Can I use direct attach tape on physical repository?

[danas]

Just looking for some advice/guidance. Our current Veeam install is only being used for backups with backup exec and the native vmware replication handling their respective tasks. To simplify management, and use what we paid for, I would like to use Veeam for all 3. The replication is a slam dunk, but I don't know how to best use the Tape drive. Right now we have vCenter 5.1 managing 2 hosts with an iSCSI San attached. We have one Veeam VM handling everything. The local repository is actually a 1.5TB vmdk on the san. We currently get that data to tape using backup exec over the network (it grabs it off the drive with its UNC path). This doesn't seem very efficient to me. What THINK we should be doing is using a vm proxy (or 2) to grab the data and send it to a physical repository (that has the tape attached) and then do a backup copy to the tape. The server we have has the cpu and memory to do what it needs, but its not great on disk space, so my thought was to use iSCSI and mount the LUN used for the 1.5TB vmdk currently being used. Am I just trading apples for apples with a Tape? or not even that? I guess I would love some help figuring out the most efficient use of the resources we have. This is an inherited environment and my first experience using Veeam. Any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

Dana

[Dima P.]

Hello Dana,

Welcome on board! It would not be possible to attach tape drive to repository as tape drive needs to be attached to the Veeam Backup and Replication server instead. Since your Veeam B&R is a VM you can attach tape drive to the backup server via iSCSI as well, and then backup to tape from any repository you want.

Additionaly, please check this post. Thank you.

[foggy]

The server we have has the cpu and memory to do what it needs, but its not great on disk space, so my thought was to use iSCSI and mount the LUN used for the 1.5TB vmdk currently being used.

That's definitely a good step as storing backup data on VMFS is not considered as best practice. I would also install Veeam B&R on this physical server.

[danas]

Thanks for the quick responses! I am not sure if I can use the tape as iSCSI, but I'll check into it. I would like to utilize the physical server as it's not that old and I've read there are some restore/recover benefits to using a physical machine for backups with Veeam. So a short summary of what i should do as I understand it: Leave the proxy as a VM (and maybe spin up another?) so i can continue using hotadd, move B&R to physical so I can access the tape without impacting the network, move repository to physical and mount the backup LUN on the SAN via iSCSI so my backups aren't in an vmdk on vmfs. Is that going to provide the best performance with the system I have? Is that a better way to go than Direct-SAN? Thanks again!

[veremin]

I am not sure if I can use the tape as iSCSI, but I'll check into it.

The tool referenced by Dmitry should allow you to expose physically connected device via ISCSI protocol. However, moving towards physical VB&R server seems to be a preferable option.

Leave the proxy as a VM (and maybe spin up another?) so i can continue using hotadd, move B&R to physical so I can access the tape without impacting the network

Correct.

move repository to physical and mount the backup LUN on the SAN via iSCSI so my backups aren't in an vmdk on vmfs.

You still will be vulnerable to one point of failure. If something happens with underlying SAN device, you will lost both production VMs and backups. If applicable, you can stuff the physical server with bunch of local disks.

Is that going to provide the best performance with the system I have? Is that a better way to go than Direct-SAN?

Once the migration process is finished, you will be able to use Direct SAN mode that is considered the fastest one.

Thanks.

[danas]

Once the migration process is finished, you will be able to use Direct SAN mode that is considered the fastest one.

Do you mean the setup I am describing with the proxies as VMs and the B&R/Repository as physical will allow for me to use direct-san? I was under the impression that you could use one or the other: hot-add or direct-san. Can you clarify? Thanks!

Dana

[foggy]

Vladimir means that with physical Veeam B&R, default proxy (installed as a part of Veeam B&R) is able to utilize direct SAN transport mode, provided this machine has access to SAN LUNs.

[danas]

Ah OK, so should I even keep the proxy VMs?? Maybe i should just beef up the physical box and let it do its thing?

[foggy]

If it is capable of the backup load you are going to assign to it, then it is the way to go. Virtual proxies, however, can be retained for the sake of faster restores using hotadd (since direct SAN cannot be used for restores).

[danas]

Thanks all for your help. I think we are all set now. I am aware of the single point of failure risk with the SAN housing both production and backups, but we will be copying backups to tape (the whole reason for this thread, really) and replicating vm's to our DR site. When we out grow our current storage we will probably pickup drives for the server and reclaim the backup lun for production. Actually, one quick final question, can veeam backup the physical backup server as well? Thanks!

[veremin]

Can veeam backup the physical backup server as well?

We are built specifically for virtual environments. Though, you can protect physical VB&R installation by performing configuration backup regularly.

Thanks.