Backup to tape using FC

[slakic]

Hello All,

I was wondering if anyone can give me an information about backup to tape over the FC.
I am planning to implement B&R in my data center, to backup my VMWare VMs. I have dedicated physical server where my backup software is going to be installed, connected via FC HBA to FC Switches, with other ESX hosts. I am considering Veeam B&R solution, to backup in a Backup-to-Disk - Backup-to-Tape model.
What I would like to know is whether Veeam is able to utilize FC infrastructure for backups.

My tape device is IBM TS3200.

[veremin]

Will backup server also host backup repository role? If so, you can configure backup server to use Direct SAN mode, attach tape library to it via FC and get "FC only" scenario: (backup job) SAN -> FC -> Backup Server (backup to tape job) -> FC -> Tape Library

Thanks.

[slakic]

Thank you for the quick answer.

Yes, I am planning to use one server for all the roles - Backup server, Proxy and repository. My Disk repository will also be presented via FC.
Could you be more specific about the Direct SAN backup, is there a difference in backup job configuration when I want to use direct SAN backup to classic backup over ethernet. If you could provide me with some links with information abou this kind of configuration.

Thank you

[veremin]

Direct SAN mode allows retrieving data traffic from underlying storage over FC or ISCSI, and, thus, provides LAN free backup. It's considered the fastest backup mode. Please, see the following resources for more information regarding Direct SAN - 1, 2. Thanks.