Step-by-Step Guide to Upgrading Veeam Backup & Replication
In today’s digital age, data is the lifeblood of businesses. Its loss can lead to significant financial and operational consequences. That’s where Veeam comes in. A leading provider of data protection solutions, Veeam empowers organizations to safeguard their critical data and ensure business continuity.
Founded in 2006, Veeam has established itself as a trusted name in the industry. Its flagship product, Veeam Backup & Replication, is a comprehensive data protection solution that caters to diverse IT environments, including virtual, physical, and cloud-based workloads.
In this guide, we will walk you through the process of upgrading your Veeam Backup & Replication environment. Before you begin, ensure that your current configuration is stable and that all jobs have completed successfully.
Perform Configuration Backups
Backing Up Configuration Settings Manually
While performing configuration backup, Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV exports data from the configuration database and saves it to a backup file in a backup repository. To back up the configuration database of the backup appliance manually, do the following:
- From the main menu of the Veeam Backup & Replication console, select Configuration Backup.
- In the Configuration Backup Settings window, do the following:
- Select the Enable configuration backup to the following repository check box and choose a repository where the configuration backup will be stored. Note that you cannot store configuration backups in scale-out backup repositories and external repositories.
For a backup repository to be displayed in the list of available repositories, it must be added to the backup infrastructure. For more information, see the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide, section Adding Backup Repositories.
- In the Restore points to keep field, specify the number of configuration backups you want to keep.
- Select the Enable backup file encryption check box.
- From the Password drop-down list, select a password.
| Important |
| If you do not specify the password, the Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV configuration database will not be backed up. |
For passwords to be displayed in the Password list, they must be added to the Password Manager as described in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide, section Password Manager. If you have not added the necessary password to the Password Manager beforehand, you can do this without closing the Configuration Backup Settings window. To add a password,
- click Add and specify a password and a password hint that will help you remember your password if you forget it.
If you use Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager, you can also enable the Loss protection functionality that can help you decrypt the data in case you have lost or forgotten the password. For more information, see the Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager Guide, section Managing Encryption Keys.
- Click Apply.
- Click Backup now.
Once Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV creates a successful configuration backup, you can use it to restore configuration data.
Perform VBR Upgrade
Before proceeding to complete the upgrade, ensure that the latest run for all existing jobs has been completed successfully. If any of the jobs fail, please rerun the failed jobs. You must also ensure that there are no running jobs, restore sessions, Instant Recovery sessions, and SureBackup jobs. For more detailed information, kindly take a look at the user guide.
1. Please head over to and download the latest version of the Veeam Backup & Replication installation image from the Veeam Product Downloads page. Click on download button for Veeam Data Platform v12.1 installation iso. You can also request for a Trial key as shown in the image below.
2. Mount the installation image. After mounting the image, the autorun opens a splash screen. If autorun is not available or disabled, run the Setup.exe file from the image.
Click on Upgrade as shown in the image below to start the upgrade process.
3. Select Veeam Backup & Replication 12.1.
4. Select Upgrade Veeam Backup & Replication.
5. Read and accept the license agreement. To accept the license agreements and continue installing Veeam Backup & Replication, click I Accept.
6. Review the components that will be upgraded.
7. Important: To also upgrade the remote components after the Veeam Backup & Replication server is upgraded, select the Update remote components automatically check box
8. Select the license file for Veeam Backup & Replication and click on open as shown below.
9. Next, the setup wizard will check whether the device has the necessary software installed during the System Configuration Check step. If any required components are missing, the setup attempts to install them automatically. After successful installation, the machine must be rebooted. To initiate the reboot, click on “Reboot.”
10. If the setup wizard is unable
to install certain required software components automatically, you must install
them manually. If any compatibility issue is found, it will be thrown here.
Click on “Retry or fix the issue outlined manually.
11. Specify service account settings, click Next
12. Specify the database engine and instance and click Next.
13. Click on Yes to connect the installation to the database to begin the upgrade process
On the Ready to upgrade, click upgrade!
On the Ready to upgrade, click upgrade!
If you did not choose to update the components as shown above, you will be prompted to perform this update.
You must upgrade Veeam components on all remote servers with which the backup server communicates during data protection and disaster recovery tasks. If you do not upgrade components on remote servers, Veeam Backup & Replication jobs will fail.
Congratulations! You’ve successfully navigated the process of upgrading your Veeam Backup & Replication environment. By following these steps, you’ve enhanced your organization’s data protection capabilities and ensured business continuity.
Remember:
- Regular Backups: Continue to perform regular backups to safeguard your critical data.
- Security Best Practices: Implement strong security measures to protect your backup infrastructure.
- Stay Updated: Keep your Veeam software up-to-date with the latest patches and releases.
For further assistance or advanced troubleshooting, consult the official Veeam documentation or reach out to our Veeam Experts who can give you optimal support and complete guidance.