Best SQL design for Veeam compatibility

[ejenner]

Hello

We're in the process of building a new Microsoft SQL environment and I want to see if we can build it in such a way that it'll be compatible with Veeam B&R. Our previous environment on Windows Failover Cluster wasn't very compatible with Veeam and building a new environment gives us the chance to make sure we choose a compatible architecture.

Can anyone advise on the best way to build a resilient Microsoft SQL installation that Veeam can fully protect?

[PetrM]

Hello,

Basically, any architecture supported by Veeam must be totally fine. The list of supported applications can be found here, on this page you can find some useful hints for Always On, this section of agent management guide describes failover cluster support workflow. Would you be so kind to clarify what do you mean by "wasn't very compatible", did you have some specific issues?

Thanks!

[ejenner]

Hello Petr. I think I read in some documentation that CSVs (Cluster Shared Volumes) are automatically excluded from the backup. So if all your SQL data is in the CSV for a Windows Failover Cluster the backup is going to ignore all your data.

[PetrM]

Hello,

Yes, this info is provided as well on the page I was referring to in my previous post.

Thanks!

[ejenner]

We're edging closer to finalising our design and we're still stuck working out how best to make it Veeam compatible.

Our environment default preference is to use CSVs. Veeam specifically state that Veeam cannot backup SQL if it uses CSV. So what high availability SQL setup should be used if we want to back it up using Veeam?

[PetrM]

Hello,

As far as I remember, you're going to build cluster on physical servers? Basically, you can deploy Always On availability groups, just don't forget to check through this list of limitations.

Thanks!

[ejenner]

So windows clusters typically use a clustered shared volume which is specifically listed as incompatible with Veeam?

[PetrM]

Hello,

As it's stated on our help center:

Backup of CSV (Cluster Shared Volumes) is not supported. Cluster disks used as CSV are automatically excluded from backup.

We know about this limitation and about feature requests to support this deployment. By the way, WSFC with CSV will be supported by new plug-in for Microsoft SQL which will be available in the version 12.

Thanks!

[ejenner]

Hello,

As it's stated on our help center:

We know about this limitation and about feature requests to support this deployment. By the way, WSFC with CSV will be supported by new plug-in for Microsoft SQL which will be available in the version 12.

Thanks!

Is that official? It might make things a lot easier for us if it's guaranteed to be supported? Is there a V12 feature list published showing this improvement?

[PetrM]

Hello,

There is no such a list yet but WSFC with CSV processing is one of plug-in purposes so we're planning to support it in v12.

Thanks!

[ejenner]

The timing isn't so much of an issue. We can use native SQL functionality to dump flat files until the Veeam solution is available and working fully. It is after all what we've been using with our existing setup for years already.

My question is simply whether or not the functionality is guaranteed to be released (maybe if you've already beta tested it for instance?). If it is 100% coming to market then we can go ahead with CSVs and reconfigure our backup when the feature is available and fully functional.

If there's any doubt about the availability of this new feature then we should consider a different design for our SQL.

[PetrM]

Hello,

I don't have any doubts about the availability of this feature but I'd recommend to test the solution in your environment before setting up production deployments. I'll try to share Beta via your sales representative, I'm going to PM you for additional details.

Thanks!