2 vcenter servers with essentials

[johnlong]

I need to add a second vcenter server in my DR site and I plan to install another essentials plus kit in addition to the existing ess+ kit in my prod site.

My question is I still only plan to use veeam ess+ with 3 hosts but in my proposed setup, I will have a vcenter server at each site that is independent of each other. Can I still replicate vm's from my prod site to my DR site using veeam ess even though I will have 2 separate independent vcenter servers at each site?

Thanks,
John

[Vitaliy S.]

Hello John,

Yes, as target site/replication target does not require Veeam license keys, so you should be fine.

Thank you!

[johnlong]

Thanks for the reply. I would like to confirm and make sure I will be good to go so I reworded the question.

I will have vcenter server A with 3 hosts in site A with vm A. vm A will replicate to vm A_replica which is connected to vcenter server B with 3 hosts in site B. vcenter A is not connected to vcenter B because you cannot have more than 1 vcenter server with Ess+. Both vcenter servers will be ess+ licenses. There is a VPN between sites.

Thanks,
John

[foggy]

The answer is still yes. Veeam B&R licensing is affected by the number of source hosts' sockets only.

[gcanales]

Hi, I have the same scenario described here. Custo (I'm a Veeam reseller) already have a datacenter (#1) and vCenter protected with Veeam Essentials. Customer is planning to build another datacenter buy 3 ESXi hosts and a new vCenter, and he would like to purchase and install a new Veeam license key in brand new Windows box to protect the VMs that will be running in datacenter #2, and leave the Veeam Ess deployed in datacenter #1 as it is right now (no upgrade).

Veeam sales rep is telling us that is not possible, custo must upgrade the Veeam Ess box (running in datacenter #1) to Availability Suite and buy the same to datacenter #2, even though datacenter #2 will be in a different building, different zip code, managing a different vCenter with it’s own vmware hosts and VMs.

Veeam's rep quote: "They really should upgrade out of essentials…And really should not have been sold essentials in the first place."

Please correct me if I'm wrong, can I assume from this thread that custo could even purchase a new and isolated (installed in a different Windows box) Essentials bundle to protect planned Datacenter #2?

Thank you!

[PTide]

Hi,

How many sockets are there in the datacenters? Organizations may purchase up to three 2-socket bundles, for a total of 6 CPU sockets, of Veeam Backup Essentials.

Veeam defines an organization as:

A company or any affiliates of the company, whether a separate legal entity or not, which is or becomes owned or controlled directly or indirectly, or is under common control with the company or its successor entity as to more than fifty (50) per cent of such company’s issued equity share capital, voting rights and/or the like. Organizations can span geographic locations, lines of business, domains and other organizational characteristics.

Examples of companies considered to be single organizations include:

A technology company with multiple international R&D sites
A firm with multiple business units selling unrelated products, brands or services (e.g., Proctor & Gamble and its Pantene, Pampers and other brands)
A business that operates under multiple domain names (e.g., the Acme mail-order company with its acme.com, acme.ca and acme.uk email domains)

Thank you.

[gcanales]

Hi,

There are 6 sockets in datacenter #1 (3x hosts, 2x sockets ea), and they are planning to build a new datacenter #2, with 3 new hosts and 2 sockets ea. A single organization with 2 datacenters.

I get a single organizations can only have a single Essentials bundle with up to 6 sockets, makes sense. But why can't this organization deploy a new Veeam installation with, let's say 6 sockets of B&R Standard, in their brand new datacenter and protect a new set of ESX hosts, and leave the Essentials deployed initially in their old datacenter just as it is right now without having to upgrade it?

Thank you

[PTide]

Gilberto,

As it's stated in Essentials Licensing FAQ, under "Upgrades" section:

What do I do when my virtual environment grows beyond 6 sockets?

You have two upgrade options: Veeam Availability Suite and Veeam Backup & Replication. Both options are offered for the difference in price between the product you’re upgrading from (Veeam Backup Essentials) to the price of the product you’re upgrading to (either Veeam Availability Suite or Veeam Backup & Replication).

It is recommended that organizations currently holding licenses for Veeam Backup Essentials and any individually licensed Veeam product contact a Veeam Sales representative to discuss appropriate upgrade options.