Blogs and Podcasts

Hello all! This post is more of a PSA regarding the latest version of the Veeam hardened repo community ISO provided by Rick Vanover on June 29th of 2023. If you’ve noticed weird network issues while setting up multiple repos on the same network using this ISO, this may help you. While working on setting up two repositories on the same network, I ran into a weird network issue where only one repository seemed to be communicating at a time, noticed after running a ping to both at the same time and seeing only one was responding at any given time. After further troubleshooting, what I noticed is that both machines had generated the same software-defined MAC address for 802.3ad bonds. This MAC address is usually uniquely generated from the machine-id to avoid conflicts, but when digging deeper I noticed that both servers also had the same machine-id. It seems that the machine-id may be baked into the ISO and as a result, any machines we installed using this ISO ended up generating the sam

 Maybe many people do not use it actively, but I think it will be useful for many people who will just start using Veeam.Veeam AI Assistant is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot designed to assist people using Veeam products. Answer common Veeam-related issues and questions by learning from technical documentation.The assistant can understand and answer simple or complex questions in natural language. Users can ask the Assistant about their problems, request instructions, or get information on how to use Veeam products. The Assistant is designed to help users solve problems, work more efficiently, and get the most from Veeam products.Features of the Assistant:Multilingual: The assistant can communicate in multiple languages and assist users in different geographies.Knowledge Base Access: Assistant can access and retrieve information from Veeam technical documentation. This ensures that it provides users with the most accurate and up-to-date information.Machine Learning: The assist

Configuration Manager is a powerful management application with the potential to affect every PC in your organisation. When you deploy and manage Configuration Manager with careful planning and consideration of your business requirements, Configuration Manager can help reduce your administrative overhead and total cost of ownership.Microsoft integrates Configuration Manager into the Intune family of products, offering an integrated solution for managing all devices. This integration simplifies licensing and eliminates the need for complex migrations. Users can continue leveraging their existing Configuration Manager investments while tapping into the capabilities of the Microsoft cloud at their own pace. The Microsoft Intune suite includes Configuration Manager, Endpoint Analytics, and Autopilot, offering an integrated solution for managing all your devices. Have you ever wanted to deploy Endpoint Configuration Manager in your lab or production environment? I've got you covered with an

Microsoft 365 formerly referred to as Office 365 is a SaaS application that provides productivity and collaboration through a diverse set of micro-services and applications such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Skype for Business Online, Microsoft Teams, Exchange Online Protection, Office in a browser, and many others. Microsoft recently made a distinction between M365 and O365. Therefore, M365 is a bundle of services that includes O365, and many other services as mentioned previously. I will be discussing these details in a subsequent guide. Here are some related guides that might interest you: How to Cancel Office 365 Family Subscription, how to complete Microsoft Office 365 Family Subscription, how to install Microsoft Teams on a Mac PC, and how to install and activate Office 2019 on your Mac PC.As of today, data is the most critical resources and one of the most valuable currency in the world. In Cyber Security, we refer to data as the New Oil. This Forbes link will highlight

Hi, not a long ago, we migrated most of our workloads to Azure. We have most of our servers in Azure and also we have some servers in our DC (on-prem). We currently use Veeam backup for Azure to backup servers in Azure and Veeam backup & replication ver 12 to backup our on-prem servers (with local backup repositories). One of our critical servers is having some issues as users keep disconnecting since we have migrated this server to Azure. After investigating for a few weeks, we are looking to bring this server back to on-prem to resolve the issue as its currently affecting our critical business operation. Here is what we have planned and need your advice on how can we achieve this:Stage 1 – Create a new storage account in Azure for the purposes of backing up this server. Stage 2 – Connect the on-premises Veeam backup server to the new storage account created in stage 1 (as an external repo or object repository). Stage 3 – Backup the server to the newly created storage account in A

This post is related to a real use-case at a customer.Some time ago, this customer asked me to perform a backup audit on their infrastructure because they had doubts about the current setup 🤔So of course I did, I do this often for existing and new customers…If you want to know more about it, just go on reading this topic 😁 Some info about the customer and their infrastructure : they are one of the biggest companies in Belgium in their sector they are having a large vmware cluster : 1 cluster with HA that vmware cluster is divided over 2 locations at the same site but with +/- 500 meters between and no buildings in between, so ideal in some DR scenario’s between the 2 locations they are having a 40Gbit fiber connection the current backup-setup is being done by another IT company in Belgium they are having 2 backup-servers, 1 on each location they are using on each location a physical SAN as shared storage with synchronous mirroring between the 2 SANs using hybrid storage with auto tie

