Discussions related to exporting backups to tape and backing up directly to tape.
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ArunRajput
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Question on Veeam backup jobs and disk space

Post by ArunRajput »

Hey all, quick question on how Veeam works with disk space. I have some backups going to tape. When processing backups, does Veeam initially consume disk space whilst backing up then release it? Is this normal operating procedure?
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foggy
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Re: Question on Veeam backup jobs and disk space

Post by foggy »

Hello, Arun. Veeam B&R doesn't backup data directly to tape, you need to run regular backup to disk job first to have backup files on disk that can then be copied to tape.
ArunRajput
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Re: Question on Veeam backup jobs and disk space

Post by ArunRajput »

Thanks Foggy. I actually muddied two issues together. My question is actually how Veeam backs up data. You can ignore the tape part of my question. When backups run, the Veeam b&R server consumes a lot of disk space then releases it. I assume this is normal? Is there any way I can estimate how much disk space is temporarily consumed?
It’s supposed to be automatic, but actually you have to push this button.
foggy
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Re: Question on Veeam backup jobs and disk space

Post by foggy »

Could you please clarify the specific scenario, since no additional space should be consumed/released during the job, unless you're talking about retention that comes into play at the end of the job (and deletes restore points falling out the specified number of backups to keep on disk) or compact operation is being performed (which requires additional space for the new full backup).
veremin
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Re: Question on Veeam backup jobs and disk space

Post by veremin »

If you're talking about production storage, then, only space needed for keeping changes (delta) during backup cycle will be occupied on it. Space will be released as soon as backup finishes. Thanks.
ArunRajput
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Re: Question on Veeam backup jobs and disk space

Post by ArunRajput »

foggy wrote:Could you please clarify the specific scenario, since no additional space should be consumed/released during the job, unless you're talking about retention that comes into play at the end of the job (and deletes restore points falling out the specified number of backups to keep on disk) or compact operation is being performed (which requires additional space for the new full backup).
Okay, so, I have a Veeam B&R server performing backups and replications at different intervals and windows during the day. These backup to disk and some older data going to tape. We move any data that we're happy to move to tape over to a folder and have a "Tape Job" that "Files to Tape Backup" every week.

The server has 11TB disk space. At the moment it is over 90% used. But, when the backups run, I'm getting alerted because the disk shrinks down to 1GB of free space. After the backup runs (or pauses because it's out of window), the disk space frees up. I'm unsure if this is normal behaviour. I'll be adding more disk space, but in the interim, I want to make sure the backup is safely working.
It’s supposed to be automatic, but actually you have to push this button.
foggy
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Re: Question on Veeam backup jobs and disk space

Post by foggy »

Looks like retention. Can you confirm that the amount of data the disk free size is reduced by ~equals to the increment size?
ArunRajput
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Re: Question on Veeam backup jobs and disk space

Post by ArunRajput »

How can I check that?
It’s supposed to be automatic, but actually you have to push this button.
foggy
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Re: Question on Veeam backup jobs and disk space

Post by foggy »

Check the free space close to the job end, when it finishes copying data, prior to retention applies. Btw, what is the backup method for this job (forward/forever forward/reverse incremental)?
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Re: Question on Veeam backup jobs and disk space

Post by ArunRajput »

Backup mode is incremental with full backups on Saturdays.

When you mention retention, are you referring to incremental backups or retention period for tape backup?

This is an issue that's happening for all jobs. Every job is reporting the low disk space alert.
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foggy
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Re: Question on Veeam backup jobs and disk space

Post by foggy »

ArunRajput wrote:Backup mode is incremental with full backups on Saturdays.
Then this doesn't look like if it is caused by backup retention. But could you please provide a screenshot with the job settings, where the backup method is specified? Anyway, if you do not see any errors in the job session logs, everything is fine.
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