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

Licensing

Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure is licensed by the number of protected instances. An instance is defined as a single Azure resource — an Azure VM, Azure SQL Server or Azure file share:

  • An Azure VM is considered to be protected if it has a restore point (snapshot or backup) created by a backup policy during the past 31 days.
  • An Azure SQL Server is considered to be protected if at least one database located on the server has a backup created by a backup policy during the past 31 days.
  • An Azure file share is considered to be protected if it has a snapshot created by a backup policy during the past 31 days.

Each protected instance consumes one license unit from the license scope. However, if an instance has only manually created snapshots or backups, it does not consume any license units.

Note

If an instance has not been backed up within the past 31 days, Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure automatically revokes the license unit from the instance. If you need to manually revoke a license unit, follow the instructions provided in section Revoking License Units.

Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure is available in 2 license editions:

  • Free License

By default, Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure operates in the Free edition that allows you to protect up to 10 instances free of charge. Note that this license edition does not support indexing of Azure file shares.

  • BYOL (Bring Your Own License)

The BYOL (Bring You Own License) edition is a subscription-based license that expires at the end of the subscription term. The maximum number of instances managed by Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure depends on the number of units specified in your license. For details on how to obtain the license, contact a Veeam sales representative at Sales Inquiry.

When the license expires, Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure offers a grace period to ensure a smooth license update and to provide sufficient time to install a new license file. The duration of the grace period is 31 days after the expiration of the license. During this period, you can perform all types of data protection and disaster recovery operations. After the grace period is over, Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure stops processing all instances and disables all scheduled backup policies. You must update your license before the end of the grace period.

For more information on how to install and update the license, see Installing and Removing License.

Note

Veeam Backup & Replication licensing is applied to Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure appliances added to Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure. For more information, see the Integration with Veeam Backup & Replication Guide.