[V13] FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: Veeam Software Appliance

[HannesK]

Last updated: 20th November 2025

V13 offers a choice between two deployment options:
1. Installable software for Microsoft Windows (same as in all previous versions).
2. Hardened software appliance (new deployment option with V13).

Both are powered by the same, shared cross-platform Veeam Backup & Replication V13 product code. This means all new V13 features and capabilities are available for both deployment options (for example, the new Web UI or centrally-managed Veeam Infrastructure Appliances). The only differences are appliance High Availability and other appliance-specific features, such as everything that has to deal with the underlying OS and its management, which obviously does not apply to installable software.

This topic addresses frequently asked questions about Veeam Software Appliance (VSA) deployment option.

Preread
What's New in V13 (first two pages describes what is software appliance)
System Requirements (what can you install software appliance on)

Table of Contents
General
Networking
Licensing
Conversion to VSA
Early release of VSA (archive)

[HannesK]

Q: Should I install VSA on a physical server or in a VM?
A: Both approaches are fully supported and there's no clear preference among the existing customers. Installing on a physical server does provide for significantly reduced attack surface, allows for performing restores when your virtual infrastructure is down, and is most cost-effective as you get an all-in-one, hardened backup appliance with immutable built-in repository.

Q: Is the installation of 3rd party monitoring, Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Vulnerability Management or Patching agents supported?
A: No, generally we do not support installing any 3rd party software on the appliance. We like to refer to software appliance as "Pre-build, Pre-hardened and Predictable" with the latter specifically thanks to the appliance being completely self-contained. While with intrusive 3rd party software, it becomes completely unpredictable.

Q: How can additional storage be added to the Veeam Software Appliance or Veeam Infrastructure Appliance after they have been deployed?
A: Currently there is no built-in option for that. However, as before you can use scale-out backup repository to expand available backup storage pool with additional servers.

Q: How can "registry keys" be configured as there is no Windows registry on Linux?
A: Former "registry keys" now live in configuration files. See www.veeam.com/kb4779 for more information.

Q: What can I do if my only host admin account is locked out?
A: You can unlock it by booting the appliance machine from the Veeam Live OS ISO.

[HannesK]

Q: How can VLANs and bonding (network redundancy / network teaming) be configured?
A: These options are only available in the advanced network settings of the Host Management TUI. Effectively we're using the native Linux software package called "nmtui" for this purpose. Note: use "bond" and not "team" because team is deprecated.

Q: How can I edit /etc/hosts file on the appliance?
A: Yes, you can do that by importing a new hosts file using the Host Management web console under Logs and Services > Host Configuration. You can also export the existing file, make edits to it, and import it back.

[Gostev]

Q: Can I deploy VSA using my existing Veeam Backup & Replication license?
A: Yes, as long as your license type is one of the following: Veeam Universal License (VUL), Rental license or NFR license.

Q: Can I deploy VSA with a legacy Socket-based license?
A: No, VSA does not support such licenses. However, you can continue using installable V13 software for Microsoft Windows. Also, please be aware that converting from Sockets to VUL is now easier than ever and can be done at the price of your regular maintenance renewal.

Q: Is there a Community Edition available for VSA?
A: No. Community Edition remains available with installable V13 software for Microsoft Windows though.

[Gostev]

Q: Can I convert my existing Windows-based backup server to a software appliance?
A: Yes. To do that, you must upgrade your backup server to Veeam Backup & Replication V13 and confirm its stable operation in your environment first, then sign up for conversion on this page. Conversions are performed on first come, first served basis and you will be contacted by Veeam when it's your turn.

Q: Can I upgrade my Veeam Backup & Replication V12 install directly to Veeam Software Appliance V13?
A: No, you must upgrade to Veeam Backup & Replication V13 first.

Q: How exactly the conversion is performed?
A: Conversion is done by restoring a V13 configuration backup to a fresh VSA install.

Q: Sounds simple enough, can I not just perform conversion myself?
A: Not at this time. Our main concern is the Customer Support team's load because if anything at all breaks during the migration, they will be forced to troubleshoot consequences. Therefore, any sort of mass self-conversion can turn into tsunami that will overwhelm our support organization, impacting SLAs for all customers.

Q: Will I ever be able to perform the conversion myself?
A: Yes, that's the plan. Once we have polished the conversion engine by performing many controlled migration, we will just open this functionality for everyone to use.

Q: I like VSA too much and can't wait to start using it. What are my options?
A: Just start fresh with Veeam Software Appliance while keeping your existing backup server for when you need to restore from older backups. The added benefit of a fresh install is guaranteed absence of leftovers that may have accumulated in the product configuration over years of in-place upgrades of Windows-based software, which may result in unexpected issues.