Protect Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365

To protect the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 configuration and be able to restore it quickly in case of any machine failure, it is recommended to back up at least the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 backup server with an image-based backup. Image-based backups of the machines building the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 infrastructure enable quick restores from numerous disasters.

An image backup of proxies can also protect local repositories to comply with the 3-2-1 rule.

Protecting with Veeam Backup and Replication

Veeam Backup and Replication seamlessly integrates with Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365, allowing you to effortlessly back up the entire Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 deployment, including the local repository, in a consistent manner.

A Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 deployment can be hosted on either a physical or virtual environment. In both scenarios, Veeam Backup & Replication provides comprehensive tools for conducting application and crash-consistent backups of Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 deployments. It’s essential to note that, due to the nature of Veeam Backup and Replication’s image backups, no backup of the object storage repository content can be performed. (Creating a seperate backup of the Object-Storage repository using Veeam Backup and Replication is not supported as consistancy can’t be ensured)

Each Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 Server and Proxy server installation incorporates a dedicated Veeam VSS writer. You can identify it by executing the following command: vssadmin list writers on the commandline.

This VSS writer ensures application consistent backups of the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 infrastructure components, even while the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 Server and Proxies are running backup and restore jobs of Microsoft 365 data. Protecting a Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 deployment with Veeam Backup & Replication offers the following advantages:

• Ensures swift Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 components restores (ConfigDB, ProxyDB and associated files)
• Performs granular item restores from local repositories in the backup using Veeam Explorers available on the VBR Server
• Offload the backup data from local repositories to an alternative location like Tape.

The protection planning must also include the additional Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 Proxy Servers and Repositories. Should the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 Backup Repository use SMB shares, such shares need to be backed up separately. The configuration (ConfigDB) and Proxy (ProxyDb) folder on the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 Server and Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 Proxy installations are very important. They contain all the information and details for the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 infrastructure configuration. Restoring these components from a backup is the quickest way to maintain the existing (running) configuration without affecting the rest of the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 deployment and its jobs. Protecting a Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 Server and its infrastructure is critical with advanced deployments. A protection plan covering all major components allows for agile recoveries of all Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 major components: VB365 Server, Proxies and Backup data in the local repositories.

Protecting Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 deployments using Veeam Backup and Replication, allows you to send and manage independent copies to separate storage tiers for longer retention. With Veeam Backup and Replication, this can be achieved through a Scale-Out-Backup-Repository, Tape, or a Cloud-Connect Provider. Veeam Backup and Replication utilizes the VSS integration of Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 for application-consistent backups of the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 data. Additionally, Veeam Backup and Replication recognizes the dataset and allows you to directly restore single items from the image-based backups using the regular explorers within Veeam Backup and Replication.

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