Another noob install request - iSCSI + SAN

[foremannz]

Ok, heres our setup
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1x Windows 2008 server which will be the server I want to use for Veeam
- server has 2x 146GB mirrored drives for OS, 2x 500GB mirrored drives for temporary storage, and 4x 1TB drives in a RAID5 which I want to use for the backup repository
- currently only accesses VMware system and storage via network to 3 hosts
- network card with 2 free iSCSI capable network ports can be configured at any time
3x ESXi 5.1 hosts, connecting to a storage array via iSCSI
1x storage array via iSCSI, 2TB of storage
2x SAN network switches for redundancy, only used for iSCSI traffic, 19 ports free on each switch.
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The questions

I would like the backup server to access the storage array directly so that the hosts don't get bogged down with SAN traffic during backups - do I set this up prior to installing Veeam, or can I do it after?
I would like to use the big RAID5 array for the backup repository - should this be dedicated to Veeam, or can it be used for other systems as well?
The storage array has an expansion unit with a further 1TB of storage - is this of any use to Veeam for temporary storage during backups (don't want it used as permanent storage)?
Are their any gotyas for this Veeam noob?

[foggy]

I would like the backup server to access the storage array directly so that the hosts don't get bogged down with SAN traffic during backups - do I set this up prior to installing Veeam, or can I do it after?

Carl, you can configure direct SAN access at any time later, please refer to the short list of steps required.

I would like to use the big RAID5 array for the backup repository - should this be dedicated to Veeam, or can it be used for other systems as well?

Depending on the backup load you are going to assign to this backup repository, you can use it for other systems too, no specific restrictions in this sense.

The storage array has an expansion unit with a further 1TB of storage - is this of any use to Veeam for temporary storage during backups (don't want it used as permanent storage)?

No, Veeam B&R does not require any temporary storage for its backup jobs.

Hope this helps.

[veremin]

4x 1TB drives in a RAID5

Additionally, if you’re going to use reversed incremental mode, you might want to specify backup repository in RAID 10, instead of 5, since the latter has a certain IOP penalty, which matters if reversed mode is being utilized.

Thanks.

[foremannz]

Can you have a group of local drives used as a local repository, ie, if you run out of space in your primary repository drive, add a drive and use the new drive as expansion space.

[Gostev]

You should be able to do that with Windows Server 2012 Storage Spaces.