to the topic of snapshots, which was not mentioned in the main text. Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager has a snapshot function that allows you to save the state and data of a virtual machine. In an Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager environment, live snapshots are possible while the virtual machine is running.
Although it is said that backups and snapshots are different (please search the web if you are not sure), some third-party backup software makes good use of snapshots to achieve backups.
Here are some links that may be useful for snapshots.