This is an archive version of the document. To get the most up-to-date information, see the current version.

Backup Server

The backup server is a Windows-based physical or virtual machine on which Veeam Backup & Replication is installed. It is the core component in the backup infrastructure that fills the role of the “configuration and control center”. The backup server performs all types of administrative activities:

Coordinates backup, replication, recovery verification and restore tasks
Controls job scheduling and resource allocation
Is used to set up and manage backup infrastructure components as well as specify global settings for the backup infrastructure

In addition to its primary functions, a newly deployed backup server also performs the role of the default backup repository, storing backups locally.

Backup Server Services and Components

The backup server uses the following services and components:

Veeam Backup Service is a Windows service that coordinates all operations performed by Veeam Backup & Replication such as backup, replication, recovery verification and restore tasks. The Veeam Backup Service runs under the LocalSystem account or account that has the local Administrator permissions on the backup server.
Veeam Guest Catalog Service manages guest OS file system indexing for VMs and replicates system index data files to enable search through guest OS files. Index data is stored in the Veeam Backup Catalog — a folder on the backup server. The Veeam Guest Catalog Service running on the backup server works in conjunction with search components installed on Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager and (optionally) a dedicated Microsoft Search Server.

Mount Service mounts backups and replicas for file-level access, browsing the VM guest file system and restoring VM guest OS files and application items to the original location.

Veeam Backup & Replication Configuration Database stores data about the backup infrastructure, jobs, sessions and so on. The database instance can be located on a SQL Server installed either locally (on the same machine where the backup server is running) or remotely. For more information, see the following guidelines: Veeam Backup & Replication Best Practices.

Veeam Backup & Replication maintains the configuration database. Veeam Backup & Replication runs the DatabaseMaintenance system job once a week and when the Veeam Backup Service is restarted. The job updates the database internal statistics, defragments indexes and clears unused data. For details, see the Job.DatabaseMaintenance log file in the %ProgramData%\Veeam\Backup folder.

Veeam Backup & Replication Console provides the application user interface and allows user access to the application's functionality.
Veeam Backup PowerShell Snap-In is an extension for Microsoft Windows PowerShell 2.0 or later. Veeam Backup PowerShell adds a set of cmdlets to allow users to perform backup, replication and recovery tasks through the command-line interface of PowerShell or run custom scripts to fully automate operation of Veeam Backup & Replication.