If you plan to perform backup or replication operations in the offhost mode, you should add Hyper-V offhost backup proxies. In the backup infrastructure, a backup proxy acts as a “data mover”. While the backup server fills the role of the job manager, the offhost backup proxy actually performs main data handling: it retrieves VM data from the source storage, processes it and transfers to the target destination. Use of offhost backup proxies enables you to take the job processing off the source Hyper-V host.
To add an offhost backup proxy to your backup infrastructure, you should assign this role to a Windows server that is already added to the list of managed servers. When deploying an offhost backup proxy, make sure that you meet the following requirements:
Requirements for an offhost backup proxy processing VMs on local storage and CSV:
1. The role of an offhost backup proxy can be assigned only to a Microsoft Windows 2008 Server R2 machine with the Hyper-V role enabled or to a Microsoft 2012 machine with the Hyper-V role enabled. Note that the version of the Hyper-V host and offhost backup proxy should coincide. For example, if you use a Microsoft Windows 2008 Server R2 machine with the Hyper-V role enabled as a Hyper-V host, you should deploy the offhost backup proxy on a Microsoft Windows 2008 Server R2 machine with the Hyper-V role enabled.
2. The source Hyper-V host and the offhost backup proxy must be connected (through a SAN configuration) to the shared storage that supports VSS hardware providers.
3. To create and manage volume shadow copies on the shared storage, you must install and properly configure a VSS hardware provider that supports transportable shadow copies on the offhost proxy and Hyper-V host. The VSS hardware provider is usually distributed as a part of client components supplied by the storage vendor.
4. If you plan to perform offhost backup for a Hyper-V cluster with CSV, make sure you deploy an offhost backup proxy on a host that is not a part of a Hyper-V cluster. If the offhost backup proxy is deployed on a node of a Hyper-V cluster, the cluster will fail during backup and replication.
Requirements for an offhost backup proxy processing VMs on SMB3:
1. The role of an offhost backup proxy can be assigned only to a Microsoft Windows 2008 Server R2 machine with the Hyper-V role enabled or to a Microsoft 2012 machine with the Hyper-V role enabled.
2. The Local System account of the offhost backup proxy must have full access permissions on the SMB3 file share.
3. The offhost backup proxy should be located in the same domain where the SMB3 server resides. Alternatively, the domain where the SMB3 server resides should be trusted by the domain in which the offhost backup proxy is located.
To add a Hyper‑V offhost backup proxy, follow the next steps.
Step 1. Launch the New Hyper-V Offhost Backup Proxy Wizard
To launch the New Hyper-V Offhost Backup Proxy wizard, do one of the following:
• Open the Backup Infrastructure view, select the Backup Proxies node in the inventory pane, click Add Proxy on the toolbar and select Hyper-V.
• Open the Backup Infrastructure view, right-click the Backup Proxies node in the inventory pane and select Add Hyper-V Offhost Backup Proxy.
Step 2. Choose a Server
From the Choose server list, select a Windows server added to Veeam Backup & Replication. If the server is not yet added, you can click Add New to open the New Windows Server wizard. In the Proxy description field, provide a description for future reference.
In the Connected volumes field, specify from which volumes the offhost backup proxy should be able to retrieve VM data. By default, Veeam Backup & Replication automatically detects all volumes accessible by the offhost backup proxy. You can also define the list of volumes yourself – for example, if you want a particular offhost backup proxy to work with specific volumes. To that end, click Choose on the right and specify the list of volumes from which VM data should be retrieved.
In the Max concurrent tasks field, specify the number of tasks the offhost backup proxy should handle in parallel. If this value is exceeded, the offhost backup proxy will not start a new task until one of the current tasks is finished. To learn more, refer to the Limiting the Number of Concurrent Tasks section.
Offhost backup proxies with multi-core CPUs can handle more concurrent tasks (for example, for 4-core CPU, it is recommended to specify maximum 2 concurrent tasks, for 8-4-core CPU – 4
concurrent tasks). However, when defining the number of concurrent tasks, you should bear in mind the network traffic throughput in your virtual infrastructure.
Step 3. Configure Traffic Throttling Rules
At this step of the wizard, you can configure throttling rules to limit the outbound traffic rate for the offhost backup proxy. Throttling rules will help you manage bandwidth usage and minimize the impact of backup jobs on network performance. To learn more, see the Creating Network Traffic Throttling Rules section.
The list of throttling rules contains only those rules that are applicable to the offhost backup proxy you are adding. The rule is applied to the offhost backup proxy if its IP address falls under the source or target IP range of the rule. To view the rule settings, select it in the list and click View on the right.
You can also open global throttling settings and modify them directly from the wizard – to that end, click the Manage network traffic throttling rules link at the bottom of the window.
Step 4. Review Components
At this step, Veeam Backup & Replication will display the list of components required for work of the Hyper-V offhost backup proxy:
• Veeam Transport Service
• Hyper-V Integration Service
If any of them is missing, Veeam Backup & Replication will automatically install them on the offhost backup proxy.
Step 5. Assess Results
At this step of the wizard, Veeam Backup & Replication will install necessary components on the offhost backup proxy in the real-time mode. Wait for the operation to complete and assess the results of the backup proxy processing.
Step 6. Finish Working with the Wizard
Review the configuration information. Then click Finish to exit the wizard.