Veeam Backup and Replication 9.5 Update 4 RTM has finally been released and like most of you I have been hanging out to give the new feature set a trial run. One item in particular has really caught my attention and that is the ability to allow tenants to DR workloads directly into vCloud Director.

Some of the new features that have come out with Veeam Backup & Replication 9.5 Update 4 are as follows,

  • Veeam DR directly into vCloud Director on the Service Provider Side
  • Capacity Tier to age out data to S3 endpoints
  • The ability to create Gateway Pools which are groupings of Veeam Cloud Gateways
  • Cloud Connect tenant backups can now be written to tape
  • Tenants can now reset their own passwords

  • The ability to run a virus scan on the VM prior to performing the restore with Secure Restore

  • Support for vCloud Director 9.5 and Vmware 6.7 Update 1

So I thought I better get this setup and checkout some of these new features in my lab. Below are the servers I will be using for this basic deployment.

  • Existing Domain Controller
  • Existing SQL 2016 Server
  • Existing vCloud Director
  • Win2016 Server for Veeam Backup & Replication
  • Win2016 Server for Veeam Backup Proxy
  • Win2016 Server for Veeam Cloud Gateway

To take this to a proper production deployment you would need to add in additional proxy and cloud gateway servers. Also deploying one or two wan accelerators would be a good idea. These are all on windows 2016 servers and the process is straight forward once you have the main Veeam Backup Server deployed. Check out the Veeam sizing guides online to ensure you deploy each component to the correct scale.

Enabling CPU and Memory hot add on each VM is always a good idea so you can scale the deployment as it grows.

First lets look at deploying the database on our SQL server. If you just want to deploy the DB locally on your Veeam Server then you can skip the first few steps. Just remember to migrate it off as your environment starts to grow.

Open SQL Management Studio and create a New Database for Veeam Backup and Replication.

Then under Security add in the service account that you will use during the veeam deployment. I just created a svcveeam service account for this install. Then grant your service account access rights to the database by ticking db_owner as the database role membership

Next open the installer and click on Veeam Backup & Replication to start the installation

Agree to the terms and conditions by ticking both boxes and click Next

Select your license file and click Next

Review the components you will be installing and click Next

The setup will detect if you have all of the pre-requisites installed. Click the Install button to add in the missing items

The missing features will then be added in for you

Once complete click on Next to continue

I have a separate SQL server instance so in order to use that instead of a local instance click on Let me specify different settings and click Next. If you want to run with the local install just leave the box un-ticked and hit Next

Here we specify the service account we are going to use. Make sure this account is a local administrator on the Veeam Backup Server

Below we specify the path to the SQL Server and the name of the Veeam Database. Then we need to specify the account we are using to connect to SQL. I have logged into this server with my svcveeam service account which I granted access to the LABVEEAM01 database.

Select Windows authentication and then click Next

Review the port configuration and click Next

Select the location for your vPower NFS write cache and System Catalog and click Next. For this example I am going to use the default values as I am running this up in my lab. If this is production it would be a good idea to specify a separate location for the vPower NFS write cache

Review your settings and click Install

Click Finish to complete the installation

Launch Veeam Backup and Replication and click Connect

Notice the new updated look on the startup page

The Veeam Backup and Replication Console will now load

Next lets add in our new Veeam Proxy Server, click on Backup Proxies and then click Add Proxy then select Vmware vSphere

Then the New Veeam Proxy setup box should appear

Click the Add New button, then enter the Name of the Win 2016 Server you would like to setup as a Veeam Proxy. Then Click Next

Next add in the svcveeam service account we used earlier. Ensure that this account is also a local administrator on the Win2016 server you are setting up as the Veeam Proxy

The installer will now detect any previously installed components. The Review screen shows that the transport role will now be installed. Click Apply

Wait for the role to be installed. Once complete click Next

Then Finish

Next we need to setup the new Veeam Proxy Server. Depending on how you size the VM will determine how many concurrent tasks you can run. As this is only in my lab I have not given the VM many resources.

