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Veeam Calculators Update

chas
Userlevel 4
Badge +1
  • chas
  • Comes here often
  • 6 comments

Hi everyone
I run the Solution Architects team at Veeam for the Americas. My team have been working on updating and extending capacity calculators for use by the Veeam team, partners and customers. We worked in close collaboration with Product Management, R&D (i.e. Gostev's teams) and our CIS team to overhaul the formulae and update the user experience. I am happy to report that the updated calculators are now generally available at https://www.veeam.com/calculators.

A couple of notes:

  • the calculators are, of course, estimates. Your mileage may vary given the innumerable variables in any IT environment.
  • the new calculators use new, updated maths developed in collaboration with the product teams, and have a new UI. This is focused on capacity, however some compute guidance is offered in the result 'Details' where appropriate.
  • we worked to cover more common Veeam scenarios than before, i.e. beyond just VBR or VB365. Therefore, the calcs cover things like unstructured data, cloud, databases, CDP, Veeam ONE etc.
  • the Scenario Builder (formerly VSE) still has the old-style UI (I know some folks love it) but uses the new maths engine on the backend. We have a long list of feature requests and plans for updates here - watch this space.
  • the 'old' calcs are still available and accessible (for now) under 'Previous Versions' from the splash page should you still want to use them.

Thanks everyone, and I hope you like the new calcs!

Huge thanks to @adam_ch , @david.tosoff for leading these updates, and all the SA and PM teams for contributing to this effort.

21 comments

coolsport00
Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Hi @chas ...I just checked it out. Looks slick! Very well done. Thanks for sharing!

Shane Williford - Veeam VMCA/VMCE | Veeam Legend | VUG Leader | VCP-DCV | Twitter: @coolsport00
Chris.Childerhose
Userlevel 7
Badge +20

Yeah, these were posted in the Vanguard slack last week when the update was done, and they are looking great now.  Started to use them to test them out. 😎

Chris Childerhose - VMCA2022 | VMCE2023 | Veeam Vanguard 7* | Veeam Legend 3* | vExpert 5* | VCAP-DCV/VCP-DCV | Object First Ace | Cisco Champion | Twitter: @cchilderhose | Blog Site – https://just-virtualization.tech
wolff.mateus
Userlevel 7
Badge +11

Nice one!

Entirely new UI. It question of time to get used to it.

Thanks for @chas!

 

IT Lover | Veeam Vanguard | VUG Leader | Blogger
jos.maliepaard
Userlevel 5
Badge +7

Looks awesome. Will try them out soon. Appreciate the effort that is put into this

@jos.maliepaard@masto.nu
PeteSteven
Userlevel 4

Hi, the new calculator looks very nice!
I have tested it a bit and the range of functions is great.

I have 2 ideas for enhancements:
It would be good if there was a function in the calculator to export (Excel + PDF) and save the whole project (import + export json) like in VSE Builder.
And it would also be cool if the individual workloads could be added together (e.g. to calculate the backup storage size of VMs, agents, unstructured...).

Chris.Childerhose
Userlevel 7
Badge +20

@chas where is the best place to give feedback as the calculator site does not have a feedback option like KB pages, etc.?  See above from Pete.

Chris Childerhose - VMCA2022 | VMCE2023 | Veeam Vanguard 7* | Veeam Legend 3* | vExpert 5* | VCAP-DCV/VCP-DCV | Object First Ace | Cisco Champion | Twitter: @cchilderhose | Blog Site – https://just-virtualization.tech
leduardoserrano
Userlevel 7
Badge +6

@chas , congratulations to you and the team! I analyzed it superficially, and it looks complete. These improvements are very welcome! 👏🏻

Luiz Eduardo Serrano. Cloud Architect, Systems Engineer for Veeam and Object First. Veeam Vanguard/VMCA 2024/VMCE. VMware Tanzu Vanguard 2024/VCP Security/VMware User Group, 4xHPE Master ASE/Instructor, RedHat Ansible SE/Instructor, AWS Architect, Nutanix NCA, Cisco-HPE Cloud & DC champion. My blog: https://cloudnroll.com
PeteSteven
Userlevel 4

Hi, the new calculator looks very nice!
I have tested it a bit and the range of functions is great.

