Backup to Object Storage

If you want to store your data in a cloud-based or on-premises object storage, you can create Veeam Agent backups in repositories provided by the object storage.

The following Veeam Agents support the object storage as a primary repository for backup jobs, backup policies, and backup copy jobs:

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
Veeam Agent for Linux
Veeam Agent for Mac

You can store Veeam Agent backups on the following types of the object storage:

Amazon S3
S3 compatible
Google Cloud Storage
Microsoft Azure Blob Storage
IBM Cloud
Wasabi Cloud

Veeam Agents communicate with the object storage using one of the following connection modes:

Connection through a gateway server. With this connection mode, Veeam Agents access object storage through Veeam Backup & Replication. As a result, Veeam Agent access to object storage is managed by a proxy component — a gateway server assigned in the Veeam Backup & Replication console. Backup data is sent from Veeam Agent computer to the gateway server, then it is sent from gateway server to the object storage.
Direct connection. With this connection mode, Veeam Agents access object storage directly. Backup data is sent from Veeam Agent computer to the object storage. Veeam Agent access to object storage is managed by Application Programming Interface (API) provided by an external cloud service provider. To learn more, see Access Permissions for Direct Connection to Object Storage.

If you plan to back up to the repository in the object storage using a direct connection and a backup job managed by Veeam Agent, keep in mind that Veeam Agents will still connect to Veeam Backup & Replication periodically. Using these connections, Veeam Agent will update license and backup job settings. These connections are not necessary for backup job sessions.

IMPORTANT

After you switch your repository from one connection mode to another, Veeam Agent will need to connect to Veeam Backup & Replication to update repository settings. Until this connection is made, all backup operations by Veeam Agents will fail.

If you plan to back up data to the S3 compatible storage using the direct connection, you must perform an extra step: manually set access to the object storage for Veeam Agents. To learn more, see the Managing Permissions for S3 Compatible Object Storage section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.
Veeam Agent always performs backup of cloud machines directly to the cloud regardless of the connection mode specified in the backup repository settings.

Getting Started

To back up Veeam Agent computer data to an object storage, you must complete the following steps:

Add repository in the Veeam backup console. To learn more, see the Adding Object Storage Repositories section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

You can use an object storage in Veeam Backup & Replication as one of the following repositories:

Backup repository. To learn more, see the Backup Repositories section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.
Scale-out backup repository added as a Veeam backup repository. To learn more, see the Scale-Out Backup Repositories section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.
Cloud repository. Both simple cloud repository and scale-out backup repository added as a cloud repository are supported. To learn more, see the Backup to Object Storage section in the Veeam Cloud Connect Guide.

[For S3 compatible object storage] Set access to the added S3 compatible object storage. To learn more see the Managing Permissions for S3 Compatible Object Storage section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.
Create a Veeam Agent backup job or policy and specify the following repository as a target location for backup files:

If the object storage is configured as a backup repository or a scale-out backup repository in your infrastructure, specify a Veeam backup repository as a target location for backup files, then select the repository from the list of available repositories.
If the object storage is provided to you by Service Provider, specify a Veeam Cloud Connect repository as a target location for backup files, then select the repository from the list of available repositories.

To learn more, see Working with Veeam Agent Backup Jobs and Policies.

Limitations

Before you configure your backup infrastructure to back up to the object storage, consider the following limitations:

You cannot back up data using Veeam Agent backup job or policy to the following storage devices:

AWS SnowBall
Azure Databox

If you plan to add a repository in the object storage as a performance tier of a scale-out backup repository and you plan to back up this repository using direct connection, you can use only backup jobs managed by the backup server. Veeam Agent backup policies are not supported.
Data in object storage repositories must be managed solely by Veeam Backup & Replication, including retention and data management. Lifecycle rules are not supported, and their enabling may result in backup and restore failures.

For Microsoft Azure Blob storage, Veeam Agents do not support soft delete for blobs.
If you plan to back up data to the Microsoft Azure Blob storage using direct connection, the following limitations apply:

Cold Tier is not supported for the following configurations:

Backup policies targeted at the object storage added as the Veeam backup repository.
Backup jobs and policies targeted at the object storage added as cloud repository.

To learn more about access tiers for blob data, see this Microsoft article.

Immutability is not supported for the following configurations:

Backup policies targeted at the object storage added as the Veeam backup repository.
Backup jobs and policies targeted at the object storage added as cloud repository.

To learn more about immutability, see the Immutability for Object Storage Repositories section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

Veeam Agents do not support direct backup under the general-purpose V1 storage account type.