Windows server 2012 dedup backup server and repo

[jaturley]

I have Veeam v8 running on Windows server 2012 R2 and I have a second server used as a backup repository running Veeam v8 running on Windows server 2012 R2. Can I run dedup on the backup files on both servers? Or should I only dedupe the files after they are copied to the backup repo by the file copy jobs?

[foggy]

Could you please clarify your setup? Do you store backups on the first Veeam B&R server locally and then copy them to the second server using file copy jobs? Do you have two full-blown Veeam B&R instances (and if yes, why)? Why do you use file copy jobs instead of backup copy jobs? Basically, you can enable Windows deduplication anywhere, if required, just consider some data rehydration overhead if copying from deduplicated volume.

[jaturley]

I store backups on the first Veam B&R server locally and then use file copy jobs to copy them to the second server. The servers are at diffrent locations connected by an 100MB WAN link. I use file copy jobs so that I can use the WAN accelerator functionality.

[jaturley]

I just realized I can use the WAN accelerators with backup copy jobs. Does a backup copy job send the backup to the remote repo without writing it to the local disk first?

[lightsout]

Should be no issue to have dedup running on both servers. Windows handles it transparently, and even with the WAN accelerator I don't see an issue.

[foggy]

Well, actually WAN acceleration is only available in backup copy and replication jobs (not in file copy jobs). Backup copy job uses backup repository that stores backups created by the regular backup jobs as a source, copying the latest VM state during each synchronization interval. I suggest reviewing the corresponding user guide section for better understanding.