[{"content":" Chris Childerhose Enterprise Architect | Veeam Vanguard | Author\n30+ years in IT | Veeam Certified Architect | VMCE | vExpert\nLinkedIn · X/Twitter · GitHub ","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/","section":"","summary":"","title":"","type":"page"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/backup/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Backup","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Categories","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/linkedin/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Linkedin","type":"tags"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 13 - Fourth Edition\u0026rdquo; is now in publication and is ready to order either the book or e-book/kindle.\nWell, since writing my first book on v10, I have since wrote three additional books including the latest release for v13. It was a real pleasure to write this new book on v13 with all of the changes/enhancements that Veeam has put in to this release. The process was smooth as always. The team at Packt worked with me again and my busy schedule to create something I think that everyone will enjoy reading. Whether you are a newbie with Veeam or a seasoned expert, you can learn something from this book.\nAn authoritative guide to architect a resilient Veeam 13 backup platform with proven best practices # Key Features # Installation – Veeam Software Appliance, JeOS, and Veeam Backup Console CDP, Domains, HA \u0026amp; AI – Veeam Intelligence, Active Directory Best Practices \u0026amp; More Recovery Options, Other Enhancements, Backup Infrastructure Changes \u0026amp; Veeam ONE v13 Book Description # Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v13 is a core component of the Veeam Data Platform and represents a significant shift toward security‑first, Zero Trust data protection. For backup administrators, mastering v13 is critical to protecting virtual, cloud, and hybrid workloads against outages, accidental data loss, and modern ransomware threats.\nThis book provides a practical, administrator‑focused guide to designing, deploying, and operating data protection environments using Veeam Data Platform v13. It emphasizes real‑world backup operations, infrastructure hardening, and recovery execution, enabling backup admins to move beyond basic job configuration toward resilient, audit‑ready designs.\nYou will gain hands-on experience with both foundational and advanced Veeam capabilities, including Continuous Data Protection (CDP) for low‑RPO workloads, Veeam AI using Veeam Intelligence, Instant Recovery for rapid workload restoration, monitoring, and analytics with Veeam ONE, High Availability for disaster recovery, and a look into the new Veeam Console with all its new enhancements. Throughout the book, cyber‑resilience concepts such as immutability, separation of duties, least privilege, and secure recovery validation are reinforced to align with Veeam v13’s Zero Trust architecture.\nWhat you will learn # Understand installing and upgrading Veeam to v13 Master the ability to use High Availability (HA) for disaster recovery Explore the new JeOS and how it is used in the infrastructure Explore the redesigned and enhanced console, including Veeam Intelligence Work with HA and CDP to ensure data resilience Explore new Veeam ONE features and other best practices Learn best practices and other recovery options now included in Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 13 Who This Book Is For # Users will be VMware Administrators or Backup Administrators with existing knowledge of Veeam, and the topics covered in this book. They will know Virtualization and Backup concepts to understand what gets discussed in each chapter. Veeam is one of the leading modern data protection solutions, and learning this technology will help users protect their environments. Most users will want to implement many of the topics discussed and investigate Veeam ONE for monitoring/reporting their infrastructure and High Availability for DR scenarios.\n# Table of Contents # Chapter 1, Installation – New \u0026amp; Upgrade Chapter 2, Veeam Software Appliance (VSA) Chapter 3, JeOS (Just Enough Operating System) Chapter 4, Veeam Backup Console Chapter 5, Veeam AI – Veeam Intelligence Chapter 6, Best Practices for Active Directory Domains with Veeam Chapter 7, High Availability (HA) Chapter 8, Veeam CDP Enhancements Chapter 9, Other Enhancements – Linux Only Infrastructure and Automatic Upgrades Chapter 10, Backup Infrastructure – PostgreSQL 17.6, Improved Job Manager Scalability, and Other Changes Chapter 11, Veeam ONE v13 Chapter 12, Recovery Options While only the book\u0026rsquo;s first chapter got a refresh for v13, the rest of the chapters are new and cover many enhancements \u0026amp; new features in the v13 release. I believe it will also be a great reference guide once you have completed it to quickly refer back to when doing a new deployment or possibly trying to remember something about the console or High Availability. It might be helpful for the VMCE+/VMCSE exams and as an additional study resource.\nSo I hope I have piqued your interest, and if so, you can order the book below at the link to Packt Publishing and Amazon, where the Kindle version is available and the paperback.\nOrder the book/e-book here at Packt - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v13 - Fourth Edition\nOrder the book/e-book here at Amazon - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v13 - Fourth Edition\n","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/mastering-veeam-backup-replication-v13-book-published/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mastering Veeam Backup Replication V13 Book - Published","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/packt/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Packt","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/packt-publishing/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Packt-Publishing","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Posts","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tags","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/twitter/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Twitter","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/veeam/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Veeam","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/veeam/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Veeam","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"30 April 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/veeam-vanguard/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Veeam-Vanguard","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"31 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/high-availability/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"High-Availability","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"31 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/infrastructure/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Infrastructure","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"31 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/monitoring/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Monitoring","type":"tags"},{"content":"Getting visibility into your Veeam VSA High Availability (HA) Cluster is critical for ensuring backup continuity. Veeam ONE provides the dashboards, alarms, and reporting you need to stay ahead of issues before they impact your recovery objectives. This post walks through configuring Veeam ONE to effectively monitor your VSA HA Cluster — from initial connection through tuning alarm thresholds and automating the whole thing with PowerShell via the Veeam ONE REST API.\nWhat Is the Veeam VSA HA Cluster? # The Veeam VSA HA Cluster provides redundancy for your Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication environment by pairing a primary and secondary node. If the primary node fails, the secondary automatically takes over, maintaining backup and replication operations without manual intervention. While the cluster handles the failover, Veeam ONE is what tells you something happened — or better yet, that something is about to go wrong.\nThe cluster relies on several components that need continuous monitoring:\nPrimary and secondary VBR nodes (virtual appliances) Shared PostgreSQL configuration database Internode heartbeat and replication traffic Underlying vSphere resources hosting the appliances Architecture Overview # The following diagram shows how Veeam ONE sits alongside your HA cluster, collecting data from both nodes and the underlying vSphere infrastructure simultaneously.\ngraph TD subgraph vSphere[\u0026#34;vSphere Infrastructure\u0026#34;] ESX1[\u0026#34;ESXi Host 1\u0026#34;] ESX2[\u0026#34;ESXi Host 2\u0026#34;] vC[\u0026#34;vCenter Server\u0026#34;] end subgraph VSA_HA[\u0026#34;Veeam VSA HA Cluster\u0026#34;] PRI[\u0026#34;Primary VBR Node\\n(Active)\u0026#34;] SEC[\u0026#34;Secondary VBR Node\\n(Standby)\u0026#34;] PG[(\u0026#34;PostgreSQL\\nConfig DB\u0026#34;)] VIP[\u0026#34;Cluster VIP\u0026#34;] PRI -- \u0026#34;Heartbeat / Sync\u0026#34; --\u0026gt; SEC PRI -- \u0026#34;DB Replication\u0026#34; --\u0026gt; PG VIP --\u0026gt; PRI end subgraph VONE[\u0026#34;Veeam ONE Server\u0026#34;] MON[\u0026#34;Monitoring\\nService\u0026#34;] REP[\u0026#34;Reporting\\nService\u0026#34;] API[\u0026#34;REST API\\n:1239\u0026#34;] MON --\u0026gt; REP MON --\u0026gt; API end vC --\u0026gt; MON ESX1 --\u0026gt; MON ESX2 --\u0026gt; MON PRI -- \u0026#34;Port 9392\u0026#34; --\u0026gt; MON SEC -- \u0026#34;Port 9392\u0026#34; --\u0026gt; MON API --\u0026gt; ALERTS[\u0026#34;Alert\\nNotifications\\n(Email / Script / Webhook)\u0026#34;] 🔍 Click to enlarge\nVeeam ONE connects to both VBR nodes independently on port 9392, and to vCenter for VM-level metrics. This means you retain full visibility regardless of which node is currently active.\nConnecting Veeam ONE to the HA Cluster # Before alarms can fire, Veeam ONE needs to know about the cluster. Add both nodes individually so you have full visibility regardless of which is active.\nOpen Veeam ONE Monitor and go to Veeam Backup Servers in the left panel Right-click and choose Add Veeam Backup Server Enter the FQDN/IP of the primary node, credentials, and connection port (default 9392) Repeat for the secondary node Optionally, add the cluster virtual IP (VIP) as a third entry if your setup uses one Tip: Use a dedicated service account with the Veeam ONE Read-Only Operator role rather than your admin credentials. This follows least-privilege principles and avoids lockout issues during node failovers.\nOnce connected, verify both nodes appear under Infrastructure \u0026gt; Veeam Backup Servers and that job data is populating correctly.\nAlarm Lifecycle # Before diving into specific alarms, it helps to understand how Veeam ONE processes an alarm from detection through to resolution. Over 300 predefined alarms ship out of the box, all with adjustable thresholds.\nsequenceDiagram participant INF as Infrastructure\u0026lt;br/\u0026gt;(VBR Node / VM / vSphere) participant COLL as Veeam ONE\u0026lt;br/\u0026gt;Collection Service participant ENG as Alarm Engine participant NOTIF as Notification\u0026lt;br/\u0026gt;Rule participant OPS as Operator INF-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;COLL: Metric / event data (polling interval) COLL-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;ENG: Evaluate against alarm thresholds alt Threshold breached ENG-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;ENG: Set severity (Warning / Error / Resolved) ENG-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;NOTIF: Match alarm to notification rules NOTIF-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;OPS: Email / Script / Webhook fired OPS-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;INF: Remediate issue INF-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;COLL: Metric returns to normal COLL-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;ENG: Re-evaluate ENG-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;ENG: Alarm → Resolved ENG-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;NOTIF: Resolution notification (optional) NOTIF-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;OPS: Resolved notification sent else No breach ENG-\u0026gt;\u0026gt;ENG: No alarm — continue polling end 🔍 Click to enlarge\nKey Alarms to Configure # Veeam ONE ships with a solid set of built-in alarms, but the defaults aren\u0026rsquo;t always tuned for an HA environment. Navigate to Veeam ONE Monitor \u0026gt; Alarm Management to review and customize the following.\nBackup Server Health Alarms # These fire when something goes wrong with the VBR service itself:\nAlarm Recommended Threshold Severity Backup Server Unreachable 1 occurrence Critical Backup Server Database Connection Immediate Critical Veeam Services Status Immediate Critical License Expiration 30 days = Warning / 7 days = Critical Warning → Critical HA Cluster Node Alarms # For the cluster specifically, configure these in Alarm Management \u0026gt; Veeam Backup:\nHA Cluster Node Failover Detected — Set to Critical with immediate notification. A failover means something failed on the primary; you need to know now so you can investigate the root cause and restore HA redundancy. HA Cluster Sync Status — Set to Warning if sync lag exceeds 30 seconds, Critical if it exceeds 5 minutes. A lagging secondary means your failover target is out of date. HA Cluster Node Role Change — Informational alarm that logs when the active node designation changes. Useful for audit trails. VM Resource Alarms # Since the VSA nodes run as virtual machines on your vSphere infrastructure, wire up these VM-level alarms and scope them to the HA cluster VMs specifically:\nVM CPU Usage — Warning at 75%, Critical at 90% VM Memory Usage — Warning at 80%, Critical at 95% VM Disk Space — Warning at 75%, Critical at 85% (especially on the config DB volume) VM Snapshot Detected — Immediate warning; snapshots on VBR appliances can cause serious performance and consistency problems VM Network Connectivity Loss — Immediate Critical; loss of network on either node breaks internode communication Backup Job Alarms # Failovers don\u0026rsquo;t always mean jobs resume cleanly. Add these to catch post-failover drift:\nBackup Job Failed — Critical, notify immediately Backup Job Warning — Warning, notify within 15 minutes No Backup in Last N Days — Critical if a VM hasn\u0026rsquo;t been backed up within RPO window Backup Window Exceeded — Warning when jobs run longer than expected, which can indicate resource contention on the newly active node Alarm Severity Flow # The diagram below maps alarm states against recommended actions, keeping your response process consistent across shifts.\nflowchart LR A([Alarm Triggered]) --\u0026gt; B{Severity?} B --\u0026gt;|Warning| W[\u0026#34;🟡 Warning\\nLog ticket\\nMonitor 15 min\\nCheck trend\u0026#34;] B --\u0026gt;|Error / Critical| E[\u0026#34;🔴 Critical\\nPage on-call\\nBegin RCA\\nCheck HA sync\u0026#34;] B --\u0026gt;|Resolved| R[\u0026#34;🟢 Resolved\\nClose ticket\\nDocument outcome\u0026#34;] W --\u0026gt; W2{Still Warning\\nafter 15 min?} W2 --\u0026gt;|Yes| E W2 --\u0026gt;|No| R E --\u0026gt; E2[\u0026#34;Attempt\\nRemediation\u0026#34;] E2 --\u0026gt; E3{Resolved?} E3 --\u0026gt;|Yes| R E3 --\u0026gt;|No| E4[\u0026#34;Escalate to\\nSenior Engineer /\\nVeeam Support\u0026#34;] 🔍 Click to enlarge\nScoping Alarms to the Cluster # Rather than applying alarms globally, scope them directly to the HA cluster objects to reduce noise:\nIn Alarm Management, select the alarm and click Edit Under Scope, choose Specific Objects Add both VBR node entries and any associated VMs Save — the alarm will now only fire for those objects This prevents false positives from other backup servers in your environment triggering the same HA-specific alarms.\nSetting Up Notification Rules # Alarms are only useful if someone sees them. Go to Settings \u0026gt; Notification Rules and create a dedicated rule for HA cluster alarms:\nRule Name: VSA HA Cluster - Critical Alerts Trigger: Any alarm scoped to HA cluster objects at Warning or Critical severity Recipients: your-team@company.com (or Teams/Slack webhook if integrated) Schedule: 24/7 — no suppression window for HA alarms\nFor non-critical informational alarms (like role change events), create a separate rule with a digest schedule so you\u0026rsquo;re not flooded during a planned failover test.\nAutomating Alarm Configuration with PowerShell # Veeam ONE does not ship with a native PowerShell module, but its REST API (port 1239) exposes full alarm management capabilities. The snippets below use the Veeam ONE v13 REST API to authenticate, query alarm templates, retrieve active alarms, and wire up a script action — all repeatable across environments.\nStep 1 — Authenticate and Get a Token # #Requires -Version 5.1 [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12 $voneServer = \u0026#34;veeamone.yourdomain.local\u0026#34; $vonePort = 1239 $baseUri = \u0026#34;https://${voneServer}:${vonePort}\u0026#34; $cred = Get-Credential -Message \u0026#34;Enter Veeam ONE credentials\u0026#34; # Ignore self-signed cert in lab — remove in production (use a trusted cert) if (-not ([System.Management.Automation.PSTypeName]\u0026#39;TrustAll\u0026#39;).Type) { Add-Type @\u0026#34; using System.Net; using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates; public class TrustAll : ICertificatePolicy { public bool CheckValidationResult(ServicePoint sp, X509Certificate cert, WebRequest req, int prob) { return true; } } \u0026#34;@ [System.Net.ServicePointManager]::CertificatePolicy = New-Object TrustAll } $tokenBody = @{ grant_type = \u0026#34;password\u0026#34; username = $cred.UserName password = $cred.GetNetworkCredential().Password } $tokenResponse = Invoke-RestMethod ` -Method POST ` -Uri \u0026#34;$baseUri/api/token\u0026#34; ` -Body $tokenBody ` -ContentType \u0026#34;application/x-www-form-urlencoded\u0026#34; $token = $tokenResponse.access_token $headers = @{ \u0026#34;Authorization\u0026#34; = \u0026#34;Bearer $token\u0026#34; \u0026#34;Accept\u0026#34; = \u0026#34;application/json\u0026#34; \u0026#34;Content-Type\u0026#34; = \u0026#34;application/json\u0026#34; } Write-Host \u0026#34;✅ Connected to Veeam ONE at $voneServer\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green Step 2 — List All Alarm Templates (Find HA Alarm IDs) # Use this to discover the alarmTemplateId values for HA cluster alarms so you can reference them in subsequent calls.