I have 2 ideas for enhancements:
It would be good if there was a function in the calculator to export (Excel + PDF) and save the whole project (import + export json) like in VSE Builder.
And it would also be cool if the individual workloads could be added together (e.g. to calculate the backup storage size of VMs, agents, unstructured...).

@chas  Sorry for the addition
What would also be very, very cool, would be an RV Tools import into the two calculators like there was previously in VSE.

chas
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

Hi, the new calculator looks very nice!
I have tested it a bit and the range of functions is great.

I have 2 ideas for enhancements:
It would be good if there was a function in the calculator to export (Excel + PDF) and save the whole project (import + export json) like in VSE Builder.
And it would also be cool if the individual workloads could be added together (e.g. to calculate the backup storage size of VMs, agents, unstructured...).

Thanks @PeteSteven. Yeah, we went back and forth on an Export facility on the new calc and I made the executive decision to keep it just on the Scenario Builder. If I get enough requests though… :-) 

Interesting idea on summing the workloads. Again, this feels a bit more like a Scenario Builder feature to me but I can see the value of putting it in the regular calc. Apart from overhauling the calculation engine, we haven’t started on the SB UI yet - it’s still the ‘old style’ so doesn’t include all workloads etc. We do have some interesting ideas on how/what to export and import from there, as well as how to present the data in the UI.

Look out for future iterations, and thanks again for the feedback and suggestions!

chas
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

Hi, the new calculator looks very nice!
I have tested it a bit and the range of functions is great.

I have 2 ideas for enhancements:
It would be good if there was a function in the calculator to export (Excel + PDF) and save the whole project (import + export json) like in VSE Builder.
And it would also be cool if the individual workloads could be added together (e.g. to calculate the backup storage size of VMs, agents, unstructured...).

@chas  Sorry for the addition
What would also be very, very cool, would be an RV Tools import into the two calculators like there was previously in VSE.

Let me ask: Any issue with that being a Dell tool now? Would you rather there was a Veeam equivalent? No promises, just curious. And yes, import is on the roadmap for the Scenario Builder. No promises on timeline just yet.

PeteSteven
Userlevel 4

Hi, the new calculator looks very nice!
I have tested it a bit and the range of functions is great.

I have 2 ideas for enhancements:
It would be good if there was a function in the calculator to export (Excel + PDF) and save the whole project (import + export json) like in VSE Builder.
And it would also be cool if the individual workloads could be added together (e.g. to calculate the backup storage size of VMs, agents, unstructured...).

Thanks @PeteSteven. Yeah, we went back and forth on an Export facility on the new calc and I made the executive decision to keep it just on the Scenario Builder. If I get enough requests though… :-) 

Interesting idea on summing the workloads. Again, this feels a bit more like a Scenario Builder feature to me but I can see the value of putting it in the regular calc. Apart from overhauling the calculation engine, we haven’t started on the SB UI yet - it’s still the ‘old style’ so doesn’t include all workloads etc. We do have some interesting ideas on how/what to export and import from there, as well as how to present the data in the UI.

Look out for future iterations, and thanks again for the feedback and suggestions!

Thanks for the information!
If this is intended for the Scenario Builder, does it also get an extended scope with tape calculations and co like the Calculator?

chas
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

@chas where is the best place to give feedback as the calculator site does not have a feedback option like KB pages, etc.?  See above from Pete.

@Chris.Childerhose there is a Forums thread, and this thread for now. We do manage and track FR’s and updates internally from these sources but there’s no integration currently (we are not part of R&D 😊). We are considering a Feedback button but it didn’t make this release (we also need to figure out routing etc). We are going to launch a Thematic Hub here soon, so that might be what we use for now. It will also give us a platform to better share some of the gazillion other projects my team works on. 

