VM Copy

With Veeam Backup & Replication, you can run a VM copy job to create an independent fully-functioning copy of a VM or VM container (host, cluster, folder, resource pool, VirtualApp, datastore or tag) on the selected storage. VM copying can be helpful if you want to move your datacenter, create a test lab and so on.

The produced copy of a VM is stored decompressed, in a native VMware vSphere format, so it can be started right away. Although VM copy is similar to replication in many respects, there are several important differences.

  • VM copy is a single-use process (that is, every run of a VM copy job mirrors a VM in its latest state). Due to their nature, VM copy jobs do not support incremental runs.
  • Veeam Backup & Replication does not create and maintain restore points for VM copies. If you schedule to run a VM copy job periodically, every new run will overwrite the existing copy.
  • With the VM copy job, all VM disks are copied as thick, while replication allows you to preserve the format of disks or convert the disk format on the fly.
  • There are no failover or failback possibilities for a VM copy.

VM copy jobs use the same infrastructure components as backup jobs (for details, see Backup Architecture). In addition to available scenarios, you can also copy VMs to a target folder on any server or host connected to the backup server.

Related Topics

Creating VM Copy Jobs

Page updated 3/14/2024

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