The release of version 8 of Veeam Backup & Replication is adding new important features that can be used in the Modern Data Center. Veeam Backup Free Edition will also be adopting some of these new features that can be used in a production environment. Veeam Backup Free Edition will gain NetApp integration, Veeam Explorer for Active Directory, Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SQL Server, and Encryption. Here is a rundown for what’s new for free.
Veeam Explorer for Storage Snapshots (For NetApp)
The release of version 8 of Veeam Backup & Replication has added integration with NetApp Storage Snapshots. This feature is included in the free edition and can be used to recover from any snapshots (not limited to those created by Veeam) and supports any level of recovery from both primary storage SnapShot, SnapMirror and SnapVault! Storage snapshot allows you to take copies of the state of a storage volume at a point in time with minimal impact on production environment and as often as you like (offering the best RPOs), and with the Veeam Explorer you can instantly recover from those snapshots for the best RTOs. Veeam Explorer for Storage Snapshots has a variety of restore options including instant restore of an entire VM, restoring VM guest files, restoring Microsoft Exchange mailbox, and Microsoft SharePoint documents, SQL Server databases and Active Directory objects. Indeed, this powerful feature is included for free! Check it out below!
Veeam Explorer for Active Directory
To ensure for high speed recovery of critical application items, Veeam has introduced Explorer for Active Directory. Like the new Veeam Explorer for SQL Server (explained next) this explorer is launched from the File Level Recovery wizard that looks inside of the file system of the VM that has been backed up with VeeamZIP (the backup taken with Veeam Backup Free Edition). This feature allows you to look through the Active Directory Database and restore users, groups, computer accounts, and Organizational Units. You will be able to restore user and computer accounts (including their password hash values associated with the object!) easily with this feature as well. Veeam Backup Free Edition will let you restore from the Active Directory Database whether it be containers or objects. When you are looking to restore, in the backup browser, click on Application Items and choose Active Directory. The Explorer will launch and mount the database allowing you to choose the users or items you are looking to recover. The screenshot below gives you a look inside the Explorer. You can easily see the different users and restore options available. The restore options are listed at the top of the window.
Veeam Explorer for SQL Server
Veeam Explorer for SQL Server will be enhanced with additional restore options in Veeam Backup Free Edition. The Veeam Explorer will allow for one-click restores without having to run or extract a VM. When looking to restore, the Explorer will load to the latest restore point (which will be the last full VeeamZIP backup), and restore the database. The image below shows the Veeam Explorer for SQL Server, you can see where you can restore or export an item. Additional restore functions are incorporated in Veeam Backup & Replication Enterprise Edition or higher and include point-in-time and restore to a specific transaction.
Encryption
Many organizations have data that needs to be protected and encoded for security purposes. With Veeam Backup Free Edition you are able to encrypt your data by just adding a password. The backup encryption feature is found in the VeeamZIP backup window which is shown below. By checking the box, “Enable backup file encryption” and then adding a password, you will be able to make sure your data is encrypted. Veeam uses 256-bit AES which is the standard algorithm for encryption.
Those of you with a keen eye will notice an added dropdown called “Delete this backup automatically”. This is called VeeamZIP autoretention. This feature will allow you to automatically delete your backups after three days, a week, or a month. This solves the problem of having backups you may have forgotten about left on disk. How cool is that!?
Veeam Backup Free Edition includes 13 features that can be utilized in the Modern Data Center, and you can also keep this in your arsenal of tools. These features allow your data center to have a solid backup and recovery process, even if you have a low budget.
Really like free stuff? You can also sign up for the beta of Endpoint : http://go.veeam.com/endpoint and read the blog post: Announcing Veeam Endpoint Backup Free Edition