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Deploy Data Source Connector

Deploy Data Source Connector

To register your data sources with the IBM Cloud Backup and Recovery service, you need to establish connectivity between your source and the service using a Data Source Connection. A Data Source Connection consists of one or more Data Source Connectors, which are virtual machines (VMs) that facilitate the movement of data between your data sources and the IBM Cloud Backup and Recovery service.

You need to install the VM for the Data Source Connector using an installer OVA in your VMware environment, on a vCenter or ESXi host in your environment that has access to your data sources and meets the Data Source Connection system and firewall requirements.

Data Source Connector Requirements

Before deploying the Data Source Connector, review and understand the following requirements needed for the VM(s) that you need to provision:

Supported Sources

You can deploy Data Source Connectors for the following sources:

  • Physical Server
  • Microsoft SQL Server
  • Oracle Server

Data Source Connector System Prerequisites

Ensure that the Data Source Connector VM that you deploy for your Data Source Connection meets the following system requirements:

  • 4 CPUs
  • 16 GB RAM
  • 171 GB disk space
  • Outbound Internet connection

Port Requirements

Ensure that the following ports are open to allow communication between the Data Source Connector(s) and the data sources.

Physical Servers

Physical Servers
Source Destination Port Protocol Purpose
Data Source Connector Physical Windows or Linux Server 50051 TCP Required for Backup and Recovery operations.
Local Host (Physical Windows or Linux Server) Local Host (Physical Windows or Linux Server) 59999 TCP Required for local-to-local communication for self-monitoring and debugging purposes.

Microsoft SQL Servers

Microsoft SQL Servers
Source Destination Port Protocol Purpose
Data Source Connector MS SQL Host 50051 TCP Required for Backup and Recovery operations.
MS SQL Host Data Source Connector 11113,11117 TCP Required for Backup and Recovery operations.
MS SQL Host Agent running on the MS SQL Host 1433 TCP Default TCP port for MS SQL instances. Ensure the port is open to allow communication between the MS SQL instance and the Agent.

Oracle Servers

Ensure that the following ports are open to allow communication between the Data Source Connector(s) and Oracle Server:

Oracle Servers
Source Destination Port Protocol Purpose
Data Source Connector Oracle Server 50051 TCP Required for Backup and Recovery operations.
Oracle Server Data Source Connector 111, 2049 TCP Required for Backup and Recovery operations in Linux servers.
Oracle Server Data Source Connector 11113, 11117 TCP Required for Backup and Recovery operations in Windows servers.
Local Host (Physical Windows or Linux Server) Local Host (Physical Windows or Linux Server) 59999 TCP Required for local-to-local communication for self-monitoring and debugging purposes.

IBM Backup Service

Ensure that the following ports are open to allow communication between the Data Source Connector(s) and IBM backup service, as well as the IBM Cloud Storage.

IBM Backup Service
Source Destination Port Protocol Purpose
Data Source Connector IBM Backup Service 443 TCP Required for Backup and Recovery operations.
Data Source Connector IBM Backup Service 29991 TCP Required for Backup and Recovery operations.
Data Source Connector IBM Cloud Storage 443 TCP Required for Backup and Recovery operations.

Others

Others
Source Destination Port Protocol Purpose
Data Source Connector Internet/Internal 123,323 UDP Required for time.google.com OR internal NTP
Data Source Connector Internet/Internal 53 TCP, UDP Required for DNS or internal DNS

Create a Data Source Connection in VMware

To create a Data Source Connection:

  1. In IBM Cloud Backup and Recovery, navigate to System > Data Source Connections.

  2. Click New Connection.

  3. In the Create Data Source Connection dialog, select the following:

    1. From the Deployment Platform drop-down, select VMware.

    2. To deploy the Data Source Connector in your data center, click Copy OVA URL. The OVA URL is used to deploy the OVA template in VMware vCenter or ESXi.

    3. Copy the Connection token and click Create. The Connection token is utilized to link or claim the Data Source Connector with the created connection.

  4. To deploy the Data Source Connector OVA in your data center:

    1. Log in to your vCenter host.

    2. From the Hosts and Clusters tab in the vSphere Web Client, right-click on any cluster that can host your VM and select Deploy OVF Template. The Deploy OVF Template wizard opens.

    3. On the Select an OVF template page, do one of the following and click Next:

      • Paste the link of the OVA file you copied in Step 3 (b) in the URL field.
      • Select Local file, click UPLOAD FILES, and browse to the location of the OVA file you downloaded in step 3 (b).

    4. On the Select a name and folder page, enter the following and click Next:

      • In the Virtual machine name field, enter a unique name for your Data Source Connector.
      • In the Select a location for the Virtual Machine field, select where your VM should reside from the displayed list of inventory locations.

