Remote Sites

[mriksman]

Hi,

I have Veeam B&R that manages Veeam Agents and VMs at remote locations.

However, I want to make it more robust, so that if the link to the remote site is lost, then backups will continue to be created.

How would I do this?

If I have a single Veeam B&R Server, and setup a remote backup repository/proxy - will the jobs still work if the link is lost to the Veeam B&R server?

[Vitaliy S.]

Hi Michael,

Since backup job scheduling is controlled by Veeam B&R, then if you lose it or lose the connection backup jobs will not be performed. As for the Agent-based backup, can you please clarify what type of management you're using (server managed or agent managed, standalone)?

Thanks!

[mriksman]

OK, that's what I thought.

Currently Veeam agents are free - and use the Veeam B&R as their repository. I plan to have them all licensed and centrally managed/configured.

So what would I need to do to have all sites operate independently, but centrally managed from a 'master' Veeam B&R. Is that possible? Can a single Veeam B&R manage other Veeam B&R servers?


The availability of the network is ~98%, so it may not even be worth the hassle of doing what I am asking. So then, what I should be doing is setting up a Veeam Repository and Veeam Proxy and Guest Interaction Processing (....?). Which then eventually sends a copy back to the main Veeam B&R (optional?)

[Vitaliy S.]

So what would I need to do to have all sites operate independently, but centrally managed from a 'master' Veeam B&R. Is that possible? Can a single Veeam B&R manage other Veeam B&R servers?

If you want to operate without any dependencies on the network connection, then you can deploy Veeam B&R in the remote site and use Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager in HQ for visibility into what's going on there.

Veeam B&R cannot manage other backup servers, only Enterprise Manager (web-based application) can do that.

The availability of the network is ~98%, so it may not even be worth the hassle of doing what I am asking. So then, what I should be doing is setting up a Veeam Repository and Veeam Proxy and Guest Interaction Processing (....?).

What you doing now (using local proxies and repositories on the remote site) definitely optimizes the data traffic flow, as everything is done within the remote site. Data does not go back and forth to the backup server.

Which then eventually sends a copy back to the main Veeam B&R (optional?)

If you need a copy of your data in the main site (HQ), then you can use backup copy jobs for that.

[mriksman]

If we were to deploy Veeam B&R at each site (Level 2 in IACS) and managed them all from a Level 3 'Enterprise Manager' PC, how would the licensing work? Can I still purchase 60 VULs are then each Veeam B&R use what they need? Or would I have to size each Veeam B&R server separately?

If were stick with what we have, and the Veeam Agent for Windows was configured to backup to the local backup repository - do those jobs still run if the link to the Veeam B&R is lost? And only the VM backups aren't performed (as they are iniated from the Veeam B&R server)?

We use the free edition of Veeam Agents. If we license them, are there... 2 ways they can be installed?
* Installed locally on the client, but settings/schedules can be changed by Veeam B&R (Standalone mode)
* Installed and managed by Veeam B&R. There is no GUI (Managed Mode)
I assume in Standalone mode, the backups will still occur if the link to Veeam B&R is down, whilst in Managed mode, they will not.

[mriksman]

I have an answer for my first question.
https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backu ... ml?ver=110

[Vitaliy S.]

If we were to deploy Veeam B&R at each site (Level 2 in IACS) and managed them all from a Level 3 'Enterprise Manager' PC, how would the licensing work? Can I still purchase 60 VULs are then each Veeam B&R use what they need? Or would I have to size each Veeam B&R server separately?

You're not sizing Veeam B&R servers, but rather do that for your source infrastructure. All you need to do here is to license all workloads at the source and then share the same license key across two Veeam B&R servers controlled by the EM.

If were stick with what we have, and the Veeam Agent for Windows was configured to backup to the local backup repository - do those jobs still run if the link to the Veeam B&R is lost? And only the VM backups aren't performed (as they are iniated from the Veeam B&R server)?

If these agents are operating in the "managed by server" mode, then no jobs will run. If you will continue using your current setup with standalone agents targeted to the Veeam backup repository, then everything will be fine. But let's confirm it with @Dima P.

We use the free edition of Veeam Agents. If we license them, are there... 2 ways they can be installed?
* Installed locally on the client, but settings/schedules can be changed by Veeam B&R (Standalone mode)
* Installed and managed by Veeam B&R. There is no GUI (Managed Mode)
I assume in Standalone mode, the backups will still occur if the link to Veeam B&R is down, whilst in Managed mode, they will not.

Yes, in the "managed by agent" mode backup jobs should run, but Dima can confirm it.

[Dima P.]

Hello Michael, you can use:

- Standalone agent with local target or with Veeam B&R repository. For latter Veeam B&R will control and distribute licenses to agents but backup job should be configured locally on the agent machine.
- VBR & Managed by Veeam B&R server job type: traditional job, no UI, agent is fully operated by VBR.
- VBR & Managed by agent job type server: policy-based approach , agent's UI is partially available, VBR controls only job settings distribution.

If were stick with what we have, and the Veeam Agent for Windows was configured to backup to the local backup repository - do those jobs still run if the link to the Veeam B&R is lost? And only the VM backups aren't performed (as they are iniated from the Veeam B&R server)?

- Standalone agent will work to a local target (i.e. local disk or file share) and Veeam Cloud Connect repo
- VBR + Managed by backup serve job type wont work
- VBR + Managed by agent job type will work to a local target (i.e. local disk or file share) and Veeam Cloud Connect repo