Creating a Restore as Lab Policy for Hyper-V

To set up the Restore as Lab feature for Virtual Labs, you must create a Virtual Lab Policy so that users can create their own virtual labs from a Hyper-V backup job. The Virtual Lab Policy contains settings for the restore destination and the isolated or external network.

Before You Begin

The following conditions must be met to use VM Lifecycle Management:

Supported operating systems:
- Windows Server 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016
- Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10
- Linux RHEL 5, 6, and 7, CentOS, Oracle, and Ubuntu

You must install the following components to set up VM Lifecycle Management:

Virtual Server Agent. For installation instructions, see Deployment Planning for Microsoft Hyper-V.
Web Server and Web Console. For installation instructions see Installing the Web Console.
Create a Hyper-V Client.
If you want to create a gateway computer that allows communication with computers outside of the virtual lab, you must download the gateway template from the Commvault Store and import it into the Hyper-V cluster.

For download instructions, see Downloading Items from Commvault Store.

You must name all virtual machine templates using this format: CV_VLAB_GATEWAY_*. Only templates that begin with this prefix are displayed.

To enable IP Masquerading, you must first configure the following:

The Static IP should be configured on the source virtual machine, and the remote connection should be enabled.
The masquerade network should have the equivalent static IP range as the source network; for example, the source subnet IP range is 172.16.52.51-55 and the masquerade IP range is 172.19.52.51-55.
The masquerade network should have DHCP enabled, and it should allow incoming requests. The gateway virtual machine should get a DHCP IP for the primary interface.
The gateway virtual machine template must be uploaded to the destination Hyper-V server (Commvault Store).
The name of the template stored on the Hyper-V server must begin with CV_VLAB_GATEWAY.

Procedure

In the CommCell Browser, expand Policies, right-click Virtual Machine Policies, and then click Create New Policy.
In the Virtual Machine Policy Options dialog box, select the vendor and policy options:
1. From the Virtualization Vendor list, select Hyper-V.
2. From the Policy Type list, select Restore From Backup.
  
  Enable Virtual Lab is automatically selected.
3. Click Next.
The VM Lifecycle Policy dialog box appears.
On the Enter the Policy Name and Description page, name the policy:
1. In the Name box, enter a name for the policy.
  
  Note: Make a note of the Policy name. This is needed later for users to create virtual machines.
2. In the Quota box, type or select the VM limit per user.
3. Optional: Configure the period of time before a VM is decommissioned and then deleted. Select Enable Decommission, and then configure the time period:
  - In the Decommission Virtual Lab after list, select or type a number of days.
  - In the Deletion grace period list, select or type a number of days.
  All decommissioned machines are automatically turned off, and when you perform a backup for these machines, they are archived.
4. In the Description box, enter a description for the policy.
5. Click Next.
On the Select the Virtualization Client page, specify the Hyper-V Host to be used:
1. In the Virtualization Client list, select the name of a Hyper-V Host.
2. Optional: If you want to refresh hosts for the Virtualization Client, click Refresh Hyper-V Hosts.
  
  This step can take some time if there are many hosts.
3. Optional: Click Advanced Policy Features, and then configure any of the available settings in the Advanced Policy Features dialog box:
  - To specify the client group that can use this policy, select Associated Client Group, and then select a client group name from the list.
  - To configure email addresses for the people who will be notified about VM operations, in the E-mail addresses to notify box, enter email addresses separated by commas.
  - To configure the email sender's address, in the Sender's email address box, type an email address.
  - If you don't want to notify users about VM operations that succeeded, select Disable e-mail notifications for successful VM operations.
  - Click OK to close the Advanced Policy Features dialog box.
4. Click Next.
On the Select Nodes page, specify the nodes that you want to make available to virtual lab users.
1. From the Available list, select the nodes, and then click Add to add them to the Selected list.
2. Click Next.
On the Select Volumes page, specify the volumes that you want to make available to virtual lab users.
1. From the Available list, select the volumes, and then click Add to add them to the Selected list.
2. Click Next.
On the Select Network page, configure settings for an isolated or external network:
1. To use an existing, external network to communicate with computers outside the virtual lab, select Use An Existing Network, and then select a network from the list.
2. To use a gateway computer to communicate with computers outside the virtual lab, configure the gateway VM, template, and network:
  - Select Create An Isolated Network.
  - Select Configure Gateway VM.
  - In the Gateway Template list, select the template for the gateway VM. This should be the template that was uploaded to the Hyper-V server for IP Masquerading.
  - In the Gateway Network list, select a network that the gateway VM can use. This network should have access to the Internet.
  - In the IP Address Settings dialog box, configure the following:
    
    Network: select a network where the reserved IP address pool resides. This network must include
    
    IP Address Range: specifies the IP address range for the masqueraded IP addresses.
    
    Subnet Mask: Enter a full IP address or an IP address pattern for the subnet mask for the Masquerade network.
    
    Default Gateway: Enter a full IP address or an IP address pattern for the default gateway.
3. Click Next.
On the Select User Membership page, select the users or user groups that will have access to Virtual Labs:
1. From the Available list, select users or user groups, and then click Add to add them to the Selected list.
2. Click Next.
On the Summary page, click Finish.

What To Do Next

Restore a Hyper-V Backup as a Virtual Lab.