Hello everyoneI share with the community the installation and configure of Quantum's DXi V5000 Community Edition excellent deduplication appliance.Reduce Backup Costs with Efficient and immutability Data Reduction DXi inline, variable-length deduplication and compression minimizes overall storage footprint and reduces WAN traffic when replicating and tiering to other locations. Achieve data reduction rates up to 70:1.* General Info DXiQuantum DXi V5000 Community Edition for Free! | Quantum Quantum DXi V5000 integration with Veeam - Veeam Data Mover service is not enabled | Veeam Community Resource Hub Free Quantum DXi V5000 Community Edition | Veeam Community Resource Hub Quantum DXi - User Guide for VMware vSphere (veeam.com) KB1745: Deduplication Appliance Best Practices (veeam.com)  Infrastructure backgroundvcsa.vpsphere.local  VMware vCenter Server 7.0.3.00100 - Build number: 18778458Phischal Esxi x 4 - Vmware Cluster: VMware ESXi 6.5.0 - Build number 18678235vbr12 100.66.13.207 ES

A quick announcement for the Community 📢Today Veeam published their App for Splunk. The App enables Splunk customers to analyze Veeam events, monitor their Veeam Backup environment and provides access to alerts, dashboards and reports.Although I had a Splunk training just last week, I currently don’t have access to any lab environment. Therefore I can’t test the new app but I would look forward to any feedback from the Community 😊  The Splunkbase Website does include some screenshots which look quite nice.Supported Splunk PlatformThe App is supported on the following platforms:Splunk Enterprise 9.1.0+ Splunk Cloud Platform 9.1.2308+LicensingThe App itself is available for free and can be installed or downloaded from Splunkbase:https://splunkbase.splunk.com/app/7312Veeam customers do need to have the Advanced or Premium Edition in order to use the app.More detailsMore details can be found in the corresponding helpcenter guide: https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/security_plugins_splunk/

Veeam Backup & Replication utilises a NAS-Based Repository to store backup files, VM copies, and metadata for replicated VMs. File-sharing protocols like SMB or NFS enable users to access files and directories on a computer, server, or virtual machine via the network by configuring a directory as a file share. Any operating system supporting these protocols can host a file share.The DS923+ serves as an ideal solution for storing backups on your Synology system, particularly for organisations utilising third-party backup software like Veeam Backup and Replication. It provides a perfect repository for business/mission-critical data and backups in both company environments and home labs. You may want to learn how to Step-by-step guide on how to set up the Synology DS923+ NAS, and How to Protect Synology DS923+ NAS, and then proceed in setting up Synology NAS as a Backup Repo.DS923+ as a Backup TargetThe Synology 923+ NAS systems as mentioned above are a reliable storage destinations f

Hi Folks,If you have a Synology appliance at home and want a quick and easy way to export your Veeam logs for viewing you can setup Log Center in just a few minutes and be done.First we want to install the Log Center package from the Package Manager.Log CenterInstallRun after InstallationPress OpenLog Center is now up and running. We now will setup a receiver.Log Center Log Receiving I will call mine Veeam and leave the other selections to the default settings: ReceiveI will need to choose a location for storing my logs:location default settings I will compress the log archives in order to save space:CompressNow it is time to setup the Veeam Log Forwarding:OptionsSyslog serversenter the Synology IP or DNS All doneThe VBR server should sent a Test message to Log Center after the settings have been applied:RecievedNow to start a backup and see the results sent to Log Center:Backup Completed Backup StartedCompletedFinished with SuccessThe whole process was fast and simple to setup. 

Security & Compliance Analyzer in Veeam Backup & Replication 12.1 is a tool that allows you to examine and evaluate the installed Veeam backup infrastructure for security and compliance. This tool helps identify vulnerabilities and compliance violations associated with Veeam backup.This tool has basic functions as follows:Security Assessment: Performs a scan of the system to identify vulnerabilities of the Veeam backup infrastructure. This scan checks various security criteria such as password policies, access controls, status of updates, etc.Compliance Assessment: Evaluates compliance with a specific compliance standard (e.g. GDPR). This helps determine whether Veeam backup infrastructure needs to be configured to meet applicable data protection laws or regulations.Reporting and Monitoring: Security & Compliance Analyzer reports and monitors results. Users can get detailed information about security vulnerabilities or compliance violations and take the necessary steps to r

Hi all, just a small heads up for the latest patch P20240418 released on April 24th.This patch fixes several issues we’ve faced consuming the API via our management platform:On product builds 7.0.0.3604 and higher, processing REST API requests to retrieve the organization’s objects takes more time than expected. (GET) v7/Organizations/{organizationId}/Users (GET) /v7/Organizations/{organizationId}/Teams (GET) /v7/Organizations/{organizationId}/Sites, Export to .PST via the (POST) /v7/RestoreSessions/{restoreSessionId}/organization/exportToPst request takes more time compared to the save operation performed on the same mailbox backup data. If one of the requested repositories is in the Invalid state, the (GET) /v7/Organizations/{organizationId}/usedRepositories request mistakenly returns the same error for all repositories from the scope.  But also other improvements and enhanchements are in this release.Worth upgrading !More info ? https://www.veeam.com/kb4533 

