remote workstation backups

[jcofin13]

We have a few user that would like to backup their local workstations.

They are remote.
Our instance of veeam cannot hit their workstation directly to install the agent. Is there a manual way to install the agent? WE could install that using other remote tools vs pushing it with veeam itself.

Come to think of it, if the workstation cannot hit the veeam server at all, will this even work? I assume the agent needs to talk directly to the veeam server so that it can get its instruction on how and where to backup.
Id suspect the users would need a vpn or equivalent for this communication. I have reviewed the agent port guide and the ports look pretty obvious.

The veeam server itself will be backing up these workstations direct to object storage (azure) provided we can find a way for the remote machines to communicate with the veeam server.

[Vitaliy S.]

Why not use the Veeam Service Provider Console in this scenario and go directly to the object storage repo bypassing the VBR server?

Here is a bit more information on how to set it up to manage remote backup agents.

[jcofin13]

I am confused by this a bit.

Is this a way to use the MSP console as a proxy between the remote workstation and the client instance of veeam to establish the connection and allow for backups? The client instance of veeam has only object storage configured and would like the backups to use this.

The only way i can figure this would work is via VPN. Have a vpn from the client to the network that has the veeam server and push the agent that way........and run the jobs.

Unless i am missing something...

[Vitaliy S.]

VSPC will connect to remote computers via cloud gateways (part of Veeam Cloud Connect infrastructure). This is how you will manage these workstations, and it does not matter where they are located, provided that there is an Internet connection. For the backup target, you can continue Azure object storage but "wrapped" into cloud repositories.

This video should help connect all the dots.

[jcofin13]

Thank you very much for the video. I will review this.

I did get it working somewhat in the VSPC. Let me explain.

I was able to
1. setup the tenant
2. manually download the backup agent from veeam.com (which i had done prior to setting up the workstation in the vspc)
3. generate the license and manually install the license.
This all works but the license will expire every 30 days (or a max of what appears to be 90 days if i set this date on the license file at creation before i download and install it)

4. install the management agent manually
- It takes hours for it to eventually show up in the VSPC but it does eventually.

The reason for the mgmt agent is thinking it will give the ability for the license to auto renew every month using the agent and also auto report.
The problem is after install the of the mgmt agent the client end user loses the ability to change any settings to his existing backup job settings in the agent locally. Its all greyed out.
I can see the settings and it appears i can modify them with the MSP console just fine.

I thought i would go in under discovery and change the agent from managed to "unmanaged" thinking this would give the user the ability to make changes and do things to the local backup jobs but it does not. A soon as i change it to unmanaged it disappears from the VSPC console completely and never returns. The end user is still unable to make changes to anything locally.

The only way to get the local control back is to uninstall the management agent locally.

I guess i am at al loss on how to license this machine and keep it licensed while allowing the user to configure their own backups and settings. Using the VSPC and the licenses generated there can only have a license generated for a max of 90 days it seems and if you install the agent to have it auto renew and even auto report it seems to disable the users functionality.

The only way to is to manually install the license and keep manually renewing it every 90 days and also needing to manually report the license usage at the end of each month. I am actually ok with the manual reporting part of this but the rest of it doesnt make sense.

I am wondering if i am doing something incorrectly.

[Vitaliy S.]

3. generate the license and manually install the license.
This all works but the license will expire every 30 days (or a max of what appears to be 90 days if i set this date on the license file at creation before i download and install it)

You don't need to install license key manually, as once you connect this backup agent to the VSPC, the license attribute will be shared from the Console to the backup agent automatically.

4. install the management agent manually
- It takes hours for it to eventually show up in the VSPC but it does eventually.

This process is usually instant. Try installing the entire bundle (management agent + backup agent) next time to see how much time it takes > Installing Veeam Backup Agents Manually

The reason for the mgmt agent is thinking it will give the ability for the license to auto renew every month using the agent and also auto report.

Once you install the management agent on the backup agent, this backup agent will be licensed with the VSPC key. VSPC can be auto-updated and centrally reported.

The problem is after install the of the mgmt agent the client end user loses the ability to change any settings to his existing backup job settings in the agent locally. Its all greyed out.
I can see the settings and it appears i can modify them with the MSP console just fine.

Yes, but you can change it over here > Enabling Read-Only Access Mode

I thought i would go in under discovery and change the agent from managed to "unmanaged" thinking this would give the user the ability to make changes and do things to the local backup jobs but it does not. A soon as i change it to unmanaged it disappears from the VSPC console completely and never returns. The end user is still unable to make changes to anything locally.

When you switch agent to unamanged mode, it reverts to the standalone mode and stops all activities with the VSPC > Activating Veeam Backup Agents

Using the VSPC and the licenses generated there can only have a license generated for a max of 90 days it seems and if you install the agent to have it auto renew and even auto report it seems to disable the users functionality.

That's not correct. Your license key is tied to the contract type and expiration date. The Console also handles the renewal part > Veeam Service Provider Console License Key Details

The only way to is to manually install the license and keep manually renewing it every 90 days and also needing to manually report the license usage at the end of each month. I am actually ok with the manual reporting part of this but the rest of it doesnt make sense.

You don't need to do it, please review my corrections to the process/recommendations above to fix the workflow.

Hope it helps!

[jcofin13]

Thank you for this fantastic reply.

You are correct. ITs not 90 days....it just happens to be the same rough date when our renewal date is up so this makes sense.

I will try the read only mode toggle when i get a chance.

Thanks again for the complete reply. I appreciate it very much.