Deleting specific restore points for object-based repositories

[squebel]

Hello,

There are some edge cases where we need to manually go into the repositories and delete backup files. This is typically done if a customer wants the backup retention changed for their systems but their vm's are backed up under a larger job where we can't change the retention of the entire job. We will go in and find the VBKs and manually delete them, rescan, and then "forget" those points. There are a couple other situations where this need arises. This can be done on local repositories but is not possible to do when the backups are landing on object storage. Is there any way to do this today?

[sfirmes]

There is a PowerShell cmdlet Remove-VBRRestorePoint which allows you to remove individual restore points/backups. Using this cmdlet will remove the restore point from VBR and remove the files/objects from the repository.

Hope this helps.

Steve

[squebel]

Steve,

This actually seems to delete ALL the restore points for the server in that job, not just the individual restore point.

I pulled out the exact restore point for a vm as a test. It was the last incremental backup and used that as the Oib object to delete. It went and deleted all 8 restore points for that vm in the job.

[squebel]

Any other thoughts or suggestions on this? The behavior does not seem to be what the name of the cmdlet indicates it would do because it seems to delete the entire backup chain, not just the restore point.

[hayliz]

I am also interested in a solution. We also receive several requests regarding this requirement.

[Mildur]

Hi all

@squebel I remember we talked about this request at Veeam On. Unfortunately this is not possible today.
I have noted your and @hayliz request in our internal request tracker.

This is typically done if a customer wants the backup retention changed for their systems but their vm's are backed up under a larger job where we can't change the retention of the entire job.

Just an idea for a workaround for object storage repositories without API/egress costs.
Consider using our "move backup" feature. This allows you to transfer a single machine to a new backup job with a different retention. Backups will then be deleted based on the new jobs retention policy after the move.

Best,
Fabian

[squebel]

Thanks, Fabian. Appreciate it!

[squebel]

Fabian, is there any chance this is being considered? We continue to have customers that want to purge certain restore points of which we can't and it's starting to make us think differently about using S3 storage.

[Mildur]

"Hi Squebel,

We haven’t forgotten about your request; it’s still on our internal roadmap for potential features in upcoming versions.
However, we need to prioritize each request we get. I have asked for an update regarding this request from our internal team.

Best,
Fabian"