    5. On the Compute Resources page, select a compute resource for the Data Source Connector VM and click

Next

  1. On the Review details page, verify the Data Source Connector information and click Next.

  2. On the Configuration page, verify SAAS-CONNECTOR is selected and click Next.

  3. On the Select storage page, select a datastore with at least 171 GB of free disk space and click Next.

  4. On the Select networks page, select a destination network and click Next. You can select VLANs from both the DataNetwork and the SecondaryNetwork fields. The Data Network is used for communication with Data Source, and the Secondary Network is used for communication with your data sources. Based on your requirements:

    • To deploy the Data Source Connector on a single network, select the same VLAN in both

DataNetwork and SecondaryNetwork

  • To deploy the Data Source Connector on a dual network, select different VLANs in DataNetwork and SecondaryNetwork, respectively.

  • The Data Source Connector must have dual IP addresses if your data sources are in a private non-routable VLAN.

  • Once you have deployed the Data Source Connector on a single network, you cannot modify the Data Source Connector to use a dual network or vice versa.

    1. On the Customize template page, enter the network settings: Network IP Address, Network Netmask, and Default Gateway. If you have selected a different VLAN for the secondary network, enter the Network IP Address, Network Netmask, and Default Gateway for the secondary network, as well. Click Next.

  • To set the network settings using static IP addresses, manually enter the details in the respective fields for both DataNetwork and SecondaryNetwork.

  • To set the network settings using DHCP, leave the fields blank in both the DataNetwork and SecondaryNetwork sections.

  • Data Network and Secondary Network must be configured using the same network configuration method. That is static IP addresses or DHCP.

    1. Review the summary on the Ready to complete page and click Finish.

    2. Once the VM is created, power it on. After it boots, the services in the Data Source Connector VM (including the UI) can take 4-5 minutes to start.

  1. Enter the IP address of the Data Source Connector VM in the address bar of your browser and click Enter.

  2. On the Data Source Connector's User Interface, enter admin in the Username and Password fields to log into the Data Source Connector.

On the next screen, you are prompted to change your password. Change your default password and log in again with your new password.

  1. Verify the network configuration settings, make necessary changes, and click Continue.

  2. On the Data Source Connector Configuration page, paste the Connection token in the Connection Claim Token field and click Save.

It can take another few minutes for the Data Source Connector to authenticate to the IBM Cloud Backup and Recovery Service. Click on the Data Source Connection to list the Data Source Connector(s) that are claimed.

Create a Data Source Connection in VPC

To create a Data Source Connection:

  1. In IBM Cloud Backup and Recovery, navigate to System > Data Source Connections.

  2. Click New Connection.

  3. In the Create Data Source Connection dialog, select the following:

    a. From the Deployment Platform drop-down, select VPC.

    • NOTE: The VPC option will not be available at launch. It is ok to leave the Deployment Platform as VMware

    b. Copy the Connection token and click Create. The Connection token is utilized to link or claim the Data Source Connector with the created connection.

    c. To deploy the Data Source Connector in your VPC, Go to the IBM Cloud Catalog

    d. Search for Backup and Recovery

    e. Select the Backup and Recovery Data Source Connector image and click the catalog tile

    • NOTE: If the image mentioned above is not available, the User may have to accept an invite. An invite will have been sent to the account admin's email or can be seen in https://cloud.ibm.com/notifications by the admin.

    f. Accept the terms and select Continue h. The Virtual server for VPC create page opens, Select appropriate Location, Name, Resource Group, VPC and create the Virtual Service.

    • NOTE: The Data Source Connector needs to have access to the intended workloads. The recommendation is to create it within the same VPC as the workloads.

Once the VSI is created and powered on, the services in the Data Source Connector VM (including the UI) can take 4-5 minutes to start.

The initial VSI deployment is your responsibility, after that the OS patching and version upgrades are managed by the Backup and Recovery service.

  1. Enter the IP address of the Data Source Connector VM in the address bar of your browser and click Enter.

  2. On the Data Source Connector's User Interface, enter admin in the Username and Password fields to log into the Data Source Connector.

On the next screen, you are prompted to change your password. Change your default password and log in again with your new password.

  1. Verify the network configuration settings, make necessary changes, and click Continue.

  2. On the Data Source Connector Configuration page, paste the Connection token in the Connection Claim Token field and click Save.

It can take another few minutes for the Data Source Connector to authenticate to the IBM Cloud Backup and Recovery Service. Click on the Data Source Connection to list the Data Source Connector(s) that are claimed.

VPE Gateways

While the VSI can connect to the Backup and Recovery instance, a VPE gateway will provide a better performance, To create a VPE gateway, follow these steps.

  1. From the IBM Cloud catalog, search for Virtual private endpoint and click on the Virtual private endpoint for VPC tile,
  2. Select the appropriate Location, Name, Resource Group, VPC
  3. Under Request connection to a service, Select IBM Cloud Service
  4. Select Cloud service offerings to be Backup and Recovery and the appropriate Cloud service regions
  5. Select the appropriate Backup and Service instance in the table below
  6. Configure the Reserved IP as required and create the VPE Gateway.