VMWare Horizon Veeam Backup

[tiger1444]

Hi,

We're looking to get Veeam to backup our Enterprise, and we have a question on backing up VDI.

We currently have 14 Citrix servers and have 150 concurrent user Citrix license. If Veeam will backup our current Citrix VDI environment will we need 14 Veeam license instances to backup the 14 Citrix servers?

We recently purchased VMWare Horizon (which will be install on Dell VxRail) to replace Citrix and have 200 user license, we have a concern that (User profiles are attached to the VDI - each VDI is another instance to back up)
Does that mean we need 200 Veeam instance license to backup VMWare Horizon?

I need to understand how Veeam instance licensing works on backing up VMWare Horizon.

Thanks in advance.

[ronnmartin61]

VDI style (server-based or workstation-based) and licensing are completely invisible to Veeam. All we're concerned with is VM OS instance backup in this case. It sounds like you may be moving from a Citrix server-based (XenApp) approach to a workstation-based model? In this case it really depends on whether or not the Horizon workstation instances store data that needs to be recoverable. If you're using some centralized application and/or user profile management system then you might only need to insure you protect the server(s) hosting this data. On the other hand if the workstation VM instances are say dedicated, persistent desktops then you may need to protect each one in which case yes you would need a Veeam license per VDI instance. Hope that helps

[tiger1444]

It sounds like you may be moving from a Citrix server-based (XenApp) approach to a workstation-based model?

We’re keeping server based (XenApp) approach.

All we're concerned with is VM OS instance backup in this case. If you're using some centralized application and/or user profile management system then you might only need to insure you protect the server(s) hosting this data. On the other hand if the workstation VM instances are say dedicated, persistent desktops then you may need to protect each one in which case yes you would need a Veeam license per VDI instance.

With VMWare Horizon I found out we purchased 200 CCU (Concurrent Connection User) license. So in this case with Veeam we need number of instance license to backup the VMWare Horizon server(s) that are hosting the VDI desktop sessions.

I found out more about VMWare Horizon licensing:
Concurrent Connection User (CCU) vs. Named User (NU) Licensing
Horizon Advanced and Horizon Enterprise editions are available in two license models:
Per named user (NU) – For virtual environments with staff that require dedicated access to a virtual machine throughout the day.
Perpetual per concurrent connection (CCU) – For virtual environments with a high number of users who share machines throughout the day, such as students and shift workers. A concurrent connection is defined as a powered-on VM and connected virtual desktop session. In this model, licenses are owned by organizations, not individual users.
Link: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/88747

Thanks for the quick reply, it's helpful.