This is an archive version of the document. To get the most up-to-date information, see the current version.

Before You Begin

Before you create a backup job, check the following prerequisites and limitations.

Prerequisites

  • A backup repository where you want to store backup files must be added to the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure.
  • A backup repository where you want to store backup files must have enough space to store created backup files.
  • AHV Backup Proxy must have access to the target backup repository. For details, see Granting Permissions.

Nutanix AHV Cluster Limitations

Mind the following limitations on the Nutanix Controller VM (CVM) side:

  • The Nutanix CVM cannot be backed up by AHV Backup Proxy.
  • If you raise the number of concurrent backup tasks, backup jobs may fail due to CVM resource limitations. The CVM on each node of the cluster may need additional resources.

Backup Job Functionality Limitations

  • AHV Backup Proxy creates application-consistent backups when the source VM meets Nutanix requirements described in the Application-Consistent Snapshot Guidelines section of the Prism Web Console Guide. If a VM does not meet these requirements, AHV Backup Proxy will create a crash-consistent backup.

Note that AHV Backup Proxy does not take part in guest processing of VMs. The creation of application-consistent snapshots is performed on the Nutanix AHV side. Also, keep in mind that Nutanix AHV does not perform data truncation. To perform data truncation, you can use customized pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts. Veeam Software does not provide support for cases with customized scripts.

To create application-consistent backups, you can also use Veeam Agent for Linux or Veeam Agent for Windows.

  • AHV Backup Proxy does not back up data that resides on Nutanix Files. AHV Backup Proxy backs up only disks that are attached to the VM.
  • You cannot back up a VM if the restore process is running for this VM. Wait for the restore process to finish, and then you can start the backup job.
  • Backup job compression, deduplication and block size settings cannot be changed. Default settings are the following:
    • 1 MB block size;
    • LZ4 compression;
    • Deduplication is enabled.
  • You can configure encryption settings in backup repository settings using the Veeam Backup & Replication console. For details, see the Access Permissions section of the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.
  • GDPR locations cannot be set within AHV Backup Proxy backup jobs.
  • Health check of backup files is not supported for backups created by AHV Backup Proxy.

Limitations for Backing Up Protection Domains

  • Only one protection domain can be added in backup job settings. If you need to protect multiple protection domains, create multiple backup jobs.
  • Inactive protection domains are not visible in backup job settings.

Limitations for Backing Up Volume Groups

  • You cannot add a Volume Group to a backup job directly. To back up a volume group, you must back up a VM to which volume groups are attached.
  • If you add a protection domain as source for a backup job, AHV Backup Proxy does not process individual volume groups added to the protection domain. To back up a volume group within a protection domain, you must back up a protection domain that includes VMs to which the required volume groups are attached. Also, a volume group and the VM to which the volume group is attached must be members of the same consistency group.
  • AHV Backup Proxy does not process volume groups where CHAP authentication is enabled.

Backup Chain Limitations

  • AHV Backup Proxy creates per-VM backup chains: one backup chain contains data for one VM only. Even if you add several VMs to a backup job, AHV Backup Proxy creates several backup chains on the backup repository, one per every VM processed by the job.
  • You cannot disable deduplication and compression of backups.
  • AHV Backup Proxy can create forever forward incremental backup chains and forward incremental backup chains with periodic full backups. For details, see Backup Chain and Retention Policy.
  • If a VM has an active backup chain and at some point the UUID of the VM is changed (for example, due to migration to another cluster), Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV cannot continue the old backup chain for this VM. In this case, you can re-add this VM to the backup job and Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV will create a new backup chain for the VM with a new UUID.

Note that you can still use backups from the old backup chain for restore operations.

Backup File and Jobs in Veeam Backup & Replication Console

Jobs and backups created by AHV Backup Proxy are viewable in the Veeam Backup & Replication console. However, some of the Veeam Backup & Replication functionality is not available for these backups and jobs. Mind the following limitations.

  • In the Veeam Backup & Replication console, you cannot create or edit jobs of AHV Backup Proxy.
  • In the Veeam Backup & Replication console, you can:
  • Disable scheduled jobs of AHV Backup Proxy;
  • Start and stop jobs of AHV Backup Proxy;
  • Use backup jobs as a source for backup copy or backup to tape jobs;
  • Delete unused jobs of AHV Backup Proxy;
  • View statistics of jobs.

For details, see Managing Jobs.