BDRShield support several transport modes to facilitate the VMware backup process. Here are the primary transport modes used in VMware backup:
Direct Access (SAN): Backups can be performed directly from the SAN storage, bypassing the ESXi hosts. This method typically offers high performance and reduced backup windows.
Hot Add (LAN-Free Backup): Deploy a backup proxy in a VM which resides in the ESXi host configured for backup. The backed up VM disk will be attached as a secondary disk to the proxy, allowing it to retrieve data directly from the datastore in hot-add (LAN-free) mode, without impacting the VM’s performance.
NBD & NBDSSL: NBD mode transfers data over the network, allowing the backup server to access VM data through the ESXi host's management network. NBDSSL is similar to NBD but uses SSL encryption for secure data transfer. It ensures that data is encrypted during the backup process, providing an additional layer of security.