Virtual server backup is a known pain point among backup administrators. Companies can back up virtual servers the same way they back up physical servers by installing backup agents and managing each backup individually, but many users have reported that this method is not satisfactory.

At VMworld 2008, a number of announcements promised improvements in virtual server backup. Vizioncore Inc., a third-party VMware server backup vendor, announced new virtualization management for data backup and recovery. BakBone Software Inc. announced a NetVault backup plug-in to provide a simple way to achieve VMware data protection. Symantec Corp. now offers Veritas NetBackup support for restoring individual files or a full virtual machine (VM) with a single VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB) backup pass.

These are steps in the right direction, but most agree that there's still room for improvement.

In our tutorial, learn all about VMware backup with this collection of articles on VMware backup and restore, VMware Consolidated Backup, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and more.