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 per protected instance. 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 1 license unit. 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.

Product Editions

Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure is available in 2 editions:

Free

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

Tip

If you previously had the Free edition installed for evaluation and testing purposes and want to switch to any of the commercial editions without reconfiguring the backup infrastructure, follow the steps described in this Veeam KB article.

BYOL (Bring Your Own License)

Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure operating in the BYOL edition allows you to protect the number of instances equivalent to the number of units specified in your license.

Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure BYOL edition can be licensed using either the Veeam Universal License (VUL) or a separate product license that can be obtained by contacting 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 details on how to install the license on the backup appliance, see Installing and Removing License.

Note

Veeam Backup & Replication licensing is applied to Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure appliances managed by standalone Veeam Backup & Replication servers. For more information, see the Integration with Veeam Backup & Replication Guide.