New to Veeam B & R

[FrankNicklin]

Hi Everyone.

Looking for a new backup solution and viewing Veeam B&R and a possible solution.

We have 2 physical servers. One Server 2019 as a Domain Controller and One Server 2016 running Hyper-V. The Hyper-V is Server 2016 running SQL Server for Sage200C. The Host Server 2016 also manages our Antivirus through SQL Express.

From what I understand you should not Install Veeam B&R on the DC because of the SQL limitations, but I guess I could install on the Server 2016 Hyper-V host without issue seeing as it is currently running SQLExpress. However I understand it will not then back itself up, is this correct?

Would it be better to have a dedicated PC (Windows 10) running Veeam B&R and just have the Backup Agents on the relevant Servers etc.

I have previously only ever done file level backups and used Altaro for the VM backup, but looking to unify the backup functions.

[Natalia Lupacheva]

Hi Frank,

You are right, it is recommended to install Veeam B&R on a separate machine.
If you need to take a look at best practices description, you can refer to updated Veeam Best Practice documentation.

However I understand it will not then back itself up, is this correct?

You might also find this guide helpful for Veeam database backup configuration.

Do not hesitate to ask if you have any further questions.
Thanks!

[FrankNicklin]

Thank you for your prompt reply. As a small business we already use SQL Server for Sage and the business just cannot justify the expense of full SQL server again to handle the backups, so I will have to run with SQLExpress on a separate PC.

Given the limitations of SQL Server on DC's and the considerable cost it makes the paid version an expensive solution for a small business of 25 users. I'm hoping the community edition will stand up to scrutiny, I do like the central management and the agent deployment, much like my previous solution which is no longer supported and EOL.

I don't find the interface that intuitive in terms of options and I need to understand fully the functions when backup up the VM.

I will be backing up the 3 servers listed in my OP and in terms of data around 2.4TB and growing, the bulk of which is on the DC/File Server.

[jmmarton]

There is no reason to use "full" SQL for the Veeam database in your case. SQL Express will work just fine. The leap beyond Express comes at around 400-500 VMs/physical servers. As Natalia mentioned, it would be best to setup a dedicate machine to run VM. This can be a Windows 10 workstation or even a Windows 10 VM that you setup on your Hyper-V host.

There is also a Quick Start Guide which may be helpful.

https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backu ... ml?ver=100

Joe