Hyper-V is Microsoft’s type-1 hypervisor. It is an optional feature built into Hyper-V Server, Windows Server, Windows Enterprise, Pro, and Education editions, thus it doesn’t require a download and only needs to be enabled in Windows features.
Many organizations or enterprises choose it for saving costs. If you use Hyper-V too, you may also want a cost-saving, or free way to protect your important data. It is recommended to use a free dedicated Hyper-V backup software.
2 types of Hyper-V VM backup
When it comes to Hyper-V backup, you are likely to get started with the following 2 different approaches:
- Guest-level backup: will back up the VM as physical machines by installing an agent on the guest operating system, namely agent-based backup. Usually, you have to install an agent on each VM one by one. If you only have one or two VMs and want the flexibility to back up individual files or programs in a VM, you can choose guest-level backup.
- Host-level backup: back up the entire VM, including its configuration, allowing you to restore an entire VM and make it instantly available. If you have more VMs and want to quickly restore the entire VM to a usable state when needed, host-level backup is a better choice
Among all the host-level backup ways, the most commonly accepted one is to use dedicated backup software to backup Hyper-V VMs.
If you are looking for a free and reliable agentless backup solution to protect your Hyper-V VM data, you can try AOMEI Cyber Backup Free Edition.
What’s AOMEI Cyber Backup
AOMEI Cyber Backup is a reliable enterprise backup software that offers centralized management for VM data protection. It offers a free edition that you can use without time limit.
Its vendor company, AOMEI Tech is a data insurance leader in backup industry, focused on providing user-friendly and affordable backup software for data protection on different platforms, including PC, smart phone, and servers, etc.
With AOMEI Cyber Backup Free Edition, you can easily back up VMs on Hyper-V hosts without downtime.
10 benefits you can enjoy using Free AOMEI Cyber Backup
With the Free AOMEI Cyber Backup, you can enjoy the following benefits:
- Agentless VM Backup: create complete and independent image-level backup for Hyper-V VMs without agent.
- Convenient Hot Backup: allow you to back up the virtual machines while they are running.
- Easy-to-use Interface:provides you with user-friendly interface to complete backup and restore process based on several clicks.
- Multiple Storage Destinations: support local or network destinations like a shared folder or NAS via SMB protocol.
- Flexible Backup Schedule: you can specify to perform full/incremental backup on a daily/weekly/monthly basis for automatic execution.
- In Time Email Notification: send email notifications when the task is completed or abnormal.
- Multiple Restore Points: allow you to create multiple restore points and restore immediately available VMs.
- Role Assignment: allow one administrator to create sub-accounts with limited privileges.
- Perpetual Free Version: you can use the AOMEI Cyber Backup Free Edition with no time limit.
- Multiple Versions Support: support Hyper-V in Windows 8/8.1/10/11, Windows Server/Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 and later versions..
AOMEI Cyber Backup simplifies the backup process and present the steps with an intuitive GUI interface. Keep Reading to see the steps to backup Hyper-V VMs.
Steps to auto backup Hyper-V virtual machines
Before you start using AOMEI Cyber Backup to back up Hyper-V VMs, you need to bind the Hyper-V host for authorization.Once authorized, you are free to manage the protection of all VMs on the host without installing an agent on each of the VMs.
Then you can cover multiple virtual machines covered in one backup task.
Click Schedule you can create full/incremental backups and automatically run it daily/weekly/monthly. With upgraded edition you can also perform Cleanup to auto delete the outdated backups.
Created backup tasks will be listed and monitored separately, for later restoring, progress checking and schedule changing.
In addition, select to Restore to new location, you can restore the entire VM to another host from any restore point you like.
Summary
Hyper-V VM backup is an essential part of managing a virtualized environment. A reliable backup solution is crucial to ensuring your data security and the ability to quickly recover the important data in the event of a disaster.
If you use Hyper-V, you may want a free HyperV backup software to save costs on administration. AOMEI Cyber Backup could be an excellent choice.
