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

Upgrading to Veeam Backup for AWS 6a

To perform upgrade of Veeam Backup for AWS to version 6a, the backup appliance must be running version 4.0 or later. To upgrade from earlier versions, you must first perform update to Veeam Backup for AWS version 4.0 or later as described in section Installing Updates.

During upgrade to version 6a, the backup appliance operating system will be updated from Ubuntu 18.04 LTS to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS and the configuration database will be upgraded to PostgreSQL 15. The upgrade process requires certain actions to be carried out externally and can be performed only using AWS Plug-in for Veeam Backup & Replication. Consider that during upgrade the original root volume of the backup appliance will be replaced with the new one. For more information on the upgrade process, its limitations and requirements, see the Integration with Veeam Backup & Replication Guide, section Upgrading to Veeam Backup for AWS 6a.

Important

Before you upgrade the backup appliance to version 6a, make sure all backup policies are disabled and no restore tasks are currently running. Otherwise, the upgrade process will interrupt the running activities, which may result in data loss.

To upgrade the backup appliance, do the following:

Install AWS Plug-in for Veeam Backup & Replication as described in the Integration with Veeam Backup & Replication Guide, section Deployment.

Tip

If you do not have a valid Veeam Backup & Replication license, you can download a 30-day trial version of the product.

Add the backup appliance to the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure as described in the Integration with Veeam Backup & Replication Guide, section Connecting to Existing Veeam Backup for AWS Appliances.

When connecting to the backup appliance, Veeam Backup & Replication will display a warning notifying you that the appliance must be upgraded. Acknowledge the warning to allow Veeam Backup & Replication to automatically upgrade the appliance to the necessary version.

Note

When you add the backup appliance to the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure, the license installed on the appliance becomes invalid. Protected instances start consuming license units from the license installed on the Veeam Backup & Replication server. However, as soon as you remove the backup appliance from the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure, Veeam Backup for AWS will continue using the license that had been used before you added the Veeam Backup for AWS appliance to the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure.

For more information on licensing scenarios, see Integration with Veeam Backup & Replication Guide, section Licensing.

[This step applies only if the backup appliance has not been upgraded at step 2] Upgrade the backup appliance as described in the Integration with Veeam Backup & Replication Guide, section Upgrading Appliances.
After the upgrade process completes, you can remove the backup appliance from the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure, as described in the Integration with Veeam Backup & Replication Guide, section Removing Appliances, if you do not plan to further manage this appliance from the Veeam Backup & Replication console.

Make sure to remove the appliance from the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure before you uninstall Veeam Backup & Replication. Otherwise, Veeam Backup for AWS will not be able to perform backup and restore operations due to the licensing issues.

Uninstall Veeam Backup & Replication if you no longer need it, as described in the Veeam Backup & Replication Guide, section Uninstalling Veeam Backup & Replication. In this case, AWS Plug-in for Veeam Backup & Replication will be removed as well.