PeteSteven
Userlevel 4

Hi, the new calculator looks very nice!
I have tested it a bit and the range of functions is great.

I have 2 ideas for enhancements:
It would be good if there was a function in the calculator to export (Excel + PDF) and save the whole project (import + export json) like in VSE Builder.
And it would also be cool if the individual workloads could be added together (e.g. to calculate the backup storage size of VMs, agents, unstructured...).

@chas  Sorry for the addition
What would also be very, very cool, would be an RV Tools import into the two calculators like there was previously in VSE.

Let me ask: Any issue with that being a Dell tool now? Would you rather there was a Veeam equivalent? No promises, just curious. And yes, import is on the roadmap for the Scenario Builder. No promises on timeline just yet.

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by Dell tool?  The VSE (vse.veeambp.com) was also from you, wasn't it?

Chris.Childerhose
Userlevel 7
Badge +20

@chas where is the best place to give feedback as the calculator site does not have a feedback option like KB pages, etc.?  See above from Pete.

@Chris.Childerhose there is a Forums thread, and this thread for now. We do manage and track FR’s and updates internally from these sources but there’s no integration currently (we are not part of R&D 😊). We are considering a Feedback button but it didn’t make this release (we also need to figure out routing etc). We are going to launch a Thematic Hub here soon, so that might be what we use for now. It will also give us a platform to better share some of the gazillion other projects my team works on. 

Sounds like a good plan.  Thanks for chiming in on this so everyone knows.  Looking forward to the thematic group as well.  😁

Chris Childerhose - VMCA2022 | VMCE2023 | Veeam Vanguard 7* | Veeam Legend 3* | vExpert 5* | VCAP-DCV/VCP-DCV | Object First Ace | Cisco Champion | Twitter: @cchilderhose | Blog Site – https://just-virtualization.tech
Chris.Childerhose
Userlevel 7
Badge +20

Hi, the new calculator looks very nice!
I have tested it a bit and the range of functions is great.

I have 2 ideas for enhancements:
It would be good if there was a function in the calculator to export (Excel + PDF) and save the whole project (import + export json) like in VSE Builder.
And it would also be cool if the individual workloads could be added together (e.g. to calculate the backup storage size of VMs, agents, unstructured...).

@chas  Sorry for the addition
What would also be very, very cool, would be an RV Tools import into the two calculators like there was previously in VSE.

Let me ask: Any issue with that being a Dell tool now? Would you rather there was a Veeam equivalent? No promises, just curious. And yes, import is on the roadmap for the Scenario Builder. No promises on timeline just yet.

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by Dell tool?  The VSE (vse.veeambp.com) was also from you, wasn't it?

He means RVTools - they were bought by Dell.  😉

Chris Childerhose - VMCA2022 | VMCE2023 | Veeam Vanguard 7* | Veeam Legend 3* | vExpert 5* | VCAP-DCV/VCP-DCV | Object First Ace | Cisco Champion | Twitter: @cchilderhose | Blog Site – https://just-virtualization.tech
chas
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

Hi, the new calculator looks very nice!
I have tested it a bit and the range of functions is great.

I have 2 ideas for enhancements:
It would be good if there was a function in the calculator to export (Excel + PDF) and save the whole project (import + export json) like in VSE Builder.
And it would also be cool if the individual workloads could be added together (e.g. to calculate the backup storage size of VMs, agents, unstructured...).

Thanks @PeteSteven. Yeah, we went back and forth on an Export facility on the new calc and I made the executive decision to keep it just on the Scenario Builder. If I get enough requests though… :-) 

Interesting idea on summing the workloads. Again, this feels a bit more like a Scenario Builder feature to me but I can see the value of putting it in the regular calc. Apart from overhauling the calculation engine, we haven’t started on the SB UI yet - it’s still the ‘old style’ so doesn’t include all workloads etc. We do have some interesting ideas on how/what to export and import from there, as well as how to present the data in the UI.

