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VM Copy

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    With Veeam Backup & Replication, you can run a VM copy job to create an independent fully-functioning copy of a VM or VM container on the selected storage. VM copying can be helpful if you want to move your datacenter, create a test lab and so on.

    The produced copy of a VM is stored uncompressed, in a native VMware vSphere format, so it can be started right away. Although VM copy is similar to replication in many respects, there are several important differences.

    • VM copy is a single-use process (that is, every run of a VM copy job mirrors a VM in its latest state). Due to their nature, VM copy jobs do not support incremental runs.
    • Veeam Backup & Replication does not create and maintain restore points for VM copies. If you schedule to run a VM copy job periodically, every new run will overwrite the existing copy.
    • With the VM copy job, all VM disks are copied as thick, while replication allows you to preserve the format of disks or convert the disk format on the fly.
    • There are no failover or failback possibilities for a VM copy.

    VM copy jobs use the same infrastructure components as backup jobs (for details, see Backup Architecture). In addition to available scenarios, you can also copy VMs to a target folder on any server or host connected to the backup server.

    Related Topics

    Creating VM Copy Jobs