Using Veeam Backup and Replication software

The Veeam Backup and Replication software offers an optional way of managing backups of IBM Cloud® Virtual Servers for Virtual Private Cloud, although using the Veeam Agent is the recommended method.

The Veeam Backup and Replication software is supported only on the Microsoft Windows operating system. However, you can use it to manage backups for multiple virtual server instances for IBM Cloud VPC that are deployed with any of the supported Linux® operating systems, including CentOS, RHEL, Ubuntu, and Debian, and with any of the supported Windows operating systems.

The following example provides information on installing, configuring, and using the backup and replication software to perform a backup operation on a volume that is attached to a CentOS instance. It also describes how to restore the backed-up volume data using the Veeam Agent for Linux. In addition, the example provides specific instructions on how to perform a volume backup and restore, but you would use similar instructions if you prefer to do file and folder backup and restore operations.

In general, similar instructions apply to the other Linux operating system types supported for virtual server instances for VPC.

Before you begin

Make sure that you order a Veeam license.
Provision and set up a Microsoft Windows virtual server instance for VPC. Veeam Backup and Replication software requires a Microsoft Windows instance with at least 8 vCPUs, 32 GB of memory, and a secondary Block Storage device for the Veeam backup repository.
Ensure that all instances for VPC to be backed up are in the same VPC as the Microsoft Windows instance.

Installing and configuring

After you provision your Microsoft Windows instance for VPC, use the Microsoft Remote Desktop to connect to the instance. For more information, see Connecting to Windows instances.
Use the Server Manager Dashboard to bring the secondary volume online, create a volume, and assign the drive letter E:\.
Use a browser to download the Veeam Backup and Replication software from the Download Veeam Products page.
Install the Veeam Backup and Replication software by using the Veeam installation instructions.
Transfer the Veeam license ID file to the Microsoft Windows instance. Start the Veeam Backup and Replication software and use the acquired license ID file to activate the software.
From the Backup Infrastructure menu, select Backup Repositories and confirm that the Default Backup Repository path is E:\Backup. If the path is not E:\Backup, then select add backup repository. Choose Direct attached storage > Microsoft Windows. Select your Microsoft Windows instance as the server and populate the server with the E:\ drive. In this case, you end up with two repositories, and you need to select the one pointing to your E:\ drive for backup operations.

Backing up and restoring

Volume backup of CentOS instance for VPC

Before you begin

You must complete the following requirements before creating a backup job for the CentOS virtual server instance for VPC:

Transfer the private key (for example, ~/.ssh/id_rsa), which is associated with the public SSH key that is used to create the CentOS instance, to the Microsoft Windows instance.
Ensure that the Microsoft Windows instance can successfully communicate over the private network with the CentOS instance.

Creating a volume backup job

To create a backup job for a CentOS virtual server instance, complete the steps that are outlined in this Veeam Backup and Replication guide.

To begin, start the Veeam Backup and Replication software. From the HOME menu, select Backup Job > Linux Computer. As you navigate through the Veeam Backup and Replication software control panes, be sure to make the following selections:

Creating volume backup job menu panes and values
Menu pane	Value
Job Mode	Select Server for the type and Managed by backup server for the mode.
Name	Enter Agent Backup Job: CentOS server 1.
Computers	Select Add, then select Individual Computer. Enter the private IP address of the CentOS instance. For Credentials, select Add and then select Linux private key. For username, select "root". For password, leave blank. For private key, select Browse, and then navigate to the location of the `id_rsa` file that was transferred to the system and select it.
Backup Mode	Choose Volume Level Backup.
Objects	Choose Add and then select Device. Add the device path for each volume you want to back up. For this example, the “/” root volume, the device path is input at `/dev/vda2`.
Storage	Choose the backup repository where you want the backup to be stored.
Guest Processing	Select any options that you want.
Schedule	Choose the preferred time schedule, and then select Finish to complete the job creation.

The backup job runs at the scheduled time. On the initial run, the Veeam Agent for Linux is installed and configured on the CentOS instance for VPC. The selected volumes are then backed up to the Veeam backup repository.

Recover volume backup for CentOS instance for VPC

To recover files from a volume backup, complete the following steps:

Log in to the CentOS virtual server instance.
From the command line, start the Veeam Agent configuration tool, which was automatically installed by the Veeam Backup and Replication software:
```
veeamconfig ui
```
Select Recover Files, and then select the Job Name of the backup that you want to recover.
Select the Restore Point (creation timestamp of the backup). This mounts the backup into /mnt/backup. Each individual device and volume that is backed up is mounted inside of /mnt/backup.
When you recover your files, unmount the backup.