Configuring Backup Jobs with Storage Snapshot Retention

You can configure a backup job to create backup files and a chain of long-term storage snapshots on the primary storage array, on the secondary storage arrays or both.

Prerequisites

Before you perform backup, configure the backup infrastructure in a proper way:

• You must configure a secondary storage array for the primary storage system where VMs that you plan to back up are hosted.

• [For HPE Alletra/Nimble] You must configure Volume Collection replication from the primary storage array to the secondary storage array. For more information, see the HPE Alletra/Nimble documentation.
• [For NetApp ONTAP] You must configure volume SnapMirror/SnapVault relationships between the primary and secondary storage arrays. MirrorAndVault Relationships will be identified by Veeam Backup & Replication as SnapVault. For more information, see the NetApp documentation.
• [For HPE Alletra/Primera Peer Persistence and HPE Alletra/Primera Remote Copy] You must create a Remote Copy Group (RCG) with relevant type (Synchronous or Periodic).

• Check prerequisites in the following Veeam KB articles: DataCore SANsymphony, Dell PowerMax requirements, Dell PowerStore requirements, Fujitsu ETERNUS AF/DX Series, Hitachi VSP requirements, HPE XP requirements, INFINIDAT InfiniBox F Series, NEC Storage M Series requirements, NEC Storage V Series requirements, NetApp SolidFire/HCI, Pure Storage FlashArray, Tintri IntelliFlash/Western Digital/Tegile.

• When you add storage arrays to the backup infrastructure, you must add to the rescan scope volumes and LUNs on which VM disks are located (both for primary and secondary storage arrays). For more information, see the description of the storage system wizard.

• You must configure the backup infrastructure in a proper way.

• Add to the backup infrastructure a backup proxy that will be used for backup, and properly configure this backup proxy. For more information, see Requirements for Proxies.
• Add to the backup infrastructure vCenter Server hosts or ESXi hosts with VMs whose disks are hosted on the storage system.
• Add the primary storage system and secondary storage array to the backup infrastructure.

• You must install a license for Veeam Backup & Replication Enterprise Plus edition on the backup server.

• You must check limitations for Backup from Storage Snapshots. For more information, see Backup from Storage Snapshots.
• [For NetApp ONTAP] You must install a license for storage snapshot export on NetApp SnapMirror or SnapVault. For more information, see Required Licenses for NetApp.

Key Job Settings

The key job settings responsible for Backup from Storage Snapshots with snapshot retention are:

• At the Storage step of the wizard, the Configure secondary destinations for this job.

• At the Storage step of the wizard, in the Advanced settings, the Enable backup from storage snapshots check box.

• At the Secondary Target step of the wizard, the added option to create snapshots on the primary storage array or a feature of a secondary storage array, or both, the Use as the data source check box, and the Number of snapshot copies to retain field.

Configuring Backup Job with Storage Snapshot Retention

To configure a backup job:

1. Open the Home view.
2. Click Backup Job > VMware or Cloud Director on the ribbon. Veeam Backup & Replication will launch the New Backup Job wizard.
3. At the Name step of the wizard, specify a name and description for the backup job.
4. At the Virtual Machines step of the wizard, select VMs whose disks are hosted on a storage system.
5. At the Storage step of the backup job wizard, do the following:

1. Select a backup proxy that will be used for data transfer. You can assign the backup proxy explicitly or choose the automatic mode of backup proxy selection.

2. From the Backup repository list, select a backup repository where you want to store backup files.
3. In the Retention policy section, specify the number of backup restore points that you want to keep.
4. Select the Configure secondary destinations for this job check box.

5. Click Advanced, then click the Integration tab. Make sure that the Enable backup from storage snapshots check box is selected. By default, this option is enabled for all newly created jobs.
6. If you add to the job many VMs whose disks are located on the same volume or LUN, select the Limit processed VM count per storage snapshot to <N> check box and specify the number of VMs for which one temporary storage snapshot must be created. Veeam Backup & Replication will divide VMs into several groups and trigger a separate temporary storage snapshot for every VM group. As a result, the job performance will increase. For more information, see Limitation on Number of VMs per Snapshot.
7. If Veeam Backup & Replication fails to create a temporary storage snapshot, VMs whose disks are located on the storage system will not be processed by the job. To fail over to the regular data processing mode and back up such VMs, select the Failover to standard backup check box.
8. If Veeam Backup & Replication cannot create a temporary storage snapshot on the secondary storage array, the job will not back up VMs whose disks are located to the storage system. To fail over to Backup from Storage Snapshots on the primary storage system, select the Failover to primary storage snapshot check box. For more information, see Failover to Backup from Snapshots on Primary Storage Arrays.

6. At the Secondary Target step of the wizard, click Add and select where to create long-term snapshots, that is, snapshots for a snapshot chain. You can select an option to create snapshots on the primary storage array, using a replication feature of a secondary array, or both. Also, configure the number of snapshots to retain in the snapshot chain and configure which feature to use as the data source for backup operations, if required.

If you want to create a snapshot chain on the secondary storage array with synchronous replication, you must add an option to create snapshots on the primary storage array and specify the Number of snapshot copies to retain. Long-term snapshots will be created simultaneously on the primary and secondary storage arrays, that is, coordinated snapshots will be created. Veeam Backup & Replication will retain the same number or snapshots on both storage arrays. If you also want to use the secondary storage array as a source for backup, add the synchronous replication feature to the list of the used features. Check that the Use as the data source check box is enabled.

If you want to create a snapshot chain on the primary storage system or secondary storage system with snapshot transfer or archiving feature, do the following:

1. Add an option to create snapshots on the primary storage array, snapshot transfer or archiving feature.
2. In the Number of snapshot copies to retain field, specify the number of long-term storage snapshots to retain on the storage array, that is, the number of snapshots in the snapshot chain. When this number is exceeded, Veeam Backup & Replication will trigger the storage system to remove the earliest snapshot from the chain.

[For NetApp SnapMirror] This option is not applicable. On this secondary storage system, Veeam Backup & Replication maintains the same number of storage snapshots as on primary storage arrays.

3. [For snapshot transfer] Select the Use as the data source check box to use the secondary storage array as a source for backups.

7. Specify other backup job settings as required.
8. Click Next, then click Finish to save the job settings.

Related Topics

Backup from Storage Snapshots with Snapshot Retention