Do you recommend separating the WAL in a fresh postgres installation for EM V13?

Hi ​@Eric Nieto I think you could start reading the Best Practice document, here is the link to access it 
https://bp.veeam.com/vbr/2_Design_Structures/D_Veeam_Components/D_Enterprise_Manager/enterprise_manager.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com

The URL above mention:

-) Uses cases

-) EM server placement

-) Sizing for EM server, EM Database, EM Manager Catalog

-) and more.

Reagarding the second question,  separeted disk, I always reccomend and use as many disk as possible to store DBs comtrolled by LVM.

From what I recall there is no need to separate anything as long as you configure the servers as required with the right specifications and disk sizes.  See here - System Requirements - Veeam Backup & Replication Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager Guide

I typically use the built-in PG on the appliances versus a separate one.  I know for VBR when you have a separate one there is a PS command to run and create a proper configuration file to apply, but I believe VEM does not require this same thing from what I can see.

Hi ​@Eric Nieto -

Welcome to the Community! What do you mean by “WAL”? As far as what service goes on which disk, Veeam decides that for itself, assuming you’re using the EM VSA? The requirements page Chris shared states what goes on which disk.

If you’re using a remote install of PSSQL for EM, you’ll be able to select this during deployment, but only for installing EM on Windows.

https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/vbr/em/setup_database.html?ver=13

Let us know if you have further questions or we didn’t answer what you’re specifically asking.

Best.

Hello ​@coolsport00 , WAL (Write-Ahead Log) in PostgreSQL is a set of physical log files that record every change before it is written to the actual database data files.
It is used to guarantee data consistency, enable crash recovery, and improve performance by allowing fast sequential writes.
PostgreSQL confirms a transaction once it is safely written to the WAL, not when the data files are updated.  

I was thinking to store the pg_wal in a separated disk of the DB as postgres writes to it continuously and it’s sensitive to write latency. I was just wondering if veeam recommends to do so or it’s better to stick to the default postgres installation, even if the workloads expected are high.

Thank you all!

I would think you can stick to the default PG install as Veeam I am sure has optimized the database other than using the command for VBR that you can do.

Thank you for the clarification ​@Eric Nieto .

I haven’t seen anything specific on PSSQL configs for EM. But again...to be able to even use an external PSSQL server, you have to install EM on Windows. Veeam installs PSSQL on the local machine when installing EM on Linux via the SA. I’m sure Veeam configures PSSQL in a high-performant matter in the SA. But, to be sure...if you are installing EM via the SA route, you can contact Support to verify...if it’s a concern or requirement for you.

Hope that helps.

Best.

Hi ​@Eric Nieto 

I'm not sure at 100% but thinking how Veeam work with MSSql can I say that Veeam automatically backs up its PostgreSQL configuration database, and this process takes WAL files into account to ensure consistency.

So for this I'm sure moving WAL file in a different disk is not necessary. 

Hi everyone,

I’m one of Eric’s colleagues and I’m working with him on this deployment.

We raised this question because we noticed that the default PostgreSQL installation performed by Veeam on the VBR does not fully align with our internal standards. To begin with, PostgreSQL is installed on the system drive (C:) regardless of how many additional disks are available on the server (we are currently using Windows). In addition, the database is left with the default credentials, and some PostgreSQL best practices are not taken into account, such as the separation and placement of the WAL files mentioned by Eric.

While it is true that Veeam provides procedures to move the database after the installation, we decided instead to install PostgreSQL ourselves from the beginning and then use the Veeam cmdlets to complete the database configuration for usage with Veeam.

Our environment is quite large, and in the past we have experienced performance issues with SQL. Because of that, we are being especially careful when defining the disk layout and the type of installation we want to use for the VBR.

The same considerations apply to Enterprise Manager as well.

Thanks in advance for any feedback or recommendations.

i would recommend to use this article from veeam kb, which will set proper settings for PSQL

but if you have performance problems, i would suggest to install PSQL on linux server for VBR and EM database, so these settings will be common.

PSQL on windows is not so advantage ...

If you are using windows then configuring your own PG server external to Veeam would be a good practice regardless for large environments.  This way you set it up the way you want and then just use the PowerShell command to create the Veeam configuration file and apply it.  Then WAL can be set as you like.

Thank you for the additional info ​@Kosk . It appears running PSSQL separately is indeed the way you should go per your internal requirements. It sounds like you all have a sound plan in place. Most further recommendations would really come from the User Guide, Best Practice Guide, or any further/deeper implementation guidance would really need to come from Support.