Veeam Backup & Replication - Backup from Storage Snapshot

Note: The description in the article is based on Veeam Backup & Replication 11a, licensed with Veeam Universal License (VUL), similar to Enterprise Plus. And the storage system NetApp All Flash FAS (AFF) with ONTAP system.

Storage Integration

Veeam Backup & Replication provides native support for certain storage systems. Their list can be found in System Requirements - Storage Systems. Documentation, in the VMware vSphere guide, is Integration with Storage Systems.

Direct Storage Integration allows creating Snapshots on the storage system. This enables two backup features:

• Snapshot-Only Jobs
• Backup from Storage Snapshot

For Backup from Storage Snapshot, we also need Direct Storage Access, which can be used independently.

Unfortunately, these features are only available for VM backup on VMware vSphere. We cannot back up VMs on Microsoft Hyper-V this way. On both platforms, we could use NAS Integration if we use NAS File Share for storing VMs.

The last option is Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows integration, which supports Storage Snapshots Support. Thus, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows also supports Backup from Storage Snapshots. It uses Off-host Backup Proxy, so the backed-up computer does not process the data, and Hardware VSS Provider. The agent must be managed by the Veeam server and we must have integration with the storage system. The computer with Veeam Agent must be connected to the SAN via HBA and have at least one LUN mapped. LUNs must be accessible from the Backup Proxy.

Snapshot-Only Jobs

Veeam Backup & Replication allows performing Snapshot Orchestration - creating a chain of Snapshots on primary and/or secondary storage systems. It uses Snapshot-Only Job. It is similar to scheduling automatic Snapshot creation in storage management. Depending on the job settings, Snapshots can be Application Consistent or Crash-consistent.

It is stated that using Snapshot-Only Job as part of a data protection strategy is advantageous. Compared to standard backup, the overhead is very small. Modern storage systems use smart ways to store these Snapshots to minimize the required space. Recovery from a Snapshot is very fast.

Adding Storage System

First, we need to add the storage system to our backup infrastructure - Backup Infrastructure for Storage Integration.

• Storage Infrastructure - Add Storage
• select the manufacturer and type of system
• enter the DNS name or IP address of the storage management and select for which types of backup jobs we want to use it
• enter the login credentials (permissions need to be quite high, for example, for ONTAP NetApp Data ONTAP/Lenovo Thinksystem DM Permissions) and protocol
• Veeam will attempt to connect to the system, if there is an untrusted certificate, we will get a warning
• for VMware vSphere, select the used protocols and choose the volumes to be scanned (it is more efficient to limit to the used ones)

Upon completing the wizard, a Rescan Storage will run by default. We will get information if there is any LUN available that supports Backup from Storage Snapshot using a specific Proxy.

Snapshot-Only Job

Documentation Configuring Snapshot-Only Jobs.

The job is created as a standard backup job of type Virtual Machine - VMware vSphere.

• as the Backup Repository, select Snapshot, for example, ONTAP Snapshot (Primary storage snapshot only)
• select the backed-up VMs to work with, but a Snapshot of the volumes (must be on systems of the same manufacturer) where these VMs are located will be taken (so it may include other VMs that we did not select)
• we can set VMware Tools quiescence and/or Application-Aware Processing

Direct Storage Access

Direct Storage Access (Direct SAN) allows us to back up VMs on VMware vSphere so that the data on the Backup Proxy is not transferred over LAN, but over SAN.

• Direct SAN Access
• the transport mode of the Backup Proxy, where data is transferred directly from the shared storage system over SAN
• the Backup Proxy must be connected to the SAN via HBA (and have communication enabled)
• the Backup Proxy must have the VMFS volume mounted
• there is a risk because the operational volume of VMware is visible in the OS Proxy and can be accidentally overwritten; for backup, it can be mounted as read-only (Physical proxy)
• it might be useful to read 3 reasons why direct SAN restore failover to NBD

If we use Backup from Storage Snapshot, thanks to storage integration, Veeam manages and sets everything up itself (creates a Snapshot on the system, connects to the Backup Server, etc.). If we want to use only Direct SAN, we must configure it ourselves. Practical information (not only) for recovery can be found at VMware Backup Proxy - Transport Mode Direct SAN.

Setting up Direct SAN on Proxy

• Backup Infrastructure - Backup Proxies
• select VMware Backup Proxy
• Properties - Server tab
• Transport mode must be Direct storage access or Automatic selection

Backup from Storage Snapshot

Backup from Storage Snapshot uses storage integration and Direct Storage Access. It allows leveraging the features of native HW Snapshots on the system. These can be used to reduce the impact of backup on the virtual infrastructure and speed it up. Mainly, it significantly shortens the time needed for a VM Snapshot. Data copying (backup) occurs from the Storage Snapshot.

• Backup from Storage Snapshots, Storage Integration
• similar to Direct Storage Access, data is transferred directly from the storage system
• uses the transport mode Direct Storage Access
• the Backup Proxy must be connected to the SAN via HBA, but the volume is not mounted
• the backup occurs from the Snapshot on the system, which is automatically connected, posing no risk to the source data (volume)

Brief Backup Process

• a VMware Snapshot of the selected VMs is created
• a Storage Snapshot is created, a new Volume appears on the system
• the VMware Snapshot is removed
• the Storage Snapshot is connected as a new volume on the Backup Proxy
• the backup occurs from the Snapshot, which is visible in Disk Manager as an Offline disk
• the volume is disconnected, and the Storage Snapshot is deleted

Configuration

Everything works very simply. We must have the storage system added to create a Snapshot. The Backup Proxy must meet the access conditions to the system and have the correct transport mode set.

In the backup job (Backup Job - Virtual Machine - VMware vSphere) on the Storage tab under Advanced - Integration, enable Enable backup from Storage Snapshot (enabled by default).

It is also recommended to set Limit processed VM count per storage snapshot to, an optimal value can be 20 to 30. This causes the VMs to be divided into groups by the maximum number on the same volume (Volume or LUN). A VMware Snapshot of all VMs in the group is performed, then a Storage Snapshot is taken. If there are many VMs in the group, their Snapshot can take a long time.

In the case of iSCSI, we must have the connection to the system set up (in Windows in the iSCSI Initiator). We do not need to create an Initiator Group on the system. Veeam will create one for backup (VeeamAUX_VeeamServer_Backup) and one for Rescan (VeeamAUX_VeeamServer_Rescan). No mapping is needed.

Error with Access to the System

Once I encountered an error where the backup did not proceed, and the following message was displayed:

Using backup proxy VMware Backup Proxy for retrieving Hard disk 1 data from storage snapshot on NetApp-AFF
Error: Cannot find LUN with SCSI ID 60a9800038305555463f5235657a3879

It was resolved by disconnecting the system in the iSCSI Initiator on the Backup Proxy (Disconnect). It automatically reconnected, and the backup proceeded.