Hyper-V VM Backup

Overview

BackupEngine provides agentless, image-level backup of Hyper-V virtual machines. The agent runs on the Hyper-V host and uses the Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to create application-consistent snapshots of running VMs without downtime or performance impact.

• •Supports Hyper-V on Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, and Windows 10/11 Pro with Hyper-V role.
• •Back up entire VMs including virtual disks (VHDX), configuration, snapshots, and saved state.
• •Application-aware VSS ensures consistency for SQL Server, Exchange, and Active Directory running inside VMs.
• •Available on Server plans only. The Hyper-V tab appears when the Hyper-V role is detected.

Discovering VMs on the Host

Before configuring a backup set, confirm the agent can see the Hyper-V role and enumerate the VMs you intend to protect.

backupengine hyperv status            # Is the role detected? Are we elevated enough to enumerate?
backupengine hyperv list              # All VMs on the host with state + gen + memory + disk count
backupengine hyperv list --json       # Same data, machine-readable

Configuring VM Backups

Hyper-V backup-set creation is GUI-only — the wizard handles VM selection, application-aware VSS, retention, multi-destination fan-out, and scheduling. Once a Hyper-V backup set exists, you can trigger runs from the CLI using its set name.

• •Auto-protect: Automatically includes any new VMs created on the host. No manual intervention needed.
• •Selective: Choose specific VMs from the list. New VMs are not included until manually added.
• •Exclude list: Remove specific VMs from auto-protect (e.g., test or development VMs).
• •Per-VM scheduling: Set different backup schedules for different VMs based on criticality.

Application-Aware Processing

When application-aware processing is enabled, BackupEngine coordinates with VSS writers inside the guest VM to ensure that applications like SQL Server and Exchange flush their buffers and create a consistent state before the snapshot is taken.

• •SQL Server: Ensures all committed transactions are flushed to disk. Transaction logs are truncated after a successful backup.
• •Active Directory: Ensures the AD database (NTDS.DIT) is in a consistent state.
• •Exchange Server: Ensures mailbox database consistency and truncates transaction logs.
• •Requires Hyper-V Integration Services to be installed and running in the guest VM.

Setting Up a Hyper-V Backup Set

Use the Hyper-V backup wizard in the desktop agent to create a backup set. The wizard walks you through selecting VMs, configuring backup options, choosing a destination, and scheduling.

• •Step 1: Select VMs — Choose which virtual machines to protect. You can select specific VMs or enable auto-protect to automatically include new VMs.
• •Step 2: Backup Options — Toggle application-aware VSS processing (recommended for databases and directory services). Set retention policy (e.g., keep 30 days of backups).
• •Step 3: Destination — Choose where backups are sent: iDrive e2 (cloud) or a local NAS/network share.
• •Step 4: Schedule — Set when backups run (daily, weekly, or continuous). Adjust timing to minimize host impact.
• •Step 5: Review — Review your choices and click Create Backup Set. The first backup starts immediately.

Running a Hyper-V Backup

Once a Hyper-V backup set exists, both the GUI and the CLI can trigger ad-hoc runs.

backupengine hyperv backup "Hyper-V Production"   # Run a Hyper-V backup set by name
backupengine sets list                            # Includes Hyper-V sets with their VMs
backupengine backup list 50                       # 50 most recent runs (all set types)

Restoring Virtual Machines

BackupEngine offers multiple restore options for Hyper-V VMs to fit different recovery scenarios.

• •Full VM Restore: Restores the entire VM including all virtual disks, configuration, and snapshots to the original or a different host.
• •Individual Disk Restore: Restore a specific VHDX file without restoring the entire VM.
• •File-Level Restore: Mount the VM backup and browse individual files from inside the guest file system without restoring the full VM.
• •Instant Recovery: Boot the VM directly from the backup storage for immediate availability while the full restore completes in the background.

Incremental Chains and Synthetic Full

BackupEngine supports RCT-based incremental chains with synthetic-full promotion at the chain cap, so long-running protection of large VMs costs near-zero bandwidth on chain rolls.