The Veeam Proxy Server requires 1 vCPU per task (per vmdk attached to a VM it is backing up), 2GB of ram per task and a minimum of 500GB disk space per task.

I will be using the default values for Transport mode and Connected Datastores. Then click Next

The next section allows you to configure traffic rules to control encryption and throttling. I will be using the default values again. Click Apply

Then click Finish

Next select Backup Repositories and click Add Repository

Select the type of Backup Repository you would like to add and follow to prompts to complete. For this deployment I am just going to use some Direct attached storage.

Select Microsoft Windows

Give the backup repository a Name and click Next

Add in a different server or click Populate if you have mapped the drive to this Veeam Server. Select the drive letter and click Next

Set the folder path and maximum concurrent tasks then click Populate so check the volume size, then click Next

For this deployment I am accepting the default values for vPower NFS write cache but you can choose an alternate location. Click Next

Review your settings and click Apply

Then click Finish once complete

Then click Yes to change the configuration backup location

Next its time to install our Public Certificate on the Veeam Backup Server. To do this click on the Cloud Connect Menu. Then highlight Cloud Connect and click on Manage Certificates

Then follow the wizard to import your certificate from file. If you have the certificate saved as a PFX file then select Import Certificate from a file and follow the prompts.

Now it’s time to setup the Gateway Server, this is the server that the clients will connect to from their on premise Veeam Instance. It’s a good idea to setup at least two gateways as a minimum. I am currently settings this up in my lab with limited resources but just repeat the process to install additional gateways.

In Update 4 Veeam has introduced Gateway Pools, with this feature you can group multiple gateways and present them to separate tenants.

Ok to get started right click on Cloud Gateways then click Add cloud gateway

Then click Add New to add the new windows server we will be using as the gateway

Enter the Server Name or IP and click Next

Select the server credentials to use from the drop down menu or add a new account by clicking Add. Then click Next

The Transport component will now be installed on the server. Click Apply to continue

Once the install is complete click Next

Then click Finish

Now it’s time to setup the new Gateway Server, click Next

Select located behind a NAT and enter the external DNS name you will be using for the deployment. Keep in mind you will also need to setup the external DNS then say nice things to your network admin and ask him to configure the NAT for you.

Then click Next

The Cloud Gateway Component will now be installed, click Apply

Once the install is complete click Next

Then click Finish

Next lets add in our vCloud Director Server. Under Backup Infrastructure click on Managed Servers, then Add Server. Then click on Vmware vSphere

Then select vCloud Director

Enter the vCloud Director Server Name or IP Address and click Next

Next add in your vCloud Director credentials then click Next

Select the vCenter and click Apply

Accept the certificate and on the Apply screen click Next

Then on the Summary Screen click Finish

Tenant Side Setup

Now lets walk through how a tenant will connect to our Veeam instance from their on premise Veeam Server

Click on Backup Infrastructure then select Service Providers, then click Add Provider

Then enter the DNS Address provided by your Service Provider and click Next

The Service Providers certificate will be validated. Then click Add and enter the credentials you were supplied.

The account used will be the vCloud Director user credentials that are configured on the Org you will be connecting too. Make sure you enter the username in the following format username@Org-name

Then click Apply

Then click Apply

Then click Next

Then on the Summary screen click Finish

You are now all setup and ready to configure replication Jobs to your vCloud Director Org hosted by your Service Provider using Veeam Cloud Connect

When you create the Replication job you need to select Cloud host on the Destination section

Then select your Service Provider connection and Org VDC and click Ok. Then continue to configure the replication job

Configure the job settings you prefer and start the replication

Then log into the vCloud Director portal on the Service Provider side and you should see the VM that you are currently replicating. The VM will remain in a powered off state until you are ready to failover

I hope this has helped you with your Veeam Cloud Connect Setup and has given you a good look at the new DR to vCloud Director feature! This addition is definitely going to take off so get on-board and take it for a test drive!

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