Druva's data protection solution for Nutanix AHV is built around a client-side component called the Backup proxy and its integration with the Nutanix infrastructure and Druva Cloud.
Nutanix Infrastructure
Nutanix AHV converges server compute, storage, storage networking, and virtualization.
Management of the entire infrastructure is done through Prism Elements (for single clusters) and Prism Central (for multi-cluster environments). Druva can protect VMs managed by either.
Central Component
Backup Proxy:
The Backup proxy is the key component that bridges your data center and the Druva Cloud. It is deployed as a client-side component within Nutanix Prism.
Its primary responsibilities include performing backup and restore operations for virtual machines.
Upon deployment, the proxy registers with your Prism (Prism Element or Prism Central) and discovers all virtual machines.
It processes data locally, performing deduplication and compression before transmitting the recovery points to the assigned storage in Druva Cloud.
Druva Cloud Integration
Backed-up data is stored in the warm storage of the Druva Cloud.
Networking and Communication
Druva uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocols to establish secure connections and communication between Druva components and the virtual infrastructure.
Port 9440 (HTTPS+SSL) is used for secure communication between the Backup Proxy and Prism.
Port 443 (TLS) is used for communication between the Backup Proxy and Druva Cloud, including S3 buckets.
The iSCSI Data Services IP address must be configured in your Nutanix cluster to provide iSCSI access to cluster storage, which is crucial for Druva's operations like discovering iSCSI targets during backup or restore.
Backup Workflow
Druva sends a backup request to the default Backup proxy pool, which identifies an available proxy based on a load-balancing algorithm.
The Backup proxy contacts Prism Element or Prism Central to locate VMs and their configurations.
The proxy queries Prism to create VM recovery points, ensuring sufficient storage on the local Storage Container. It uses Change Region Tracking for incremental backups and Nutanix Guest Tools for application-consistent snapshots (or crash-consistent otherwise).
The Backup proxy establishes an iSCSI connection with the vDisks in the recovery point and reads the VM data/snapshot.
The proxy uploads the changed data to Druva Cloud.
Druva Cloud retains the current job snapshot for block change tracking with the next successful backup.
Restore Workflow
Druva forwards the restore request to the default Backup proxy pool, which assigns it to an available proxy.
The Backup proxy contacts Prism Element or Prism Central for VM and configuration details.
For full VM restores to the original location, Druva uses the original storage container, creates a volume group, downloads data from Druva Cloud via iSCSI to new vDisks, detaches existing non-CDROM disks, and attaches the restored ones while preserving network settings.
For full VM restores to an alternate location, Druva creates a new VM and a volume group in the specified storage container, downloads data via iSCSI, and attaches the restored vDisks, with network settings selected during the job.
For disk restores, Druva creates a new VM (e.g., Phoenix-Restored-VM-<Original_VM_Name>-<Job_Id>) with the original VM's configuration at the specified location, attaching the selected vDisks and the first network in the list.
The Backup proxy obtains the VM data from Druva Cloud.
VMs are created or updated upon successful completion of restores.
Backup Proxy VM Specifications: The Backup proxy is deployed as a Ubuntu virtual machine with a default configuration of 8 vCPUs, 6 GB RAM, and a 60 GB vDisk. The minimum supported configuration for one concurrent VM backup is 3 vCPUs and 3 GB RAM.
Configuration and Services: Configuration details for proxy-Cloud communication are stored in Phoenix.cfg (for Agent Version 6.x.x) or Config.yaml (for Agent Version 7.x.x) files. The phoenix service (v6.x.x) or Druva-EnterpriseWorkloads service (v7.x.x) manages backup and restore operations and ensures the agent is running.
CloudCache Support: Nutanix AHV supports CloudCache R4 as an optional local storage tier to retain backups for a specified duration.