Request for better storage integration

[DerOest]

Hi there,

we're still only starting to use Veaam. Today i stumbled over some some issues/got some ideas that could be done to make better use of the storage systems.
We're running on Netapps, but maybe this is not only subject to Netapp!

We try to use Netapp Snapshots and SnapVault-to-Secondary as much as possible, only fall back to "normal" Veeam Jobs where needed.


1. Guest File indexing
We need to index some Linux fileservers, and want to use the Enterprise Manager "File Search" for single-file/folder-restore similar to how we're used to with HP DataProtector.
Problem: We cannot exclusively use Netapp Snapshot/Snapvault for this, Veeam requires a normal Veeam-to-Repository copy.
If you create a new Job and select "Backup Repository = Netapp Snapshot", then on Guest Processing "Enable guest file system indexing" is not available (but application-aware processing is).

Workaround: Select Backup Repository "some CIFS share on Netapp", so that Veeam can do a "normal" VM backup job. But this way it will create a normal backup to repository copy - outside the Snapshot/Snapvault environment.

Better would be: Make "guest file system indexing" available with Netapp Primary Snapshot + SnapVault, se we don't need the additional Veeam backup to CIFS repository. A SSH login is performed anyway for quiescing, why not perform the "updatedb" and SCP the metadata you need?


2. GFS - enable Source Backup and GFS on the same Repository!
Problem: Veeam forces me to use two repositories. What a great waste of space as the VMs now reside in source-repository and a copy in GFS-repository

Two reasons I thought off why this should be enabled:
- Netapp does deduplication/compression and SMB3 Copy offloading on a per volume basis.
Reason for request: I perform active fulls on sunday and then pull these for GFS (same would be for snythetic fulls). Netapp supports SMB3 Copy Offloading, our Veeam Server is running on 2012R2. So having the primary backup and the GFS backups in the same repository, the GFS-Copy-job could just be a SMB3 copy (offloaded to the storage system). It's instant, it does not move over the network, and best off all: 100% deduplicated on storage right away.

I am sure that there are other Storage vendors supporting SMB3, so not only Netapp would profit of this behaviour.

Workaround: Off course i can cheat and create two CIFS-Shares on the same volume so i get better deduplication/compression ratios, but Veeam still would perform a normal (dumb) copy and not SMB3 copy offloading.


I love what you guys are doing, and i'd love it even more if you made better use of the underlying technologies.
Greetings from Germany!