\n$alarmTemplates = Invoke-RestMethod ` -Method GET ` -Uri \u0026#34;$baseUri/api/v2.2/alarms/templates\u0026#34; ` -Headers $headers # Filter for HA and Backup Server related alarms $haAlarms = $alarmTemplates.items | Where-Object { $_.name -match \u0026#34;HA|Backup Server|Cluster|Failover|Sync\u0026#34; } $haAlarms | Select-Object alarmTemplateId, name, isEnabled, isPredefined | Format-Table -AutoSizeExample output:\nalarmTemplateId name isEnabled isPredefined\n214 HA Cluster Node Failover Detected True True 215 HA Cluster Sync Status True True 216 HA Cluster Node Role Change True True 42 Backup Server Unreachable True True 43 Backup Server Database Connection True True\nStep 3 — Query Currently Triggered Alarms # Pull all active alarms scoped to your HA cluster nodes and filter by severity. Run this on a schedule or wire it into your ticketing system.\n$triggeredAlarms = Invoke-RestMethod ` -Method GET ` -Uri \u0026#34;$baseUri/api/v2.2/alarms/triggered?limit=200\u0026#34; ` -Headers $headers # Show only Warning / Error alarms on HA cluster objects $activeHaAlarms = $triggeredAlarms.items | Where-Object { $_.status -in @(\u0026#34;Warning\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;Error\u0026#34;) -and $_.name -match \u0026#34;HA|Backup Server|Cluster\u0026#34; } if ($activeHaAlarms.Count -eq 0) { Write-Host \u0026#34;✅ No active HA cluster alarms.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green } else { Write-Warning \u0026#34;⚠️ $($activeHaAlarms.Count) active HA alarm(s) found!\u0026#34; $activeHaAlarms | Select-Object ` triggeredAlarmId, name, status, triggeredTime, @{N=\u0026#34;Object\u0026#34;; E={$_.alarmAssignment.objectName}}, description | Format-Table -AutoSize -Wrap } Step 4 — Resolve an Alarm Programmatically # After automated or manual remediation, acknowledge and resolve an alarm by its ID.\nfunction Resolve-VeeamOneAlarm { param( [Parameter(Mandatory)][int] $TriggeredAlarmId, [Parameter(Mandatory)][string] $Comment ) $body = @{ comment = $Comment } | ConvertTo-Json Invoke-RestMethod ` -Method POST ` -Uri \u0026#34;$baseUri/api/v2.2/alarms/triggered/$TriggeredAlarmId/resolve\u0026#34; ` -Headers $headers ` -Body $body | Out-Null Write-Host \u0026#34;✅ Alarm ID $TriggeredAlarmId resolved.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green } # Example usage — resolve alarm after confirming HA sync restored Resolve-VeeamOneAlarm -TriggeredAlarmId 42 -Comment \u0026#34;HA sync lag resolved after primary node restart at $(Get-Date -Format \u0026#39;yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm\u0026#39;)\u0026#34; Step 5 — Configure an Alarm Script Action (Run on Trigger) # Veeam ONE allows a Run Script action on any alarm. This is how you fire a custom PowerShell handler — for example, to create a ServiceNow/Jira ticket or send a Teams webhook — when an HA alarm triggers. Configure this in the alarm\u0026rsquo;s Actions tab in the GUI, or template it with the snippet below as your notification script.\n# save as: C:\\Scripts\\VeeamONE-HAAlarm-Handler.ps1 # Veeam ONE passes: %1=AlarmName %2=ObjectName %3=AlarmStatus %4=Description %5=DateTime param( [string]$AlarmName = $args, [string]$ObjectName = $args,[1] [string]$AlarmStatus = $args,[2] [string]$Description = $args,[3] [string]$TriggeredAt = $args[4] ) $logPath = \u0026#34;C:\\Logs\\VeeamONE-HAAlarms.log\u0026#34; $timestamp = Get-Date -Format \u0026#34;yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss\u0026#34; # Log the alarm locally \u0026#34;[$timestamp] ALARM: $AlarmName | Object: $ObjectName | Status: $AlarmStatus | $Description\u0026#34; | Out-File -FilePath $logPath -Append -Encoding UTF8 # Send a Teams webhook (replace URI with your connector URL) $teamsWebhook = \u0026#34;https://outlook.office.com/webhook/YOUR-WEBHOOK-URI\u0026#34; $teamsBody = @{ \u0026#34;@type\u0026#34; = \u0026#34;MessageCard\u0026#34; \u0026#34;@context\u0026#34; = \u0026#34;http://schema.org/extensions\u0026#34; \u0026#34;summary\u0026#34; = \u0026#34;Veeam ONE HA Alarm\u0026#34; \u0026#34;themeColor\u0026#34; = if ($AlarmStatus -eq \u0026#34;Error\u0026#34;) { \u0026#34;FF0000\u0026#34; } else { \u0026#34;FFA500\u0026#34; } \u0026#34;title\u0026#34; = \u0026#34;🔔 Veeam ONE: $AlarmName\u0026#34; \u0026#34;sections\u0026#34; = @(@{ \u0026#34;facts\u0026#34; = @( @{ \u0026#34;name\u0026#34; = \u0026#34;Object\u0026#34;; \u0026#34;value\u0026#34; = $ObjectName } @{ \u0026#34;name\u0026#34; = \u0026#34;Status\u0026#34;; \u0026#34;value\u0026#34; = $AlarmStatus } @{ \u0026#34;name\u0026#34; = \u0026#34;Time\u0026#34;; \u0026#34;value\u0026#34; = $TriggeredAt } @{ \u0026#34;name\u0026#34; = \u0026#34;Details\u0026#34;; \u0026#34;value\u0026#34; = $Description } ) }) } | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 5 try { Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $teamsWebhook -Method POST -Body $teamsBody -ContentType \u0026#34;application/json\u0026#34; \u0026#34;[$timestamp] Teams notification sent.\u0026#34; | Out-File -FilePath $logPath -Append -Encoding UTF8 } catch { \u0026#34;[$timestamp] ERROR sending Teams notification: $_\u0026#34; | Out-File -FilePath $logPath -Append -Encoding UTF8 }In the alarm\u0026rsquo;s Actions tab, set the Run script action value to:\npowershell.exe -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File \u0026ldquo;C:\\Scripts\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; \u0026lsquo;%1\u0026rsquo; \u0026lsquo;%2\u0026rsquo; \u0026lsquo;%3\u0026rsquo; \u0026lsquo;%4\u0026rsquo; \u0026lsquo;%5\u0026rsquo;\nStep 6 — Full Alarm Audit Report (Scheduled) # Run this weekly via Windows Task Scheduler to produce a CSV audit of all HA alarm activity for your change management records.\n$reportPath = \u0026#34;C:\\Reports\\VeeamONE-HAAlarm-Audit-$(Get-Date -Format \u0026#39;yyyyMMdd\u0026#39;).csv\u0026#34; $allTriggered = Invoke-RestMethod ` -Method GET ` -Uri \u0026#34;$baseUri/api/v2.2/alarms/triggered?limit=500\u0026#34; ` -Headers $headers $report = $allTriggered.items | Where-Object { $_.name -match \u0026#34;HA|Backup Server|Cluster|Failover|Sync\u0026#34; } | Select-Object ` triggeredAlarmId, name, status, triggeredTime, @{N=\u0026#34;ObjectName\u0026#34;; E={$_.alarmAssignment.objectName}}, @{N=\u0026#34;ObjectType\u0026#34;; E={$_.alarmAssignment.objectType}}, repeatCount, description $report | Export-Csv -Path $reportPath -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8 Write-Host \u0026#34;📄 Report saved to: $reportPath\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan Dashboard Configuration # Veeam ONE Monitor\u0026rsquo;s Business View is ideal for building an HA cluster dashboard.\nNavigate to Business View and create a new Business Group called VSA HA Cluster Add both backup server objects and their underlying VMs to the group Pin the following widgets to the group dashboard: Protected VMs — confirms all VMs remain protected post-failover Backup Infrastructure Health — overall status of both nodes Active Alarms — filtered to the cluster group Job Session History (Last 24h) — quickly spot failed or missed jobs Save and set the dashboard as a favorite for quick access In Veeam ONE Reporter, schedule a weekly Infrastructure Assessment report scoped to the cluster group and email it to stakeholders. This gives a historical record of any failover events, alarm activity, and resource utilization trends.\nTesting Your Monitoring Setup # Before you rely on these alarms in production, validate them with a controlled test:\nSimulate a failover using the Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication console (or by gracefully shutting down the primary node in a maintenance window) Confirm the HA Cluster Node Failover Detected alarm fires within the expected timeframe Verify notification emails/webhooks and Teams messages are delivered Check that the secondary node now shows as Active in Veeam ONE Restore the primary node and confirm HA Cluster Sync Status returns to green once replication catches up Document the alarm-to-notification latency you observe — this becomes your baseline SLA for incident response.\nBest Practices # Never rely solely on Veeam ONE for HA cluster monitoring; integrate it with your broader monitoring stack (Zabbix, PRTG, Azure Monitor) via SNMP traps or syslog forwarding Review alarm thresholds quarterly — resource baselines shift as your environment grows, and stale thresholds lead to alarm fatigue Keep Veeam ONE updated alongside VBR — newer versions introduce improved HA cluster awareness and alarm coverage Test failover scenarios at least twice a year and validate that monitoring correctly reflects the post-failover state Store the REST API token securely — use Windows Credential Manager or a secrets manager rather than hardcoding credentials in scripts Use Business View grouping consistently so reports and dashboards remain accurate even as you add nodes or migrate VMs ","date":"31 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/veeam-vsa-ha-cluster-monitoring-vone/","section":"Posts","summary":"Getting visibility into your Veeam VSA High Availability (HA) Cluster is critical for ensuring backup continuity. Veeam ONE provides the dashboards, alarms, and reporting you need to stay ahead of issues before they impact your recovery objectives. This post walks through configuring Veeam ONE to effectively monitor your VSA HA Cluster — from initial connection through tuning alarm thresholds and automating the whole thing with PowerShell via the Veeam ONE REST API.\n","title":"Monitoring Your Veeam VSA HA Cluster with Veeam ONE","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"31 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/powershell/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Powershell","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"31 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/veeam-one/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Veeam-One","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"27 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/backup/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Backup","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"27 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/tech/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Tech","type":"tags"},{"content":"With the release of Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 13 there is a new feature that you can use to set up two nodes in an HA Cluster configuration for high availability. I am going to outline the process below and keep in mind that you will need to have a VDP Premium license in order to do this as that is a hard requirement. Now let’s look at HA Clustering with Veeam VSA.\nConfiguring a Veeam VSA HA Cluster # The HA cluster configuration process involves two major phases: enabling the HA feature on both nodes via the Host Management Console and then assembling the cluster through the Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication Console.\nEnable High Availability on Both Nodes via MGMT UI # Before the cluster can be assembled, the HA capability must be enabled on each Veeam Software Appliance independently through the Host Management Console (Web interface on port 10443).\n1. Access the Host Management Console of the first VSA node by navigating to https://:10443 in a web browser.\n2. Navigate to the Integrations section \u0026raquo; Backup Infrastructure and locate the High Availability heading.\n3. Click the Submit Request link to enable HA. Since this operation exposes configuration database content (including credentials) to a second node, the Security Officer must approve the request. (If the Security Officer was not enabled during the initial configuration of your VSA server then this will be approved automatically.)\n4. Approve the request by logging in as the Security Officer (if enabled) and confirming the HA enablement.\n5. Repeat the process on the second VSA node. Both nodes must have HA enabled before cluster assembly can proceed.\nNOTE: If Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is enabled on the Host Management Console (which is recommended), ensure that OTP codes are configured for both the administrator and Security Officer accounts on both nodes before proceeding. Time synchronization between nodes must also be accurate for OTP validation to succeed.\nAssemble the Cluster via the VBR Console # Once HA has been enabled and approved on both nodes, the cluster is assembled using the New High Availability Cluster wizard in the Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication Console (the Windows-based remote management console).\nStep 1 — Launch the Wizard. Connect the Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication Console to the machine that will serve as the primary node. Open the Backup Infrastructure view, select Managed Servers in the inventory pane, then select the Linux host and click Create HA Cluster on the ribbon (or right-click the host and select Create HA Cluster).\nStep 2 — Specify Cluster Settings. Enter the Cluster DNS Name and the Virtual IP Address. The DNS name should match the DNS record you created during the preparation phase. Click Next to proceed.\nStep 3 — Specify Cluster Nodes Settings. Select the IP address of the first node (the current host), then enter the IP address or hostname of the second VSA node along with credentials for authentication. Click Next to verify connectivity and accept the SSL certificate warning by clicking Continue.\nThe above figure shows the cluster node information and after you click Next you will get the Certificate Security Alert dialog below where you click Continue to proceed.\nStep 4 — Finish the Wizard. Review the summary and click Finish to begin cluster assembly. Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication will configure both nodes, establish database replication, and assign the virtual IP. This process typically takes 10–15 minutes depending on the environment.\nOnce assembly completes, all status indicators in the console should show green. From this point forward, you must connect to the backup server exclusively using the cluster DNS name or cluster IP address — not the individual node addresses.\nNOTE: There is a known issue in version 13.0.1 where HA cluster creation can fail if a capacity tier is configured or if the local default repository is still present. If you encounter errors during assembly, try removing the default local repository and pointing the configuration backup to an external repository before retrying the wizard.\nNow when you launch the Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication Console to connect to your newly deployed cluster you can specify the FQDN or IP address of the HA Cluster instead of the node FQDN/IP.\nThat completes this quick blog on setting up the Veeam HA Clustering with the new VSA Appliance. Hopefully you found this useful.\n","date":"27 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/veeam-vsa-ha-cluster-setup/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam VSA HA Cluster Setup","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"27 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/veeamvanguard/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Veeamvanguard","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"27 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/vexpert/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Vexpert","type":"categories"},{"content":"It is almost time and excitement when writing a book, and then the marketing department contacts you to say time for the big push! Well, I was contacted today by Packt Publishing to indicate that my new book - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v13, will be out in April 2026.\nI look forward to this book with updated content and some new stuff directly from v13, including a special guest chapter on the Veeam Console from\nI will create another blog post once my book is published, but you can use the link to pre-order the book until then.\nExciting times ahead!!\n","date":"13 March 2026","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/posts/mastering-veeam-backup-replication-v13-book-announcement/","section":"Posts","summary":"Looking at many new features for v13","title":"Mastering Veeam Backup Replication V13 Book Announcement","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"24 November 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/blog/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Blog","type":"categories"},{"content":"I’d like to first thank Rick Vanover, Madalina Cristil, Nikola Pejková, Safiya Mohamed, and everyone at Veeam for their efforts and support leading up to my fourth Veeam 100 Summit. It’s a HUGE undertaking that requires extensive coordination. This was my fourth time attending the event in person. It was an honour to attend such a prestigious event for the fourth time and to meet many fellow Vanguards, Legends, and MVPs in person for the first time, as well as from previous Veeam 100 Summit events. It is amazing how being at an event and speaking with others of the same mindset makes you feel great. As for the host city, Prague, it was my third time visiting for the summit, and it did not disappoint, as usual.