Blogs and Podcasts

The failure that wasn't a failure Every backup admin knows the drills for a dead array: a controller dies, a BBU gives up, a broken drive corrupts a stripe, you rebuilt, restore and move on. What almost broke us at two independent customer sites was none of those. It was worse, because nothing was actually “dead”.  The symptom: not down, just uselessly slow Two of our customers are running fully independent 2-node HCI clusters using a 3rd party HCI solution inside VMware VMs on ESX 8. As usual, the storage-VMs are consuming all the local storage on the nodes and - while mirroring via LAN - give it back to both hosts via iSCSI. Many HCI vendors go down this path.Both clusters ran flawlessly and fast for 7+ (!) years with roughly 40 VMs on top of each cluster.Goal was, to have them distributed and fully redundant between two fire zones on the campus.But suddenly and within two weeks, those two customers independently reported major outages for their systems to us. The systems never went

Well, I finished my previous blog series on 13.1 and have now started another series of 10 blogs (1 per week) on both 13.1 and Wasabi.  Some will be Veeam, some Wasabi and some Veeam + Wasabi.  So enjoy this series as some might seem like my previous ones, but they are much different with more detail.Blog #1 - Veeam 13.1 Universal CDP – Continuous Data Protection Beyond VMware Veeam 13.1 Universal CDP – Continuous Data Protection Beyond VMware Continuous Data Protection has been one of Veeam’s most powerful — and most narrowly scoped — features for years. Until 13.1, CDP was exclusively a VMware vSphere capability. That changes with Universal CDP, which extends near-zero RPO protection to a broader set of workloads.This is a genuinely significant architectural shift. Let’s work through what it means, what the current limitations are, and how to incorporate it into your DR strategy realistically. What is Continuous Data Protection? Before covering what’s new, it’s worth being precise ab

🖱️ Your mouse cursor disappears inside the Veeam Backup & Replication console?You are not alone. Some customers since yesterday, several constellations, all on the current 13.1.1.18. Veeam Support sees the same across versions and suspects Edge / WebView2.What worked for us:✅ Update Edge, taskkill /F /IM msedgewebview2.exe and restart the console. Cursor back.If you cannot update or wait yet:🛠️ Registry: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Avalon.Graphics → DisableHWAcceleration (REG_DWORD) = 1, restart the console. That switches off WPF hardware acceleration for the whole user profile, so test first.🧯 Or work in the Web UI (if possible).Open a support case if it hits you. Volume helps root cause analysis.🔗 R&D Thread: https://forums.veeam.com/viewtopic.php?p=575041 

Veeam Backup & Replication v13 has arrived with significant improvements in security, performance, and data governance. I recently performed the upgrade from version 12.3, and in this article I share the entire process, from preparation to post-upgrade validation, following the official Veeam documentation. The goal is to present a practical, real-world experience while highlighting what’s new in this anticipated release. Preparing for the UpgradeBefore starting the upgrade, I followed Veeam’s recommended best practices to ensure a smooth and safe process. This included: Checking system compatibility, supported OS, storage repositories, hypervisors, and all backup infrastructure components. Ensuring no backup jobs were running. Updating the Guest Catalog and cleaning up old sessions. Performing a Configuration Backup, which stores all settings from the Veeam server. Creating a server backup or snapshot as an additional safety measure—especially recommended for production en

Happy Monday, Veeam Community! I am pleased to bring you another Vanguard Newsletter, which includes all the amazing content that our heroes published during August. Take a look at the range of topics available in this newsletter and make sure you find time to read it, as it contains lots of practical information, whether you're planning an upgrade to v13.1 or managing any other Veeam product. This newsletter edition is packed with practical insights, fresh updates, and hands-on guidance around Veeam Data Platform 13.1. Whether you’re planning an upgrade, exploring the new Veeam Software Appliance, strengthening your cyber resilience strategy, or simply keeping up with the latest platform enhancements, this month’s articles are designed to help you move from “what’s new” to “what’s next”.A big focus this month is on real-world adoption: upgrade walkthroughs, migration tips, lessons learned, and troubleshooting guidance to help make the move to Veeam Backup & Replication 13.1 smooth

Since we added Linux Repositories to our Veeam Backup environment in my post from last week, why not add some Linux Proxies as well? I will show you how in this post. And trust me…this one will be far less painful. But adding Repositories wasn’t so bad, was it? 😏 System RequirementsThe first thing you need to do is check what OS's, hardware, and software are supported. Supported Linux OS's are exactly the same as with Repositories and are listed below:Linux Proxy RequirementsAs far as hardware goes, your server should have a minimum 2-core CPU, plus 1 core per 2 concurrent tasks (take note, this is a peformance enhancement since v12, up from 1 core per 1 concurrent task); and minimum 2GB RAM, plus 500MB per concurrent task. But for best performance and to run multiple Jobs and tasks, you should have much more Cores and RAM than the minimum. As with the Veeam Repository, look to the Veeam Best Practice Guide for actual Proxy sizing guidelines.The remaining requirements depend on the Ba

