You have a windows server 2008 R2 Hyper-V server. The virtual machines (VMs) that are
hosted on the server have directly attached physical disks. You need to back up the VMs
and the Hyper-V configuration. Which two actions should you perform? (Each correct answer
presents part of the solution. Choose two)

A.
Perform a critical-volume backup on the host server.

B.
Perform a full server backup on the VM.

C.
Perform a critical-volume backup on the VM.

D.
Perform a full server backup on the host server.

Explanation:
The Jury is out on this one! (AB)
You need to back up the Hyper-V configuration. A: Perform a critical-volume backup on the
host server. Because VMs have directly attached physical disks so don’t need full backup for
server.
You need to back up the VMs have directly attached physical disks. B: Perform a full server
backup on the VM. Backing Up Hyper-V Virtual Machines Understanding the backup options
and considerations The backup integration service and the Hyper-V Volume Shadow Copy
Service (VSS) Writer provide the mechanism for backing virtual machines as well as systemwide settings that apply to Hyper-V. There are two basic methods you can use to perform a
backup. You can:
· Perform a backup from the server running Hyper-V. Using this method to perform a full
server backup is the recommended method because it captures more data than the other
method. If the storage is compatible with Hyper-V and the Hyper-V VSS Writer, you can
perform a full server backup that helps protect all of the data required to fully restore the
server. The data included in such a backup includes the configuration of virtual machines
and virtual networks, snapshots associated with the virtual machines, and virtual hard disks
used by the virtual machines. As a result, using this method can make it easier to recover
the server if the need arises, because you will not have to recreate virtual machines or
system-wide settings such as virtual networks.
· Perform a backup from within the guest operating system of a virtual machine. This method
is useful when you need to back up data from storage that is not supported by the Hyper-V
VSS writer.
Storage considerations As you plan your backup strategy, consider the compatibility
between the storage and backup solutions:

· Virtual hard disks offer the best compatibility and can be stored on many types of physical
media.
For more information about the types of storage you can use with Hyper-V, see “Hardware
Considerations” in the Hyper-V Planning and Deployment Guide on TechNet
(http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc816844.aspx).
· Network-based storage such as shared folders should be used with caution. If the networkbased storage is unavailable when a backup is attempted, the backup will fail.
· Physical disks that are directly attached to a virtual machine (sometimes referred to as
‘passthrough disks’) cannot be backed up by the Hyper-V VSS writer. As a result, this type of
disk will not be included in any backup performed by a backup program that uses the HyperV VSS writer.
In this situation, you would need to use some other process to back up the physical disk. For
example, you could run a backup of the data on the iSCSI storage from a backup application
running in the guest operating system.
· Storage accessed from a virtual machine by using an Internet SCSI (iSCSI) initiator within
the guest operating system will not be included in a backup of the physical computer. In this
scenario, you must use another process to back up the data from the iSCSI-based storage
before you perform a full server backup. For example, you could run a backup of the data on
the iSCSI storage from a backup application running in the guest operating system.
· iSCSI-based storage is supported for backup by the Hyper-V VSS writer when the storage
is connected through the parent partition and the storage is used for virtual hard disks.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/virtualization/archive/2008/08/29/backing-up-hyper-vvirtualmachines.
aspx Physical disks that are directly attached to a virtual machine. These disks cannot be
backed up by the Hyper-V VSS writer. As a result, this type of disk will not be included in any
backup performed by a backup program that uses the Hyper-V VSS writer. In this situation,
you would need to use some other process to back up the physical disk, such as running a
backup application within the guest operating system.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd252619(v=ws.10).aspx
Physical disks that are directly attached to a virtual machine.
These disks cannot be backed up by the Hyper-V VSS writer. As a result, this type of disk
will not be included in any backup performed by a backup program that uses the Hyper-V
VSS writer. In this situation, you would need to use some other process to back up the
physical disk, such as running a backup application within the guest operating system.
Perform a backup from the server running Hyper-V.
We recommend that you use this method to perform a full server backup because it captures
more data than the other method. If the backup application is compatible with Hyper-V and
the Hyper-V VSS writer, you can perform a full server backup that helps protect all of the
data required to fully restore the server, except the virtual networks. The data included in
such a backup includes the configuration of virtual machines, snapshots associated with the
virtual machines, and virtual hard disks used by the virtual machines. As a result, using this
method can make it easier to recover the server if you need to, because you do not have to
recreate virtual machines or reinstall Hyper- V. However, virtual networks are not included in
a full server backup. You will need to reconfigure the virtual networking by recreating the
virtual networks and then reattaching the virtual network adapters in each virtual machine to
the appropriate virtual network. As part of your backup planning, make sure you document
the configuration and all relevant settings of your virtual network if you want to be able to
recreate it.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd252619%28v=ws.10%29.aspx