\nThis summit was different because I had my family with me, so we could explore the sites and go on some tours. We arrived on Saturday to get an extra day in, but the first day was not much to write about, as we were jet-lagged and ended up in bed by 7 PM, sleeping through the night. Sunday was a new and fresh day after catching up on sleep. We decided to do a bus tour, which ended up at the castle for a 30-minute stop to explore. My wife and daughter enjoyed seeing all the architecture of Prague, which is beautiful. That same evening, when other folks arrived, we went on an Underground Tour that showcased parts of Prague still there today but not visible. It was an excellent adventure for the first full day, and I even showed the family the shopping center around the corner, knowing they would go there while I was in the conference.\nBelow are some pictures from the underground tour.\nDay 0, which was Monday, November 3rd, was registration, badge collection, swag collection, and the Veeam SureBackup session. I did not personally attend the SureBackup session and heard there were some technical difficulties with the lab portion, but IT would not be IT if there were no problems. The evening was followed by the welcome reception hosted by Wasabi \u0026amp; Object First\nThe \u0026ldquo;Jenga\u0026rdquo;-style trophy received a new block for 2025, but most found that it was slightly larger than the previous two-year blocks. So an email was sent out asking if anyone would like a new block that would fit, or if you could file down the one you have to make it fit. (A little humour below)\nDay 1, Tuesday, November 4th, marked the first full day of summit sessions. The usual General Session began, which outlined what is to come with Veeam and many of the other sessions to attend. We also heard from both event sponsors, Wasabi and Object First.\nAfter the opening general session, we then proceeded to sessions about:\nVeeam acquires Securiti AI (RED) Wasabi Session Veeam Data Platform AI What\u0026rsquo;s New in Veeam ONE 13 VDC, VRO, Kasten Updates (YELLOW) Veeam Data Platform - Version 13 Latest Improvements Due to the RED \u0026amp; YELLOW content, unfortunately, there is nothing more I can comment on for these topics. Below is some green content on new stuff in Version 13. Some of the best things that have been added to Version 13 are:\nVSA Appliance HA for the VSA Appliance Veeam ONE 13 - HA Monitoring Universal CDP And much more This day was rounded out with the traditional Dalrymple Toast, started by Craig Dalrymple. This year was also special, as it marked the first award recipient in honour of the late Brad Jervis, a fellow Vanguard who tragically passed away. Each year, one Veeam 100 member will be nominated for the award. Jim Jones was the inaugural recipient this year. Congratulations again, Jim!\nDay 2, which was Wednesday, November 5th - this was the final full day of more great sessions; however, choosing was difficult, as the sessions were split between two rooms, where you had to pick one or the other at the specific timeslot. In some cases, the opposite sessions had a Teams meeting going, so you could multitask.\nI had two colleagues who attended the summit this year -\nVeeam User Group Leader - Hin Tang\nVeeam Legend - Tommy O\u0026rsquo;Shea\nSo we decided to divide and conquer to get the most exposure for the sessions on day two. The sessions I attended were:\nEnterprise Backup Updates with Petr Makarov\nVSPC 9.1 with Chris Arceneaux \u0026amp; Ivan Kochemasov (YELLOW Session)\nVeeam Software Appliance Autodeploy with Baptiste Tellier, Egor Yakovlev \u0026amp; Hannes Kasparick (YELLOW Session)\nThese sessions were yellow, so there is nothing further to post about them.\nThe final session was the always RED content Product Management AMA. Full of some great details and things to come for Veeam in 2026! The day concluded with the Veeam 100 Summit celebration at the Pilsner Urquell Brewery.\nThursday was checkout day and the day I travelled back home with the family. We loved Prague, but it was time to get back home. Until next year, Prague!\nPlease check out additional Veeam 100 Summit posts from fellow attendees, which include:\nMatheus Giovanini - https://community.veeam.com/topic/show?tid=12092\u0026amp;postid=85780 Beth Souza - https://medium.com/@ec.desouza/muito-al%C3%A9m-da-tecnologia-o-poder-da-comunidade-veeam-88a0091c1c54 Markus Hartmann - https://markushartmann.blog/2025/11/15/veeam-v100-summit-prag-2025/ Ian Sanderson - https://www.snurf.co.uk/veeam/veeam-100-summit-2025/ Ben Harmer - https://benharmer.blog/2025/11/10/veeam-100-summit-2025-recap/ Marcel Kacmar - https://community.veeam.com/veeam%2D100%2D102/veeam100%2Dit%2Ds%2Dnot%2Djust%2Da%2Dsummit%2D12103?fid=102\u0026amp;tid=12103 Additional video and content can be found on Twitter using the hashtag #Veeam100Summit As always, a huge thank you to Veeam, Rick Vanover, Nikola Pejkova, Safiya Mohamed, and Madalina Cristil for all the hard work and effort you put into this event, as well as for the support you provide to all the attendees. Here is to a great end to 2025, and looking forward to 2026 with what is to come.\nLastly, I will leave you with some more photos I took while in Prague, walking around the wonderful city, especially at night. My daughter and I even tried the chimney ice cream this time around. :)\n","date":"24 November 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/11/24/veeam-100-summit-recap-prague-2025/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam 100 Summit Recap - Prague 2025","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"24 November 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/veeam-legends/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Veeam-Legends","type":"categories"},{"content":"When I look back at my time in the Veeam Vanguard program, it is hard to believe that I have been part of one of the best evangelism programs for eight years. Being part of such an amazing program with amazing people is truly an honour. You know it will be a great year when you receive an email stating you have been accepted or renewed for another year.\nThe Journey Begins # While the program began in 2015, it was just after VeeamON 2017 in New Orleans, where Veeam invited me, all expenses paid, and this marked the start of my journey in the Veeam world and this great program. I applied to the Veeam Vanguard program in 2018 and, to my surprise, was accepted for my inaugural year. It was at this point that my career began to take shape, setting me on a path that has allowed me to grow into the Enterprise Architect role I currently hold at ThinkOn, a managed service provider. I have worked with Veeam since then and watched it grow over the years into a powerhouse application for Data Protection. I have had the opportunity to attend numerous \u0026ldquo;insider\u0026rdquo; sessions over the years, which have enabled me to preview upcoming features and witness the product\u0026rsquo;s evolution and growth. At the time of joining the program, I believe there were approximately 50, and since then, it has grown into the current Veeam 100, which encompasses Vanguards, Legends, and MVPs within Veeam.\nCareer Growth # I feel that I have grown tremendously as a person, IT professional, and all-around individual due to the Veeam Vanguard program. It has taught me many things and fostered some really great friendships over the years, which continue to this day. I genuinely don\u0026rsquo;t think I would be where I am in technology today if it were not for the Veeam Vanguard program and the wonderful people who are part of it. Moving from a System Administrator to an Enterprise Architect has allowed me to expand my technology portfolio and learn many new things, including AI. All of this growth can be attributed in some way to the Veeam Vanguard program.\nGrowing as a Person \u0026amp; Speaker # It has also led me to another path within the Veeam ecosystem and that being a Veeam User Group (VUG) Leader for Canada. This is where you get to hold events with sponsor and talk all things Veeam-related with customers, partners, and Veeam employees. Being part of this fantastic program has allowed me to hone my presentation skills as well as speaking skills. I have even been part of the V100 shows that come on each month to speak on topics that are close to my heart or a project that I have worked on to show my skillset with Veeam. I have even been part of Veeam Partner webinars such as Object First discussing topics that relate. Does not hurt being part of the Object First Aces program either.\nBecoming an Author \u0026amp; Blogger # One of the many other things that a great evangelist program can do for you is start you on a path that you possibly would never have thought to explore. For me, that was becoming an author of a series of books called \u0026ldquo;Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication\u0026rdquo; through Packt Publishing. I was approached by Packt Publishing back in 2020/2021 about authoring a book for Veeam, so, in my infinite wisdom, I decided to give it a try. It took a lot of hard work and many nights after work to put together the very first book on Version 10. The book was released, but lo and behold, Version 11 had already come out, so I contacted Packt and we worked on a Second Edition book for Version 11 and released that. This book was a hit, and more so than the v10 book. So when Version 12 was released, I contacted them again to begin work on a third edition of the book, which was also a great success, being a new author. So wouldn\u0026rsquo;t you know it come 2025 and the early release of the Veeam Software Appliance v13 and I am already signed up to do a fourth book with Packt, but this time with a twist and guest co-author for one of the chapters - Rick Vanover! I asked if he would collaborate with me, and I was delighted when he agreed. Look out for chapter 4 on the new Veeam Console. You will find links to my books at the end of this blog post.\nThis leads me into the next part of my chapter, which is also about becoming a blogger. I had never considered it originally when I got involved in the Veeam Vanguard program, but as I learned, things evolved into a great set of blog articles over the years. You can check these out at the link below for my blog site.\nFinal Words \u0026amp; Thank You # To conclude, if you are ever considering joining an advocacy program to help grow both professionally and personally as an IT professional, I would highly recommend the V100 program. As there are different parts to the program - Legends, Vanguards \u0026amp; MVPs you will need to determine which one you feel would be the ideal pathway for you. MVP is for internal Veeam employees, so that one is only achievable if you work for Veeam. You might start out as a Legend and then work up to Vanguard. Whatever path you choose, you will be better for it, trust me.\nI would like to thank Veeam, the Veeam Vanguard Program, Rick Vanover, Nikola Pejková, Madalina Cristil, Safiya Mohamed, and my fellow Veeam Vanguards \u0026amp; Veeam 100 for making this program the best! This program fosters growth, self-motivation, and lifelong friendships, while providing access to Veeam applications.\nAs a member of the Vanguard program, the following benefits are provided to each member:\nAccess to Veeam Product teams A forum to provide feedback and perspective Sharing of unique perspectives in the industry and exclusive networking opportunities NFR licenses for all Veeam products. Access to pre-releases and betas. Exclusive access to Veeam Forums and Support. Exclusive access to Veeam events, such as VeeamON. Veeam a lso offers another program that you can participate in on the Veeam Community, called the Veeam Legends Program. For more information, please visit Veeam 100 Programs. I am happy to say I am also a part of this great program.\nIf you have the opportunity, I suggest attending any one of the yearly VeeamON events. You can meet many great people through the Veeam Vanguard/Legends/MVP programs.\nTo learn more about Veeam, please visit my book publications and blog at the following link.\nVeeam v10 - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10: Protect your virtual environment and implement cloud backup using Veeam technology (amazon.com)\nVeeam v11 - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication: Secure backup with Veeam 11 for defending your data and accelerating your data protection strategy, 2nd Edition (amazon.com)\nVeeam v12 - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication: Design and deploy a secure and resilient Veeam 12 platform using best practices, 3rd Edition (amazon.com)\nBlog - Personal Blog\n","date":"3 October 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/10/03/veeam-vanguard-8-years-of-reflection/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Vanguard - 8 Years of Reflection","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"3 October 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/vmce/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Vmce","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"3 October 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/vmce-ado/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Vmce-Ado","type":"categories"},{"content":"I have been using Veeam v13 more frequently lately, particularly the VSA and the Windows Console application. Today, I encountered an unusual issue with the Console application while copying an error message from a job to the clipboard for investigation. The message below appeared, but I was still able to paste the clipboard contents regardless.\nI have posted this in the Veeam 100 thread (not everyone will see this, as it is a special section of the Forums) as a possible bug, which you can see here if you have access - \\[V13\\] - VBR v13 Console - Bug - Copy to Clipboard - R\u0026amp;D Forums\nAs noted by Gostev, it could be a conflict with an antivirus program installed on my laptop, from which I am running the console. Hopefully, we will receive an answer on this shortly, once it is investigated and possibly address the issue should it turn out to be a bug.\nI will update my blog post once I have confirmation of this issue, whether it is a bug or not.\n","date":"15 September 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/09/15/veeam-console-possible-bug-copying-to-clipboard/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Console - Possible BUG - Copying to Clipboard","type":"posts"},{"content":"After the release of the new Veeam Software Appliance (VSA) v13 today, I am deploying the new v13 VSA using the OVA method in my lab VMware environment, and discovered that when deploying, you could see an SSL warning for the OVA, like this -\nThere is a fix for this, but it requires installing two CA certificates from Entrust into the vCenter Trusted Root Store, which can be done through the vCenter Web UI. Once those are installed in your vCenter, deploying the OVA will not display the SSL warning and will show a valid certificate.\nCA Certificates to install -\nAfter that, when deploying OVA, there are no more warnings and a valid certificate -\nHopefully, this helps those who are keen on testing things in your lab environments.\nAdditionally, this issue was brought to Veeam\u0026rsquo;s attention, and they will discuss how to enhance the process to resolve and prevent warnings without requiring the manual installation of SSL certificates, particularly for large deployments.\n","date":"4 September 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/09/04/veeam-software-appliance-vsa-deployment-ssl-warning-fix/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Software Appliance (VSA) - Deployment - SSL Warning FIX","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have been working with VONE 13 since it was released yesterday (September 3, 2025), and after upgrading my homelab server, I discovered a bug within the Alarms Overview dashboard in the WebUI. After checking with Jorge in the forums, it was noted that assigning a location to any components causes the bug. You do not need to have any locations, and this will be addressed in the next release, 13.0.1.\nForum Post - (3) Possible Bug - VONE - Alarms Overview screen - R\u0026amp;D Forums\nBug -\nFixed when no locations set -\nI hope this helps anyone who discovers this bug, as you can now view all alarms even when no locations are assigned.\n","date":"4 September 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/09/04/veeam-one-13-alarms-dashboard-bug-workaround/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam ONE 13 - Alarms Dashboard BUG \u0026amp; Workaround","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"4 September 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/vone/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Vone","type":"categories"},{"content":"Today, Veeam released some major updates to the product lineup, which include -\nVeeam Software Appliance v13 - ISO or OVA - https://www.veeam.com/veeam_backup_13_whats_new__wn.pdf Veeam ONE v13 - https://www.veeam.com/veeam_one_13_whats_new_wn.pdf Veeam Service Provider Console v9 - https://www.veeam.com/veeam_console_9_0_whats_new_wn.pdf The latest release of Veeam ONE, version 13.0, is now generally available, introducing numerous new features and enhancements that promise to enhance your data protection and reporting capabilities. Whether you\u0026rsquo;re a seasoned Veeam user or considering an upgrade, here\u0026rsquo;s a comprehensive look at what Veeam ONE 13.0 offers and how to make the most of it.