During the upgrade of Veeam Backup & Replication to version 13.2.29, I encountered the following warning during the Configuration Check phase:
Trusted hosts hardening
Your remote host trust option is set to Manual. After the upgrade, open a backup console and make sure all your backup infrastructure servers are trusted.
At first glance, this message may seem concerning, but it is important to note that it is not a blocking issue and does not prevent the upgrade from completing successfully.
Why Does This Warning Appear?
Starting with recent Veeam releases, the platform has introduced additional security controls to strengthen communication between backup infrastructure components.
In my environment, the Remote Host Trust policy was configured as Manual. This means that Veeam does not automatically trust remote infrastructure servers such as:
- Backup Repositories
- Backup Proxies
- Mount Servers
- WAN Accelerators
- Other managed Linux or Windows hosts
Because the trust relationship must be verified manually, the upgrade validation process displays this warning to remind administrators to review trusted hosts after the upgrade.
Is the Upgrade Blocked?
No.
This warning is informational only and does not stop the upgrade process. The upgrade to Veeam Backup & Replication 13.2.29 completed successfully despite the warning.
The purpose of the message is simply to ensure that administrators verify the trust status of infrastructure components after the upgrade.
Depending on the environment, Veeam may automatically retain the existing trust relationships, but it is recommended to perform a quick verification.
Optional: Remove the Warning Before Future Upgrades
If your organization's security policies allow it, you can change the Remote Host Trust policy from Manual to a more automated trust model in the Veeam security settings.
However, many administrators intentionally keep the setting on Manual because it provides an additional layer of protection against unauthorized infrastructure changes.
Conclusion
The Trusted Hosts Hardening warning encountered during the upgrade to Veeam Backup & Replication 13.2.29 is not a critical error and does not block the upgrade process.
The warning simply indicates that the environment uses a Manual Trust Policy for remote infrastructure hosts. After the upgrade, administrators should verify that all backup infrastructure components remain trusted and functioning correctly.
