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In today’s digital world, data security is a top priority for organizations. Veeam Backup & Replication has evolved to meet these needs, and one of its key innovations is the Veeam Hardened Repository ISO—a solution designed to protect backup repositories from ransomware and other cyber threats.

What Is the Veeam Hardened Repository ISO?

The Veeam Hardened Repository ISO is a Linux-based solution that secures backup data by making it immutable. This ensures that data cannot be modified, deleted, or encrypted by unauthorized parties, even in the event of a ransomware attack. The repository allows organizations to set a retention period during which backups remain secure and unaltered.

Key Features:

  • Immutability and Retention Locks: Ensures backups are safe from external modifications.
  • Ransomware Protection: Protects backups from being encrypted or deleted by ransomware.
  • Linux-based Security: Utilizes Linux’s built-in security features for enhanced protection.
  • Enhanced Data Availability: Ensures that backups are available for recovery in disaster scenarios.

How It Works:

  1. Download & Installation: The ISO is downloaded and installed on a Linux server.
  2. Repository Configuration: Users set up the repository and define retention periods for data immutability.
  3. Integration: The hardened repository is incorporated into Veeam Backup & Replication jobs.
  4. Monitoring & Maintenance: Regular monitoring ensures security settings and retention policies are maintained.

Why Is It Important?

In an age of increasing cyber threats, the Veeam Hardened Repository ISO provides:

  • Ransomware Protection: Ensures backup data remains intact, even if primary systems are compromised.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Helps meet industry regulations around data retention and protection.
  • Disaster Recovery Assurance: Guarantees reliable backup copies are available for recovery.
  • Cost-Effective Security: Minimizes the costs associated with data breaches and ransomware recovery.

What's New in the Latest Update?

The latest version of the Veeam Hardened Repository ISO introduces several features to streamline deployment and maintenance:

  • Repair Mode: Reinstall the OS while preserving data partitions.
  • Live Boot: Built-in diagnostics and performance testing.
  • Zero-Touch Installation: Fully automated deployment using Kickstart.
  • IPv6 DHCP Support: Enhanced connectivity options.
  • Enhanced Ping Limits: Rate-limited pings for better troubleshooting.
  • Improved Workflow: Clearer installation steps and safeguards against accidental disk formatting.

The Veeam Hardened Repository ISO is an essential tool for organizations focused on robust data protection and disaster recovery. With enhanced security features, it protects backups from evolving cyber threats and ensures data availability during crises. For more details, check the updated documentation: Veeam Hardened Repository Installation Guide.

 

Really liking the new release as it is so easy to install with a few inputs.  Got it running in the lab and works great.  Next test is upgrading from the previous one to this new ISO since the Repair option is now available. 😎

I haven’t had a lot of chance to play with the new ISO but plan on testing out the “repair” capabilitiies by installing over the server that I deployed the previous version of the VHR ISO on.  Unfortunately, I have another machine that I’ve been attempting to deploy to that I’m sure doesn’t meet the requirements and neither version of the VHR ISO will deploy without error.  Unfortunately, I wish I had a better understanding on how to troubleshoot the issue and possibly resolve it or at least identify why it’s failing.  That said, this post did help me to identify an error in my deployment so I need to adjust and try again and maybe that’ll resolve my issue.  Thanks for posting and causing me to have another look at this!

Thank you for this post.

I have a question if anyone used the new ISO and connected it to iSCSI LUN? As the disk initialisation works with DAS and enabling SSH give’s you only 10 minutes to just connect the Veeam to the VHR.

I tried VHR with Ubuntu and LUN connection, but this one I'm not sure if it's the same process.

Thanks

Thank you for this post.

I have a question if anyone used the new ISO and connected it to iSCSI LUN? As the disk initialisation works with DAS and enabling SSH give’s you only 10 minutes to just connect the Veeam to the VHR.

I tried VHR with Ubuntu and LUN connection, but this one I'm not sure if it's the same process.

Thanks

Not sure if it would work or not. I know when trying FC it did not seem to work on prior VHR ISO files but I am curious to try the new one for JeOS.  You would just need to try it I think and see.  I know there is a forum post with stuff on the VHR stuff.

Thank you for this post.

I have a question if anyone used the new ISO and connected it to iSCSI LUN? As the disk initialisation works with DAS and enabling SSH give’s you only 10 minutes to just connect the Veeam to the VHR.

I tried VHR with Ubuntu and LUN connection, but this one I'm not sure if it's the same process.

Thanks

Not sure if it would work or not. I know when trying FC it did not seem to work on prior VHR ISO files but I am curious to try the new one for JeOS.  You would just need to try it I think and see.  I know there is a forum post with stuff on the VHR stuff.

I tried the test VM, but it didn't work for me. I couldn’t access the vhradmin user via SSH, as it gave me an 'access denied' error. Therefore, the process to connect to the iSCSI target will not work.

I don’t know if someone tried that on this ISO, and I couldn’t find the DISA STIG script file to work with Ubuntu 24.04.x LTS Server. If anyone has a working script, I would appreciate it.

Thanks

By default SSH is disabled. After the deployment you need to login via console and start SSH from there. But this is only meant to add the repository to VBR. External storage like iSCSI isn't supported with the ISO nor will it be supported with the next release. So even if you did configure it, the configuration wouldn't be supported by Veeam. 

In general external storage also isn't recommended as it introduces an additional attack surface. If someone gets access to the management of your iSCSI storage, the complete volumes could be deleted; ignoring any immutability. 

If you need to go that way, you will have to setup the repository including the OS yourself. Rocky Linux would be a good alternative to Ubuntu as you can enable the DISA STIG security profile directly from the setup.

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