With Microsoft releasing Windows Server 2022, Veeam have delivered support for this in Veeam B&R and Veeam ONE v11a. This includes support not just for protecting Hyper-V VMs on the OS, or guest OS support, but also running all the relevant Veeam Components and services on Windows Server 2022. This is truly a great milestone that Veeam have achieved so promptly after the release of this operating system.There’s more to this story however, Veeam currently ships with SQL Server 2016 Express edition as its default database if you don’t choose to install your own first. This will leave you in an unsupported state with Microsoft as only SQL Server editions still within mainstream support are supported for Windows Server 2022, for SQL Server 2016, mainstream support ended in July 2021.Now we know the danger, we’ve got two topics to discuss up again, firstly, how do we install a supported version of SQL Server for Veeam? And secondly, what do I do if I’m running SQL Server 2016 on Windows

One of the biggest mysteries of Veeam’s list of features in my opinion is the Backup Copy Job. On the surface, they’re easy to understand – you create a Copy Job, use some supported backup source, and copy this source VM data to a designated target to implement part of the 3-2-1(-1-0) Rule – have multiple copies of your data and/or at least 1 offsite copy of your data. Easy, right? Well, when you look under the hood of the technology behind the retention, scheduling, interval, etc. things start to get murky pretty quick, at least for me. The most difficult to understand about Copy Jobs in my opinion is how the retention algorithm works when using the GFS (grandfather-father-son) archive option. And with the changes brought to Copy Jobs with the release of Veeam v11, I believe things got worse instead of better. As such, I thought it would be beneficial to the Veeam Community for me to go through the Backup Copy process from a deep-dive perspective, and see if I can make a bit more clea

I’ve been part of technology communities for over a dozen years. If there’s one lesson I’ve learned, it’s that you never stop learning. When I started in tech, Cloud was the shiny new thing. At the time, I was recruiter who wanted to learn about the technologies I was recruiting for so, I started attending Columbus Cloud Computing User Group. Over time, I became more involved in the community, co-organized a cross-platform cloud computing conference, and worked in Community Management with cloud and DevOps engineers, architects, and admins. Through this ad hoc learning, I gained a theoretical understanding of the cloud but not much hands-on experience. As the newest member of Veeam’s Product Strategy team, I’m enhancing my knowledge and becoming more hands-on with Azure and Veeam’s Azure backup and recovery solutions. Today, I’m sharing how I’ve started learning plus my top tips for preparing to learn a new skill. This post is the first in a series called “Learning Through Community” a

Hello, community! We just post a video explaining in a simple way some functionalities about the Malware Detection with VBR.  I hope you guys enjoy this video! Have a good rest of week. Regards, Breno

I apologize for my absence from the community over the past few days!Before the post, I would like to make up for it with the sound of some of the coolest Grandpas in the world 😎 One of the aspects that Veeam has been reinforcing is the need for customers to implement and maintain cybersecurity policies using established frameworks in the market, such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0. As an example, we have this excellent post by Ray Heffer:https://www-veeam-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.veeam.com/blog/nist-cybersecurity-framework-2-0.html?amp=1Implementing technology solutions in line with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 can be a challenge. However, with Veeam, this process is made easier. Some time ago, I prepared an association between the functionalities present in each of the elements of the Veeam Data Platform with the functions of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, demonstrating the ease of implementation.NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 and how Veeam can help y

If you missed the first part of this 3-part series, you can read it here. For the 2nd part, go here. This 3rd and final part in the Blog series will be a bit lengthier than the previous 2, but the extra content is worth the read. In this 3rd post, I’ll be discussing the Backup Copy Job Long-Term (or GFS) Retention Policy. For the remainder of this post, I’ll just refer to this as ‘GFS Policy’. Over the years, I’ve generally felt Veeam’s User Guides have been fantastic. The best out there, in my opinion, are the VMware User Guides, with Veeam a close 2nd. Since about Veeam v9, when Veeam really started gaining steam implementing some of their best features to date – Storage Integration, expanding their Veeam Agent offering, etc, their User Guides have seemed to start lacking some needed information. I think part of the reason is they were jamming everything into one Guide and possibly cutting some corners. They really needed to start separating some features out of the main User Guide t

