Noob questions

[PokerMunkee]

Hi,

I have a couple 4.1 and 5.1 ESXi (Essentials) machines that I need to get doing proper backups.

Are most people running Veeam on a dedicate server (non VM), so you can copy to external drives?

My thoughts are to use an old Dell PowerEdge 2950 with 6 2TB drives (no RAID) running Windows 2003 Server Standard 32-bit with 4GB. Will this be enough? Do I need a RAID10 for disk performance or will 7200RPM drives be enough? I need to backup about 10 VMs.

Lastly, I was excited about the Exchange restore options. Then I read it's only for 2010. So, is there no integration for Exchange 2007 where I can restore mailboxes or individual emails?

My Exchange backup (Windows Backup) takes over 10hrs to backup 300gb of mailstores. I need a better solution, so hoping Veeam is my answer.

[foggy]

Are most people running Veeam on a dedicate server (non VM), so you can copy to external drives?

Placement of the backup server itself actually does not matter, all the actual processing is performed by the so called proxies (you can read about that in the sticky FAQ topic and product documentation). What is really more important is whether to set up physical or virtual backup proxies and this mostly depends on your primary storage (where VMs being backed up reside), as different transport modes can be used to retrieve VMs' data from it and that is vital for the whole backup performance.

Please also review this good discussion regarding 'physical vs virtual proxy servers' (nevermind it is for earlier versions, just replace 'backup server' with 'proxy' while reading).

Lastly, I was excited about the Exchange restore options. Then I read it's only for 2010. So, is there no integration for Exchange 2007 where I can restore mailboxes or individual emails?

You can still use Exchange AIR wizard to restore items from earlier versions of Exchange Server.

[rvopat]

I have read the install document for the Exchange AIR Wizard 6.5.0.109 and im not sure if i am supposed to install it on the Exchange server or on our Veeam server? Does it go on the Veeam server?

[TrevorBell]

its a plugin for Veeam so its your Veeam server is where you install it

[Helqasem]

I have read the install document for the Exchange AIR Wizard 6.5.0.109 and im not sure if i am supposed to install it on the Exchange server or on our Veeam server? Does it go on the Veeam server?

The wizard can actually be installed anywhere that has network access to the Veeam Enterprise Manager. This is one way to split workflow between app owner and backup admin. The wizard creates a virtual lab request which is sent to the backup admin via EntMgr, the backup admin can then choose to accept, reject or alter the request. Once accepted the virtual lab is prepared and made available. The user who made the request will then be notified so they can complete the final restore steps of the wizard.

Doing it this way means the app owner can process there own restores without having full access to the backups. Alternatively, if the backup admin wants to run the restores in full, install the wizard anywhere the backup admin can access it.. The Veeam server might be appropriate.

[rvopat]

Excellent answer, for now i will be installing it on my Veeam server. Thank you!