Veeam Backup & Replication 9.5 has been released last month and supports Windows Server 2016. Veeam Backup & Replication is mainly a backup solution for virtual machines hosted on VMware or Hyper-V infrastructure. In this topic, I’ll focus on Hyper-V (and VMM).
Veeam works at the host level to backup VM. That means that an agent must be installed in each hypervisor but no agent is installed inside the VM. Even if there is no agent in the VM, Veeam is able to backup Active Directory or SQL Server workloads.
For this topic, I’ll backup the workloads on a Synology NAS (RS815). This backup will be in a share SMB3.
Backup infrastructure overview
To make this topic, I have deployed the following infrastructure:
- 2x Hyper-V hosts in hyperconverged cluster (Storage Spaces Direct)
- 1x VM called VMBCK01 which host Veeam
- 1x Synology NAS RS815 to store backups
My Hyper-V cluster hosts several VM such as Domain Controllers, SQL Servers (AlwaysOn Availability Group), System Center, PKI and so on. In this topic, I’ll will create a backup job for Domain Controllers.
Add Hyper-V hosts to Veeam
Install VMM agent
Because I will discover Hyper-V hosts across VMM, I have to install the VMM console on the Veeam server. So I run the VMM wizard to install the VMM console as below.
Discover Hyper-V hosts
Once the VMM console is installed, we can discover Hyper-V hosts across VMM. This configuration is not recommended in large environment. VMM can slow down the Veeam interface when they are hundred hosts and thousand VM. In large infrastructure, it is recommended to connect Veeam directly to the Hyper-V clusters. To add either standalone Hyper-V, cluster or VMM server, navigate to Virtual Machines and right click on Microsoft Hyper-V. Next select Add server.
In the next screen, specify the IP or the DNS of the VMM instance (or the standalone Hyper-V or the Hyper-V cluster).
Next choose the type of the server. Is this example, this is a Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
Then specify a credential that has right in VMM.
In the next screen, you should have the Hyper-V host that you have added in VMM.
Once you have clicked on next, the agent is deployed on Hyper-V hosts.
Once the agents are installed and the refresh done, you can retrieve the same hierarchy than VMM and the hosted virtual machines.
To compare, you can see that the hierarchies are the same in VMM than in Veeam.
Add a backup repository
Create the share in the Synology NAS
Before adding the backup repository in Veeam, I create a share in the Synology NAS. I call it HomeCloud-Backup and I hide this share.
Then I have created a user called Veeam which has full permission on HomeCloud-Backup share.
Add backup repository in Veeam
Once the share is created, I add the backup repository in Veeam. Navigate to Backup Infrastructure and right click on Backup Repositories. Then select Add Backup Repository.
Give a name to your backup repository and click on next.
Then choose the type of the backup repository. In this example, choose Shared folder.
Next, specify the shared folder and the credentials that ave access in read/write in the share.
If the settings that you have specified previously are good, the wizard should show you the free space in the storage device. Then you can set the maximum concurrent tasks and limite the bandwidth. You can set advanced settings by clicking on Advanced.
Then you can enable or disable the vPower NFS. This feature is not useful in Hyper-V environment.
To finish, review the summary and click on next to create the repository.
Create the first backup job
To create a backup job, navigate to Backup & Replication and click on Backup Job.
In the first screen, give a name to your backup job. In this backup job, I’ll backup two domain controllers.
Then, choose the VM that will be in this backup job. To add VM, click on Add and select them.
Choose the backup repository where will be located the backup files. In this example, I choose the NAS.
I enable the application-aware processing because I backup an Active Directory. Choose this option also for SQL Server to truncate logs. I use also Guest OS credentials which have administrator right in the VM.
Then, set the schedule of the backup job and click on next.
To finish, review the backup job summary and if all settings are good, click on finish to create the job.
Below, you can find information of the first full backup of both virtual machines.
As you can see below, Veeam 9.5 leverages the new Hyper-V backup capability which use Resilient Change Tracking. This is why some mrt and rct file are created in the VM folder.
Conclusion
Veeam Backup & Replication 9.5 is a great tool to backup your infrastructure. Veeam has a user-friendly interface and it is easy to understand how to add a backup repository or how to create a backup job. This quick start has shown you how to create a first backup job from scratch. There are three main steps to make your first backup: add the Hyper-V hosts to Veeam, add a backup repository and create the backup job. Veeam 9.5 leverages new Windows Server 2016 such as Hyper-V Resilient Change Tracking or PowerShell direct.
