Step 4. Configure Backup Repository Settings
At the Repository step of the wizard, specify path and load control repository settings.
- In the Location section, specify a path to the folder where backup files must be stored. Click Populate to check capacity and available free space in the selected location.
- For Dell Data Domain, click Browse and select a location from the list of available paths.
- For HPE StoreOnce, select a Catalyst store from the list.
- [For Linux repository and deduplicating storage appliances except HPE StoreOnce and Dell Data Domain] Select the Use fast cloning on XFS volumes check box to enable copy-on-write functionality. In terms of Veeam Backup & Replication, this functionality is known as Fast Clone. For more information, see Fast Clone.
- [For HPE StoreOnce with immutability] To prohibit deletion of blocks of data from the backup repository, select the Make recent backups immutable for check box and specify the immutability period. For more information on limitations and recommendation for HPE StoreOnce with immutability, see HPE StoreOnce and Immutability.
- Use the Load control section to limit the number of concurrent tasks and data ingestion rate for the backup repository. These settings will help you control the load on the backup repository and prevent possible timeouts of storage I/O operations.
- Select the Limit maximum concurrent tasks check box and specify the maximum allowed number of concurrent tasks for the backup repository. If this value is exceeded, Veeam Backup & Replication will not start a new task until one of current tasks finishes. For more information, see Limiting the Number of Concurrent Tasks.
Note |
It is not recommended that you disable the Limit maximum concurrent tasks to N option for backup repositories with per-machine backup chains. In case of per-machine backup chains, synthetic operations (synthetic full backup, backup files merge and transformation) work in parallel for every workload in the backup. The number of parallel operations is limited by the number of concurrent tasks that can be performed on the backup repository. If you disable the Limit maximum concurrent tasks to N option (which results in using an unlimited number of slots), the load on the backup repository may be high. |
- Select the Limit read and write data rates to check box and specify the maximum rate to restrict the total speed of reading and writing data to the backup repository disk. For more information, see Limiting Combined Data Rate for Backup Repositories.
Note |
The Limit read and write data rates to settings does not apply to health checks performed as part of backup and backup copy jobs. Even if you limit read/write rate for a backup repository, the health check will consume resources of the backup repository regardless of this setting. Consider this limitation when configuring basic and health check schedules for backup and backup copy jobs. |
- For storage systems using a fixed block size, select the Align backup file data blocks check box. Veeam Backup & Replication will align VM data saved to a backup file at a 4 KB block boundary.
- When you enable compression for a backup job, Veeam Backup & Replication compresses VM data at the source side and then transports it to the target side. Writing compressed data to a deduplicating storage appliance results in poor deduplication ratios as the number of matching blocks decreases. To overcome this situation, select the Decompress backup data blocks before storing check box. If data compression is enabled for a job, Veeam Backup & Replication will compress VM data on the source side, transport it to the target side, decompress VM data on the target side and write raw VM data to the storage device to achieve a higher deduplication ratio.
Note |
Veeam Backup & Replication does not compress VM data if encryption is enabled for a job and the Decompress backup data blocks before storing check box is selected in the settings of the target backup repository. Therefore, in the job statistics, you may observe a higher amount of transferred data (the Transferred counter) as compared to a job for which encryption is disabled. For more information on job statistics, see Viewing Real-Time Statistics. In the properties of the backup created with encryption, you may also see that the backup size (the Backup Size column) is larger than the original VM size (the Original Size column). For more information on backup properties, see Viewing Backup Properties. |
- If you plan to use rotated drives for the backup repository, select the This repository is backed by rotated hard drives check box and choose how Veeam Backup & Replication will behave when a drive is swapped:
- Continue an existing backup chain if present. Select this option to continue the backup chain found on the drive.
- Delete backups belonging to this job. Select this option to delete all backups created by the currently running job.
- Delete all backups on the drive. Select this option to delete all backups created by Veeam Backup & Replication and stored on the drive in the repository folder. Note that Veeam Backup & Replication will delete all backups, even backups created by other jobs.
For more information, see Configuring Backup Repositories with Rotated Drives.
- To create a separate backup file for every machine in the job, make sure that the Use per-machine backup files check box is selected. If you clear the check box, Veeam Backup & Replication will create single-file backups. For more information on the backup chain formats and their limitations, see Backup Chain Formats.
Note |
Changing of the Use per-machine backup files setting after the repository was already created does not take any effect. To change backup chain format, follow the instructions provided in Upgrading Backup Chain Formats. |
Settings for Deduplicating Storage Appliances
If you use a deduplicating storage appliance as a backup repository, Veeam Backup & Replication automatically sets advanced settings to the following ones:
Dell Data Domain
- The Align backup file data blocks option is disabled and cannot be changed.
- The Decompress backup data blocks before storing option is enabled.
- The This repository is backed by rotated hard drives option is disabled and cannot be changed.
- The Use per-machine backup files option is enabled.
ExaGrid
- The Align backup file data blocks option is disabled and must not be changed.
- The Decompress backup data blocks before storing option is enabled.
- The This repository is backed by rotated hard drives option is disabled and cannot be changed.
- The Use per-machine backup files option is enabled.
- Limit max concurrent tasks is equal to 10 (recommended).
Quantum DXi
- The Align backup file data blocks option is disabled and must not be changed.
- The Decompress backup data blocks before storing option is enabled.
- The This repository is backed by rotated hard drives option is disabled and cannot be changed.
- The Use per-machine backup files option is enabled.
Fujitsu ETERNUS CS800
- The Align backup file data blocks option is enabled.
- The Decompress backup data blocks before storing option is enabled.
- The This repository is backed by rotated hard drives option is disabled and cannot be changed.
- The Use per-machine backup files option is enabled.
Infinidat InfiniGuard
- The Align backup file data blocks option is enabled.
- The Decompress backup data blocks before storing option is enabled.
- The This repository is backed by rotated hard drives option is disabled and cannot be changed.
- The Use per-machine backup files option is enabled.
HPE StoreOnce
- The Align backup file data blocks option is enabled and cannot be changed if Enforce fixed block chunking is enabled on the HPE StoreOnce. In other cases, the option is disabled and must not be changed.
- The Decompress backup data blocks before storing option is enabled.
- The This repository is backed by rotated hard drives option is disabled and cannot be changed.
- The Use per-machine backup files option is enabled and cannot be changed.