How to remove imported backup from performance tier?

[Antonio V.]

We moved some very old backups from a local drive to our main Scale-Out Repository (made of a performance tier, a capacity tier and an archive tier). The SOBR is configured to move backups to the capacity tier after 60days, and the backups we moved there are very old, so we expected them to be moved away from the performance tier almost immediately, but they're still there. Also if i click on "run tiering job now" it says 0 backups will be moved to capacity tier.
What am I missing? How can I free up space from the (almost full now) performance tier?

[Mildur]

Hello Antonio

Imported backups must be manually moved to capacity tier.
https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backu ... ml?ver=120

Best,
Fabian

[Antonio V.]

I have no "move to capacity tier" options in that window, but only "copy path".
My SOBR is configured to:
1) "Copy backups to the object storage as soon as they are created" (so maybe this is the reason I see the imported backups both in Home/Backups/Disk(imported) and in Home/Backups/CapacityTier(Imported) )
2) "Move backups to object storage as they age out of the operational restore window". (60 days). + override if >70% occupied space

My backups were taken 2 years ago.

With this configuration I expected the backups to be immediately moved away from performance tier (because they were taken 2 years ago), but maybe the date Veeam considers is not the backup date, but the date I first moved them to the SOBR.
Is it correct? Do I have to wait 60 days before the SOBR automatically deletes them from the performance tier? Can't I speed up the process someway?

[oleg.feoktistov]

Hi Antonio,

Actually, I'm not quite sure that moving imported backups to capacity tier is possible at all. Despite not having "Move to capacity tier" option for backup files in the UI, I tried triggering manual offload for an imported backup via Powershell and had the same result as you. Let me investigate deeper and get back to you with the definitive answer on Monday.

Best regards,
Oleg

[oleg.feoktistov]

Hi,

So, looks like no matter how old your imported backups are, VBR server still treats them as a part of inactive & active backup chain.
Hence, for instance, if you have a backup consisting of an array of imported vbks or a chain of vbks and vibs sealed with another vbk, the move option will be available for all the files except for the most recent vbk as it is still considered active. If you want to move imported backups that are still a part of an active chain, considering the fact that your performance tier is almost full, I'd say the best option here would be to attach your imported backups to some dummy job (given that they are per-machine) then detach them. That way they will become orphaned and available for a move regardless the inactive chain criteria.
The workflow:

1. Move per-machine backups to another job.
2. Detach them from the job without making a backup.
3. See the backups you just detached in the 'Disk (Orphaned)' node. Move option should be available for them now.

Let me know if it helps,
Oleg

[Antonio V.]

I'm not sure if it is a "per-machine" backup (i don't know how to check it, actually), anyway it is just a single virtual machine, I don't know if it counts.
Anyway, trying to Move, I go to Home/Backups and right-click on the backup I wish to move. The menu says: "Move backups..", "Copy backups...", a grayed out "Detach from job", a "Delete from disk" and a "Properties". If i click "Move backups" I can only change repository: the window that opens is "Move backup to another location" and not "Move backup to another job" as indicated in the instruction page you linked. So it seems there's no option to attach it to a dummy job.
There is another workaround: I could create a new cloud repository (a capacity tier) and move the backups there. The reason why I tried to use the current repository was that I liked having all my backups in a single place and to use the Performance=>Capacity=>Archive automatic tiering that my standard repository has as configuration.

[oleg.feoktistov]

Anyway, trying to Move, I go to Home/Backups and right-click on the backup I wish to move. The menu says: "Move backups..", "Copy backups...", a grayed out "Detach from job", a "Delete from disk" and a "Properties".

Try expanding the backup and right clicking on an individual machine inside the backup (as if you were to restore it). The menu then should consist of instant recovery, instant disk recovery etc. If you select Move backup from there, you should be able to move to a job. Thanks!

[Antonio V.]

(I'm sorry think I'm a burden here, if it is better that I open a ticket, just let me know)

if I go to:
Home/Backups/(right panel)/(open job name)/right click on server name

I get a menu with:
Instant recovery, Restore entire vm, ..vm files, ..guest files, restore to amazon EC2, ..to azure, ..to google CE, Export content as virtual disks, Export backup, delete from disk
Nothing saying "move.."

The same menu I get from:
Home/Backups/Disk(imported) /...
Home/Backups/Capacity Tier(imported) /...

[oleg.feoktistov]

No worries, looks like your backup is in pre-v12 format. Select the imported backup (not the server within) and see if Upgrade option is available. Upon the upgrade move to another job option should be available for individual servers within the backup. Thanks!