indefinite vm backup

[cgit]

We want to create a a one time back up of 1 VM that will not have any retention. Can I create and run the back up job to our backup disk then backup those files to something like tape. If we ever need to restore that VM we would restore the files back to disk and import them back in to veeam. Will this work?

[veremin]

Actually, this is the exact use case VeeamZIP was designed for.

In general, it’s zip utility for Virtual Machines that might be especially useful when you are after one time backup.

VeeamZIP is similar to full VM backup. Nevertheless, when you perform backup with VeeamZIP, there is no need to configure a backup job and schedule it; instead, the backup process for selected VMs can be started immediately. Minimum settings are required during this type of backup: backup destination, compression level and enabling or disabling guest quiescing.

So, all you need to do, select a required VM, VeeamZIP it and move to whatever location you're willing to.

Hope this helps.
Thanks.

[cgit]

Awesome thanks for the quick response.

[veremin]

You’re welcome. Feel free to contact us, should any additional help be needed. Thanks.

[pkelly_sts]

Going through a DR test I've found our first restore issue in an otherwise flawless history so far.
Basically, one of my replica VMs won't power up (of course, it happens to be a DC :-/) but freezes at the 2003 progress bar after the first boot screen (despite consuming CPU).

Further testing has led me to find that our local backups have the same issue, and these were used to seed the replica initially so the source of the issue is clearly one of the original backups of this particular VM, that has since been running as synth full.

So, I need to create a fresh full of this VM, but is it possible to do so for a single VM rather than at the job level? (I'm 99% certain the answer is no but if you don't ask...).

In the absence of this ability, if I normally have synts scheduled for a Friday, and I then schedule a one-off full for this friday (selecting last friday of month, Aug only on this job) then presumably the full overrides the synthetic, i.e. they won't both try to run?

In reality I guess I'm going to need a "full/full" anyway as I'll then need to transport this new full to the DR site to re-seed the DR backup anyway.

(I'm chomping on the bit to get v7 in but I'm away for two weeks after Friday & just can't such a big change & then not be around to catch any unexpected issues - most frustrating!)

Paul

[veremin]

So, I need to create a fresh full of this VM, but is it possible to do so for a single VM rather than at the job level? (I'm 99% certain the answer is no but if you don't ask...).

Hi, Paul. Yep, it's possible and VeeamZIP should answer your requirements. All you have to is to go to "Virtual machines" node -> right-click required VM and VeeamZIP it.

The description of this utility is provided above; so, kindly take a look. Thanks.

[pkelly_sts]

Sorry, I think you misunderstood my question. I'm not looking for a one-time backup, I'm looking to "correct" a backup of a single VM within a larger group of VMs, without having to force a full on all of them, but I'm pretty sure it's not possible anyway.

[pkelly_sts]

Actually, I think i've just thought of something that will help me. If I were to remove a VM from the backup job, then re-add it, would that effectively build a new full of that VM into the VIB for that day? Or, would I have to leave it out of the job for a day before adding it back in, for the same results?

(I'm not 100% certain the backup is actually the issue ATM anyway to be honest, I'm currently doing a single backup of that VM then I'm going to try an isolated instant restore to see if it boots as I'm starting to question whether it's actually an underlying VM issue rather than a bad backup issue).

[veremin]

What about temporarily excluding all other VMs from a given job and initiating full backup run? Thanks.

[pkelly_sts]

Interesting approach! The more I think it through though the more I think I'll just have to live with a fresh full because even if I do manage to get a full of this server only into a VIB, there's no way of inserting that VIB into the remote sites backups anyway, in other words the only way I can get a fresh full of that VM into the common backup files at the remote site is by either doing a fresh full over the wire (500Gb @ 100mb would be 12hrs at best) or just bite the bullet & re-seed the remote site with the latest (known good) full from he primary site.

[pkelly_sts]

I've now all but confirmed that the issue lies elsewhere and isn't necessarily a problem with the backup files. Will start a new thread as it's moved onto a different topic altogether...

[veremin]

Thanks for that, as it’s always advisable to create different discussions regarding different issues.