Q: Which applications does Veeam support with the Enterprise Application Plugin Backups.
A: Please see our User Guide for Enterprise Application Plugins for the definitive list of applications. Currently we have plugins for the following applications:
- SAP-Hana
- Oracle RMAN
- SAP on Oracle
- Microsoft SQL Server
- IBM Db2
A: Both approaches will work and have their strengths and weaknesses .
Application Backup:
- Application Owners can manage backups and restores of their application directly
- No snapshots for VM reduces impact on production during backups
- Uses native tooling whenever possible so application owners can protect their workloads using Veeam + a familiar utility
- Backup operators can manage from Veeam Backup and Replication while application owners can manage directly from their servers
- Protects the entire machine in addition to just the application data, allowing for fast recovery in a total-loss scenario (i.e., hosting servers and application data are missing entirely )
- Managed entirely from Veeam Backup and Replication server
- Instant Recovery of Oracle and Microsoft SQL databases.
Q: [For VM Image Level Backups] Should I use Veeam Application Aware Processing or VMware quiescence for backing up Application servers?
A: Use Veeam Application Aware Processing whenever possible. Application Aware Processing allows Veeam to be “aware” of the applications hosted on the server, allowing for use of our Application Restore Explorers for granular restores.
Vmware quiescence will bring the machine to an application consistent state, but may have limited functionality when performing restores with the Veeam Explorers. Application Aware Processing is recommended in all cases when feasible. Additionally, as Application Aware Processing is handled by Veeam’s own components, there are no dependencies or restrictions related to 3rd party tooling. (e.g., to properly quiesce Microsoft Exchange servers, persistent VSS snapshots are required, which are not possible with Vmware quiescence)
Q: Why can’t I see or select the Veeam backup repository I want to use when configuring the Plugin backup?
A: Ensure you have configured Access Permissions on the repository in the Veeam Backup and Replication Console. Once permissions are set, re-run the plugin configuration and select the repository.
Q: How do I configure GFS for my Application backups?
A: GFS retention for Application Backups is on our roadmap, but not possible at this time. Consider using this workaround with the RMAN KEEP parameter for the time being. This FAQ will be updated once GFS retention is available for Application backups.
Q: Why do the Application backups not immediately get offloaded to Capacity Tier?
A: By design, Veeam will stored multiple plugin backup sessions in a single backup file. The backup file will be locked by Veeam for 24 hours before continuing with the next backup file, and only after continuing with the next backup file can the original backup file be offloaded.
Q: How do I properly backup a Microsoft SQL Cluster?
A: You can protect your SQL Clusters with VM image level backups, Veeam Agent for Windows/Linux, or with the relevant Enterprise Application Plugin.
For SQL clusters with shared disks and Windows Server Failover Clusters with Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV), use the Veeam Plugin for Microsoft SQL.
VM (image level) backups support Always on Availability Groups; review the linked User Guide page for more information and limitations, as image level backups do not support Always On Availability Groups based on SQL Server Failover Cluster Instances.
Veeam Agent for Windows supports backup of Failover Clusters; review the linked User Guide page for supported configurations and considerations and limitations.