\nVeeam Analytics Service: The Evolution of Veeam ONE Agent\nVeeam ONE v13 introduces the Veeam Analytics Service. This new service delivers a more scalable, reliable, and efficient way to monitor backup infrastructure, providing centralized management and streamlined operations\nVeeam ONE New Reporting Engine:\nNEW Veeam ONE v13 introduces a newly developed reporting engine, designed to deliver a faster, more interactive experience based on modern technologies, moving away from traditional SSRS reports. All Veeam-related reports have been migrated to this experience.\nVeeam ONE Reporting Database:\nNEW V13 introduces the Veeam ONE Reporting Database, a new PostgreSQL-powered component designed to accelerate large report generation and reduce dependency on Microsoft SQL Server.\nRefer to the \u0026ldquo;What\u0026rsquo;s New\u0026rdquo; PDF link above for details on all changes and enhancements.\nUpgrade Process\nUpgrading to Veeam ONE 13.0 is straightforward, but it\u0026rsquo;s essential to follow best practices to ensure a smooth transition:\n1. Pre-Upgrade Checklist:\n- Backup Your Configuration: Take a backup of your SQL Server database before upgrading for easy rollback.\n- Review System Requirements: Verify that your infrastructure meets the system requirements for Veeam ONE 13.0. The requirements can be found on the Veeam ONE help page: Veeam ONE 13 - System Requirements.\n2. Performing the Upgrade:\n- Download the Update: Obtain the Veeam ONE 13.0 update from the official Veeam website or your Veeam account portal. The ISO file can also be accessed from the KB link posted above.\n- Install the Update: Follow the on-screen instructions to install the update. The process typically involves stopping Veeam services, applying the update, and restarting them.\nYou can follow these steps for the upgrade -\nOnce you mount the ISO file and run the SETUP.EXE file , you are presented with the Upgrade screen; click Upgrade.\nYou will then select the component to upgrade—in my case, it was just Veeam ONE, as I had an all-in-one installation. You will then accept the license agreement as well.\nAfter accepting the license agreement, the installer will display the components that will be upgraded, along with their current and target versions. Click the Next button to proceed.\nYou are then shown the Service Account step, followed by a system configuration check. You are also shown the Veeam Analytics screen, which scans your Veeam Backup servers to ensure they are compatible for installation.\nIn my case, my Veeam Backup server was not online, so I had to ensure it was rebooted before I could select the credentials and then run a re-check. After the recheck, the server showed it was ready to go. I clicked Next to proceed.\nThe final screen to start the upgrade process is presented. You will click the Upgrade button to begin, and during the installation, you will see tips on the latest enhancements and other relevant information. Once completed, you receive the same dialog as the first one, except that you click \u0026ldquo;Finish\u0026rdquo; to complete the upgrade process.\nThat completes the upgrade process.\n3. Post-Upgrade Steps:\n- Verify the Upgrade: To ensure the upgrade was successful, verify the version number and ensure all services are running correctly.\nSome other new features in Veeam ONE 13.0 include the login dialog for the Veeam ONE Client, login for the Veeam ONE Web Client, the ability to use Dark Mode in the Web UI Client, and new desktop icons.\nConclusion\nThe Veeam ONE 13.0 upgrade brings significant improvements and new capabilities to enhance your data monitoring \u0026amp; reporting strategy. By following the outlined steps and leveraging the new features, you can ensure a smooth upgrade process and fully utilize the capabilities of Veeam ONE 13.0.\nAre you planning to upgrade soon, or do you have any specific questions about the new features? Please let me know how I can assist you further.\n","date":"3 September 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/09/03/upgrading-to-veeam-one-13-0-what-you-need-to-know/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Upgrading to Veeam ONE 13.0: What You Need to Know","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"25 July 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/nas/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Nas","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"25 July 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/storage/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Storage","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"25 July 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/synology/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Synology","type":"categories"},{"content":"Over the last couple of years, with the help of Synology, I have been able to secure a DS920+ along with a DX517 expansion \u0026amp; a DS923+ NAS unit, which I have written reviews about. Fast forward to 2025, and I was again in touch with Steph Clayton at Synology, who graciously helped me secure a DS925+ NAS for testing and blogging.\nThe DS925+ is the latest version in the 9xx line of Synology NAS products, featuring several new enhancements, including an updated CPU based on the AMD Ryzen V1500B, a 4-core processor. The unit also supports up to 32GB of RAM, Dual 2.5GB networking, and NVME drives for caching.\nThe following is a list of things my unit was installed with -\n32GB of RAM 2 x 2.5GB network card option - bonding comes in handy here 4 - 4TB Synology HDDs 2 - 800GB NVME SSD drives for Cache Here is the unit packaging once I opened the box -\nThe unboxing was complete, and now it was time to install all the components into the unit to prepare it for configuration - \u0026ldquo;Avengers Assemble.\u0026rdquo;\nSo the first install was the 2 x 16GB RAM sticks as you need the drive caddies out of the unit. Next, I installed the two 800GB NVMe SSD drives, which will be used for the cache at the bottom of the unit. Finally, the 4TB drives (4) were installed in the drive caddies.\nNext, I connected the power and the network cables to the 2.5GB cards and powered the unit on. I used the Synology Assistant tool that finds NAS devices on your network. Voila! The device showed up in the Synology Assistant application right away -\nSo I clicked the Connect link, which opened my web browser showing me my new NAS and that it was ready for setup -\nSo I clicked the Install button and began the process of setting up my device. The first screen is the installation of Diskstation Manager, where you can select from two options -\nDownload the latest release from the Synology website Upload an update PAT file - manual update So, I chose the automatic option to install the latest DSM 7.2 release on my new NAS. I clicked the next button to proceed. It asks you to confirm, then begins the installation and reboot process -\nIt took approximately 15 minutes to install the DSM software and reboot the unit. Once it came back up, the \u0026ldquo;Welcome to DSM 7.2\u0026rdquo; screen was displayed, where you click the Start button to begin the rest of the device setup.\nI then proceeded to create a Storage Pool from my four 4TB drives in a RAID 5 configuration, which gave me a total of 10.9TB of usable capacity. This also creates a new Volume for you as well. Next, a RAID 1 for Caching was created using the installed 2 x 800GB NVMe SSD drives. The whole setup looks like this now -\nOnce I had my storage set up it was time to -\nAdd my hosts for the WWNs to allow iSCSI LUN access Create 1 LUN of 8TB and map to the Synology iSCSI Host - this grants access to all my other hosts and is a best practice for mapping by Synology versus host mappings Add the 1 LUN to VMware and create VMFS volumes Update the Synology Storage Console VM to the latest release, 1.1.4-0110 I was now ready to begin the migration process of some of my VMs from the DS923+ to the DS925+. The new NAS will be used for some of my VMware workload via iSCSI, and I will be doing some comparisons to the DS923+ for performance, etc.\nFor those who might be asking what the Synology Storage Console is, it is a VM that allows for the integration and optimization of your Synology volumes provisioned in VMware, and manages the volumes from within the vCenter Web UI to expand. More information can be found here - https://kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/help/StorageConsoleforVMware/storageconsoleforvmware?version=7\nThat now completes my initial setup of the new DS925+. It\u0026rsquo;s time to get it up and running and put the unit through its paces. I will be writing more blogs on this unit as I work with it more, including some comparisons to the DS923+, which has been rock-solid for me.\nI hope you found this article useful, and look for more on the Synology DS925+ in the future. Until then, happy blogging!\n","date":"25 July 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/07/25/synology-ds925-installation-setup/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Synology DS925+ - Installation \u0026amp; Setup","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"25 July 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/virtualization/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Virtualization","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"25 July 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/vmware/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Vmware","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"30 June 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/powershell/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Powershell","type":"categories"},{"content":" With the recent release of Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12.3.2.3617, which addresses a 9.9 CVE, it was time to complete some upgrades. However, to upgrade Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication, Veeam Enterprise Manager must be upgraded first. You can find more about this patch release here - https://www.veeam.com/kb4696\nTo upgrade a large number of Veeam servers, I was seeking a way to automate the initial step, which involves upgrading the Enterprise Manager. I was able to produce a script that will do the following things, and could also be used to upgrade Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication as well -\nDownload the upgrade ISO file for the 12.3.2.3617 release to a directory you specify in the variables Verify the downloaded ISO file to ensure it is complete and accurate Mount the ISO file once verified Prompt to run the silent installer EXE file using the Enterprise Manager XML file Dismount the ISO once completed Below is the script created to accomplish these tasks. As I mentioned, you can also use it with VBR, utilizing the related XML file. Please note that for my script, I used the E drive and a folder called Software that was located on my servers. You can change this variable to any drive or folder you require.\nVeeam Enterprise Manager Silent Install Script -\n# Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12.3.2 Upgrade Script # This script downloads, mounts, and runs the Veeam 12.3.2 upgrade # Author: Chris Childerhose # Variables $downloadUrl = \u0026#34;https://download2.veeam.com/VBR/v12/VeeamBackup\u0026amp;Replication_12.3.2.3617_20250610_update.iso\u0026#34; $softwareFolder = \u0026#34;E:\\Software\u0026#34; $isoFileName = \u0026#34;VeeamBackup\u0026amp;Replication_12.3.2.3617_20250610_update.iso\u0026#34; $isoPath = Join-Path $softwareFolder $isoFileName $answerFilePath = \u0026#34;E:\\Software\\EmAnswerFile_upgrade.xml\u0026#34; Write-Host \u0026#34;Starting Veeam 12.3.2 Upgrade Process...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green try { # Step 1: Create Software folder if it doesn\u0026#39;t exist Write-Host \u0026#34;Checking if Software folder exists...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow if (-not (Test-Path $softwareFolder)) { Write-Host \u0026#34;Creating Software folder at $softwareFolder\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $softwareFolder -Force | Out-Null Write-Host \u0026#34;Software folder created successfully.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green } else { Write-Host \u0026#34;Software folder already exists.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green } # Step 2: Download the Veeam ISO Write-Host \u0026#34;Starting download of Veeam 12.3.2 ISO...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow Write-Host \u0026#34;Download URL: $downloadUrl\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan Write-Host \u0026#34;Destination: $isoPath\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan # Check if file already exists if (Test-Path $isoPath) { $overwrite = Read-Host \u0026#34;ISO file already exists. Do you want to re-download? (Y/N)\u0026#34; if ($overwrite -ne \u0026#39;Y\u0026#39; -and $overwrite -ne \u0026#39;y\u0026#39;) { Write-Host \u0026#34;Using existing ISO file.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green } else { Remove-Item $isoPath -Force Write-Host \u0026#34;Downloading ISO file... This may take several minutes.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow # Download with progress monitoring $downloadJob = Start-Job -ScriptBlock { param($url, $path) Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile $path -UseBasicParsing } -ArgumentList $downloadUrl, $isoPath # Monitor download progress $downloadStartTime = Get-Date while ($downloadJob.State -eq \u0026#34;Running\u0026#34;) { $elapsed = (Get-Date) - $downloadStartTime Write-Host \u0026#34;Download in progress... Elapsed time: $($elapsed.ToString(\u0026#39;mm\\:ss\u0026#39;))\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan # Check if partial file exists and show size if (Test-Path $isoPath) { $currentSize = (Get-Item $isoPath).Length / 1MB Write-Host \u0026#34;Current file size: $([math]::Round($currentSize, 2)) MB\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan } Start-Sleep -Seconds 10 } # Wait for job completion and get results $downloadResult = Receive-Job -Job $downloadJob -Wait Remove-Job -Job $downloadJob Write-Host \u0026#34;Download completed successfully.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green } } else { Write-Host \u0026#34;Downloading ISO file... This may take several minutes.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow # Download with progress monitoring $downloadJob = Start-Job -ScriptBlock { param($url, $path) Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile $path -UseBasicParsing } -ArgumentList $downloadUrl, $isoPath # Monitor download progress $downloadStartTime = Get-Date while ($downloadJob.State -eq \u0026#34;Running\u0026#34;) { $elapsed = (Get-Date) - $downloadStartTime Write-Host \u0026#34;Download in progress... Elapsed time: $($elapsed.ToString(\u0026#39;mm\\:ss\u0026#39;))\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan # Check if partial file exists and show size if (Test-Path $isoPath) { $currentSize = (Get-Item $isoPath).Length / 1MB Write-Host \u0026#34;Current file size: $([math]::Round($currentSize, 2)) MB\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan } Start-Sleep -Seconds 10 } # Wait for job completion and get results $downloadResult = Receive-Job -Job $downloadJob -Wait Remove-Job -Job $downloadJob Write-Host \u0026#34;Download completed successfully.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green } # Verify the download completed successfully Write-Host \u0026#34;Verifying download completion...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow $maxWaitTime = 30 # seconds $waitTime = 0 while (-not (Test-Path $isoPath) -and $waitTime -lt $maxWaitTime) { Write-Host \u0026#34;Waiting for file to be fully written to disk...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan Start-Sleep -Seconds 2 $waitTime += 2 } if (-not (Test-Path $isoPath)) { throw \u0026#34;Downloaded ISO file not found at $isoPath after waiting\u0026#34; } # Additional wait to ensure file is completely written Write-Host \u0026#34;Ensuring file is completely written...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow Start-Sleep -Seconds 5 $fileSize = (Get-Item $isoPath).Length / 1MB Write-Host \u0026#34;ISO file size: $([math]::Round($fileSize, 2)) MB\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan # Verify file is not corrupted by checking if it\u0026#39;s a reasonable size for a Veeam ISO if ($fileSize -lt 100) { throw \u0026#34;Downloaded file appears to be too small ($([math]::Round($fileSize, 2)) MB). Download may have failed.\u0026#34; } Write-Host \u0026#34;Download verification completed successfully.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green # Step 3: Mount the ISO Write-Host \u0026#34;Mounting ISO file...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow $mountResult = Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath $isoPath -PassThru $driveLetter = ($mountResult | Get-Volume).DriveLetter if (-not $driveLetter) { throw \u0026#34;Failed to get drive letter for mounted ISO\u0026#34; } Write-Host \u0026#34;ISO mounted successfully on drive $driveLetter`:\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green # Verify the setup file exists $setupPath = \u0026#34;$driveLetter`:\\Setup\\Silent\\Veeam.Silent.Install.exe\u0026#34; if (-not (Test-Path $setupPath)) { throw \u0026#34;Setup file not found at $setupPath\u0026#34; } # Check if answer file exists if (-not (Test-Path $answerFilePath)) { Write-Warning \u0026#34;Answer file not found at $answerFilePath\u0026#34; Write-Host \u0026#34;Please ensure the answer file exists before running the installation.