Previous versions (12.3 and 13.0) can be found here A new version & improved scheme is alive!Reworked a lot to make visibility better, added some extra information, fixed some small mistakes I did with plugin and app backups, decreased possible confusion in several places. Important Notes about using the scheme:You can search for text in PDF version. But not through the images (logos of workloads) though. That’s limitation of PDF. I can share Miro link if needed, where all alts are there. Scheme requires just few minutes (don't spend more!) to get familiar with it and once you have an issue or just a question about something you don't remember or never knew how it works - first start with it to see general workflow and relationships before digging into the guide.

With the Veeam Software Appliance and the Veeam Infrastructure Appliance, update distribution is fundamentally changing. The Veeam Appliances automatically install certain updates to ensure security and operational continuity. This represents a massive increase in security and compliance. What is updated?Operating system and security updates are installed centrally and automatically, cannot be deselected, and are mandatory for both appliances. Security updates for Veeam Backup & Replication are also installed automatically and without user intervention to ensure security.Both appliances can also optionally install feature and bug fix updates automatically, provided this is enabled in the configuration. Major updates (e.g., V14.0), minor releases (e.g., 13.x), and private fixes are optional by default.Here is a simplified overview:Mandatory updatesVeeam cumulative & security updates (e.g., 13.0.x) Operating system security updatesOptional updatesMinor product updates (e.g., 13.x

I’ve been setting up some reporting for users in Veeam one and this is a great feature if you want to quickly determine the cost of your backups for each VM or Job.  It’s also a great way to see what each job is costing per repository.  Warning…. with current storage prices, this my shock you!!!! I did however find it wasn’t as straight forward as just adding the price of the repository and clicking run. There is also quite a few options you can choose to make the reporting tailored to those who are intended to receive them.     The first think you will want to do is select the time frame for your report. In my case I selected as far as my retention was to get the full cost.  You can use the “Last” radio button and change weeks to years.    For the multipliers if you have different types of storage make sure to click configure to set it individually.    You can select a repo with multiple extents and apply multipliers for each as well   Multipliers are based off of the price included i

Status: 02.09.2026Tested with: Veeam Backup & Replication 13.1 and NetApp ONTAP Plug-in 2.0.14Spoiler: Yes, coexistence works. But randomly clicking around is not a good idea. Anyone who has known me for a while knows that I started in IT as a System Engineer back in 2005 — and since then, NetApp systems have regularly crossed my path. Or maybe I crossed theirs. Depending on perspective.Over the years, I have built, configured, troubleshot, and occasionally lovingly cursed at NetApp systems in small, medium-sized, and very large environments. I had the chance to gain field experience worldwide, later trained people on NetApp while still implementing them in costumer projects, and was also involved with the topic strategically as a Head Architect and Product Manager/Director.Long story short: I have a certain historical affinity for NetApp systems. Even though I no longer deploy them on a daily basis, my inner storage heart still gives a little twitch whenever snapmirror, igroup, Fl

Key Takeaways from the El Segundo Zero Day Resilience WorkshopCyber resilience is not proven with a static Disaster Recovery plan. It is tested in advance through training and practice. It is proven in the moments when operations fail and an organization can respond with speed, clarity, and confidence.I recently had the opportunity to help host a Veeam Zero Day Resilience Workshop in El Segundo, California, where IT and security leaders from education, health, manufacturing, marketing, and public services came together to share how they would respond to a fast-moving cyberattack. The viewpoints from CISOs, CTOs, security analysts, system administrators, IT directors, and more enabled valuable discussions from many angles on how to prepare in advance to successfully counter a cyberattack.If a Veeam-sponsored security workshop is available in your area, I would highly recommend attending for the insight provided. Here are the highlights and key takeaways.Workshop Keynote Highlights69% of

IntroductionThis week I upgraded our internal lab/PoC environment from Veeam 12.3.2 to 13.1. I'd like to share my experience with this upgrade — what worked well, what you should prepare for, and a few things that aren't immediately obvious from the release notes.Here's an overview of our lab/PoC environment:Enterprise Manager (Windows Server 2022) Backup Server (Windows Server 2022) ONE Monitoring (Windows Server 2022) 2x Backup Repositorys, Performance Tier (Windows Server 2022 / HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10) 2x Backup Repositorys, Performance Tier, used for Backup Copy (Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS / HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10)On the virtualization side, we run a full VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 stack, including the Enterprise Manager integration (Veeam plugin) in VMware Cloud Director.Storage integration is not currently in use, and neither are Veeam backup agents — so this is a pure virtualization backup environment.This setup essentially mirrors our production environments, which made it a

