Storage backup archival

[underdpt]

Hello,

We're looking for a solution where we can keep a yearly archival of the backups. For example:

- We're doing O365 backups during a year on an external storage
- Once a year, we move this external storage to a safe location, and put in place a new external storage for backup

I think this should work with no issues (as long as we configure the new storage correctly). But would it work when recovery is needed? Two years later we need to find some obscure email for a user, does Veeam Backup for Office 365 support pluggin-in the archived storage, and do the search/recovery from it?

Best regards,
David Palomares

[Mike Resseler]

David,

Are you running the VBO server virtual or physical? What you can do is use VBR or Veeam agent for Windows to have a yearly backup of the VBO installation. Then do a backup copy to tape or external media. When you restore back from tape or external media, VBR will detect that the backup is VBO and you will be able to do item-level recovery from that backup directly, without the need of having VBO running.

[mrjack007]

We are doing exactly that: VBO on VM backed up by VBR (different VM) on a different media for archive purposes.
One question though: With a yearly archive, is it possible to restore an item from a year and a half without having to restore the entire VBO VM?
From what I'm seeing, when you mount the VBO repository in an explorer, you only see items from the latest snapshot (if repository is snapshot-based) right?
Could there be a way to have the same options to select the restore date like when you do it from the VBO console?

[Mike Resseler]

I probably don't understand it correctly, but in the case of a yearly archive then you will see the backup of that yearly, and you won't have the one from a year and a half ago. Now if that item is still in the onedrive/ mailbox/ site... then obviously you can.

[mrjack007]

Mike, what I mean is:
Let's say there's a repository in VBO that keeps 1 year snapshot-based (daily job).
On January 1st of each year, we would use VBR to backup the VBO server with its repository for archive purposes.
If I need to restore an item from March 1st 2020, it's possible through VBO server and choose that date very simple.
If I need to restore an item from March 1st 2019, since it is no longer in VBO, I would have to use the archive backup from VBR that was taken on January 1st 2020 and then I have 2 options:
- Restore the entire VM, go to VBO console and choose to restore the item from March 1st 2019.
- Mount the repository from VeeamFLR to the Explorer, but since the backup is from January 1st 2020, I could not manually select March 1st 2019 to restore the item.
Does it makes sense?
Am I understand it correctly?
With that, is there a way with the second option to choose the March 1st 2019 snapshot when mounting the repository directly to a Veeam explorer without using the VBO console?

[Mike Resseler]

While the data is in that VBR backup, it cannot be directly restored. You will only be able to restore data from that 1st of January. Because that is your retention point.

Your second option will probably work, and at that point in time, you are going to explore the organization, and that should give you the information you need. But you will indeed not be able to select the date, but you will see the item