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Replication Scenarios

In this article

Veeam Backup & Replication supports a number of replication scenarios that depend on the location of the target host and the data transport path.

Onsite Replication

If the source host and target host are located in the same site, you can perform onsite replication.

Onsite replication requires the following replication infrastructure components:

Source and target hosts
Backup proxy. In the onsite replication scenario, the source Veeam Data Mover and target Veeam Data Mover are started on the same backup proxy. The backup proxy must have access to the backup server, source host, target host and backup repository holding replica metadata.
Backup repository for storing replica metadata.

In the onsite replication scenario, Veeam Backup & Replication does not perform data compression. Replication traffic is transferred uncompressed between the two Veeam Data Mover started on the same backup proxy.

Offsite Replication

If the source host is located in the primary site, and the target host is located in the DR site, you can perform offsite replication.

Offsite replication can run over two data paths:

Direct data path
Via a pair of WAN accelerators

Replication Scenarios Note:

When planning for offsite replication, consider advanced possibilities to reduce the amount of replication traffic and streamline replica configuration: replica seeding, replica mapping, network mapping and re-IP.

Replication Over Direct Data Path

The common requirement for offsite replication is that one Veeam Data Mover runs in the production site, closer to the source host, and the other Veeam Data Mover runs in the remote DR site, closer to the target host. During backup, the Veeam Data Movers maintain a stable connection, which allows for uninterrupted operation over WAN or slow links.

Offsite replication over a direct path requires the following backup infrastructure components:

Source and target hosts
At least one backup proxy in the source site. The backup proxy must have access to the backup server, source host, backup proxy in the target site and backup repository holding replica metadata.
At least one backup proxy in the target site. The backup proxy must have access to the backup server, target host and backup proxy in the source site.
Backup repository for storing replica metadata. The backup repository must be located in the source site, closer to the backup proxy, and must have access to it.

In the offsite replication scenario, Veeam Backup & Replication uses data compression. The Veeam Data Mover on the source backup proxy compresses VM data blocks and sends them to the target backup proxy in the compressed format. The Veeam Data Mover on the target backup proxy uncompressed VM data and stores it to a datastore in a native VMware vSphere format.

Replication via WAN Accelerators

If you have a weak WAN link, you can replicate VM data over a pair of WAN accelerators. WAN accelerators provide advanced technologies to optimize VM data transfer:

Global data caching and deduplication
Resume on disconnect for uninterrupted data transfer

WAN accelerators add a new layer in the backup infrastructure — a layer between the source Veeam Data Mover and target Veeam Data Mover. The data flow goes from the source backup proxy over a pair of WAN accelerators to the target backup proxy that, finally, destinies VM data to the target host.

Offsite replication over WAN accelerators requires the following backup infrastructure components:

Source and target hosts
A pair of WAN accelerators at each end of the WAN link:

Source WAN accelerator in the source site. The source WAN accelerator must have access to the backup server, source backup proxy and target WAN accelerator.
Target WAN accelerator in the target site. The target WAN accelerator must have access to the backup server, source WAN accelerator and target backup proxy.

At least one backup proxy in the source site. The backup proxy must have access to the backup server, source host, source WAN accelerator and backup repository holding replica metadata.
At least one backup proxy in the target site. The backup proxy must have access to the backup server, target host and target WAN accelerator.
Backup repository for storing replica metadata. The backup repository must be located in the source site, closer to the backup proxy, and must have access to it.

In the offsite replication scenario via WAN accelerators, Veeam Backup & Replication compresses VM data. VM data blocks are compressed on the source WAN accelerator, transported to the target site in the compressed format and decompressed on the target WAN accelerator.