Backup and Restore Proxmox with Veeam Backup and Replication 12.2

by SinaOnline Enterprise Applications, System Training

1. Prerequisites:

  • A Proxmox VE cluster or standalone Proxmox server running.
  • Veeam Backup & Replication 12.2 installed on a Windows server.
  • Ensure Proxmox has the Veeam Agent for Linux installed if you’re doing an agent-based backup.

2. Backup Process:

A. Adding the Proxmox Host to Veeam:

  1. Open the Veeam Backup & Replication console.
  2. Go to “Inventory” > “Managed Servers.”
  3. Right-click and select “Add Server.”
  4. Choose “Linux,” as Proxmox is based on Debian.
  5. Enter the IP address or hostname of the Proxmox server and provide the SSH credentials (root or a user with appropriate permissions).
  6. Verify the connection, and Veeam will add Proxmox to its managed inventory.

B. Creating Backup Jobs:

  1. Go to the “Home” tab and select “Backup Job.”
  2. Choose “Virtual Machine” as the backup type.
  3. Select the Proxmox VMs you want to back up.
  4. Choose your backup repository (storage location for backups).
  5. Configure the backup schedule, retention policies, and any advanced options like encryption or compression.
  6. Save and start the backup job.

C. Monitoring Backups:

  • You can monitor backup jobs in the “History” or “Home” tab to ensure backups run successfully.

3. Restore Process:

A. Full VM Restore:

  1. In the Veeam console, go to the “Home” tab and select “Restore.”
  2. Choose “Entire VM” and select the Proxmox VM from your backup repository.
  3. Choose the restore point you want to use and follow the wizard to select the destination Proxmox server.
  4. Confirm and start the restore process.

B. File-Level Restore:

  1. Go to “Home” > “Restore” and select “Guest files (Linux).”
  2. Choose the backup point and select the VM you want to restore files from.
  3. Browse the file system and restore specific files or directories.

C. Instant Recovery:

  1. Select “Instant Recovery” to start the VM directly from the backup storage.
  2. This allows for minimal downtime while restoring the actual VM in the background.

4. Key Features of Veeam with Proxmox:

  • Incremental Backups: Efficient use of storage by backing up only changes after the initial backup.
  • Compression and Deduplication: Reduces backup size and storage requirements.
  • Instant VM Recovery: Allows quick recovery of critical VMs with minimal downtime.
  • Application-Aware Backups: Ensures consistency for applications like databases.