Persistent Agent Components

If you want to perform guest processing in a highly secure way, you can use persistent agent components (Guest Helper, Log Shipping Service) on protected VMs. Persistent agent components require very limited and clearly defined ports to communicate with Veeam Backup & Replication. For more information about ports, see Guest Processing Components.

Prerequisites

To use persistent agent components, you must ensure that the Veeam Installer Service is installed on the guest VM. The Installer Service can be installed in one of the following ways:

• Automatic installation by Veeam backup server when adding the VM to Managed Servers in the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure.
• Manual installation by running the VeeamInstallerSvc.msi file located at C:\Program Files\Veeam\Backup and Replication\Backup\Packages. You can also manually preinstall the required components located in the same folder for future use. Or you can let the Installer Service install the components automatically during the first run of the backup job with enabled guest processing of this VM by persistent agents.
• Automatic installation by using a logon script.
• Automatic installation using domain group policies.
• Installation by using the standard third-party software distribution tool.

Installing Persistent Agent Components on Microsoft Windows VMs

For Microsoft Windows VMs, Veeam Backup & Replication deploys persistent agent components using guest interaction proxies. For more information, see Guest Interaction Proxy. If there are no guest interaction proxies or guest interaction proxies fail for some reason, Veeam Backup & Replication will deploy persistent agent components on Microsoft Windows VMs from the backup server.

To use persistent agent components, select the Use persistent guest agent check box when specifying application-aware processing settings as described in section Application-Aware Processing for VM backup jobs. Persistent guest agents will be installed by the Installer Service during the first run of the backup job.

When you select the Use persistent guest agent option, Veeam Backup & Replication performs processing of the backup jobs with enabled guest processing according to the following algorithm. Persistent agent components provide closing access to the VM administrative share (ADMIN$) and access to VM over VIX API/vSphere Web Services.

When you start a job with guest processing tasks enabled, Veeam Backup & Replication performs the following operations:

1. Veeam Backup & Replication defines the machines that will perform the guest interaction proxy role.
2. The guest interaction proxy connects to VMs and deploys persistent agent components on them.

3. The job session proceeds as usual.

If a network connection breaks during the job session, Veeam Backup & Replication makes attempts to re-establish the connection:

• If a network connection between the backup server/guest interaction proxy and VM guest OS breaks, Veeam Backup & Replication makes one attempt to reconnect.
• If a network connection between the backup server and guest interaction proxy breaks, Veeam Backup & Replication makes 10 attempts to reconnect.

If attempts are unsuccessful, guest processing tasks fail. The job proceeds with the scenario defined in the job settings. For example, if you have instructed a backup job to try application processing but ignore failures, Veeam Backup & Replication will not perform guest processing tasks but will proceed with the VM backup.

Installing Persistent Agent Components on Linux VMs

For VMs running Linux operating systems, persistent agent components are deployed manually from the backup server using Management Agent. In this case, SSH credentials are used only once to deploy Veeam Data Mover, or transport service. These credentials are not stored in the backup infrastructure. The transport service will be used to perform guest processing tasks without the SSH connection.

To install Management Agent, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Inventory view. Select the VM and click Install Management Agent on the ribbon or right-click the VM and select Install Management Agent.

2. At the Credentials step of the wizard, specify credentials to connect to the VM and deploy Veeam Data Mover. Specify a user account with root privileges or a non-root user with selected the Elevate account privileges automatically check box. If you did not add the user account to the sudoers file, select the Use "su" if "sudo" fails check box and enter the password for the root account. For more information on these check boxes, see Linux Accounts (User Name and Password).

3. Apply changes.

When you start a job with guest processing tasks enabled, Veeam Backup & Replication performs the following operations:

1. The backup server connects to VMs using credentials specified in the backup job settings. For more information, see Specify Guest Processing Settings.

2. The job session proceeds as usual.

If the transport service connection between the backup server and the VM guest OS fails, Veeam Backup & Replication tries to use the SSH connection with credentials specified in the backup job settings. If the SSH connection also fails, Veeam Backup & Replication uses networkless guest processing over VIX API/vSphere Web Services.

If all attempts are unsuccessful, guest processing tasks fail. The job proceeds with the scenario defined in the job settings. For example, if you have instructed a backup job to try application processing but ignore failures, Veeam Backup & Replication will not perform guest processing tasks but will proceed with the VM backup.

Related Topics

• Guest Interaction Proxy
• Creating Backup Jobs
• Creating Replication Jobs
• Creating VM Copy Jobs