Or: How to renovate your backup house without setting the roof on fire  Some customers have already taken a good look at the new Veeam v13.x release and its features, but for various reasons they are still running VBR v12.3. And honestly, there is nothing wrong with that. It is actually pretty normal in the IT Business.We all know the situation: A vendor releases a new major version. You nod approvingly, read through the first feature lists, maybe watch a webinar or two, and then think: “Yes, we’ll do that. Soon. Very soon. After the change freeze. After vacation. After the audit. When we have time again.” The problem is: At some point, “soon” needs to become an actual date.According to the Veeam Product Lifecycle Matrix, Veeam Backup & Replication v12 currently reaches the end of support and security fixes in February 2027. In plain English:From March 2027 onward, no production environment should still be running on v12.Unsupported and unpatched software solutions are unpopular fo

The previous guide in this series got SAML SSO working between a Veeam Backup & Replication 13.1 appliance and Active Directory Federation Services. This guide adds a second factor to that login: a time-based one-time (TOTP) code from any MFA/2FA authenticator app, and optionally a passkey.The appliance does not need to know that MFA exists. It receives the same SAML assertion as before, from the same identity provider, with the same claims. Everything the previous guide configured on the appliance stays exactly as it was: the same relying party trusts, the same three claim rules, the same external users and groups. All the work happens at AD FS, and that is the right place for it, because authentication is what AD FS is for.Unfortunately native Microsoft AD FS cannot do this on its own. That is why all kinds of services exists, to name a few Okta, EntraID or CISCO DUO.Out of the box ADFS supports Azure MFA (EntraID) and certificate authentication as additional factors, but our goa

🚀 Excited to launch the Veeam for AWS Lounge in the #AWS Community! This is a place to share your experiences, best practices, challenges, and success stories related to Veeam for AWS. Whether you're just getting started or already running production workloads, your insights are welcome.Join us and let's build a great community together! 💚☁️ 👉 Join here:https://builder.aws.com/connect/space/1f69137d-ecc5-38b2-9eed-62d17b9d5cd0/veeam-for-aws-lounge

Oracle RMAN backups using the Veeam Plug-in for Oracle RMAN involve multiple components working together. When something goes wrong, the problem is not always immediately visible from the Veeam console.In this article, I want to share a real troubleshooting case where Veeam Backup & Replication reported the backup session as Success, while RMAN was reporting errors during the backup. At the same time, files were being created on the backup repository, but according to the DBA validation, the data was not being written correctly.During the investigation, the behavior changed after upgrading the plugin: the backup started but remained running for more than 24 hours and would not finish, even after restarting Veeam services.The issue was eventually resolved after a controlled cleanup of the Veeam Plug-in for Oracle RMAN, followed by a clean installation and reconfiguration. The environmentThe environment involved in this incident had:RHEL 7.9 Oracle Database 12.2 Veeam Plug-in for Ora

 Veeam Backup & Replication 13.0.2 dropped yesterday — and if you manage a smaller environment where a single Windows Server hosts all the things (Proxy, Mount Service, vPowerNFS, Guest Interaction Proxy, you name it), you may have hit an annoying moment when tried to open the console after upgrading the VBR server. You open up the Veeam Backup & Replication console, enter your server's name, click Connect — and instead of the familiar dashboard, you get this:      Failed to connect to the backup server: the connection has been established but client update is required, however this machine is hosting other roles. Make sure these following roles are not in use and uninstall them … The message is accurate: the console client is older than the freshly updated server, and the in-place update mechanism wants you to remove other roles before it allows the console to update itself. In a larger, role-separated architecture that is fine — but in a compact single-server se

Hi community, I recently created a Runbook that walks service providers through using V13 and Vault to offer both warm-site DR plus a place to do testing when you don’t have the infrastructure. It includes an overview, deep dive, step by step instructions with videos and interactive demos. It also covers what do to once the data is in Azure and you need to get it back. The Runbook has now been published by Veeam and is available today. Please check it out and let me know what you think!  VCSP DRaaS Runbook: Azure Instant Recovery with Veeam

