Understanding Azure Backup Using Veeam and Azure

Post Guide

My thoughts would be highlighted in a blue color.

The Problem Statement

The client currently has a backup solution with Veeam Data Replication for their virtual machines along with their file server. They requested having Azure as a backup repository Veeam can utilize, allowing them to create off-site backups. The goal is to create a storage account on Azure and then connecting the storage account to Veeam, allowing it to store data to the remote storage account.

This was my first job as a Systems Engineer. I had no prior knowledge of Veeam and coming from mostly using my homelab to do studies of Azure and on-premise work, i was nervous.

The Initial Process

Firstly, i needed to understand the requirements for the project and as such, i gathered information from the client.
- What is the expected size of the file server and DC backup?
- How often would these backups need to take place?
- How would you like these backups to be accessed?

Once the initial requirements were understood, we then proceeded to purchase licenses for the client.

In my lab environment, I usually purchased a subscription by clicking the subscription resource and adding a subscription; following the prompts and proccess, however, when purchasing a license for the client, this was facilitated by an MC3 cloud storefront.

The Process and Hiccups

Firstly, we created the storage accounts. Due to the request of the client and the requirements, we only needed one storage account. I created the storage account using an easy to remember naming convention, and proceeded through the usual process.

My first mistake was not fully understanding the requirements of Veeam. I created the storage account within the cold tier, and immutibility off on the account.

Once the storage account creation were completed, we moved over to Veeam where my coworker proceeded to complete the Veeam setup where our first issue arised:
We were unable to find the Azure Repository!

*Trini english part* When i tell ya we looked high and low, believe you me, we did!

Reading through the documentation of Veeam and due to my co-worker's past knowledge of Veeam and Azure, I was quickly persuaded that Veeam needed a "helper" application in the cloud to process the backups to the cloud repository. As such, i started researching a lot more on how Veeam utilizes the helper appliance in Azure with regards to replication and backups.

This is where I started to doubt my cloud and research skills.I started wondering how did i miss that we needed a helper appliance? I also started realizing that adding a helper appliance was out of scope as this was also not discussed with the client nor was it within the budget. My first cloud job, a disaster!

However, upon further research, i noticed that a helper appliace was indeed not necessary and there was actually an option to add a storage account using azure in Veeam as an external repository. I quickly informed my co-worker of this and we eventually found the option to add the external repository, no helper appliance needed! The remaining process were straightforward. We connected the account to Veeam and proceeded to have the backup sync'd to the cloud.

The Mistakes and my Thoughts

Understanding Storage Tiers

My first mistake was not understanding how retention policies work in Azure. The storage account was set to cool storage, meaning, data would need to be in the account for a minimum of 30 days before they can be removed without incuring early deletion fees. Due to this oversight, we needed to increase the retention policy in Veeam to 31-34 days to allow for enough elapsed time before a deletion can occur.Setting up hot storage on the accounts and then proceeding to move the data to cool storage over a period of time could have been the better option.

Understanding Data Immutibility

Once you create a storage account without data immutibility, it cannot be changed in the future. Data Immutibility helps protect the data in the storage account from accidential deletion and this should of been set up from the start.

Learning to Trust my Intuition and Knowledge

When my co-worker came into the call to do his configurations, I mentally decided that as he was senior to me, he knew what was the best course of action towards the issue, even after I studied and researched multiple times of the assignment at hand. I doubted my self and my studies even though I was right. As such, I needed to trust in myself and my knowledge.

Closing Thoughts

As my first assignment as a System Engineer, I realized that there are a lot of things I need to work on, not only from a technical standpoint, but from a personal aspect also. I need to trust my knowledge, my studies, believe in my technical ability and also understand when I should take advice. All in all, it was a successful deployment and the client was happy with the outcome.