Repurpose server

[scottmr]

All,

I'd like to reuse a Dell PE640 dual CPUs 128GB RAM and 10 960GB SSDs (enterprise SSDs) 10GB Nics
My backup needs are modest. 9 vms total of all their disks is 2.8TB. Maybe I could RAID5 it (its all SSDs) with short retentions then do backup copies to the other repositories (after I reformat them to ReFS)

Currently I'm running Veeam 11 that backs up to 2 repositories, one local 9TB repository (not ReFS) and one remote 8TB not ReFS either

I'm looking to move to Veeam 12 and use ReFS. and I'd like to incorporate the above Dell into the mix.

Any thoughts?

Thank you

[PetrM]

Hi Scott,

Veeam 12 and REFS is a good idea without a doubt. But I'm not sure about the mentioned server, looks like we don't have enough information, in particular:
1. Would you like to use it as a primary or secondary repo or you don't know?
2. How many concurrent tasks are you going to run in parallel? We don't recommend exceeding 2 tasks per core, you may find more info on this page.

Thanks!

[scottmr]

Hi PetrM,

This "new" V12 server could be either primary or secondary, as I have 2 other repositories. No more than 3 tasks in parallel it has 24 cores.

Some additional info
The new V12 server would be Raid 5 is to get a bit extra storage. 5ish TB is cutting it close. Server is built and ReFS is on sep. volume.

The v11 is a vm on our StarWind Cluster. It runs on Win 2012Rw. It backs up to 2 physical Repos. One onsite, another remote.

One part of the plan is to get v12 at the remote site (colo).

Its the fact that the v12 server if RAID5 has only a bit over 5TB. The current repositories are using about 4.5TB (NTFS) and likely have some old remnants of one time backups that aren't needed.

The concern I have is that this new server has such a small repo. I really don't have a budget for replacing it.

[PetrM]

Hi Scott,

Not sure that I'm getting why you need 2 Veeam B&R servers? You can just upgrade your existing server and let them orchestrate jobs on both local and remote sites. It's enough to add a new server as a repository into Backup Infrastructure of the existing Veeam B&R installation.

5 TB with REFS looks normal if you consume 4,5 TB with NTFS now but keep in mind that you always have an option to buy some additional storage later or to make SOBR and to use the Capacity Tier or to back up directly to an object storage.

Thanks!

[Rascii]

I have a similar question and didn't know if I should create a new thread or just post here?

Our B&R server is a VM in one building and I have a physical Windows OS server at another building that I use as a storage repository for all of our backups files. I then throw a copy onto a NAS at a third building. The storage repository is a Dell R420 with (2) E5-2470 cpu and (4) 8TB drives in a Raid 10 setup. I want to replace this server with new hardware. Would you stick with a (2) 8 core cpu or could I get by with (1) cpu? Also, is Raid 10 still the best? Considering the restores would most likely be Instant Recoveries? Or is Raid 5 ok? (I would be upgrading to 16 TB disks). Also, would you go Linux instead? I've never used Linux.

Scold me if this should not have been posted here and thanks for any help. Is there a specs list for a repository server that is not the B&R server?

[foggy]

Here's the list of repository server system requirements. Please search the forum for RAID performance considerations.