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Understanding ABDs (v2.x)
Please note: this article is specific to Alike v2.1;
Please refer to the article Understanding ABDs, for newer versions of Alike.
ABDs (Alike Backup Delegates) are tiny virtual machines that assist Alike in Enhanced backup and restore jobs. ABDs only exist during active jobs. When a job is complete, Alike safely disposes of any ABDs from that job. Therefore ABDs do not consume any CPU or memory when not needed. Please note: ABDs are not needed when performing a Q-Hybrid backup job.
ABD Requirements:
-Each ABD Image (template) consumes 128MB disk space in the selected SR
-The ABD Image must be deployed to shared storage when used in Pooled environments (typically the default SR).
-Use 128MB ram and 1 IP address when running
-Assigned IP Address must be accessible from the server running Alike
Click here for a video overview of Alike's ABDs.
Notes
-If desired, you can allocate additional memory/vCPUs to the ABD Image any may (or may not) see a small performance boost in your backup and restore jobs. This must be done in XenCenter.
-Alike Free does not contain the ABD image for deployment. If you downloaded Alike Free and later applied a license key, you will have to download the ABD image separately. (See the KB article describing this process)
Only 1 ABD Image is necessary for each Pool you intend to use. ABDs may be deployed to unlicensed pools for restore and replication job targets. In order for unlicensed pools to show up on the Network tab, you must add at least 1 host from that pool under 'unlicensed hosts' on the 'Host Server Settings' page.
How to deploy/configure you ABD Image
1. Navigate to the Network tab on the Settings page within the Alike Manager (seen below)
2. Select the Resource Pool from the list. Please note, Alike discovers your Resource Pools from the XenServer hosts entered on the Virtualization Settings tab. If you do not see any pools, or something is incorrect, please double check the XenServer host settings.
3. Select the desired SR from the drop down list. For most environments, a shared SR is preferred.
4. Click the "Deploy Image" button and wait for the deployment to complete.
5. Once completed, click the green "+" icon to add one or more IP addresses for your ABDs to use. Add your Assigned IP, and other networking information, and click ok. PLEASE NOTE, in order to have multiple Enhanced jobs running simultaneously, you must have sufficient IP addresses for all your temporary ABDs to use.
5. You are now able to begin using Enhanced Backup jobs.