Small office deployment questions

[BugDug]

I have read recent posts in this forum about using Veeam B&R CE in a very small office set-up. Specifically, in an office with a few Windows 10 Client PCs and a single physical server acting as the host for one or two Hyper-V VMs (Windows Server 2012 R2 in this case).

Based on the replies, there is consensus that Veeam B&R fits the bill, but what is not clear to me is what is the optimal way to deploy Veeam absent a separate dedicated physical server or dedicated back-up VM on the hypervisor. By optimal, I mean the best balance between cost and reliable functionality.

Please share your thought on these three options:

1) Install Veeam on one the existing VMs. This seems like the fastest and cheapest solution. In this case Veem would have back-up the VM that it is itself installed on. Will this present a problem if the sole physical server fails? How could the backup be restored? What are the pros & cons of this deployment?

2) Run Veeam one of the Windows 10 clients. Is this even possible? Would the client need to have to be running Hyper-V with Windows Server installed or can Veeam be installed directly in Window 10 and still back-up the servers? The clients are all idle at night which is when backups are typically run, so workload should not be an issue. The back-up data could be saved to an attached USB drive or maybe to a NAS. What are the pros & cons of this deployment?

3) Invest in a dedicated physical back-up server solely to run Veeam – Most likely an inexpensive desktop PC powerful enough to run Windows Server 2012r2 or higher. – Although is probably the cleanest and perhaps safest option, it is also the most expensive and time consuming. Is it really much better than just running Veeam from existing VM on existing server?

Thanks in advance for your insights.

[Vitaliy S.]

Hi,

1. If the main purpose of such deployment is to restore the backup server, then there are easier ways to protect your backup server. For example, via backup configuration tool. See this thread for more info.

2. Yes, Veeam B&R is fully supported to run on Windows 10 machines. Guest OS of the backup server does not have any affect on what you can back up (workstations or servers).

3. If you're not limited with resources, then dedicated server is a good option, however, you can install VBR on the Hyper-V host itself as well.

Additionally, please take a look at this best practices guide that was created by our architects.

Hope it helps!

[BugDug]

Hi Vitaliy,

The main purpose is just to have a more a full featured and robust back-up for the Hypervisor and the it's guest VMs than what Windows Server Backup provides. We are hoping to avoid the cost and hassle of adding a new VM just for back-ups or buying and setting up a new physical server solely for backups. If one of the Window's 10 clients will function as the backup server and provide insurance to be able to restore if the physical server goes goes down) then installing VBR on a client seems like the best solution for a very small office.

My concern with installing VBR on an existing VM (or on the existing physical server at all) is how to restore or easily replicate quickly if the physical server goes down.

[Vitaliy S.]

Hey BugDug,

My concern with installing VBR on an existing VM (or on the existing physical server at all) is how to restore or easily replicate quickly if the physical server goes down.

If the physical server goes down (I assume it is your Hyper-V host), then you will need to rebuild the new Hyper-V host and then restore VMs from your backup repository to the new host. If you don't want to lose the configuration of your backup server, then simply back up its configuration (the referenced topic above talks about it).

Installing VBR server on the host itself is also a viable solution in your case (combine both VBR and Hyper-V roles on the same server).

Thanks!