Backup to tape from replica

[salmeida]

Hi guys,

I have the following scenario at the moment:

site 1:
1 backup server backing up local servers to datadomain storage unit

site 2:
1 backup server backing up local servers to datadomain storage unit


Storage unit from site 2 is replicated by datadomain to site 1

Storage unit from site 2 is added to backup server on site 1 and jobs are imported.


Now i need to copy some of those jobs from the imported storage unit to a tape library located in site 1.

Backup copy job and selecting the replicated storage unit as source doesn't work.
What other option do we have?

[Zweistein]

So I understand Site 1 Backup to DD and then to Tape will work?
Backup copy job and selecting the replicated storage unit as source doesn't work. -> Do you have a error message? Please can you descripe the problem in morre details?

[salmeida]

no message, it just shows as empty.
Veeam Backup & Replication does not copy restore points from imported backups.

[david.domask]

Hi everyone,

@salmeida, this is expected behavior, as Backup to Tape only works with backups made by jobs running on the Veeam server the tape environment is connected to:

Important

The tape job looks only for the Veeam backups that are produced by backup jobs running on your console. Other files will be skipped.

Please keep in mind that mtree replication is not officially supported with Veeam and DataDomain -- it can work, but Veeam is "unaware" of such replication, and there will be challenges.

If your tape hardware on site 1 supports library partitioning, you can do the following:

1. Create a Backup Copy job on Site 2 that copies backups to Site 1 DataDomain (please make a dedicated share)
2. Create a tape library partition from your tape hardware dedicated for the backups from Site 2
3. Create a tape server for these backups -- since usually library partitioning allows for iscsi connections, this can be a VM, as iscsi connections to VMs are supported for Tape backup
4. Add the dedicated tape server to the Site 2 VBR, and create a Backup to Tape job using the dedicated tape server and the backup copy

[salmeida]

@david.domask that would required the datadomain from site 1 to be configured on site 2 VBR. Not sure if that is viable for us to have the network extended between sites.

Can i have the same physical tape server on site 1 configured for several VBR servers?

[david.domask]

Hi salmeida,

Understood on the network requirements -- remember that a gateway server is needed for the datadomain, so I'm not sure if this changes the situation for your planning, but you would only need to plan for the gateways to be able to reach each other, not the datadomains themselves. And remember, it would need to be non-shared storage unit, so I do understand that this causes some challenges.

> Can i have the same physical tape server on site 1 configured for several VBR servers?

Not at this time, a tape server cannot be shared between two different VBRs. Traditionally, the best way to approach this is as I mentioned with tape library partitioning -- since typically library partitioning allows for iscsi, this gives you more flexibility with the tape server placement as tape server can be a VM if the tape hardware connection uses iscsi. I would not recommend iscsi over WAN ever of course, but I think with combination of backup copy and tape library partitioning, it is best architecture for this situation.

[salmeida]

That is also no viable. i mentioned 2 sites to simplify the question, but in reality will have around 14 sites replicating to site 1.
Would file to tape be viable if I mount all the replicas as shares to the backup server?

[david.domask]

File to Tape would work in this scenario, but keep in mind that the recovery narrative is a bit different, and you'll need to restore to original location or to a target location added as a managed server in Veeam.

I've not really seen File to Tape from a mounted share from DataDomain so also not sure on the performance you can expect, but I anticipate you'll see the mounted share being the bottleneck.

[RobTurk]

Hi Salmeida,

A bit out-of-the-box, but there may be another option. We have a technology called CloudConnect. Although primarily used by our partners to offer off-site backup and DR to their end-user customers, this technology is also available for enterprises such as yours. It is called Veeam CloudConnect for Enterprises (VCC-E). In this setup, your primary site has the central repository for all remote sites, and they are all tenants to your primary site.
Check out https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backu ... ml?ver=120 for details

A function of VCC-E is Tenant to Tape. With this, the central site can make tape sets for each tenant, using the central VBR- and tape server, which sounds like what you are looking for.
See: https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backu ... ml?ver=120

Considerations for this approach are that you'd have to switch from mtree replication to Veeam technology, which may be quite an architectural change for you. We do offer WAN acceleration options for slow and flakey WAN connections.
Also, as you use Data Domain as a central repository, performance may be something to look at. Tape jobs are by definition single data streams.
Your Data Domain may have limitations providing enough single stream performance. This is regardless if you use file to tape or VCC-E Tenant to tape.