Dell PPDM Deploy flashcards
Dell PPDM Deploy · Build recall with a focused review session.
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- PPDM appliance deployment formats
- PowerProtect Data Manager is delivered as a vSphere OVA/OVF virtual appliance, a hypervisor-agnostic ISO installer, and cloud-native deployments in supported public clouds. Each bundles the OS, database, and application.
- Minimum appliance sizing
- A baseline small deployment uses about 4 vCPUs, 16 GB RAM, and roughly 1 TB provisioned storage. Increase CPU, memory, and capacity for more protected assets and longer retention.
- Dual-NIC network design
- The appliance typically uses one NIC for management traffic to DNS, NTP, vCenter, and identity services, and a second NIC for the data path to protection storage.
- Mandatory time synchronization
- The appliance, vCenter, ESXi hosts, and protection storage must share accurate UTC time. Clock skew breaks vCenter registration, certificate validation, and token-based authentication.
- DNS requirements for PPDM
- Forward and reverse DNS records must exist for the appliance FQDN before deployment. Both directions must resolve consistently, since registration and certificate checks depend on the name.
- Default admin account handling
- Deployment creates a local admin account. Set a strong password immediately, then integrate LDAP, AD, or another identity provider and assign roles instead of sharing local credentials.
- vCenter registration purpose
- Adding vCenter under Infrastructure lets PPDM discover virtual machines, run VM-level backups and restores, and perform file-level recovery through VMware tools.
- DD Boost registration
- PowerProtect DD protection storage is registered over DD Boost. The storage unit and DD Boost user are created on the DD system before the target is added to PPDM.
- Licensing before policy creation
- PPDM licensing is applied per protected capacity or per asset by edition. Load and verify the license file before enabling policies, because unlicensed assets are not protected.
- Asset source discovery
- Each protection engine discovers its own asset type: vCenter for VMs, agents for databases and file systems, the Kubernetes operator for clusters, and array integrations for storage.
- Protection policy structure
- A policy combines an asset type, a purpose such as backup, replication, or cloud tier, a schedule, a protection storage target, and a retention period or retention lock.
- Unprotected asset indicator
- Assets not bound to any protection policy appear as unprotected in the dashboard. Deployment is incomplete until every in-scope asset is covered by a policy.
- Database agent registration
- Agent-based database and file system protection requires installing the PowerProtect agent on the host, registering it with the appliance, and allowing agent traffic on the data network.
- Kubernetes protection components
- Kubernetes protection uses the PowerProtect Data Manager Kubernetes operator, a namespace-scoped deployment, and a snapshot path such as CSI or Velero depending on the storage class.
- Restore validation step
- Before sign-off, perform a test restore using instant access or live recovery and confirm job status in the Jobs view. A backup that has never been restored is unverified.
- Upgrade sequencing rules
- Check the compatibility matrix for the target version, back up the appliance configuration, then upgrade protection storage and agents to matching versions before or with the appliance.
- Troubleshooting order
- Check DNS and NTP first, then service account permissions on vCenter or the DD system, then data path reachability, and finally appliance logs and the support bundle export.
- Required firewall ports
- Baseline rules allow HTTPS 443 for UI and API, NTP 123, DNS 53, SMTP 25 or 587, LDAP 389 or 636, and DD Boost ports 111, 2049, and 2052.
- Certificate replacement
- The appliance starts with a self-signed certificate. Replace it with a CA-signed certificate whose subject matches the FQDN, and trust the issuing CA on integrated systems.
- Appliance configuration backup
- Schedule backups of the PPDM appliance configuration itself, separate from data protection, so a failed appliance can be redeployed and its settings restored quickly.
- Scale-out with load balancer
- Larger environments deploy additional PPDM nodes behind a load balancer. Nodes share database and configuration while protection engines run on each node.
- Replication and cloud tier
- Replication and cloud tier need a second protection storage target or a supported cloud object store. Configure the purpose on the policy and validate the target first.
- Role-based access control mapping
- Identity provider groups map to PPDM roles such as admin, backup administrator, restore operator, and user. Least privilege separates policy management from restore operations.
- Capacity planning inputs
- Size protection storage using protected capacity, change rate, and retention period from PPDM reporting views, then match those figures to a DD model and appliance storage.
- Post-deployment validation checklist
- Confirm bidirectional DNS, NTP sync, successful vCenter and DD registration, one tested backup and restore, and delivery of an alert to the configured SMTP recipient.
- SMTP alerting configuration
- Configure an SMTP server and recipient addresses so job failures and capacity warnings are delivered. Without alerting, silent backup failures go unnoticed.
- Protection storage network path
- The data NIC must reach the DD Boost interface on the protection storage. Routing, firewall rules, and MTU settings on this path determine backup throughput and reliability.
- Retention lock purpose
- Retention lock prevents deletion of backups until the retention period expires. It is set on the protection storage and referenced by the policy's retention settings.
- Support bundle export
- When logs alone are inconclusive, export a support bundle from the appliance and provide it to Dell support. It packages logs and configuration for analysis.
- Compatibility matrix check
- Before deploying or upgrading, verify that the PPDM version, vCenter, ESXi, DD OS, and agent versions are all listed as compatible in Dell's published matrix.
- Instant access recovery
- Instant access mounts backup data directly from protection storage so a VM or database can be validated or used quickly without a full restore to primary storage.
- Protection engine concept
- A protection engine is the PPDM component that performs discovery, backup, and restore for a specific asset type, such as VMs, databases, or Kubernetes workloads.