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Red $continue = Read-Host \u0026#34;Do you want to continue anyway? (Y/N)\u0026#34; if ($continue -ne \u0026#39;Y\u0026#39; -and $continue -ne \u0026#39;y\u0026#39;) { throw \u0026#34;Installation cancelled - answer file not found\u0026#34; } } # Step 4: Run the silent installation Write-Host \u0026#34;Starting Veeam silent installation...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow Write-Host \u0026#34;Setup Path: $setupPath\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan Write-Host \u0026#34;Answer File: $answerFilePath\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan $installCommand = \u0026#34;`\u0026#34;$setupPath`\u0026#34; /AnswerFile `\u0026#34;$answerFilePath`\u0026#34; /SkipNetworkLogonErrors\u0026#34; Write-Host \u0026#34;Command: $installCommand\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan # Confirm before running $confirm = Read-Host \u0026#34;Do you want to proceed with the installation? (Y/N)\u0026#34; if ($confirm -eq \u0026#39;Y\u0026#39; -or $confirm -eq \u0026#39;y\u0026#39;) { Write-Host \u0026#34;Running installation command...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow # Start the process and wait for completion $process = Start-Process -FilePath $setupPath -ArgumentList \u0026#34;/AnswerFile `\u0026#34;$answerFilePath`\u0026#34; /SkipNetworkLogonErrors\u0026#34; -Wait -PassThru -NoNewWindow if ($process.ExitCode -eq 0) { Write-Host \u0026#34;Installation completed successfully!\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green } else { Write-Host \u0026#34;Installation completed with exit code: $($process.ExitCode)\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow Write-Host \u0026#34;Please check the Veeam installation logs for details.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow } } else { Write-Host \u0026#34;Installation cancelled by user.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow } } catch { Write-Host \u0026#34;Error occurred: $($_.Exception.Message)\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Red Write-Host $_.ScriptStackTrace -ForegroundColor Red } finally { # Cleanup: Dismount the ISO if it was mounted try { if ($driveLetter) { Write-Host \u0026#34;Dismounting ISO...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow Dismount-DiskImage -ImagePath $isoPath Write-Host \u0026#34;ISO dismounted successfully.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green } } catch { Write-Warning \u0026#34;Failed to dismount ISO: $($_.Exception.Message)\u0026#34; } } Write-Host \u0026#34;Script execution completed.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor GreenI hope this will be helpful for those who manage multiple sites and Veeam environments, allowing them to automate the upgrade to the latest release of the product.\nUntil the next PowerShell tip, happy blogging.\n","date":"30 June 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/06/30/powershell-tips-for-veeam-silent-install-of-veeam-enterprise-manager/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"PowerShell Tips for Veeam - Silent Install of Veeam Enterprise Manager","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"3 June 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/o365/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"O365","type":"categories"},{"content":" Today, I will discuss another interesting PowerShell script that I created. It allows you to add the necessary firewall rules to each server component in your Veeam VB365 Backup environment.\nSecurity is a necessity, especially when it comes to large projects for Government entities. So, the project I am working on needs to keep the Windows firewall turned on but allow all VB365 components to talk to each other on the required ports. That is where this script was born, and it also creates a group called \u0026ldquo;Veeam\u0026rdquo; to put the rules in so when you look in your firewall settings, you can sort by group and find all the Veeam-related rules.\nBelow is the script I used to create all the firewall rules required to allow components to communicate while allowing the Windows firewall to remain enabled.\nFirewall Rules Script -\n# Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 - Windows Firewall Rules # This script removes existing Veeam rules and creates new ones in a \u0026#34;Veeam\u0026#34; group # Run this script as Administrator # Author - Chris Childerhose, Version 1.0 Write-Host \u0026#34;Managing Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 Firewall Rules...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green # Check if running as Administrator if (-NOT ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal] [Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole] \u0026#34;Administrator\u0026#34;)) { Write-Error \u0026#34;This script must be run as Administrator. Exiting...\u0026#34; exit 1 } # Remove existing Veeam-related firewall rules if existing Write-Host \u0026#34;Removing existing Veeam firewall rules...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Red try { Get-NetFirewallRule | Where-Object {$_.DisplayName -like \u0026#34;*Veeam*\u0026#34; -or $_.Group -eq \u0026#34;Veeam\u0026#34;} | Remove-NetFirewallRule -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue Write-Host \u0026#34;Existing Veeam rules removed successfully.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow } catch { Write-Host \u0026#34;No existing Veeam rules found or error removing rules.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow } Write-Host \u0026#34;\u0026#34; Write-Host \u0026#34;Adding new Veeam firewall rules to \u0026#39;Veeam\u0026#39; group...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green # Define the group name $GroupName = \u0026#34;Veeam\u0026#34; # Veeam VB365 Core Services Write-Host \u0026#34;Adding Veeam VB365 Core Service Rules...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow # Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 Console (TCP 9191) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Veeam VB365 Console (In)\u0026#34; -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 9191 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Veeam VB365 Console (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 9191 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 RESTful API (TCP 4443) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Veeam VB365 RESTful API HTTPS (In)\u0026#34; -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 4443 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Veeam VB365 RESTful API HTTPS (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 4443 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 PowerShell (TCP 9394) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Veeam VB365 PowerShell (In)\u0026#34; -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 9394 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Veeam VB365 PowerShell (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 9394 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # Microsoft 365 Services (Outbound only) Write-Host \u0026#34;Adding Microsoft 365 Service Rules...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow # HTTPS for Microsoft 365 APIs New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;HTTPS to Microsoft 365 (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -RemotePort 443 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # HTTP (for redirects) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;HTTP to Microsoft 365 (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -RemotePort 80 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # Proxy Server Communication (if using proxy) Write-Host \u0026#34;Adding Proxy Communication Rules...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow # Common proxy ports (adjust as needed for your environment) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Proxy HTTP (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -RemotePort 8080 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Proxy HTTPS (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -RemotePort 8443 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # Repository and Database Communication Write-Host \u0026#34;Adding Repository and Database Rules...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow # SQL Server (if using remote SQL) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;SQL Server (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -RemotePort 1433 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # SMB for repository access (if using SMB repositories) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;SMB Repository (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -RemotePort 445 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;SMB Repository (In)\u0026#34; -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 445 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # Object Storage (S3-compatible) - Common ports Write-Host \u0026#34;Adding Object Storage Rules...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow # HTTPS for object storage New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Object Storage HTTPS (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -RemotePort 443 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # Custom object storage ports (adjust as needed) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Object Storage Custom Port 9000 (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -RemotePort 9000 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # DNS Resolution Write-Host \u0026#34;Adding DNS Rules...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow # DNS (UDP and TCP) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;DNS UDP (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol UDP -RemotePort 53 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;DNS TCP (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -RemotePort 53 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # NTP for time synchronization Write-Host \u0026#34;Adding NTP Rules...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;NTP (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol UDP -RemotePort 123 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication Integration (if applicable) Write-Host \u0026#34;Adding Veeam B\u0026amp;R Integration Rules...\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Yellow # Veeam Backup Service (TCP 9392) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Veeam Backup Service (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -RemotePort 9392 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName # Veeam Mount Service (TCP 9393) New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName \u0026#34;Veeam Mount Service (Out)\u0026#34; -Direction Outbound -Protocol TCP -RemotePort 9393 -Action Allow -Profile Any -Group $GroupName Write-Host \u0026#34;\u0026#34; Write-Host \u0026#34;Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 Firewall Rules Added Successfully!\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Green Write-Host \u0026#34;All rules have been organized under the \u0026#39;Veeam\u0026#39; group.\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan Write-Host \u0026#34;\u0026#34; Write-Host \u0026#34;Note: You may need to adjust the following based on your environment:\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan Write-Host \u0026#34;- Proxy server ports and addresses\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor White Write-Host \u0026#34;- Object storage endpoints and ports\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor White Write-Host \u0026#34;- SQL Server instance ports\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor White Write-Host \u0026#34;- Remote repository locations\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor White Write-Host \u0026#34;\u0026#34; Write-Host \u0026#34;Management Commands:\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor Cyan Write-Host \u0026#34;View Veeam rules: Get-NetFirewallRule -Group \u0026#39;Veeam\u0026#39;\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor White Write-Host \u0026#34;Remove all Veeam rules: Get-NetFirewallRule -Group \u0026#39;Veeam\u0026#39; | Remove-NetFirewallRule\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor White Write-Host \u0026#34;Disable all Veeam rules: Get-NetFirewallRule -Group \u0026#39;Veeam\u0026#39; | Set-NetFirewallRule -Enabled False\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor White Write-Host \u0026#34;Enable all Veeam rules: Get-NetFirewallRule -Group \u0026#39;Veeam\u0026#39; | Set-NetFirewallRule -Enabled True\u0026#34; -ForegroundColor WhiteI hope you have found this third blog on PowerShell commands helpful. It is a great way to quickly add the required firewall rules to your environment for the VB365 backup environment.\nUntil the next PowerShell tip, happy blogging.\n","date":"3 June 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/06/03/powershell-tips-for-veeam-vb365-v8-firewall-rules/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"PowerShell Tips for Veeam - VB365 v8.1 - Firewall Rules","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"3 June 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/vb365/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Vb365","type":"tags"},{"content":" Today, I will discuss another interesting PowerShell command and script that allows you to migrate data between repositories as outlined in the following KB article page - https://www.veeam.com/kb3067\nNow, this process can move data between repositories but cannot move from Object to Object repositories. Some of the caveats are found on the KB page linked above, and below is a comparison of PowerShell versus a Direct Data copy.\nOne of the big caveats for this process is that you cannot migrate data to a repository attached to a Proxy Pool. So my thoughts around this blog post and PowerShell command are to use it to migrate from Jet-DB to Object Storage repositories. Then, you can use the command from my initial blog article to move the repository to a Proxy Pool. See my first blog post here: /2025/04/01/powershell-tips-for-veeam-vb365-v8-1/\nThe KB article contains a script that you can download that will do the required move for you: https://www.veeam.com/download_add_packs/backup-microsoft-office-365/kb3067\nThe script will disable all jobs for the Organization that you are moving data for until the move is completed. There is a migration utility coming in a future release of 8.x that will allow live migrations of data even while jobs are running. So please keep this in mind.\nBelow are some examples of the actual command Move-VBOEntityData that is being run in the script—the first one moves organization user data, the second moves organization group data, and the third moves organization site data. These move commands go from a JetDB (local storage) to an S3 Object-based repository. As noted above, you can go from JetDB to JetDB or JetDB to Object.\nOrganization User Data move -\n$source = Get-VBORepository -Name \u0026#34;Repository 1\u0026#34; $target = Get-VBORepository -Name \u0026#34;Object Storage 1\u0026#34; $user = Get-VBOEntityData -Type User -Repository $source -Name \u0026#34;Chris Childerhose\u0026#34; Move-VBOEntityData -From $source -To $target -User $user -Mailbox -ArchiveMailbox -RunAsyncOrganization Group Data move -\n$source = Get-VBORepository -Name \u0026#34;Repository 1\u0026#34; $target = Get-VBORepository -Name \u0026#34;Object Storage 1\u0026#34; $group = Get-VBOEntityData -Type Group -Repository $repository -Name \u0026#34;Architecture\u0026#34; Move-VBOEntityData -From $source -To $target -Group $group -Mailbox -ArchiveMailbox -OneDrive -Sites -GroupMailbox -GroupSiteOrganization Site Data move -\n$source = Get-VBORepository -Name \u0026#34;Repository 1\u0026#34; $target = Get-VBORepository -Name \u0026#34;Object Storage 1\u0026#34; $site = Get-VBOEntityData -Type Site -Repository $repository -Name \u0026#34;Architecture\u0026#34; Move-VBOEntityData -From $source -To $target -Site $siteThese moves can take time to complete depending on the amount of data you are moving between repositories, so plan accordingly, considering the jobs are also disabled. I hope you have found this second blog on PowerShell commands helpful. It is a great way to move data between repositories but with the caveat that jobs must be stopped.\nUntil the next PowerShell tip, happy blogging.\n","date":"10 April 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/04/10/powershell-tips-for-veeam-vb365-v8-move-data-between-repositories/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"PowerShell Tips for Veeam - VB365 v8.1 - Move Data Between Repositories","type":"posts"},{"content":" I hope this blog post will be one of many that show the power of PowerShell when used with any of the Veeam product lines. Today, I will discuss a very cool feature that Support showed me: It allows you to move a VB365 repository from a single proxy to a proxy pool. While working on a support case with a repository that was not synchronizing, I got that fixed with Veeam Support\u0026rsquo;s help.\nDuring the process, we had to put the repository on a single proxy server as adding it to the proxy pool, which is new to v8, did not work. I asked support how I could go about this, and they sent me the Change Owner Session command from the Veeam help documents, which can be found here: Start-VBORepositoryOwnerChangeSession - Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 PowerShell Reference.\nBelow are some examples of the command—the first one moves a single repository, and the second example matches multiple repositories with similar names to move them all one at a time using a ForEach loop.