Backup chain copy/move

[ghiula]

Hello Veeam Gurus,

I am trying to create a copy of a large VM backup chain (around 5oTB). I have tested this on smaller chains using the copy option and it seems to work, however when getting to the full volume I am wondering:
- What happens if the copy gets interrupted? I have read from different posts that copy will be started from scratch, but what happens to the already copied data? Since data will be written in immutable form, I am not able to clean it after a partial copy
- Would the same mechanism apply to a backup chain move ?
- Could I copy the same data using a Backup Copy Job or would this only write an initial full and the restore points following its creation?

Thank you,
Ghiula

[david.domask]

Hi Ghiula, welcome to the forums.

1. You get an option on how to proceed, retry or cancel.
2. Same option, pick how you want to proceeed
3. You need to set a configuration parameter BackupCopyMirrorAll for the Backup Copy to copy all existing restore points

Code: Select all

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Veeam\Veeam Backup and Replication
Name: BackupCopyMirrorAll
Type: Multi-string value (REG_MULTI_SZ)
Data: Backup Copy job names you want to behave this way.

All in all, I would just use Copy Backup and ensure there is sufficient free space on the target repository / stable connection for the operation.

[ghiula]

Hello David,

Thank you for your swift reply.
I would like to confirm just that this process is also valid for AHV VMs, Unstructured data/filers and Agent-based backups.
Also, what happens if the copy takes more than 24 hours and the operation is no longer listed under the 24 Hours node? Is there another way to locate it?

[david.domask]

You're quite welcome.

1. Copy Nutanix, Unstructured Data, & Agents: Yes for all, our limitations are listed here in the User Guide for Copy Backup. Move Backup has slightly different limitations, so review both please.
2. Copy takes more than 24 hours: As long as it's running, it will show under running. If I remember correctly, Last 24h field is populated based on completion time, not start time. Regardless, you can always view all session results in the history tab

[ghiula]

Thank you again, David!

Could you please also clarify the behavior after retention expiration for me?
I found this somewhat contradictory:
"Backups that fall out of the specified retention policy will be removed automatically. If you do not specify the time period for deletion, copies will be stored until you remove them manually."
Copied data has an associated retention - will it not be deleted at the end of this period?

Secondly - unstructured data copy does not have the "Delete this backup automatically in" option - so how will this process function in this case?

[david.domask]

Hi ghiula,

For workloads that support a custom retention with Copy Backup, the copies will be automatically removed after the time you set for retention is passed. If you don't set a retention period, or if the workload doesn't support copy retention period (like unstructured data), then the copy will remain until you manually remove it, as noted in the User Guide.