Backup Copy Question - VIB vs VBK

[WinterTundra]

Hello,

I understand that Backup Copy jobs dont simply copy the exact .vib or .vbk file that Backup & Recovery creates, but instead creates its own copy of the backup. At the moment our Backup copy jobs have the initially created .vbk file and a long chain of .vibs. Some of these .vibs are 800GB+ which is around the same size as our V.vbks which are created on a weekly basis during normal backup jobs.

Shouldnt these large 800GB VIBs be VBK files instead? Just looking to understand these Backup Copies a little better.


Sorry if this has been posted before.

Thanks!

[Rick.Vanover]

Welcome TJ to the Veeam Forums!

The backup copy job has a name that doesn't exactly describe what it does. It doesn't copy backups.

It does however create restore points (contained in backups) by reading existing backups on disk (versus going to the live data/source).

As for .VIBs being close to the size of the .VBK, first thing may be to check out the space requirements KB for the Backup Copy Job: https://www.veeam.com/kb2207

And after that - as well as considering what you are seeing - it may be worth re-configuring the intervals of the backup copy job. Meaning, on the first part of the BCJ wizard - it asks to "Copy Every" and there is a number field and then a selection of day, hour, minute. It is possible that having the BCJ rather tight in regards to its timing makes a bunch more files than needed. If your requirements work, maybe consider spacing it out a bit. Same goes for the target option of the wizard, the Restore Points to keep option (coupled with the frequency) can make for very disk and file intense requirements. Does that make sense?

[WinterTundra]

I believe so yes. Thanks ill review your suggestions and compare to our setup.

[PTide]

Some of these .vibs are 800GB+ which is around the same size as our V.vbks which are created on a weekly basis<...>

Is the figure any close to the amount of data that you expect to be produced bt the source backup jobs (combined) during the interval between backup copy job sessions? The fact that the incremental backups almost as large as full could mean that almost every block on the VMs' disks changes between backup copy job starts. Is it something that is anticipated for your environment?

Thanks!