\nSingle Repository Move -\n$repository = Get-VBORepository -Name \u0026#34;Repository1\u0026#34; $pool = Get-VBOProxyPool -Name \u0026#34;Proxy-Pool1\u0026#34; Start-VBORepositoryOwnerChangeSession -Repository $repository -Pool $pool -ForceStopSessionsMultiple Repository Move -\n$repository = Get-VBORepository -Name \u0026#34;Name*blah*\u0026#34; $pool = Get-VBOProxyPool -Name \u0026#34;Proxy-Pool1\u0026#34; foreach ($r in $repository) { Start-VBORepositoryOwnerChangeSession -Repository $r -Pool $pool -ForceStopSessions }If you want to check on your move sessions, if there are many of them, you can use the following command to check each one based on the Session ID GUID -\nGet-VBORepositoryOwnerChangeSession -SessionId \u0026lt;Guid\u0026gt;The GUID is listed when you kick off the Start-VBORepositoryOwnerChangeSession command, so make a note of it and replace it in the in the command above.\nThe moves were so quick that I could check the session, but it stated it was complete. I hope you find this command useful. It is a great way to move repositories from a single proxy server to a proxy pool without going through the steps to detach and reattach them. This will keep all the indexing and cache information in the database, saving you the time of VB365 having to go through it again.\nUntil the next PowerShell tip, happy blogging.\n","date":"1 April 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/04/01/powershell-tips-for-veeam-vb365-v8-1/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"PowerShell Tips for Veeam - VB365 v8.1","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have been very fortunate to be part of some great influencer programs, and the Object First Aces program is no exception. This program\u0026rsquo;s inaugural year was 2024, which I was accepted into. I am happy to share that I was selected for the 2025 year two class as well. A big thank you to Object First and Geoff Burke, the Community Manager working with the ACEs.\nThe Object First Aces Community launched in 2024. Its goal is to provide and build a community of highly skilled Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication software users. An application is required to be accepted into this community, and Aces are selected based on their accomplishments, product knowledge, and contributions to the broader tech community.\nAce benefits include:\nEarly access to product features and updates A forum to provide feedback and perspective Access to webinars, tutorials, and hands-on training sessions Exclusive Object First swag Interact with Object First’s leading engineers Additional information is available here if you would like to learn more about this community.\nFellow Object First Ace blog posts:\nAl Rasheed - 2025 Object First Ace – Al Rasheed\n","date":"27 March 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/03/27/object-first-ace-year-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Object First Ace - Year 2!","type":"posts"},{"content":"When I look back at my time in the Veeam Vanguard program, it is hard to believe that I have been part of one of the best evangelism programs for eight years. It is truly an honour to be part of such an amazing program with amazing people. You know it will be a great year when you receive an email stating you have been accepted or renewed for another year.\nThe program began in 2015, just after VeeamON 2017 in New Orleans, and I started my journey in the Veeam world and this great program. I want to thank Veeam, the Veeam Vanguard Program, Rick Vanover, Nikola Pejková, Madalina Cristil, Safiya Mohamed, and fellow 2025 Veeam Vanguards who make this program the best!\nAs a member of the Vanguard program, the following benefits are provided to each of the members:\nAccess to Veeam Product teams A forum to provide feedback and perspective Sharing of unique perspectives in the industry and exclusive networking opportunities NFR licenses for all Veeam products. Access to pre-releases and betas. Exclusive access to Veeam Forums and Support. Exclusive access to Veeam events like VeeamON. On top of the Vanguard program, Veeam also offers Veeam Certification ( VMCE—Veeam Certified Engineer \u0026amp; VMCA—Veeam Certified Architect). Additional information about the training can be found here. Veeam also offers another program that you can participate in on the Veeam Community called the Veeam Legends Program, and more information about it can be found here. I am happy to say I am also a part of this great program.\nIf you have the opportunity, I suggest attending the VeeamON 2025 event this year in San Diego, California. There, you can meet many great people in the Veeam Vanguard/Legends/MVP program.\nFellow Veeam Vanguard Blog Posts:\nAl Rasheed - 2025 Veeam Vanguard\nNico Stein - Veeam Vanguard 2025! | Nothing a Jameson can\u0026rsquo;t fix\nTo learn more about Veeam, please visit my book publications and blog here.\nVeeam v10 - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10: Protect your virtual environment and implement cloud backup using Veeam technology (amazon.com)\nVeeam v11 - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication: Secure backup with Veeam 11 for defending your data and accelerating your data protection strategy, 2nd Edition (amazon.com)\nVeeam v12 - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication: Design and deploy a secure and resilient Veeam 12 platform using best practices, 3rd Edition (amazon.com)\n","date":"26 March 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/03/26/veeam-vanguard-2025-year-8/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Vanguard 2025 - Year 8!","type":"posts"},{"content":" VMware vExpert 2025 # It is official; I have been awarded VMware vExpert 2025 for the 6th year.\nMy first application was in 2020, and I was accepted, so I continued to apply again in the following years. This time around, I used the VMUG Leader Path for 2025. As luck would have it, I was accepted for 2025, another year in a great program.\nI just wanted to highlight what it takes to be a vExpert and the official benefits; however, the non-official benefits of resources and career growth are what I feel most benefitted me from the program. Nothing can beat the vCommunity out there, and networking with your peers on anything IT-related, not just VMware-specific, is another excellent benefit.\nQualifications for the vExpert Award # To qualify for the vExpert award, you must actively share your VMware expertise with the community. For the 2025H2 (2025 Second Half) award, judges will review your content from the previous year, 2024 and 2025 until the day of voting.\nvExpert Program Benefits # One-year complimentary VMUG Advantage subscription. 3-year VCF or VVF license for home lab use (Dependent on passing your VCP-VCF or VCP-VVF exam) 50% off exams. Network with over 1,300 vExperts from 77 countries. The opportunity to apply for the VMware Business Unit lead vExpert sub-program. Invite to our private vExpert communication channels. Permission to use the vExpert logo on cards, websites, etc., for one year. Private \u0026amp; technical deep-dive webinars with VMware and VMware partners. Access to private betas (subject to admission by beta teams). Private pre-launch briefings via our bloggers\u0026rsquo; briefing pre-VMware Explore (subject to admission by product teams). Featured in a public vExpert online directory Access to vetted VMware \u0026amp; Virtualization content for your social channels through VMware Advocacy. Yearly Community Leadership Reception at VMware Explore U.S. Which Path Should you Apply for? # Evangelist Path The Evangelist Path includes book authors, bloggers, tool builders, public speakers, VMTN contributors, and other IT professionals who share their knowledge and passion with others by leveraging a personal public platform to reach many people. VMware employees can also apply via the Evangelist path. A VMware employee reference is recommended if your activities weren’t all public. Customer Path The Customer Path is for leaders who evangelize VMware. We are looking for passionate customers who do the work to evangelize within their organization or who have worked with VMware to build success stories, act as customer references, give public interviews, speak at conferences, or were VMUG leaders. The activities must not be related to your position within the company, i.e., you must not be paid for evangelizing VMware. A VMware employee reference is recommended if your activities weren’t all in public. Partner Path The VPN Path is for employees of our partner companies who lead with passion and by example, who are committed to continuous learning through accreditations and certifications, and who make their technical knowledge and expertise available to many. This can take the form of event participation, video, IP generation, or public speaking engagements. VMUG \u0026amp; VCDX If you are an active VMUG Leader or hold the title of VCDX, you will qualify for the vExpert award. VMUG leaders are verified through the VCDX directory. VMUG leader titles and activities are also verified, and you must be an active leader in your chapter. Inactive VMUG leaders will not qualify for the award. To apply via VMUG or VCDX, please use the evangelist path and state that you are a VCDX or VMUG leader and which chapter. All VCDX applicants will be verified via vcdx.vmware.com. To apply, you need to enter vexpert.vmware.com in your browser. If it is for the first time, you need to create an account, and then you can apply. If you need any help with your application, you can always contact a vExpert PRO. They will assist you with using it and explain the best way to apply to the program.\nThere are some paths you can apply for the vExpert program that are auto-approval categories:\nAuto-Approve Categories # Book Authors: Published book authors and co-authors from the previous year are auto-approved but must still apply. VCDX Certification: VCDX certification holders are auto-approved but must still apply. VMTN or Reddit Moderator: After verification, moderators are auto-approved but must still apply. VMUG Leadership: Active VMUG leaders are auto-approved but must still apply.\nCongratulations to all those awarded the vExpert 2025, and welcome to the newcomers. Don\u0026rsquo;t be shy about reaching out and asking questions on the Discord channel.\nIf you did not apply when the applications were opened at the end of 2024, you can apply again in the vExpert 2025 second-half applications, which should be open around June/July.\nMy vExpert page: vExpert - Chris Childerhose\nMy VMware forum page: VMware Forums - Chris Childerhose\nMy VMware Blogs: VMware Blog Posts\nVMware Advocacy Program: https://advocacy.vmware.com/\n","date":"4 March 2025","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2025/03/04/vmware-vexpert-2025-year-6/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VMware vExpert 2025 - Year 6","type":"posts"},{"content":"I’d like to first thank Rick Vanover, Madalina Cristil, Nikola Pejková, and everyone at Veeam for their efforts and support leading into my third Veeam 100 Summit. It’s a HUGE undertaking that requires many levels of coordination. This was my third time attending the event in person. It was an honour to attend such a prestigious event for the third time and meet many fellow Vanguards, Legends and MVPs in person for the first time and again from previous Veeam 100 Summit events. It is amazing how being at an event and being able to speak to others of the same mindset makes you feel great. As for the host city of Berlin, it was my first time visiting this city for the summit, and did not disappoint.\nDay 0 which was Monday, October 28th - was registration, badge collection, swag collection, and the Veeam Recovery Orchestrator session. This was a great session on VRO, where we saw many of the new enhancements coming. The evening was followed with the welcome reception hosted by Wasabi \u0026amp; Object First\nThis year, a new trophy was also given out, which included the 2023/2024 blocks for years in the program. The design is amazing—it is a \u0026ldquo;Jenga\u0026rdquo;-style trophy that looks cool!\nThe Veeam Recovery Orchestrator was a three hour workshop led by Emilee Tellez, Tim Smith, Kirsten Stoner, Eric Dougherty, and Matt Crape, which also comprised of labs for hands-on experience with the product. There were some challenges getting the labs going due to the number of people in the room, but eventually, it was all sorted out. The eight labs that were part of the session were:\nInstall Veeam Recovery Orchestrator - this one took the longest amount of time Backup Jobs and Virtual Lab vSphere Tags with Data Collection Configuration of VRO YARA Rules and DataLab Configuration Creating Recovery Plans Testing Recovery Plans BONUS - Scheduling DataLab Tests and Reviewing Reports Day 1 which was Tuesday, October 29th - began the first full day of sessions for the summit. The usual General Session began which outlined what is to come with Veeam and many of the other sessions to attend. We also heard from both sponsors of the event - Wasabi and Object First.\nAfter the opening general session we then proceeded in to sessions about:\nVeeam Data Platform - Core Updates Part 1 \u0026amp; 2 Veeam Data Cloud Coveware by Veeam Due to the RED content unfortunately there is nothing more I can comment on for these topics, but below is some green content of things to come.\nThis day was rounded out with the traditional and amazing toast by Craig Dalrymple, which is typically known as the Dalrymple Toast. Craig\u0026rsquo;s words are always inspiring and this year he made a special announcement with the toast. Congratulations again, Craig!\nDay 2 which was Tuesday, October 30th - this was the final full day of some more great sessions, however, choosing was difficult as the sessions were split in to two rooms where you had to pick one or the other at the specific timeslot. In some cases the opposite sessions had a Teams meeting going so you could multitask.\nI had a colleague that attended the summit and is a Veeam Legend - Hin Tang, so we decided to divide and conquer to get the most exposure for the sessions on day two. The sessions I attended were:\nHardened Repository ISO: What\u0026rsquo;s Now, What\u0026rsquo;s Next and Under the Hood with Hannes Kasparick \u0026amp; Rick Vanover\nVeeam Recovery Orchestrator Updates ith Emilee Tellez \u0026amp; Alec King\nVeeam Alliances - Security and Storage Integrations Update with Stephan Herzig \u0026amp; Alexander Fogelson\nThis session was yellow so there is nothing further to post about it.\nPowershell Deep Dive with Chris Arceneaux \u0026amp; David Domask\nDay 3 which was Wednesday, October 31st - the final half day with the always RED content Product Management AMA session. Full of some great details and things to come for Veeam in 2025! The day concluded at lunch and so concluded the V100 Summit for this year.\nPlease check out additional Veeam 100 Summit posts from fellow attendees, which include:\nVeeam 100 Summit Recap – Berlin 2024 (Al Rasheed) Veeam 100 Summit 2024 Recap (Ben Harmer) Muhammad Adel – Veeam100Summit Day 1: Updates, Updates, Updates Luciano Patrao – Reconnecting and Reflecting: Veeam Vanguard Summit in Berlin 2024 Vladan Seget – Veeam100 Summit in Berlin 2024 Nico Stein - Veeam 100 Summit \u0026amp; Hardened Repository with Immutability Additional video and content can be found on Twitter using the hashtag #Veeam100Summit As always a huge thank you to both Veeam as well as - Rick Vanover, Nikola Pejkova, Safiya Mohamed, and Madalina Cristil for all the hard work and effort you put in to this event along with the support you provide to all the attendees. Here is to a great end to 2024 and looking forward to 2025 with what is to come.\nLastly, I will leave you with some photos that I took while in Berlin and walking around the wonderful city.\n","date":"14 November 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/11/14/veeam-100-summit-recap-berlin-2024/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam 100 Summit Recap - Berlin 2024","type":"posts"},{"content":"This will be my second article in the continuation of Cyber Security Month. This one uses Synology C2 Object Storage with Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication as a target repository. I have tested many providers over the years with Veeam, and this one is just as easy to set up as most of the other S3-compatible storage vendors.\nYou first launch your Veeam Console, go under Backup Infrastructure, and click on Backup Repositories. From here, you will add a new repository, which must be S3 Compatible. The screenshots below show the process of adding the Synology C2 Object Storage to my Veeam Console.\nS3 Compatibility - adding using Veeam Console wizard -\nConfiguration of the S3 Object Storage -\nOnce you have completed the wizard, your Synology C2 Object Storage will appear in the Veeam Console under the Backup Repositories section.\nOnce you have completed this, the final step is to set up your backup job or backup copy job to send to the newly added Synology C2 Object Storage. In my case, I created a backup job that went directly to object storage.\nThis is a quick way to leverage the Synology C2 Object Storage subscription within the Veeam Console to protect your data and have an offsite copy. You can also ensure that the copy is Immutable or Non-Immutable depending on the bucket setup within Synology C2 Object Storage. This can be seen from my first post on setting up Synology C2 Object Storage here - Synology C2 - Object Storage Setup.\nIn my third and final Cybersecurity Month post, I will discuss using the Synology C2 Object Storage with both Cloud Sync and Hyper Backup directly from my Synology DS920+ NAS device. If you have any questions, please reach out to me. Until next time, happy blogging.