Rebuilding a repo as a hardened/immutable Linux. Quick question...

[GenDev]

Right now, I have a main repo then secondary repo that everything is copied to to keep my GFSs. Right now, the secondary repo is Windows with reFS but I want to rebuild it as a hardended/immutable Linux repo. I do want to reuse the hardware but don't want to lose the current GFS's if possible.

My plan was to just get some external storage and dump the current Windows repo onto it and then just start over with Linux.

My questions are:

1. If do go this route, if I do end up needing anything from the from the old repo files, would it be as easy as using the "Import Backup" feature and just having the external drive plugged into one of the systems listed in the "Location" dropdown?

2. Can I literally just copy the repo to the external storage using robocopy? Or there an export feature I have to use specifically for this?

[Mildur]

Hello GenDev

1. If do go this route, if I do end up needing anything from the from the old repo files, would it be as easy as using the "Import Backup" feature and just having the external drive plugged into one of the systems listed in the "Location" dropdown?

Yes. Such backup files can be imported. Or you can add the external drive as a windows repository and leave it connected. All backups on the drive will be imported and are available for restores.

2. Can I literally just copy the repo to the external storage using robocopy? Or there an export feature I have to use specifically for this?

With RoboCopy, you will loose FastClone space savings from your reFS repository. Each full backup will use the entire space on the target location.

Example: You have 12 monthly full backups. Each one has a reported size of 1TB. On your current reFS repository, they use approx. 1-2 TB disk space on your reFS repository.
When you now move those 12 monthly full backups with windows explorer, RoboCopy or any other filecopy based tools, they will be inflated to 12 TB. They will occupy 12 TB disk space on the target repository.

We have a solution for that. In Veeam Backup & Replication V12, we introduced a new feature which allows you to move or copy backups FastClone aware to a FastClone supported filesystem.

I don't know how much storage your full and incremental backup files have combined. But I assume your external storage won't be able to store all GFS backup files if you don't format it with reFS.
Therefore I recommend to format this external storage with reFS. If it's a NAS, you can use it as an iSCSI NAS.
Then use our copy backup option to copy all backups FastClone aware to that external storage: https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backu ... ml?ver=120

Best,
Fabian

[GenDev]

Mildur,

Thanks for the info! Looks like the move/copy is what I need. But, I do have a question. We do use the "paid" B&R at work and I see the move/copy options. But, in my homelab, I'm using the community edition and do not see the options. Is move/copy not included in CE?

[Mildur]

Hi GenDev

Yes, the "Backup Move/Copy" option is not available in the community edition:
Feature Comparison guide (Page 12)

Best,
Fabian

[GenDev]

Fabian,

That would explain why it's not showing up in CE.

One last question, I promise:

Using move/copy, if I go from a XFS repo to a ReFS external HD, will I still have the space savings? Or does the source and destination repos have to have the same file system?

Once our Linux repo (XFS) is setup, we would like to do occasional dumps to the external HD. From a manageability aspect, having the external HD as ReFS would be easier as it can just be plugged into any Windows system. But, if XFS to XFS is the only way to retain the space savings, then we will go that route.

Thank you for your help and patience with my questions!

[Gostev]

No, they don't have to match.