VBR12 Upgrade Backup Chain Format

[mkaec]

The V12 release notes noted several enhancements that require manually upgrading the backup chain format. While VBR will pop up an upgrade wizard to upgrade the remote components, it didn't mention the backup chain format. (Maybe it'll put something in the job log. I didn't run any jobs before updating the backup chain formats.)

It wasn't super obvious how to upgrade the backup chain format. To do it, go to Home > Backups > Disk, then click on an of the first level groups (which will likely be named the same as your jobs). There will be an Upgrade Backup Chain Format button in the toolbar and the right-click menu if the upgrade is applicable.

[HannesK]

Hello,
good to hear, that you found it. And it sounds like, that you had no problems.

Alternatively, there is also the option to use PowerShell https://www.veeam.com/kb4387

Just curious... how long did it take for how many machines?

Best regards,
Hannes

[mkaec]

Hmm. Does that script only upgrade the format of backup copy jobs?

The dialog said it would be about 1 minute per machine. I was able to close the dialog while the conversion ran and start the others. It was all done very quickly. According to the logs, some machines were quite a bit quicker, while a larger system (several TB) took 2.5 minutes. During the upgrade, there were two of each job listed in the Backups section for a while. Then the extras went away.

The KB article about it talks about having to synthesize full backups when the upgrade involves "For format upgrade using mapping". I guess that wasn't applicable to my scenario.

Another thing to be on the lookout for is that the conversion disabled the associated jobs and then logged a warning telling me to manually re-enable them.

[HannesK]

Hello,
ah sorry, that KB article was wrong. That's not your scenario, right.

The time you mention is "how it should be". Thanks!

Best regards,
Hannes

[dbewernick]

The V12 release notes noted several enhancements that require manually upgrading the backup chain format. While VBR will pop up an upgrade wizard to upgrade the remote components, it didn't mention the backup chain format. (Maybe it'll put something in the job log. I didn't run any jobs before updating the backup chain formats.)

It wasn't super obvious how to upgrade the backup chain format. To do it, go to Home > Backups > Disk, then click on an of the first level groups (which will likely be named the same as your jobs). There will be an Upgrade Backup Chain Format button in the toolbar and the right-click menu if the upgrade is applicable.

Thank you for pointing it out @mkaec. This is also described in the helpcenter and includes some important notes: https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backu ... ml?ver=120