\n","date":"22 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/10/22/synology-c2-object-storage-with-veeam-backup/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Synology C2 Object Storage with Veeam Backup","type":"posts"},{"content":"It is CyberSecurity month, so I am writing a few blogs on Synology and using C2 Object Storage for backups.\nI have been fortunate enough to have a good relationship with both Synology and Nick Kozup, which has allowed me to get a 1TB subscription to the Synology C2 - Object Storage for doing some testing with backups, NAS backup/replication and many other things that utilize object storage. I have already blogged about the two NAS devices I have been sent (DS920+ and DS923+), which I use daily for my home lab, backups, and many other things.\nMy account was activated today, and when I logged in to the interface, I was greeted with an empty slate to create buckets and keys. You can read more about Synology C2 Object Storage here - Synology C2 - Object Storage\nSynology C2 —Object Storage URL: This is where you navigate to and log in to your Synology account.\nUpon login, you see the following in the dashboard -\nSo now I will create a new bucket, which also allows the creation of the access keys using the Create Bucket button on the dashboard shown above. Here, you type in a name for your bucket, and then you would check off the \u0026quot; Create an access key for this bucket\u0026quot; checkbox to create the needed keys for access, along with a description.\nAfter you click Next, you will have the option to turn on Object Lock and Versioning and set a default retention. I have left the retention setting alone so that the backup application can control it—in this case, Veeam will control the Object Lock retention. Once your settings are chosen, you click the Create Bucket button, which displays your Access/Secret keys for using the bucket. You can copy each of them using the copy button or download a text file using the link on the screen.\nAfter you copy or download your keys, you can click Close. Now, on the WebUI dashboard, the bucket is ready for use and shows you the Access Point URL to be used for your backup application.\nThis completes the C2 Object Storage setup process for creating a bucket for backups from any application that supports object storage. In my next articles, I will go over adding C2 Object Storage to Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication to test backups, using the Synology Cloud Sync application directly from my NAS devices to sync folders, etc.\nLook for more C2 Object Storage blogs for CyberSecurity Month and others. If you have any questions, please reach out to me. Until next time, happy blogging.\n","date":"15 October 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/10/15/synology-c2-object-storage-setup/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Synology C2 - Object Storage Setup","type":"posts"},{"content":"Today, I am going to discuss the integration of Object First OOTBI into the Veeam Console and show you some backup statistics on the appliance\u0026rsquo;s performance. Again, I am part of the inaugural Object First Aces program, which has afforded me the opportunity to test both the physical hardware appliance and the virtual VSA for OOTBI.\nTo begin, we must integrate the OOTBI appliance into the Veeam B\u0026amp;R Console by adding it as a Repository under the Backup Infrastructure tab. Once here, you will add a new repository by right-clicking or using the Add Repository button in the toolbar. This will start the wizard in which we will pick the Object Storage option and navigate to the S3 Compatible -\nAfter you select the S3 Compatible option, the New Object Storage Repository wizard opens. On the first screen, you define the name and description and, if necessary, set the \u0026ldquo;Limit concurrent tasks to\u0026rdquo; option.\nAfter clicking the Next button, you will specify the Account settings for the S3 storage. You input the Service point, which is a hostname/URL, region and select/add the required credentials, usually the Access/Secret keys. Upon clicking next, the SSL for the service point is validated, and you may receive a warning, at which point you click the Continue button.\nAfter clicking Next again, you will see the Bucket selection. Here, you will create a new folder within the bucket to store the backups.\nAfter choosing the bucket and creating a backup folder, you will select the Immutability option within the wizard and set the number of days to keep your backups immutable. Select \u0026ldquo;Make recent backups immutable for\u0026rdquo; and specify the number of days.\nAfter clicking Next, you will see the typical wizard sections: Mount Server, Review, and Apply.\nOnce the settings are applied, click Next, which will show you the Summary screen. The n, click Finish to complete adding the S3 OOTBI repository to the Veeam Console.\nAfter OOTBI was added to the Veeam Console, I created a backup job and ran it to see how SOSAPI performed. SOSAPI is the Veeam Integration for S3 storage that leverages better performance. You can read about that here: Veeam SOSAPI. When you add a repository that supports SOSAPI, you will see the icon showing with a blue bucket, like below.\nI created a Backup Job for some virtual machines and had them go to my new SOSAPI repository for OOTBI. The results were pretty good, considering that the Veeam backup infrastructure is sitting on VMware VCF and an HPE Synergy chassis. The Object First OOTBI box is connected with 2 x 10GB connections to the network, so performance overall was very good even with the virtualization layer.\nAs you can see, the Veeam job topped out at 1 GB/s, and the Object First ingest for both S3 API and Network was about the same.\nThe next job I created was a Backup Copy job to send the data from the Object First OOTBI box to Wasabi storage in the cloud. The results were very similar, with performance being just slightly less than that of the Backup Job.\nAs you can see, the physical appliance\u0026rsquo;s performance is pretty good and depends on your underlying architecture. I am sure if I had a physical Veeam server with 10GB connections, I would get better throughput numbers. Also, if I had more nodes within my Object First cluster, that would also scale the performance, but this is just a single node.\nI hope you enjoyed the third part of my blog series on the Object First OOTBI storage. I look forward to continuing to test and sharing more with everyone. Until the next one, happy blogging!\n","date":"6 September 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/09/06/object-first-ootbi-veeam-integration-backup-stats/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Object First (OOTBI) – Veeam Integration \u0026amp; Backup Stats","type":"posts"},{"content":"The latest release of Veeam Data Platform, version 12.2, is generally available, bringing many new features and enhancements that promise to elevate your data protection and management capabilities. Whether you\u0026rsquo;re a seasoned Veeam user or considering an upgrade, here\u0026rsquo;s a comprehensive look at what Veeam 12.2 offers and how to make the most of it.\nKey Features and Enhancements\n1. Expanded Platform Support:\n- Proxmox and MongoDB: Veeam 12.2 now supports Proxmox and MongoDB, broadening its compatibility and making it easier to protect data across diverse environments.\n- Enhanced Nutanix AHV Support: Improved integration with Nutanix AHV ensures more robust and seamless data protection.\n2. Advanced Cybersecurity Capabilities:\n- Veeam continues to advance its cybersecurity features, providing end-to-end protection to safeguard your data against evolving threats.\n3. Improved User Experience:\n- The latest version includes several user interface enhancements designed to streamline workflows and improve overall usability.\nUpgrade Process\nUpgrading to Veeam 12.2 is straightforward, but it\u0026rsquo;s essential to follow best practices to ensure a smooth transition:\n1. Pre-Upgrade Checklist:\n- Backup Your Configuration: Before starting the upgrade, ensure you have a backup of your current Veeam configuration - Configuration Backup.\n- Review System Requirements: Verify that your infrastructure meets the system requirements for Veeam 12.2. The requirements can be found in the \u0026ldquo;Release Notes\u0026rdquo; document on the KB page for v12.2: KB4600: Release Information for Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12.2.\n2. Performing the Upgrade:\n- Download the Update: Obtain the Veeam 12.2 update from the official Veeam website or your Veeam account portal. The ISO file can also be accessed from the KB link posted above.\n- Install the Update: Follow the on-screen instructions to install the update. The process typically involves stopping Veeam services, applying the update, and restarting them.\nYou can follow these steps for the upgrade -\nOnce you mount the ISO file and run the SETUP.EXE file , you are presented with the Upgrade screen; click Upgrade.\nYou will then select the component to upgrade—in my case, it was just Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication, but if I had Enterprise Manager installed, that would have been done first. You will then accept the license agreement as well.\nAfter accepting the license agreement, the installer will show you which components will be upgraded and from/to which versions. After accepting that, you will be prompted to browse or sign in for your license file—if you are already using a license, the install will pick it up automatically for you.\nAfter verifying the license, click Next. You are then shown the Service Account step and, after that, the Database to use/upgrade, including a warning about it being upgraded.\nAfter you select Yes on the database upgrade the final screen to start the upgrade process is presented. You will click the Upgrade button to begin, and during the installation, you see tips on the latest enhancements, etc. Once completed, you get the same dialog as the first one, except you click Finish to end the upgrade process.\nThat completes the upgrade process.\n3. Post-Upgrade Steps:\n- Verify the Upgrade: To ensure the upgrade was successful, verify the version number and ensure all services are running correctly.\n- Test Your Backups: Perform test backups and restores to confirm everything functions as expected. I cannot stress this enough to ensure you test your backups after the upgrade to ensure everything works as expected and you can troubleshoot any potential problems.\nConclusion\nThe Veeam Data Platform 12.2 upgrade brings significant improvements and new capabilities to enhance your data protection strategy. By following the outlined steps and leveraging the new features, you can ensure a smooth upgrade process and take full advantage of what Veeam 12.2 offers.\nAre you planning to upgrade soon, or do you have any specific questions about the new features? Let me know how I can assist you further!\n","date":"29 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/08/29/upgrading-to-veeam-data-platform-12-2-what-you-need-to-know/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Upgrading to Veeam Data Platform 12.2: What You Need to Know","type":"posts"},{"content":"In my first blog post I took you through the journey of OOTBI to my datacenter and then through the Cluster Configuration and setup. You can see that blog post here - Object First (OOTBI) - Installation \u0026amp; Configuration\nI am now going to go through some of the Web UI features, including first launch, and show how you configure things such as -\nUsers Buckets Access Keys Email Alerts Software Updates When you first go to the Web UI URL for your OOTBI box, you need to log in using the \u0026quot; objectfirst\u0026quot; user and password you set during the initial setup phase, which you can see in my first blog post in the link above. After you log in for the first time, OOTBI prompts you through the main setup wizard, starting with creating S3 Keys for your user account.\nAfter login in, you will see the initial setup wizard prompts starting with the S3 Keys -\nYou click on the box that is highlighted then it takes you through creating the S3 Keys as well as the other steps -\nYou name the S3 Key, and then it will generate both the Access \u0026amp; Secret keys for the currently logged-in user. If you wish to create a specific user for Veeam to have the access keys associated with, then you need to create the new user, log in as that user and generate new S3 Keys. One of the quirks with the current setup is that the S3 Keys created are associated with the logged-in user. I have given feedback to allow you to make keys for other users while logged in as an Administrator-type user.\nThe last step of the initial setup is creating the S3 Bucket, which will be highlighted after creating the S3 Keys, as seen in the previous screenshot. So, follow this wizard in the same manner as when creating the S3 keys. You will note that Object First (OOTBI) has the \u0026ldquo;Enable versioning (required for immutability)\u0026rdquo; option selected by default. Still, you can turn it off if you prefer to create a standard non-immutable bucket.\nSome other screens that you can navigate to and set up aspects of the OOTBI Cluster are -\nIPMI - This is the out-of-box management connection for Support and troubleshooting Notifications \u0026amp; Time Server settings (NTP) OOTBI - Software Updates - Check \u0026amp; Update Web UI - Dashboard \u0026amp; Node Information So that, in a nutshell, is the setup from within the Web UI using the wizard-driven prompts and walking through some of the other screens that you can configure options for. Hopefully, this was informative.\nThe following few blogs will be focusing on Veeam, specifically including things like -\nSetup \u0026amp; Integration to the Veeam Console for a Repository - SOSAPI Setting up encryption to use with the new repository Creating jobs that use the new OOTBI repository Performance metrics from the device and where you can view them in the dashboard I hope you enjoyed this second blog on the Object First OOTBI appliance, and I look forward to the next one. Until then, happy blogging!\n","date":"19 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/08/19/object-first-ootbi-web-ui-users-buckets-more/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Object First (OOTBI) - Web UI, Users, Buckets \u0026amp; More","type":"posts"},{"content":"It has been a couple of weeks now since I visited our datacenter and was able to get my Object First (OOTBI) appliance racked, cabled and configured. It was a long debate on whether I would bring the device up in my home office and risk a large power bill or take it to one of the datacenters locally for the company ThinkOn that I work for. The choice was clear due to the appliance being a SuperMicro box and probably wanting some good power - DC it is!\nOn July 25th I packed up OOTBI and took him to our Cambridge DC.\nOnce I arrived and got the box transported to the racks, the installation took no time which was the rails for the rack and sides of the appliance, racking it, cabling and then configuration. It took all but 20 minutes to get the box up and running and accessible which was fantastic. The system even comes with a large card in it that explains the configuration process of the unit and then how to add the system to Veeam B\u0026amp;R console (see below).\nSo during setup you complete the following steps from initial boot up -\nAccept the License Agreement Select - Setup New Cluster option Configure the required network adapters that are connected - in my case just the 2 x 10GB ports were connected for data - 2 separate IPs are required Configure a hostname for your appliance Configure the Cluster Name \u0026amp; IP - different IP to the network card IPs you configured above - this is more like a VIP (Virtual IP) Configure the administrator password for login This will then complete the setup where you can then access the OOTBI appliance via the Web UI Address to log in using the username of \u0026ldquo;objectfirst\u0026rdquo; and the password configured on the initial setup in the steps above.\nAfter logging in to the Web UI you can set up new users, buckets, access keys, and many other things. So overall the setup of the Object First OOTBI appliance is pretty straightforward and simple to get you going in less than 30 minutes. That is amazing!!\nIn my next blog post I will cover some of the settings within the Web UI that you can set up including things like -\nUsers Access Keys for a User Buckets Updates - running the check and updating the appliance/cluster And a few other goodies I will also be doing a blog on the Object First VSA appliance in the future so keep an eye out for that one. Until the next one happy blogging.\n","date":"13 August 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/08/13/object-first-ootbi-installation-configuration/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Object First (OOTBI) - Installation \u0026amp; Configuration","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have been a Veeam Vanguard for seven years and Veeam Legend for just over two years and was fortunate enough to have attended the VeeamON 2017 event in New Orleans, VeeamON 2022 in Las Vegas, and VeeamON 2023 in Miami, which were all fantastic events.\nThis year\u0026rsquo;s VeeamON 2024 event was in Ft. Lauderdale, which I attended in person, and it was amazing. Besides the great weather and hotel, there were again many sessions, networking, Lab Warz, Hands-on-Labs and the Vendor Hall.