Gateway Server

A gateway server is an auxiliary backup infrastructure component that “bridges” the backup server and backup repository. It can also "bridge" a source backup repository and a target backup repository in case of backup copy jobs. The gateway server is required if you deploy the following types of backup repositories in the backup infrastructure:

• Shared folder backup repositories
• Dell EMC Data Domain deduplicating storage appliance
• HPE StoreOnce deduplicating storage appliance

Such backup repositories cannot host Veeam Data Movers— Veeam components that establish a connection between a VMware backup proxy and backup repository (in case of backup jobs) or between backup repositories (in case of backup copy jobs). To overcome this limitation, Veeam Backup & Replication uses gateway servers.

In the backup infrastructure, a gateway server hosts the target Veeam Data Mover. Veeam Backup & Replication establishes a connection between the source Veeam Data Mover and target Veeam Data Mover, and transports data from/to backup repositories through gateway servers.

For more information on using gateway servers in backup copy jobs, see Backup Copy Architecture.

Gateway Servers Deployment

The role of a gateway server can be assigned to a Microsoft Windows or Linux machine added to the backup infrastructure:

• The role of an Dell EMC Data Domain or HPE StoreOnce gateway server must be assigned to a Microsoft Windows machine.
• The role of an NFS or object repository gateway server can be assigned to a Microsoft Windows or Linux machine.

To configure a gateway server, you must first add a machine that you plan to use as a gateway server to the backup infrastructure using the New Windows Server or New Linux Server wizard.  For more information, see Adding Microsoft Windows Servers or Adding Linux Servers.

After that, you must go through the New Backup Repository wizard and define gateway server settings. For more information, see Adding Backup Repositories. You can select a gateway server explicitly or instruct Veeam Backup & Replication to select it automatically.

If you select a gateway server explicitly, Veeam Backup & Replication uses the selected machine as a gateway server and performs synthetic operations on it. The machine to which you assign the role of a gateway server must be located as close to the backup repository as possible. However, if you use a deduplicating storage appliance with source-side data deduplication, it is reasonable to assign the role of a gateway server to a machine that is located closer to the VMware backup proxy. This will help you reduce the amount of traffic traveling over the network. For more information, see Dell EMC Data Domain and HPE StoreOnce.

If you instruct Veeam Backup & Replication to select the gateway server automatically, Veeam Backup & Replication uses the following backup infrastructure components:

* If the backup proxy is a Linux machine, the role of the gateway server is assigned to the mount server associated with the backup repository. If the mount server is not accessible, Veeam Backup & Replication fails over to the backup server.

When you enable automatic gateway selection, Veeam Backup & Replication may use one or several gateway servers to process VMs in backup jobs. The number of gateway servers depends on the backup repository settings:

• If the Use per-machine backup files option is disabled, Veeam Backup & Replication selects one gateway server for the whole backup repository.
• If the Use per-machine backup files option is enabled, Veeam Backup & Replication selects a gateway server per every VM in the job.

For example, a backup job processes 2 VMs. The job is targeted at a backup repository for which the Use per-machine backup files option is enabled. In this case, Veeam Backup & Replication will detect which backup proxies were used to process VMs in the job. If VMs were processed with 2 different backup proxies, Veeam Backup & Replication will assign the role of gateway servers to these backup proxies. If VMs were processed with the same backup proxy, Veeam Backup & Replication will assign the role of a gateway server to this backup proxy, and will use it for both VMs in the job.

For scale-out backup repositories, Veeam Backup & Replication uses one gateway server per every extent. The rules of gateway server selection are described above.

Requirements for Gateway Servers

A machine that performs the role of a gateway server must meet the following requirements:

• The gateway server can run on a Microsoft Windows or Linux machine. The machine must meet the system requirements. For more information, see System Requirements.
• You must add the machine to the Veeam Backup & Replication console as a managed server.
• The machine must have access to the backup repository — shared folder, Dell EMC Data Domain or HPE StoreOnce.

Limitations for Gateway Servers

The following limitations apply to a machine that performs the role of a gateway server:

• For deduplicating storage appliances working over Fibre Channel, you must explicitly select a gateway server that will communicate with the appliance. As a gateway server, you must use a Microsoft Windows machine that is added to the backup infrastructure and has access to the appliance over Fibre Channel.
• For HPE StoreOnce deduplicating storage appliances, you must assign the role of a gateway server to a 64-bit machine.

Related Topics

• Scale-Out Backup Repository
• Specifying Server or Shared Folder Settings