Skip to main content
Solved

Multiple Sites but only one Tape server

  • December 12, 2025
  • 6 comments
  • 37 views
P

Hi there,

I have a question to which i haven’t found any satisfying answer so far.
I manage an IT-Infrastructure with three distinct sites and locations.
In the past we have used Acronis Cyber Protect but are now switching over to Veeam.
Every site is supposed to have its own Veeam B&R Server managing its clients and servers, but only one of them should have a dedicated hardware Tape-Server connected that writes the backups of all three to tape.
While I loathe Acronis, WHEN it worked at all (big when), it didn’t care where the backups originated from and simply wrote everything in its SMB-share to tape.
Veeam doesn’t like this, cause apparently you can’t set up a tape-job for “imported” backups.
From what I gathered, I have three options that are all either worse than with our old solution or will outright not work, haven’t tried all of it so far.

  1. We could simply do the tapes as “file to tape” jobs and copy the backup files of all three sites.
    But that would probably double recovery time cause we would first have to restore the files from tape and then the machines from the files
  2. I found some people describing a method of mapping the “foreign” backups to some empty fake jobs which then makes the imported backups into regular ones, which could theoretically be taped
  3. We could try and connect the singular Tape Server to all three B&R installations and have them each write their own tapes. I’m not sure if that would even work at all, haven’t tried

 

Are these my only options? Is there any “supported” way to solve this problem or do i have to just jank together something?​​

Best answer by Scott

  1. We could simply do the tapes as “file to tape” jobs and copy the backup files of all three sites.
    But that would probably double recovery time cause we would first have to restore the files from tape and then the machines from the files

If you are doing VM backups, and not NAS backups, you can backup the VBK/VIB files on the Repo to tape, It’s not pretty but works, then you can restore them back to the repo if needed. I do this for VeeamZIP’s one time to get them on to tape before I delete VM’s.

 

You do require tape to repo, then restore repo, however, all tape jobs require being restored to the repo before you restore to your virtual infrastructure.

  1. I found some people describing a method of mapping the “foreign” backups to some empty fake jobs which then makes the imported backups into regular ones, which could theoretically be taped

I have not done this, and doesn’t seem like the best way to do it.

  1. We could try and connect the singular Tape Server to all three B&R installations and have them each write their own tapes. I’m not sure if that would even work at all, haven’t tried

 

1 B&R server owns the library. Ideally, you’d have a repo/proxy at each site, connected to 1 server.  You could then send to tape from all 3 repos. It would go over the network, even if you had a fiber connected library to the tape server. 

 

I’m in the other way, I have 1 VBR server, multiple sites with proxy/repo/tape servers. My issue is file to tape direct job, would require double the VUL to get it on to each library as you can’t point to 2 libraries from 1 file to tape job.  You could get around it with NASBackup to Disk, then Disk to tape at both sites. Veeam doesn’t charge an extra VUL for already backed up data. 

 

 

Chris.Childerhose
CMF

6 comments

CMF
Forum|alt.badge.img+8
  • CMF
  • Veeam Legend
  • December 12, 2025

Hi ​@pdossis,

Is it only Clients you are backupping or virtual Infrastructures in thoses sites?

I´m thinking about having just one central Backup Server in the Headquater and then use Repos in the Sites + Backup Copy to the Headquarter from where you then can go on to Tape. 

It wold be easier to manage through a single pane of glass and you would have multibple copys of your data in diffrent locations in case something happens. 

 

Chalid Mohamed Fathallah | Veeam Legend | VMCE 2024 | VMCA 2025 | VCP-DCV | VCE-vSan
Dynamic
lukas.k
P
  • pdossis
  • Author
  • New Here
  • December 12, 2025

Hi ​@pdossis,

Is it only Clients you are backupping or virtual Infrastructures in thoses sites?

I´m thinking about having just one central Backup Server in the Headquater and then use Repos in the Sites + Backup Copy to the Headquarter from where you then can go on to Tape. 

It wold be easier to manage through a single pane of glass and you would have multibple copys of your data in diffrent locations in case something happens. 

 

Both Clients and virtual Infra

CMF
Forum|alt.badge.img+8
  • CMF
  • Veeam Legend
  • December 12, 2025

​@pdossis 

I think its worth a try to go with the centralized approach as described.

For the Transfer of the Data you could also use WAN accelarator if your having a poor connection inbetween the sites. 

 

Chalid Mohamed Fathallah | Veeam Legend | VMCE 2024 | VMCA 2025 | VCP-DCV | VCE-vSan
P
  • pdossis
  • Author
  • New Here
  • December 12, 2025

​@pdossis 

I think its worth a try to go with the centralized approach as described.

For the Transfer of the Data you could also use WAN accelarator if your having a poor connection inbetween the sites. 

 

Its less of a bandwith issue and more organizational. Each Site should mostly function independently in case the other goes dark, including backups. The third one’s entirely for testing purposes.
So I guess you don’t know any good way to do this as well. bummer. before rearranging our whole strategy in that regard I’ll probably first try my options 2 and 3 over the next while.

Chris.Childerhose
Chris.Childerhose
Forum|alt.badge.img+21
  • Chris.Childerhose
  • Veeam Legend, Veeam Vanguard
  • December 12, 2025

Option 3 will not work as only one VBR server can “own” the tape server.  So you need as noted to get everything to one central location where the tape server is connected and then tape out backups.

 
 
 
Chris Childerhose - VMCA2024 | VMCE2023 | VMCE-SP2024 | Veeam Vanguard 8* | Veeam Legend 5* | VUG Canada Leader | vExpert 6* | Toronto VMUG Leader | VCAP-DCV/VCP-DCV | Object First Ace | Cisco Champion | Twitter: @cchilderhose | Blog Site – https://just-virtualization.tech
Scott
Scott
Forum|alt.badge.img+10
  • Scott
  • Veeam Legend
  • Answer
  • December 12, 2025
  1. We could simply do the tapes as “file to tape” jobs and copy the backup files of all three sites.
    But that would probably double recovery time cause we would first have to restore the files from tape and then the machines from the files

If you are doing VM backups, and not NAS backups, you can backup the VBK/VIB files on the Repo to tape, It’s not pretty but works, then you can restore them back to the repo if needed. I do this for VeeamZIP’s one time to get them on to tape before I delete VM’s.

 

You do require tape to repo, then restore repo, however, all tape jobs require being restored to the repo before you restore to your virtual infrastructure.

  1. I found some people describing a method of mapping the “foreign” backups to some empty fake jobs which then makes the imported backups into regular ones, which could theoretically be taped

I have not done this, and doesn’t seem like the best way to do it.

  1. We could try and connect the singular Tape Server to all three B&R installations and have them each write their own tapes. I’m not sure if that would even work at all, haven’t tried

 

1 B&R server owns the library. Ideally, you’d have a repo/proxy at each site, connected to 1 server.  You could then send to tape from all 3 repos. It would go over the network, even if you had a fiber connected library to the tape server. 

 

I’m in the other way, I have 1 VBR server, multiple sites with proxy/repo/tape servers. My issue is file to tape direct job, would require double the VUL to get it on to each library as you can’t point to 2 libraries from 1 file to tape job.  You could get around it with NASBackup to Disk, then Disk to tape at both sites. Veeam doesn’t charge an extra VUL for already backed up data. 

 

 

Chris.Childerhose
CMF
Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement