How to configure Protector to use the 'Ad Hoc Backup' vRO workflow

Refer to Protector Connector for VMware vRO prerequisites.

It is assumed that you have already created VMware source nodes, block or host based destination storage nodes, and any Administrator nodes required within Protector.

The Protector Connector for vRO is shipped with the 'Ad Hoc Backup' workflow which enables any VM to be backed up from vSphere or vRealize Automation clients. The nature of the backup performed by this workflow is dependent on the corresponding policy classification, operation and data flow set up within Protector.

As an example, the following procedure configures the 'VRO Ad Hoc Dataflow', 'Ad Hoc Policy' and 'Protector Ad Hoc' tag to perform a Thin Image snapshot:

Figure. 'VRO Ad Hoc Dataflow'

Table. 'Ad Hoc Policy'
Classification Type	Parameters	Value
VMware	VMware Node	myVMwareServer
VMware	Included Items	Protector Ad Hoc tag

Operation Type	Parameters	Value	Assigned Nodes
Snapshot	Mode	Hardware	VMware
	Run Options	Run when manually triggered
	Schedule Options - Recovery Point Objective	None

On each vSphere from which the Protector vRO 'Ad Hoc Backup' workflow will be run, create a Tag named 'Protector Ad Hoc'.
Note:
- This tag is reserved exclusively for transient use by the vRO 'Ad Hoc Backup' workflow and must not be assigned by users.
- When creating this tag it is recommended to place it in its own Category. This is to avoid any cardinality restrictions placed on any existing groups, that may prevent the ‘Protector Ad Hoc’ Tag being assigned to a VM with another tag from the same category.
Define a policy as shown in the table above. To define a VMware Tag based classification:

Note: The policy is only intended to be externally triggered once by vRO, therefore the Recovery Point Objective must be set to None, otherwise errors will be logged when the RPO is reached.
1. In the Select Classification page of the wizard, select Hypervisor, then select VMware.
2. In the Specify VMware classification attributes page of the wizard, select the VMware Node that hosts the source VMs that could be targeted by the 'Ad Hoc Backup' workflow.
3. Under Included Items, click + Add to open the VMware Resource Selection for Inclusion wizard.
4. Select Browse for resource, then click Next.
5. Under Browse by, select Tags, then click Next.
6. Under Select items, select the Tag named 'Protector Ad Hoc', then click Finish.
Create a data flow with the Name set to 'VRO Ad Hoc Dataflow'

Note: The Protector vRO Workflow finds the correct data flow using its name, so it must be entered exactly as shown (case sensitive).

If you have a multi-user environment where restricted access in vSphere must be maintained in Protector, refer to How to configure Protector and vRO for restricted multi-user access.
Draw the data flow as shown in the figure above, showing only the VMware source node.
At this stage the snapshot icon is not shown.
Assign the Snapshot operation to the VMware source node. The Ad Hoc Policy policy will then be assigned automatically.
The Block Snapshot Operation Properties dialog is displayed.
In the Snapshot configuration dialog, select the Storage Node corresponding to the Hitachi Block storage device where the VMware Server's datastore is located. Then select a Snapshot Pool from one of the available pools.
Leave the remaining Advanced Options at their default settings, then click OK.

CAUTION:
If you want to preserve snapshots after restoring from them, use Cascade mode (the default setting) when assigning the snapshot operation on the data flow. This will enable a duplicate to be mounted when restoring.

The snapshot icon is now shown superimposed over the source node.
The 'Ad Hoc Backup' workflow is now ready to run using one of the following methods:
- From vRealize Orchestrator, select Start Workflow... from the context menu for the 'Ad Hoc Backup' workflow.
- From vSphere, select All vRealize Orchestrator plug-in Actions > Ad Hoc Backup from the context menu for a VM.