As many of us know Object First has storage named OOTBI that works very well with Veeam using the new SOSAPI.  I am going to be starting a blog series on this which you can follow on my blog site -https://just-virtualization.tech/2024/04/11/object-first-ootbi-blog-series/This is my initial post with some pictures about the series coming.  This should be fun as I was also accepted in to the Object First Aces inaugural group and thanks to @Geoff Burke was able to secure a demo appliance for testing and blogging.I know there are others that have these as well so let’s ensure we put out some great content for everyone to enjoy!  😎Some quick pics I took -OOTBI Arrives at my houseOOTBI - Unboxing beginsSome other great posts already on the community about OOTBI can be found below which I hope to add to.  😁Object Storage Setup with Ootbi | Veeam Community Resource HubObject First Appliance Setup and Remote Connection Options | Veeam Community Resource HubOotbi meets the Veeam Community Hub

 Hi! On April 9, the webinar “Integrating Veeam with Organizations' Cybersecurity Strategy” was held, with the participation of Marcio de Freitas, Engineering Manager at Veeam Brazil.We conducted a Penetration Test demonstration using Kali Linux, reproducing Command and Control (C&C) actions and triggering a Ransomware attack simulation on a specific target. Then, we demonstrate how the Veeam Data Platform works in Threat Detection and Response (D&R) integrated with other cybersecurity solutions, such as anti-virus, EDR, MDR, and SIEM.Marcio also presented how Veeam is focusing on cybersecurity in the latest releases. We also explored the main frameworks available for organizations to implement and maintain a consistent security policy: NIST CSF 2.0, NIST 800-207 Zero Trust Architecture, NIST SP 800-61r2 Incident Response Plan, MITER ATT&CK, and MITER CVE.PS:The webinar was held in Portuguese. To enable English (or other language) legend, please, follow these steps:On YouTu

In the realm of data management and protection, the concepts of Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) serve as crucial metrics that shape backup strategies and play a pivotal role in ensuring business continuity. Understanding these concepts and their significance is imperative for IT experts aiming to construct robust data protection solutions that align with organizational needs and goals. Defining RPO and RTO Recovery Point Objective (RPO)RPO represents the maximum tolerable amount of data loss that an organization can endure following a disruption or system failure. It determines the point in time to which data must be restored to successfully resume operations without experiencing significant adverse effects. In simpler terms, it signifies how much data a business can afford to lose without causing substantial harm.Data Granularity: RPO extends beyond merely specifying backup frequency. It involves understanding the granularity of data to be protected. F

While backing up Exchange data, Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 systematically retrieves the properties associated with every mailbox folder. This encompassing approach includes visible folders and extends to hidden and legacy folders, such as 'TeamsMessagesData.' By diligently requesting and capturing the properties of these folders, Veeam ensures a comprehensive backup solution that accounts for all relevant data within the Exchange environment.Exchange Web Services (EWS) are the legacy APIs used to create clients and services that connect to Exchange to get access to mailbox information. Microsoft will restrict access via EWS to Teams message data starting on January 31, 2023.Following a recent update within Microsoft 365, a notable adjustment has rendered the retrieval of properties associated with the 'TeamsMessagesData' folder unattainable through the current Exchange Web Services (EWS) APIs utilized by Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365. This modification in the Microsoft 365 environ

This article was birthed by the following article shared in the community which by @Viperian. Kindly take a look at the comment section of this post as they are very informative as well.I see a lot of environments shared online with the .local suffix and this made me create a blog post on how to set up a Domain Controller as Recommended by Microsoft. There are numerous articles on this topic on the blog but I have decided to share the latest that was prompted by the above concern.But then, this is a new Active Directory environment. The issue has not been solved for existing AD environments with the .local suffix. Hence, this guide was developed to tackle this problem. Please see  “how to change Active Directory Domain name from dot local to dot com” for more information. Note: I would recommend backing up your AD environment before making any changes to your domain controllers. I would recommend using Veeam Backup and Replication for AD protection. This ensures that you can recover in

In the world of data management, backups serve as a crucial safety net against data loss. They act as a shield, preserving data in case of accidental deletion, hardware failures, cyberattacks, or other unforeseen disasters. When it comes to creating backups, various strategies exist, each with its own advantages and considerations. Among these strategies, full, incremental, and differential backups stand out as fundamental methods, offering distinct approaches to data protection. Moreover, the concepts of synthetic full backups and block cloning have also emerged as valuable enhancements to traditional backup methodologies.Full Backups: The Foundation of Data PreservationA full backup serves as the foundational snapshot of all data within a system. It captures every file and folder, creating a complete replica of the entire dataset. While comprehensive, full backups tend to be time-consuming and resource-intensive due to the need to copy all data each time they are executed. Despite th