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Toasters --

Our bare-metal systems[1] are able to self-service themselves with TSM clients to perform file-level restores. There is a push to standardize on VMWare to replace the kit behind a lot of the low-hanging fruit Windows/Linux x86 systems. But theres a desire to not reduce function regarding file-level restores with the introduction of this new VMWare platform.

We dont want to stick TSM clients on these guests due to redundant backup data shuffling over to pricy FC 3Par disk and the inordinate I/O load on the guests impacting ESX. We want to find a crafty means to leverage crash-consistent snaps on the NetApp (ala, SMVI) which is hosting all the vmdks in order to source restores, but no one is able to order the steps and pieces in such a way that allows people to self-service file-level restores. Theres been talk of craziness of exporting/serving snaps of vmdks to staging guests which can then browse the vmdk to pluck out files and other such hoop-jumping ... but this far from an elegant, scalable solution.

The NetApp hosting VMWare serves VMDKs via NFS (3160 under 7.2.6.1). A-SIS and SMVI are components in this architecture as well.

If anyone has crossed this path before, insight is appreciated. Thanks.

[1]: Windows, Linux, AIX, Solaris, and Tru64 ... oh my.

- -- Nick Silkey