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veeam distribution server


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Hey guys,

I read in helpcenter document that you can deploy a dedicated distribution server to reduce the workload on backup server for agent backups. If have multiple agents to backup, can I use the same distribution server for all the agents?

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Best answer by Mildur 3 March 2022, 06:33

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Userlevel 7
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Hi @Anandu 

 

Yes, of course.

You do that already with the backup server if you don‘t configure a dedicated distribution server. 

 

I wouldn’t deploy another distribution server only to get off the load of the backup server. Deploying the agents is only needed once, and then when you update the vbr server to a new build. And even then, you can update the agents one by one and you don‘t need to update all of them at once. Are we talking about hundreds/thousands of agents in your use case? Or only a few dozens?

 

Using a dedicated distribution server is more needed when you have multiple locations which are connected with a low bandwidth (for example VPN) and you don‘t can distribute the client over this slow connection.

Or another use case, you have multiple subnets and you don‘t want to open SMB and RPC Ports on the firewall. Put in a distribution server in each one of the subnets and the backup server doesn‘t have to see in each subnet.

Userlevel 7
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Hi @Anandu 

 

Yes, of course.

You do that already with the backup server if you don‘t configure a dedicated distribution server. 

 

I wouldn’t deploy another distribution server only to get off the load of the backup server. Deploying the agents is only needed once, and then when you update the vbr server to a new build. And even then, you can update the agents one by one and you don‘t need to update all of them at once. Are we talking about hundreds/thousands of agents in your use case? Or only a few dozens?

 

Using a dedicated distribution server is more needed when you have multiple locations which are connected with a low bandwidth (for example VPN) and you don‘t can distribute the client over this slow connection.

Or another use case, you have multiple subnets and you don‘t want to open SMB and RPC Ports on the firewall. Put in a distribution server in each one of the subnets and the backup server doesn‘t have to see in each subnet.

I gonna backup 3 agents

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and here’s another one, if I add a physical machine which I need to backup as a managed server and while configuring job will the physical machine act as a distributed server?

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I gonna backup 3 agents

 

Then you don‘t need an additional distribution server :)

I have around 100 Agents on one of my environments. I don‘t see any performance issues with one distribution server for 100 Agents.

Userlevel 7
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and here’s another one, if I add a physical machine which I need to backup as a managed server and while configuring job will the physical machine act as a distributed server?

You don‘t have to add a server as a managed server do have a backup of this server. You must add the server to a Protection group.

Distribution Server must be choosen for the protection group in this step, if you would add a windows server as a managed server, you must choose it as your distribution server. 

 

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and here’s another one, if I add a physical machine which I need to backup as a managed server and while configuring job will the physical machine act as a distributed server?

will this work?

Userlevel 7
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and here’s another one, if I add a physical machine which I need to backup as a managed server and while configuring job will the physical machine act as a distributed server?

will this work?

Yes, if you configure it as the distribution server in the protection group. But it makes no sense :)

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Hi,

as ​​​@Mildur explained; a dedicated distribution server is needed when you deploy/update hundreds or thousands of agents “all the time” or if your network is restricted or if you do not want WAN traffic from other sites to your backup server (and so on).

better keep an other thing in mind; in my experience don´t use the “auto-update” checkbox for the agents. in the past there were sometimes .NET updates needed for the new version of the backup agents for windows. .NET updates need a reboot of the system and until the reboot is done the agent/backups will not work anymore.

so you have to schedule this change with the service/server owner before you update VBR and all components.

daniel

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