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Service Actions with Scale-Out Backup Repositories

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Maintenance Mode
Backup Files Evacuation

You can perform service actions with extents of scale-out backup repositories:

Maintenance Mode

In some cases, you may want to perform service actions with extents of the scale-out backup repository. For example, you need to upgrade the backup repository server and add more memory to it. Or you want to replace a storage device backing the extent and need to relocate backup files. Before you start service actions, you must put the extent to the Maintenance mode.

An extent in the Maintenance mode operates with the limited functionality:

Veeam Backup & Replication does not start new tasks targeted at this extent.
You cannot restore VM data from backup files residing on the extent. You also cannot restore VM data from backup files residing on other extents if a part of the backup chain resides on the extent in the Maintenance mode.

When you switch the Maintenance mode, Veeam Backup & Replication launches the Repository Maintenance job. The Repository Maintenance job checks the status of jobs and tasks targeted at the extent and puts the extent to one of the following modes:

If no tasks using the extent are currently running, the job puts the extent to the Maintenance mode immediately.
If the extent is busy with any task, for example, a backup job, the job puts the extent to the Maintenance pending state and waits for the task to complete. When the task is complete, the extent is put to the Maintenance mode.

Backup Files Evacuation

If you want to exclude an extent from the scale-out backup repository, you first need to evacuate backup files from this extent. When you evacuate backups, Veeam Backup & Replication moves backup files from the extent to other extents that belong to the same scale-out backup repository. As a result, the backup chains remain consistent and you can work with them in a usual way.

The extent must be put to the Maintenance mode before you evacuate backups from it. If the extent is in the normal operational mode, the Evacuate option will not be available for this extent.

When selecting the target extent for evacuated files, Veeam Backup & Replication attempts to keep to the backup placement settings specified for remaining extents. For example, you have 3 extents in the scale-out backup repository with the following backup file placement settings:

On Extent 1, full backup files are stored.
On Extent 2 and Extent 3, incremental backup files are stored.

If you evacuate backup files from Extent 2, Veeam Backup & Replication will relocate them to Extent 3.