---
title: "VM Replication"
description: "When you replicate a VM, Veeam Backup & Replication creates the exact copy of the VM in the native VMware vSphere format on a host and keeps this copy synchronized with the original VM."
canonical: "https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/qsg/vm_replication.html"
breadcrumb: "Quick Start Guide > VM Replication"
dateModified: "2026-10-21"
---

# VM Replication

When you replicate a VM, Veeam Backup & Replication creates the exact copy of the VM in the native VMware vSphere format on a host and keeps this copy synchronized with the original VM.

Replication provides the best recovery time objective (RTO) values. You actually have the copy of a VM in the ready-to-start state. That is why replication is recommended for VMs running most critical applications.

Replication is a job-driven process. During the first run of a replication job, Veeam Backup & Replication copies data of the original VM running on the source host and creates its full replica on the target host. During next job runs, Veeam Backup & Replication copies only those data blocks that have changed since the last replication job session. Veeam Backup & Replication writes these changes to restore points, so that you can further publish this replica in the required state.

Veeam Backup & Replication supports several replication scenarios. Depending on the location of the host where you plan to store replicas, you can choose the following scenarios:

- Onsite replication

  The target host is located in the same site as the source host.

- Offsite replication

  The target host is located on another site.

In this section, you will learn how to work with onsite replicas. For more information on offsite replication, see the [Replication Scenarios](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/replication_scenarios.html?ver=13) (VMware vSphere) and [Replication Scenarios](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/replication_scenarios.html?ver=13) (Microsoft Hyper-V) sections in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

## Reference

For more information on replication, see the [Replication](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/replication.html?ver=13) (VMware vSphere) and [Replication](https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/userguide/replication_hv.html?ver=13) (Microsoft Hyper-V) sections in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.