Update: Confirmed to work with vCenter Server v7.0. If you had previously configured the backups in vCenter Server v6.5 or v6.7, those settings are lost during the upgrade to v7.0 and will need to be configured again.

This post is the third one in a series on how to setup an AWS Storage Gateway VM, configure NSX-T Manager backups with S3, and configuring vCenter Server Appliance backups.

The key difference between how to leverage the S3 bucket, through the AWS Storage Gateway VM, for the vCenter Server Appliance is that it goes over NFS. If you read the previous post, the NSX-T Manager leveraged sFTP for backups.

Log into your vCenter Server Appliance VAMI interface on port 5480 and then select Backup from the left side of the screen. From there, select the Edit option on the top right corner.

As you can see above, the vCenter Server Appliance backup allows you to directly access the NFS endpoint for the S3 bucket. Fill out the frequency for the backups, the retention policy and then click Save.

After you have the setup complete, you can select the BACKUP NOW link on the main screen to test the configuration settings.

Verify the backup completes and you are all set! Now you can automatically create backups for both the NSX-T Manager and the vCenter Server Appliance to your AWS S3 buckets.

Enjoy!