Migrating to new hardware with repo

[Haku]

Hello

We are currently looking into moving our Veeam B&R installation to new hardware. I have not done this before, but i have already found some useful info on this forum. I still have a couple questions i wondered if anyone has experience with.

1. Database.
We are currently using SQL Express. When installing the new server, can i install Postgresql and use that for the new installation? Will restoring the config backup on the new installation work if i choose to restore to postgresql instead? I thought if we are already messing with the install, might aswell do the switchover at the same time if its doable.

2. Backup data in repo
Got a fairly simple setup, but there is a decent amount of data in the repo. From what I saw posted in another thread, its possible to move installation and the reattach the old server as a managed server with repo. Then use the built in backup move feature to move the data. Is this still the best way to do it? These are both using ReFS.

From what I saw, I cannot add both repos to the same scale out repository and then move data between extents. So it would have to be two separate repositories?

If anyone have any tips id appreciate it, thanks

Edit: Our installation is pretty simple, but i forgot to include it. Its just hardware running windows server. Veeam B&R installed and running on this. The repo is local on this same server. We also have offsite repo, but this will not be touched at this time.

[david.domask]

Hi Haku, welcome to the forums.

1. Database

Yes, Configuration Restore is the right way to go here, and you can go from MSSQL to PGSQL without issue. Take a configuration backup before you're ready to migrate, then restore from that configuration backup.

2. I would agree with this approach, Backup Move is definitely preferable, but just to be clear, the new VBR hardware is intended to be a new repository as well? So you need not only to migrate VBR to a new server, you need to move data from a previous ReFS repository to a new repository?

The reason I ask on the new repository is due to Fast Clone with ReFS -- Backup Move will preserve the ReFS space savings, but only if the target repository also supports fast clone.

Using Evacuate in a Scale-out Backup Repository would work as well, but I'm a little unclear on if there is a new repository to move data to as well, so will await your clarification.

[Haku]

Thank you for quick answer.

Yes the new server will contain a repo aswell, and I want the data from the old repo migrated over to the new. After the migration the old server will be decommisioned. If it has to be running for a while its ok, but the plan is to get rid of it. It is reaching end of life. The ideal would indeed be to preserve the ReFS space savings, as long as that is possible I would prefer doing it that way.

[david.domask]

Got it, then either way will work:

1. Add both old and new repository as extents in a Scale-out Backup Repository and Evacuate backups from the old reposiotry.
2. Add both old and new repository as repositories and perform Backup Move

The biggest catch here is that you do not want to have the old repository connected to 2 active VBR servers at the same time -- this will undoubtedly cause conflicts and it is an unsupported configuration, so probably you will need to plan a maintenance window to do the transfer and ensure the original VBR server's Veeam services are not active.

[Haku]

Evacuating extents sounds like an easy way to go then. I will read up a bit on how the evacuation works.

To prevent having 2 active VBR servers, can I move the data first and then disconnect the new server from the old installation? Or is it enough to stop all the services according to the migration guide?
Then commencing with the actual reinstallation and config import on the new server.

[ottl05]

I´m also in the middle of a migration to new hardware.
My plan is to "migrate" a configuration backup to the new server without the repository from the old server, so the new backup starts a new backup chain.

I´m having a problem on restoring the configuration backup on the new server, the migration to postgre is not possible du to an "old" product version.
The "old" server has veeam 12.2 with sqlexpress installed, the new is veeam 12.3 with postgre.

What´s the best way to achive this?

[david.domask]

Haku: I would do it as the following:

1. Power down original VBR
2. Configuration Restore to new VBR server
3. Confirm that a test backup job works to the original repo (just to ensure Veeam can read/write to it)
4. Working from the new VBR, perform Backup Move/Evacuate to migrate to new repository
5. Disconnect old repository
6. Decommission old hardware once everything is confirmed working

If there is an issue, open a Support case and let Support review.


ottl05:

Sounds like a technical issue if the Configuration Restore is not working, please also open a Support case and let Support review the situation. Please confirm the Before you begin considerations and ensure none apply but probably a support case is best.

[Haku]

Thank you for quick answers. Will take all this into account when doing the migration soon