Look out for future iterations, and thanks again for the feedback and suggestions!

Thanks for the information!
If this is intended for the Scenario Builder, does it also get an extended scope with tape calculations and co like the Calculator?

Well, no promises 😊... but there is only one engine on the backend and it contains everything you see in the new calc (and more). It really comes down to the UI redesign in SB to poke the appropriate APIs for a response and format them (sigh, I make it sound so easy - spoiler- it’s not). Like I said, updating the SB is on the roadmap. Thanks.

PeteSteven
Userlevel 4

Hi, the new calculator looks very nice!
I have tested it a bit and the range of functions is great.

I have 2 ideas for enhancements:
It would be good if there was a function in the calculator to export (Excel + PDF) and save the whole project (import + export json) like in VSE Builder.
And it would also be cool if the individual workloads could be added together (e.g. to calculate the backup storage size of VMs, agents, unstructured...).

Thanks @PeteSteven. Yeah, we went back and forth on an Export facility on the new calc and I made the executive decision to keep it just on the Scenario Builder. If I get enough requests though… :-) 

Interesting idea on summing the workloads. Again, this feels a bit more like a Scenario Builder feature to me but I can see the value of putting it in the regular calc. Apart from overhauling the calculation engine, we haven’t started on the SB UI yet - it’s still the ‘old style’ so doesn’t include all workloads etc. We do have some interesting ideas on how/what to export and import from there, as well as how to present the data in the UI.

Look out for future iterations, and thanks again for the feedback and suggestions!

Thanks for the information!
If this is intended for the Scenario Builder, does it also get an extended scope with tape calculations and co like the Calculator?

Well, no promises 😊... but there is only one engine on the backend and it contains everything you see in the new calc (and more). It really comes down to the UI redesign in SB to poke the appropriate APIs for a response and format them (sigh, I make it sound so easy - spoiler- it’s not). Like I said, updating the SB is on the roadmap. Thanks.

Great, I'm looking forward to the new version. The new calculator makes a lot of things easier. Great release!

PeteSteven
Userlevel 4

Hi, the new calculator looks very nice!
I have tested it a bit and the range of functions is great.

I have 2 ideas for enhancements:
It would be good if there was a function in the calculator to export (Excel + PDF) and save the whole project (import + export json) like in VSE Builder.
And it would also be cool if the individual workloads could be added together (e.g. to calculate the backup storage size of VMs, agents, unstructured...).

@chas  Sorry for the addition
What would also be very, very cool, would be an RV Tools import into the two calculators like there was previously in VSE.

Let me ask: Any issue with that being a Dell tool now? Would you rather there was a Veeam equivalent? No promises, just curious. And yes, import is on the roadmap for the Scenario Builder. No promises on timeline just yet.

Sorry, I don't understand what you mean by Dell tool?  The VSE (vse.veeambp.com) was also from you, wasn't it?

He means RVTools - they were bought by Dell.  😉

Oh, sorry. I wasn't aware of that.
Sorry @chas  my mistake!

Great if the import will be integrated into the SB again 👍

JonahMay
Userlevel 6
Badge +10

Any chance the calculator could be changed to allow for GFS calculations beyond 7 years? We bill most customers based on consumption with 1-year contracts (VCSP) but we have a lead wanting to retain 30 years of monthlies and wondering what that storage might look like long term. Looks like the latest calculator only lets you go out 7 years on GFS, and the previous version only does 10.

Jonah May - VMCA | Veeam Vanguard | Join the Veeam Community Hackathon @ https://veeamhackathon.com
Iams3le
Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Hi @chas ...I just checked it out. Looks slick! Very well done. Thanks for sharing!

I agree with this statement! I will be including this in the guide I am creating for Synology “ds923+ as a backup repository for vbr”

[Microsoft MVP | Veeam Legend 5* | VMware vExpert 4* | Cisco Champion 3* | Object First Ace]
Scott
Userlevel 7
Badge +8

Very nice. I’ll use these often. Thanks

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