AD Explorer and Agent backup

[Anders]

I am in the process of testing the Veeam Agent on a physical AD server.

The setup looks like this:
Physical Veeam server running on Win2012 R2
Physical Active Directory server running on Win2016
The veeam server is running on Enterprise Plus license.

I installed Veeam Agent on the AD server, and a trial license for the Agent on the Veeam server, and configured the AD server to backup to a Veeam repository.
It all Works fine.

Then I wanted to test restores - The Veeam server showed the AD Explorer, so it knows its an AD server. But the AD Explorer starts up with an error saying "The specified database cannot be opened on this OS version. (JetError -512, JET_errBadLogVersion, Version of the log file is not compatible with Jet version)

Does the veeam server have to be Windows 2016 for this to Work?
Or is it simply unsupported? The Explorer for Active Directory web page (https://www.veeam.com/microsoft-active- ... lorer.html) says:
"...supports the following Microsoft Active Directory Domain Controllers running on VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper-V:"
so it basicly says it does not support DC's running physical.
Or is it some third error I didnt think about, and I should make a support case?

/Anders

[Mike Resseler]

Hi Anders,

I believe the issue is that your AD is running 2016 and you are doing the restore (the mount) on a 2012 R2 server which causes the incompatibility. Can you install a console and the explorers on any windows server 2016 and do the restore from that console? Then it should be mounted on 2016 and work

Mike

[Anders]

Thanks for the reply.

The only servers running Win2016 in this setup is the two AD servers... (1 virtual, 1 physical)
I tried the AD Explorer on the Virtual AD server - same error. So looks like you are right.
Guess I'll have to get something upgraded!

/Anders

[Mike Resseler]

actually,

Can you install the console/ explorers on a windows 10 machine? I believe that works also (windows 10 is the same OS family as 2016)

[jphippshbg]

I recently added two 2019 Standard DC's to replace our aging 2008R2 DC's and upgraded our existing Veeam B&R installation to 9.5.4.2866.
Veeam B&R is installed on a 2012R2 server so I'm getting the "Database cannot be opened on this OS version". I understand why but I'm wondering the best way around this.
Do I need to install B&R on a 2019 server or could I install the B&R console on a Windows 10 workstation to open the AD explorer?
The only 2019 servers I currently have are the two DC's and I saw where best practice is not to install B&R on those.
Thanks

[HannesK]

Hello,
and welcome to the forum. Please use forum search I merged your question with the existing thread.

Yes you can use Windows 10.

The best way is to install VBR also on Server 2019. Of cause it is not a best practice to install any software on a domain controller, yes

Best regards,
Hannes

[jphippshbg]

Thanks, Hannes.
I wasn't sure about reviving a 2.5-year-old thread plus there wasn't a definitive answer about using the AD explorer on a Win10 system.
I will shoot for getting VBR moved over to a 2019 server but for now, I'll just connect through my Win10 workstation.
Thanks again for your help.

[giancarlo.kaminski]

Good morning everyone, I have this same error to mount the AD backup. My main AD is 2016 and I run Veeam Backup version 12 on a 2012 VM. When I mount the backup, the error appears: the specified database cannot be opened on this os version veeam.

[Mildur]

Hello Giancarlo

You need to start the veeam console on a system with the same or newer OS version as your AD server.
If you open the console on your backup server, the backup file with the ad backup will be mounted to that machine. Because it‘s only a Server 2012, veeam Explorer will not be able to read the database in the 2016 format.

I recommend to replace your windows 2012 backup server with a newer one. 2012 won‘t receive any security fix from microsoft after October 2023.

Best,
Fabian

[giancarlo.kaminski]

Good morning Fabian, I hope all is well? So to have this feature functional again I have to be running my veeam on the same version of my AD in this case 2016. AD=2016, Veeam Server=2016.

[Mildur]

Yes. Just for the AD restore it should work if you install the Console on a server with Windows 2016 (same update level as the protected server) or later.

As a second step, please start planning your replacement of your old backup server with a new one. Windows Server 2022 would be the newest version available.

Best,
Fabian

[giancarlo.kaminski]

Fabian, thank you very much for the feedback.