Agent for ESX(i) binding

This option is effective if more than one Agent for ESX(i) serve the virtual machines of a vCenter Server.

To access this option, connect the console to the management server and then select Options > Management server options from the top menu.

The management server evenly distributes the machines between the agents. This balance may break when a machine or an agent is added or removed. If this happens, the management server redistributes the machines and updates the centralized backup plans accordingly. You can view the result of this distribution in the Agent column available for each virtual machine on the management server. For more information about automatic distribution see "Flexible configuration of the agents".

The Agent for ESX(i) binding option lets you exclude a virtual machine from this distribution process by specifying the agent that must always back up this machine. The management server will continue maintaining the overall balance, but it is allowed to pass the machine to a different agent only if the original agent is removed.

To configure the Agent for ESX(i) binding option, associate (bind) a virtual machine with one of the agents.

To bind a machine with an agent:

1. Select the agent. The software shows the virtual machines currently managed by the agent. Machines available for automatic distribution are grayed out.
2. Click Bind with virtual machine. This opens a window that shows the full list of machines the agent can access.
3. Select one or more machines, and click OK.

   Result. The list of the virtual machines currently managed by the agent is updated. Machines bound to the agent are displayed in black color. They are no longer available for automatic distribution.

To unbind a machine from an agent:

1. Select the agent. The software shows the virtual machines currently managed by the agent. Machines available for automatic distribution are grayed out. Machines bound to the agent are displayed in black color.
2. Click Unbind virtual machine. This opens a window that shows the list of machines bound with the agent.
3. Select one or more machines, and click OK.

   Result. The list of the virtual machines currently managed by the agent is updated. The unbound machines become grayed out. If a machine disappears from the list, it means that the machine was assigned to a different agent as a result of automatic distribution.

Usage examples

• The option comes in handy if you want a particular (very large) machine to be backed up by Agent for ESX(i) (Windows) via a fibre channel while other machines are backed up by virtual appliances.
• It is necessary to use this option if one or more of the agents have locally attached storages.
• Let's assume you want to back up 20 virtual machines using 3 Agents for ESX(i). 5 machines of 20 need to be backed up to Acronis Online Backup Storage.

  Allocate one of the agents for online backups and assign the subscription to this agent. Then, bind each of the 5 machines with this agent. The remaining 15 machines will be distributed among the 3 agents.

  As a result, you need only one subscription for the Acronis Backup & Recovery Online service. If the machines were distributed automatically, you would need to buy 3 subscriptions, one subscription per agent.