Veeam Cloud Connect is a feature available in Veeam Backup and Replication that allows to backup, replicate and restore virtual machines from the cloud.
To take benefit of this solution, just leverage cloud backup repository services from a Veeam Cloud and Service Provider. With Veeam Cloud Connect you can also follow the 321 backup rules having an offsite backup and assuring a higher data protection level.
Veeam Cloud Connect features
- Get your backups offsite to a hosted cloud repository through a secure SSL connection
- Access and recover data in hosted backup repositories directly from the backup console
- Data encryption for all data at source (before it leaves your network perimeter), in flight and at rest
- Backup Copy jobs with Built-in WAN Acceleration, forever incremental backups, GFS retention policies
Veeam Cloud and Service Provider
To use Veeam Cloud Connect, you need to find a Veeam Cloud and Service Provider partner that offers hosted services using Veeam products. For example, OffsiteDataSync is a premium provider of cloud services that offers Veeam Cloud Connect.
You need to register and activate your service to get a Veeam cloud repository. The parameters required to setup the Veeam repository in your system are the following:
- Cloud Gateway
- Username and Password
OffsiteDataSync offers a 30-day trial to test the service.
Configure a Service Provider
From Veeam console, access the Backup Infrastructure area and select Service providers tab. Click on Add Service Provider.
Enter the DNS name or IP address received from the service provider. This is the Cloud Gateway you need to connect to the cloud services. Click Next.
Click Add to enter the credentials received from the service provider.
Enter Username and Password then click OK.
The connection to the service provider has been established successfully. Click Next to continue.
This screen displays the backup repositories features assigned by the service provider: Capacity and the WAN Accelerator feature status. Click Next.
When the settings have been saved to the configuration, click Next.
The Summary displays the available cloud resources. Click Finish to complete the setup.
The service provider is now displayed in the list.
Configure the Backup Copy job
Access the Backup & Replication area and select Jobs. Click Backup Copy to start the job configuration wizard.
Give the job a Name and specify how often backup copies are created. Click Next when done.
Click Add and select VMs to include in the backup job. Click Next.
As Backup Repository, select the cloud repository previously configured and specify the Restore points to keep. Click Next to continue.
Select the Data Transfer method to use. Use Direct option if the service provider's WAN accelerator is unavailable. WAN accelerator is a feature that reduces the bandwidth required for transferring backups and replicas over the WAN. Click Next to continue.
Select the allowed time to transfer data over the network and click Create.
Click Finish to save the job configuration.
The new created backup job is displayed in the console.
Running the job, data are transferred to the cloud repository following the copy interval specified during the job configuration.
When the first Backup Copy job has completed, backups are available in the new created Cloud item under Backups.
Restore from the Cloud
To restore from the cloud, the process is still the same as for local backups restore. Access the backup set stored offsite, right click the VM to process and select the restore type to perform.
Enable WAN Accelerator
WAN Accelerator is a built-in feature of Backup & Replication that reduces the amount of data transferred across the WAN by using caching and data compression techniques. A WAN accelerator works by caching duplicate files so they can be referenced in global cache instead of having to be sent across the WAN again.
This solution doesn't require any appliance to deploy, agents to install or changes in the network infrastructure. To use the WAN accelerator capability both sides must have WAN Accelerator feature enabled.
WAN Acceleration feature is available in Veeam Backup & Replication Enterprise Plus Edition.
Enable Service Provider's WAN accelerator
Go in touch with your service provider to enable WAN Accelerator feature. Once the activation has been confirmed, under Backup Infrastructure section select Service providers, right click the configured service provider and select Rescan option.
Checking the available resources, WAN Acceleration is now set as Enabled.
Configure WAN accelerator in Veeam
Access the Backup Infrastructure section and select WAN Accelerators. Click Add WAN Accelerator to start the configuration wizard.
Specify the server to use then click Next.
Specify location and size of the global cache used by WAN Accelerator then click Next.
If the selected disk doesn't have enough free storage you may receive the following error. Keep in mind before production. Click Yes to continue.
In the Review page click Next to continue.
When the configuration has been completed, click Next.
Click Finish to close the window.
The created WAN Accelerator is now displayed in the list.
Enable WAN Accelerator in the Backup Copy job
When the WAN Accelerator has been enabled in the service provider side, also the Backup Copy job must be configured to use WAN Accelerator.
From Veeam console, right click the Backup Copy job to modify and select Edit option.
In Data Transfer tab, select Through built-in WAN accelerators method and specify the Source WAN Accelerator previously configured. Click Finish to save the configuration. Note Target WAN accelerator is now set as Available.
The Backup Copy job will now use the WAN Accelerator feature increasing the backup speed reducing the used bandwidth.
