Storage connection Best Practice

[abernut]

Hello,
I was hoping to get some advice on setting up our new Veeam server.

The high level overview is...

• Three ESXi 6.5 Host
  15 VMs (More to come. Currently migrating away from HyperV)
  SAN-Dell Equallogic PS6100, 24 2TB SATA 6.0 7200RPM Drives

I have setup a new Veeam server (VM) and am in the process if configuring it. I have iSCSI storage adapters in VSphere connected to our SAN.

Can I just create a storage volume on the SAN and then present that as a drive on the Veeam server?

[Andreas Neufert]

Yes, I would present a pRDM to it or use inGuest iSCSI directly on the VM (best if OK from performance).

Do not create a VMFS volume to not create a single point of issue.

The iSCSI Initiator within the VM has as well the charm that no ESXi host can see the cvolumes, so nobody can format it by mistake with VMFS.

[foggy]

And I hope you do not use the same SAN to store running VMs, since in this case it would become a single point of failure.

[abernut]

Our VMs are on a SAN with faster SSD drives. This SAN will strictly be fore backups.

Just so I am understanding correctly the process would be....

Create a volume on the SAN
Rescan the storage adapters from Vsphere
Add a new datastore using the new volume
Add a new drive on the Veeam VM that connects to the new datastore
Send backups to that drive.

[Andreas Neufert]

Better,

create a host object for the Software iSCSI Initiator from the B&R Server VM on your backup target storage.
Allow this host object to see the volume (create a LUN).
Go to the B&R Server iSCSI Initiator and add the Storage and Volume to windows.
Format the volume with ReFS 64k.

[abernut]

I've created the volume on the SAN.
I've re-scanned the storage adapters from within VCSA.
I see the newly created Volume.

When I go to create the new datastore my options are; VMFS, NFS, VVOL.
I normally select VMFS but you said to not choose this option.

[foggy]

You do not need to create a datastore, since it is a target storage. Present the volume to Veeam B&R, as Andreas has mentioned, and format it with ReFS within Veeam B&R server operating system (not within vSphere).