VSA Migration

[blloyd@daltonga.gov]

We are trying to migrate to the new Veeam Software Appliance from a Windows version of Veeam. We've been told that we have to wait for assistance from support to make the transition and we have to signup for that assistance. We've submitted our name for the list, but there is no indication that we are actually on a list nor is there any indication what our place in line is. In other words, there is no communication happening with regard to our transition request. This has caused a huge delay in our new server deployment plan. Please help us understand why we can't do the transition ourselves or at least tell us where we are in the queue for the transition assistance.

[Mildur]

Hi Bill,

Welcome to the forum.
Unfortunately, we can’t share an ETA for when your migration request will be processed. However, I can provide a general update on the feature.

We’re currently testing and improving the migration engine to ensure it does not impact production environments. These improvements are planned for our upcoming summer release (v13.1). With that in mind, migrations are not expected to start processing before later this year.

To help our customers to prepare, we’ve put together a KB article (regularly updated): https://www.veeam.com/kb4800

If you can’t wait for the migration that long, I suggest starting from scratch with the Veeam Software Appliance. Especially in a simple backup environment with vSphere/Hyper-V workloads, redeploying is usually straightforward (deploy a new VSA, connect your existing repository, recreate backup jobs, and map the imported backup files).

What kind of workloads do you have in your environment? That would help me confirm whether a “deploy from scratch” approach is feasible.

Best,
Fabian

[blloyd@daltonga.gov]

If we do what you suggested, "deploy a new VSA, connect your existing repository, recreate backup jobs, and map the imported backup files", will we be able to restore old backup data that was deposited in the existing repository from years before?

[Mildur]

Yes, restore from “old” backups will be possible. The original Veeam Backup & Replication server on Windows is not required.
Just make sure the backups are imported, and you can start restoring data.

Best,
Fabian

[pesos]

Hi Fabian,

If we elect to start fresh, how does this work licensingwise? Are we able to run both b&r servers simultaneously for a time, so that we can gradually switch hosts, jobs, etc. over to the new appliance build?

[blloyd@daltonga.gov]

Yes, restore from “old” backups will be possible. The original Veeam Backup & Replication server on Windows is not required.
Just make sure the backups are imported, and you can start restoring data.

Best,
Fabian

So once we setup the new VSA, we can then "import" the old backup jobs onto the new VSA, so that we have access to them?

Also, if we start fresh, we will likely use extra capacity tier storage going forward. Would it work to setup the new VSA, import the old backup jobs, and then continue with those backup jobs going forward? That way, in theory, we would simply continue with the old backup jobs, not requiring extra capacity tier storage. Is my theory correct?

[Mildur]

Hi all,

We have updated our conversion page: https://go.veeam.com/vsa-conversion
Great news for everyone, registration and waiting in the virtual queue is no longer required.

The conversion process can now be started by opening a case with our Customer Support team.
Our Support team will verify that the migration requirements are fulfilled and that no on VSA unsupported configurations are in use, such as Windows backup server only storage plug-ins. Once everything is confirmed, you will be provided with the migration key.

Please keep in mind an important note about the soon-to-be-released version 13.1:
- Conversion is supported on V13.0.x only.
- Windows-to-VSA conversions will not be possible with V13.1. We plan to add conversion support again in a later version, potentially with V13.2.
- If you need to migrate your backup server to VSA, update your Windows Server installation to the latest v13.0.x, migrate the configuration to VSA V13.0.x, and then update VSA to V13.1

KB4800 was updated as well with step by step guidance and considerations/limitations.

Best,
Fabian