With the introduction of the Immutability feature in Veeam Backup & Replication v11, a Hardened Repository requires a specific procedure to be upgraded.
A normal upgrade of this type of repository cannot be performed in the "classic" way due to the restrictions applied during the configuration procedure of the repository itself.
How to upgrade a Hardened Repository
When a new version or patch is released by Veeam, when you try applying the update to the repository, it will fail.
This is an expected behavior since Veeam doesn't have the credentials stored anywhere to access the Hardened Repository. If the repository was configured by following the best practices, the Single-use credentials for hardened repository option was used to connect Veeam to the repository.
In addition, the account used by Veeam to connect the repository doesn't have any permission to do operations on the Linux machine since it is not a member of the sudo group.
To apply the update, the first step is to enable SSH service and add the used service account back to the sudo group.
Enable the remote access to your repository and login with the administrative account set during the installation of your Linux repository.
Enable the SSH service and add the Veeam service account to the group sudo with the command:
# sudo systemctl start ssh.service
# sudo usermod -a -G sudo locveeam
Open the Veeam console and select from the menu the Settings > Upgrade option. During the upgrade of other Veeam components to apply version 11a, the Hardened Repository was skipped.
Select the Hardened Repository to upgrade and click Apply.
Click Yes to continue.
Click Set User button and select Single-use credentials for hardened repository option.
Enter the Username of service account used and the Password then click OK.
Click OK to confirm.
This time the repository has been upgraded successfully. Click Finish to exit the wizard.
From the repository console, remove the service account used in Veeam from the sudo group and disable the SSH service. Remember also to disconnect any remote system (iLO, iDRAC, etc.) from your repository.
# sudo deluser locveeam sudo
# sudo systemctl stop ssh.service
The Hardened Repository is now upgraded to the current installed version of your Veeam Server.
Veeam Backup & Replication v11a is available to download as 30-day free trial.
