Configure storage tab

Configure and manage the backup storage locations on the Configure storage tab. Backups can be stored to an Amazon S3 bucket or to an SSH server. The configuration tab has two sections:

  • Manage the storage back-ends in the Storage configuration section.

  • Manage the SSH keys in the SSH key management section.

Storage configuration section

The quick search field above the list provides fast, as-you-type search. It filters the rows in the list, displaying only those rows that have text, in any field, that matches the query string.

Click the plus icon to add a backup storage location.

The SSH configurations list is sorted by storage name and includes the following fields:

Storage name

The name of the storage location. This is a text string.

Click edit to edit the storage configuration.

Click delete to delete the storage configuration. In the confirmation pop-up, click the checkbox . Then click the Delete storage button. Deleting a configuration does not delete any of your backups. It only removes the access information.

Click heartbeat/test to test the connection to the SSH server.

Server name

Hostname or IP address of the SSH server where backups will be stored.

Click the sort icon in the list header to sort the SSH servers by server name.

Server base

Base path on the SSH server where the backups will be stored.

Click the sort icon in the list header to sort the SSH servers by base path.

Username

User account used to access the SSH server.

Click the sort icon in the list header to sort the SSH servers by username.

SSH key

SSH Key used to authenticate to the SSH server.

Click the sort icon in the list header to sort the SSH servers by SSH key. Click expand to view the public key.

SSH port

The port used to connect to the SSH server.

Click the sort icon in the list header to sort the SSH servers by SSH port.

The Amazon S3 configurations list is sorted by storage name and includes the following fields:

Storage name

The name of the storage location. This is a text string.

Click edit to edit the storage configuration.

Click delete to delete the storage configuration. In the confirmation pop-up, click the checkbox . Then click the Delete storage button. Deleting a configuration does not delete any of your backups. It only removes the access information.

Click test to test the connection to the S3 bucket.

AWS key ID

The access ID generated by AWS for the authorized account.

Click the sort icon in the list header to sort the S3 configuration by server name.

Bucket name

The name of the S3 bucket.

Click the sort icon in the list header to sort the S3 configuration by bucket name.

SSH key management section

The quick search field above the list provides fast, as-you-type search. It filters the rows in the list, displaying only those rows that have text, in any field, that matches the query string.

Click the plus icon to add an SSH key.

The SSH Key Management section includes the following fields:

Name

The name of the SSH key.

Click the sort icon in the list header to sort the SSH keys by name.

Public key

Click the View pub key button to display the public key in a pop-up.

Copy the public key from the pop-up to the SSH server. On most Linux systems, this string must be added to the .ssh/authorized_keys file in the home directory of the backup user.

Key size

The number of bits in the key.

Click the sort icon in the list header to sort the SSH keys by key size.

Add an SSH key

In the Add SSH Key pop-up, provide the following:

  • Key name — Enter a name for the key.

  • Key size — Select the size from the pull-down menu. The recommended key size is 2048 bits. For more security, you can select 4096 or 8192. The system will warn you of the longer processing time to generate a larger key.

When you are done, click the Generate key button.

Add storage pop-up

You add a backup storage location with the Add storage pop-up. There are two supported storage types: Amazon S3 and SSH.

About Amazon S3

Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) is an object storage service of Amazon Web Services (AWS). You must have an IAM account that gives you full read and write access to the S3 bucket to be used as the data storage for your backups.

About SSH servers

An SSH server can be used to store backups. Key-based authentication must be configured to allow the VMware NSX Network Detection and Response to connect to the SSH server.

Important:

The server you select for your SSH storage backend must be running a Linux operating system. Ubuntu SSH servers have been tested and are supported. Using a Windows server is not supported.

Important:

Do not use the Managers or its child appliances to store the backups.

Select storage type

In the Storage section, provide the following:

  • Enter a Name for the storage location.

  • Select the Type from the pull-down menu. Select Amazon S3 or SSH. Depending on which storage type you select, the pop-up reconfigures to display additional fields.

Amazon S3 configuration

In the Amazon S3 configuration section, provide the following:

  • Bucket name — Enter the name of the S3 Bucket to be used for backup.

  • AWS key ID — Enter the access key ID generated by AWS for the account.

  • AWS secret key — Enter the secret access key generated by AWS for the account.

  • Destination — Select the destination from the pull-down menu. Select Amazon AWS cloud (the default) or Private cloud. If you select Private cloud, additional fields are added to the pop-up.

  • Host — Enter the hostname or IP address of the private cloud provider.

  • Port — Select the port number to use. By default, this is port 443.

  • Use System Proxy — Set the toggle to determine if the system proxy is to be used. The default is No.

Once the S3 storage location is properly configured, click the Add button to save your changes and dismiss the pop-up.

SSH configuration

In the SSH configuration section, provide the following:

  • Server name — Set the hostname or IP address of SSH server.

  • Server base — Enter the base path where the backups will be stored on the SSH server. This directory must exist on the SSH server and be writable by the configured user.

  • Username — Enter the username of the account that will be used to access the SSH server. This user must exist on the SSH server and support login with public key authentication using the configured SSH Key.

  • SSH key — From the pull-down menu, select the SSH key to use to authenticate to the SSH server. If there is no SSH key available or you want to use a different key, click plus to add a new SSH key-pair.

  • SSH port — Select the SSH port to use to connect to the SSH server. The default port is 22.

Once the SSH storage location is properly configured, click the Add button to save your changes and dismiss the pop-up.