 Secure backups have always been important. But over the last few years, the requirements have shifted from “Yes, we should have backups — and ideally a second backup copy in another location and on another medium” to “Hopefully the backup still exists, is reachable, and really cannot be deleted.”Ransomware, compromised admin accounts, supply-chain attacks, and targeted attacks against backup infrastructures have made one thing very clear: a backup is only truly useful if, in the worst-case scenario, it is reliably available, usable, and uncompromised.Terms like WORM, immutability, Hardened Repository, Linux Repository, Veeam Infrastructure Appliance, single-use credentials, certificate-based authentication, Governance Mode, Single Disk, and Multi-Disk installation appear very quickly. But what is actually behind these terms, and what do I need for my use case?With Veeam Backup & Replication 13.1, the topic and the available options have been significantly improved and expanded. Bu

Everybody keeps repeating the same headline numbers from the Veeam V13 release notes when it comes to the new Veeam V13 immutability model. 40% less storage, an 8x reduction in retention calls and more than 2x fewer object storage API calls in total. I recently presented this exact topic at our German Veeam Usergroup in Cologne, and the number one question afterwards was basically: “Falko, does it really work like that ?”So instead of trusting the marketing slides, I built a lab, turned on S3 audit logging and counted every single API call myself. I guess most people already know that I love object storage  In this blog post I want to walk you through what I did and what the logs actually revealed.Object Storage has quietly become the most important repository type in the whole Veeam world, and the reworked immutability engine in Veeam V13 pushes this even further. With V13, every job type can write directly to object so there are no exceptions and no workarounds. That is a pretty big

Hello, Veeam Community! In this newsletter, I'll be sharing some awesome content on the latest version of Veeam v13.1. Authors focused on topics like appliance-based architecture, upgrade planning, changes to the web UI and RBAC, monitoring, and real-world migration considerations.  It also delves deeply into cyber resilience topics such as immutability, secure restore, ransomware-aware backup design and malware detection concepts, offering hands-on guidance on replication, recovery validation, configuration restoration and troubleshooting. Alongside the technical content, the newsletter features insights from the community on blogging, collaboration and operational best practices, making it a valuable resource for backup administrators, architects and engineers preparing for modernised Veeam deployments. Here are some external resources for your reference:Veeam Data Platform latest release: https://www.veeam.com/products/veeam-data-platform/latest-release.html Veeam Backup & Repli

 Hi everyone!I’m sharing what many of my clients ask me every day regarding the S3 protocol, and why it’s the best choice for a backup repository.From a security standpoint, S3 features native immutability rather than an artificially added layer. Unlike applying immutability to file or block storage—where an extra layer is imposed that can degrade performance and increase the likelihood of security vulnerabilities (most notably via administrator access).S3 provides it natively at its core.The S3 (Simple Storage Service) API has become the industry's de facto standard for cloud object storage, thanks to its unmatched scalability, stateless HTTP-based flexibility, and broad ecosystem support.Instead of rigid file structures, S3 flattens data into easily manageable objects inside buckets.While Block, File, and S3 are general-purpose storage protocols used across various use cases, S3 is the only protocol with a native mode designed specifically for the absolute immutable backup storage us

So I managed to get great feedback on my first Blog post here in the Veeam Community, and now that I have access to Claude Code i think it is time to update with my current version of the script. I now call it Get-RepositoryV2.ps1This blog post is an update to the first blog post I did 8 months ago (Part 1 / Version 1): https://community.veeam.com/blogs-and-podcasts-57/veeam-update-repository-mirror-on-iis-windows-server-12327 where the guide on how to set up the IIS and using the download script has not changed.So what changes in the new version 2? Well, I focus a bit on performance and the option to run in batch mode with a nice interface, and still have the option to output into a log file.I had the help of Claude to re-write most of the code, because getting performance means downloading multiple files at the same time.But I also found it nice to have a kind of process bar to see all the download status in parallel, that is why I made a “Live Panel” when downloading.Here are the st

On Feb 5, 2026, Microsoft officially announced that EWS in Exchange Online is being deprecated. Starting Oct 1, 2026, Microsoft will begin turning off EWS usage unless it is explicitly extended via a setting. With a deliberate “Not yet!” (aka OrganizationConfig -EwsEnabled $true), EWS is expected to remain usable until Apr 2027—however, this is not a permanent setting, just a temporary extension. So first…. What exactly is EWS? EWS stands for Exchange Web Services and was built almost 20 years ago. For many years—and up to today—it has been used as an API interface. In general, this interface no longer meets today’s requirements for security, scalability, or reliability, which is why Microsoft developed the Microsoft Graph API.By now, the Microsoft Graph interface provides near-complete functionality parity for most EWS scenarios. Microsoft’s own applications have either already migrated away from EWS or are close to finishing. Many third-party vendors have also already transitioned to