Configuring jobs in VBR
Prerequisites
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- Veeam Backup and Replication (VBR) installed
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- Local job already present (for cloud copies)
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- The Service Provider already configured in the VBR console
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Job types
There are two ways to configure cloud backups. You can define:
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- a cloud job, sending backup data of a VM (or VMs) to the cloud,
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or
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- a cloud copy job, making use of the data of an already existing local job, and sending the data from the local job to the cloud.
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How to choose?
Mostly, you'll use cloud copy jobs, but there are cases where you will rather go with stand-alone cloud jobs.
| All VMs are included in one job | Do you want a cloud backup of all VMs? | Job type |
| YES | YES | Cloud copy - based on the one local job |
| YES | NO | Cloud job - of the VM(s) you want to backup to the cloud |
| NO | YES | Cloud copy - based on each of the local job(s) of the VM(s) you want to backup to the cloud |
| NO | NO | Cloud copy - based on each of the local job(s) of the VM(s) you want to backup to the cloud |
Option A: Configure a cloud job
To configure a cloud job in VBR, go to the Home section and choose Backup Job. Here you can choose the type of backup you’d like to create. In our example, we’ll backup a Virtual Machine.
Give the job a name, it can be anything, but it’s practical to choose something meaningful e.g. the name of the VM you’ll backup.
To choose the machine(s) you want to backup, click on Add and browse the servers that are available on your hypervisor. Select the server(s) you need, click on Add again, then on Next to go on with the wizard.
Choose the Cloud Repository that was automatically created when you added the service provider.
If you click the Advanced button, you can choose special settings, e.g. if you want to create incremental or reverse incremental backups, or how often you want to create an active full backup. More about this can be read in the Veeam knowledgebase. https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/backup_methods.html?ver=100
Our recommendation is that if you specify less than 15 restore points, create synthetic full backups periodically to shorten the restore times. If you need to specify more than 15 restore points, there's a chance full backups will fill up your repository, so it's more advisable to go with forever forward incrementals (remove the tick from the checkbox Create synthetic full backups). (More about the different job types here.)
Caution: The reverse incremental backup method is not recommended for backup jobs targeted at the cloud repository. The process of a full backup file rebuild requires higher I/O load. This may impact the backup job performance, especially in case of low bandwidth or high latency network connection between the tenant side and SP side.
Choose the method appropriate to your scenario.
To use synthetic full backups: Click Advanced > Backup tab > Create synthetic full backups periodically > Choose the days
To go with the Forever forward incrementals method, simply remove the tick from Create synthetic full backups periodically.
On the Maintenance tab, tick in Perform backup files health check - this will help in preventing the backup files to be corrupted.
On the Storage tab, you can choose the compression level. The higher the compression level, the greater load is on the source computer's CPUs BUT the backup sizes become smaller. Choose the one appropriate to your scenario. We recommend using the Extreme settings unless your machine is short on CPU power AND you run your backups during the day.
Under storage optimization, choose the WAN storage, because the cloud repository target is accessed through the WAN.
Enable encryption (recommended) if it is required by your security policy.
Caution: store the password securely because it will be needed in case of a restore. If you lose it, we cannot recover it.
Click Apply when all the required configurations are done.
On the Guest Processing tab, you can specify if you need Veeam to manage the applications and data inside the virtual machine, e.g. index the file system or truncate SQL logs. More on this here: https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/guest_processing.html?ver=100
For a server running a SQL / Oracle database, Microsoft ActiveDirectory, Exchange or Sharepoint, you can truncate logs by enabling application-aware processing and add the Guest OS credentials.
Caution: use this option carefully. Using both Veeam SQL backup and native SQL backups will render both of those backups useless! More on SQL backups here. Let us know if you need help in this, we are happy to assist.
On the next tab, you can choose a schedule for automatic processing, if you want your backup to run periodically on a schedule.
If you need to use a backup window i.e. the backups can run during specific times e.g. only at night, tick in Terminate the job if it exceeds allowed backup window. Note that a job terminated by the backup window will be considered failed, and the restore point won't be usable. As an alternate option to spare resources, use Network Throttling.
Click on Window...
Mark the times when you don't want the job to run. If the small squares are grayed out, it means the job won't run during those times.
Click OK
Click Next.
On the Summary tab, review your configuration and click Finish to finalize the backup job settings. Optionally, you may tick in the “Run this job when I click Finish”, and the job will start right away.
Create a backup copy job
Backup copy jobs use the data of an already existing local backup file, basically the local backup data of a VM is copied into the cloud repository. Consequently, to use this method, you need an already existing local job configured in the VBR console.
To configure a backup copy, do the following.
Go to Home > Backup Copy > Virtual machine…
Give the job a name, and choose the mode. Immediate to copy all local restore points to the cloud (whenever a new restore point appears, the backup copy will also run), Periodic copy if you want to copy only the latest restore point.
As an object, choose the already existing backup job to start from (recommended), or the machine you want to backup.
Choose the cloud repository. (The cloud repository was automatically added to your configuration when you added the service provider.)
Click the Advanced button to set some extra configuration.
On the Maintenance tab tick in Perform backup files health check - this will help in preventing the backup files to be corrupted.
On the Storage tab, you can choose the compression level. The higher the compression level, the greater load is on the source computers CPUs BUT the backup sizes become smaller. Choose the one appropriate to your scenario (help here) - or if you're unsure, leave it on Auto to let Veeam decide.
Enable encryption (recommended) if it is required by your security policy.
Caution: store the password securely because it will be needed in case of a restore. If you lose it, we cannot recover it.
Click Apply when all the required configurations are done.
Under Data Transfer, choose the Direct method.
On the Schedule tab, you can choose Continuously so that the job is waiting for any changes in the “mother” backup job. In this case, the cloud copy might run into your users' normal working hours. If you experience that the backup hinders performance, choose a backup window.
Click Apply > Finish
If you chose the already existing Job as the backup object, then the local and the cloud job will already be connected.
Caution: if you chose the VM as the object, now you need to connect the two jobs.
To assign a backup job to the backup copy job, open the local backup job and on the storage tab, choose Configure secondary backup destinations. (Note on the screenshot that the target of the backup job itself stays locally, only the secondary location will be in the cloud.)
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