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

Backup Repository

A backup job configured in Veeam Agent for Linux creates backup files in a backup repository. A backup repository is a directory on the storage where you want to keep backup files. You can use the following types of disk-based storage to create a backup repository:

  • Local (internal) storage of the protected machine (not recommended).
  • Direct attached storage (DAS), such as USB, eSATA or Firewire external drives.
  • Network Attached Storage (NAS) able to represent itself as SMB (CIFS) or NFS share.
  • Veeam Backup & Replication 11 or later backup repository.
  • Veeam Backup & Replication 11 or later cloud repository.

Backup RepositoryIMPORTANT

A backup repository must be created on a separate volume from a volume whose data you plan to back up.

 

Veeam Agent for Linux works with backup storage differently depending on the way you configure and start backup jobs — with the Veeam Agent control panel or command line interface.

Backup Location and Control Panel

If you use the Veeam Agent control panel to perform backup tasks, you do not have to deal with backup repositories. When you specify a target location for backup in the Backup Job wizard, Veeam Agent configures the backup repository automatically. Veeam Agent saves path to the specified backup location, assigns to this location a unique name and ID and saves this information in the database. The information is used by Veeam Agent and is not displayed in the control panel.

If you target a backup job at the network shared folder, every time the backup job starts, Veeam Agent will automatically mount the shared folder to the /tmp/veeam directory in the computer file system and create a backup file in this directory. After the backup job completes, Veeam Agent will automatically unmount the network shared folder.

You can target several backup jobs to individual backup locations or use the same target location for several backup jobs. This may be useful if you want to back up different types of data to separate locations or to keep all backed-up data at one place.

Backup Repository and Command Line Interface

If you work with Veeam Agent for Linux using the command line interface, you must deal with backup repositories depending on the target location selected for the backup job.

If you target a backup job at a local directory or network shared folder, you must create a repository before you configure a backup job:

  • In case of a local directory, you specify a name for the repository and a local directory in which Veeam Agent will create backup files. To learn more, see Creating Repository in Local Directory.
  • In case of a network shared folder, you specify a name for the repository, a path to the network shared folder in which Veeam Agent will create backup files, a type of the network shared folder and additional mounting options.

Every time the backup job starts, Veeam Agent will automatically mount the shared folder to the /tmp/veeam directory in the computer file system and create a backup file in this directory. After the backup job completes, Veeam Agent will automatically unmount the network shared folder. To learn more, see Creating Repository in NFS Share and Creating Repository in SMB Share.

If the directory to which the shared folder should be mounted resides on the backed-up volume, the backup job may fail.

If you target a backup job at a Veeam backup repository or cloud repository, you do not need to create repositories. Before configuring the backup job, you must connect to the Veeam backup server or Veeam Cloud Connect service provider. To learn more, see Connecting to Veeam Backup Server and Connecting to Service Provider.

You can configure several backup repositories and target different backup jobs at these repositories. This may be useful if you want to back up different types of data to separate locations or to keep several copies of your backed-up data.

Related Tasks

Managing Backup Repositories