\nAttending VeeamON is one of the best events if you want to learn more about backup and what Veeam is all about. From user sessions to networking and training, this event is packed with something for everyone. Thanks to the #Veeam100 program I am part of, they covered my hotel and conference pass which my company appreciated. What a fantastic gesture from @Veeam\nVeeamON 2024\nFrom the General sessions and keynotes to the breakout sessions, there was much to see and hear from Veeam.\nDay 1\nMonday was technically the first day of the conference, where you could register and retrieve your badge. I flew in for the first time on the Monday and arrived just after 2PM to the hotel. I checked in but had to wait on my room since it was not ready and I got an upgrade to a King Suite which was nice. So I left my luggage with the desk and proceeded to go to the registration desk to pick up my badge.\nThe Partner Day sessions were happening this day but I was unable to attend the general session but was able to make it to at least one of the technical breakout sessions for partners. You can catch the general session amongst others on the VeeamON page from now until July 15th - VeeamON - On Demand Sessions\nThat was pretty much it for day 1 and I took part in the pool with some fellow Vanguards/Legends for a swim - Nico Stein, Hin Tang.\nDay 2\nThe day started out with an early breakfast with some fellow Vanguards then it was off to attend the General Keynote at 8:30. This was the welcome and innovation session for what was coming with Veeam.\nThere were some many key takeaways from the General Keynote -\nA New Vision for Data Resilience\nEvery business runs on data. Veeam is on a relentless mission to keep your business running and your data protected anytime, anywhere.\nIntroducing Veeam Vault\nData Resilience depends on having a secure offsite location. Veeam Vault brings you fully managed, seamless cloud storage on Azure.\nEnd-To-End Data Protection with Coveware\n“You don’t rise to the occasion for incident response, you fall to your preparation level.” Bill Siegel, CEO of Coveware by Veeam, shares essential tips for end-to-end data protection practice.\nData Freedom: Expanded Hypervisor Support\nIf migration is on your mind, Veeam makes it easy with support for the world’s leading hypervisors, including Azure Stack HCI, Nutanix AHV, Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager, and OpenShift Virtualization, and upcoming support for Proxmox VE.\nFrom here, it was time for breakout sessions and the Expo Hall, where the vendors were located. This years venue was much better than Miami with everything for the tech sessions being close to each other and not a lot of walking, so you were ensured to get to each of your sessions on time. I was able to attend some of the sessions that I picked out, but every year, there are always so many that overlap it is hard to choose, so this is why you can catch all of them again online at the VeeamON website - VeeamON 2024 - Ft. Lauderdale. I attended the sessions that I found relevant and what I wanted to learn on day 2.\nA few sessions I attended on Day 2 that were really good -\nGenerative AI + Veeam Data Platform = Data Master - Anthony Spiteri \u0026amp; Jorge de la Cruz NAS Backup Best Practices \u0026amp; Lessons Learned - Olivier Rossi \u0026amp; David Tosoff Day 2 wrapped up with the Expo Hall happy hour, and there were draws from vendors for prizes. All in all a good first day for technical sessions!\nDay 3 - Last Day\nThe conference\u0026rsquo;s final day again started with a nice walk on the beach to see the sunrise and then breakfast in the wonderful air conditioning.\nThere were many more breakout sessions and the Technical Keynote session to kick things off. Demos, demos, demos were the word of the day for the Technical Keynote session. There were demos on many of the new announcements made from the Day 1 keynote like Proxmox backups, EntraID and even the new Veeam ONE interface with AI which looks fantastic. There was also some sneakiness by Anton Gostev for the EntraID demo. LOL\nOf course there was many more breakout sessions including the Top Secret Session -\nBetter Together: Veeam ONE \u0026amp; Veeam Recovery Orchestrator - Emilee Tellez, Jorge de la Cruz \u0026amp; Matt Anania Top Secret Session - Introducing Veeam Backup for EntraID - Matt Crape \u0026amp; Michael Cade Veeam Hardened Repository ISO: What\u0026rsquo;s New, What\u0026rsquo;s Next - Rick Vanover \u0026amp; Hannes Kasparick. Lots of great things coming in this new way to deploy a Veeam Hardened Repository including Rocky Linux! The last day also includes the famous VeeamON party, which I attended with fellow Vanguards/Legends. It was a blast and everyone had a great time.\nSo that wraps up another great VeeamON event in Ft. Lauderdale. If you can attend a VeeamON event, I highly recommend it as it is a great place to learn about technology, backups, Veeam and network with peers. One of the best events of the year, hands down!\n","date":"20 June 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/06/20/veeamon-2024-thoughts-review/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON 2024 - Thoughts \u0026amp; Review","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"20 June 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/veeamon-2024/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Veeamon-2024","type":"categories"},{"content":"On May 21, 2024, Veeam Software released an update to the Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication products in the form of version 12.1.2.172. This update addresses some critical security vulnerabilities as well as has new enhancements plus a ton more fixes to address other bugs and issues.\nYou can find out more about the release from the following KB page - KB4510: Release Information for Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12.1 and Updates\nSome of the highlights for this release -\nVulnerabilities\nIndicated severity values are CVSS 3.1 scores.\nVeeam Backup Enterprise Manager (VBEM)\nCVE-2024-29849 | Severity: Critical (9.8)\nThis vulnerability in Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager allows an unauthenticated attacker to log in to the Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager web interface as any user.\nCVE-2024-29850 | Severity: High (8.8)\nThis Vulnerability in Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager allows account takeover via NTLM relay.\nCVE-2024-29851 | Severity: High (7.2)\nThis vulnerability in Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager allows a high-privileged user to steal the NTLM hash of the Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager service account if that service account is anything other than the default Local System account.\nCVE-2024-29852 | Severity: Low (2.7)\nThis vulnerability in Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager allows high-privileged users to read backup session logs.\nVeeam Agent for Windows (VAW)\nCVE-2024-29853 | Severity: High (7.8)\nThis vulnerability in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows allows for Local Privilege Escalation.\nYou can read more about the other changes, enhancements, new features and fixes at the link above.\nOnce the release came out I had the change to run the patch installer on my homelab to upgrade it and you can do the same. The following steps are required during the upgrade -\nDownload the PATCH installer from the link above or the ISO file - either will work to upgrade but the patch installer is what I used. Extract the ZIP file and run the EXE file by double-clicking on it. The upgrade installer starts and is displayed on screen. Click on Next to proceed to the next screen which is the License Agreement. Click \u0026quot; I accept\u0026quot; and then the system will run a Configuration Check to ensure the upgrade is able to proceed. Once the check completes the Ready to Install screen comes up - here you will check off the \u0026quot; Update remote components automatically\u0026quot; or leave it unchecked so when you open the console you will then be prompted to run the updates to Proxies, Repos, etc. I would recommend the automatic update checkbox be selected. Once ready click the Install button and allow Veeam to update your server to 12.1.2.172. Once complete you can click Finish to exit the upgrade wizard. That completes the upgrade process and you can now launch the Veeam Console to check your jobs and settings to ensure nothing is in error or did not update and is pending from the upgrade installation.\nHopefully this was useful and you can find more of my Veeam articles here - /category/veeam/\nUntil next time - happy blogging!\n","date":"22 May 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/05/22/veeam-12-1-2-release-upgrade/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam 12.1.2 Release - Upgrade","type":"posts"},{"content":"It is that time of year again to prepare for one of the best conferences - VeeamON 2024.\nThis year\u0026rsquo;s event is in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, at the Diplomat Beach Resort Hotel from June 3-5, 2024. If you have not done so already you can sign up here and use the discount code COMMUNITY10 to get 10% off registration.\nAttending VeeamON is one of the best events if you want to learn more about backup and what Veeam is all about. From user sessions, networking and training, this event is packed with something for everyone. I was lucky to be able to attend the previous two VeeamON events, and thanks to the #Veeam100 program, which I am part of, they offered to cover my conference pass and hotel stay. What an amazing gesture from @Veeam\nAgenda - Agenda\nVeeam Industry Speakers - Industry Experts\nBe sure to scroll the speakers\u0026rsquo; page, as there are quite a few this year, including my boss and ThinkOn\u0026rsquo;s CTO, Ahsan Khan.\n50+ Breakout Sessions again this year - Breakout Sessions\nAlso many other things to take in and enjoy while attending VeeamON 2024.\nVeeam Certified Training - VMCE training will be available on June2nd for anyone to take at an extra cost.\nWhile you are at VeeamON 2024 connect with Veeam Vanguards, Legends, and MVPs. To learn more about each of these programs, please click here. Each of these programs is a community of like-minded IT professionals that provide their input and expertise as it applies to Veeam and its technologies. Included in the programs is access to Veeam product teams, the Veeam community forum and the ability to network w\\ fellow Vanguards, Legends, and MVPs. I highly encourage you to check out the video posted here to learn more about the program. Applications for the program are accepted once a year and your best bet to stay on top of any updates related to the program is to follow the Veeam Vanguard Twitter account. I would also suggest getting involved in your local Veeam User Group.\nVeeamON 2024\n\\[embed\\]https://www.veeam.com/veeamon/assets/small-veeam.webm\n\\[/embed\\]If you want to learn about more about Veeam, please check out my other blogs here.\nI hope to see you in Ft. Lauderdale! If you purchase any of my books and run into me, I will gladly sign it. :)\nCheck out other blogs about VeeamON 2024 from fellow Vanguards and Legends below.\nAl Rasheed - VeeamON 2024 – Al Rasheed – A personal Blog about IT related subjects. (wordpress.com)\nNico Stein - VeeamON 2024 in Ft. Lauderdale – You should go! | Nothing a Jameson can\u0026rsquo;t fix (nicostein.com)\n","date":"9 May 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/05/09/veeamon-2024-backups-premier-event/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON 2024 - Why You Should Attend","type":"posts"},{"content":"Being part of the Veeam Vanguard/Legends programs gives you some special privileges and opportunities, like testing out the first Technical Preview of the VBM365 v8 software. Today, I am going to go through the installation, which is identical to the current v7 version, but I will point out some new things for v8 that will come once the product goes GA.\nTo begin the installation of the software you need to download the ISO file as well as the license (LIC) file for testing. Once again this was available through the Vanguard/Legends program that I am part of. Once downloaded, mount the ISO file and double-click the setup file to begin.\nThe first screen is the beginning of the installation process and is similar to v7 installation Once you click Install you then select the components that you wish to install on the system You will accept the license and then have to select the License file you downloaded as well A system configuration check will happen to ensure your system meets the specified requirements for installation and if not then you are shown message about potential issues. In my case the system I installed on did not have the recommended CPU or RAM requirements for the new version, which is 8 vCPU and 16GB of RAM minimum as noted here - Veeam VB365 - System Requirements I just clicked Next to proceed, which will install any system requirements then show you the Ready to Install window. Notice that VB365 v8 uses a PostgreSQL database engine now which is new. Click Install to install the application on your server. Once complete you will get the successful installation window and just click Finish. This will complete the installation of the VB365 v8 software to your system and you are now ready to explore. Some of the new features within the v8 are noted below with some screenshots.\nPostgreSQL - this was noted in one of the install screenshots above. Proxies Windows or Linux servers supported Ability to create service accounts on the Proxy server during setup Proxy Pools are now available and can be used in conjunction with Repositories Repositories Block or Object Storage options Object Storage - similar to Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication now Backup Proxy link to repository - Proxy or Proxy Pool Immutability on Repositories Auto-Logoff and MFA are now available in the VB365 console as well just like VBR So to summarize this blog covers the installation of VB365 v8 Technical Preview as well as some of the newer options that are going to be available once this goes GA. There are a ton more things to discuss but that will be covered in my next blog on VB365 v8 Technical Preview.\nI hope you enjoyed this blog and you can find other Veeam related blogs on my site here - Veeam Blogs. Until next time happy blogging!\n","date":"19 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/04/19/veeam-vbm365-v8-technical-preview-installation/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam VBM365 - v8 Technical Preview - Installation","type":"posts"},{"content":"I will be starting a new blog series soon about Object First and OOTBI, their Immutable backup storage appliance. I was lucky enough to be accepted into the Object First Aces inaugural class and secure an appliance for testing, which includes blogging about it.\nI want to thank Geoff Burke, the Community Manager at Object First, who contacted me about this amazing opportunity to test and blog about OOTBI.\nI look forward to beginning my series with the initial setup and configuration and then moving on to more advanced topics related to setting up and using the device with Veeam.\nI hope you will join me as we explore the world of OOTBI and all it has to offer for Veeam customers. Until next time and the next blog for OOTBI, happy blogging!\n","date":"11 April 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/04/11/object-first-ootbi-blog-series/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Object First (OOTBI) - Blog Series","type":"posts"},{"content":"When I look back at my time in the Veeam Vanguard program, it is hard to believe that I have been part of one of the best evangelism programs for seven years. Being part of such an amazing program with amazing people is truly an honour. You know it will be a great year when you receive an email stating you have been accepted or renewed for another year.\nWhile the program began in 2015, just after VeeamON 2017 in New Orleans, I started my journey in the Veeam world and this great program. I want to thank Veeam, the Veeam Vanguard Program, Rick Vanover, Nikola Pejková, Madalina Cristil, Safiya Mohamed, and fellow 2024 Veeam Vanguards who make this program the best!\nAs a member of the Vanguard program, the following benefits are provided to each of the members:\nAccess to Veeam Product teams A forum to provide feedback and perspective Sharing of unique perspectives in the industry and exclusive networking opportunities NFR licenses for all Veeam products. Access to pre-releases and betas. Exclusive access to Veeam Forums and Support. Exclusive access to Veeam events like VeeamON. On top of the Vanguard program, Veeam also offers Veeam Certification ( VMCE—Veeam Certified Engineer \u0026amp; VMCA—Veeam Certified Architect). Additional information about the training can be found here. Veeam a lso offers another program that you can participate in on the Veeam Community called the Veeam Legends Program, and more information about it can be found here. I am happy to say I am also a part of this great program.\nIf you have the opportunity, I suggest attending the VeeamON 2024 event in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, this year. You can meet many of the great people in the Veeam Vanguard/Legends/MVP program there.\nTo learn more about Veeam, please visit my book publications and blog here. You can also visit fellow Vanguard blogs below.\nVeeam v10 - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10: Protect your virtual environment and implement cloud backup using Veeam technology (amazon.com)\nVeeam v11 - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication: Secure backup with Veeam 11 for defending your data and accelerating your data protection strategy, 2nd Edition (amazon.com)\nVeeam v12 - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication: Design and deploy a secure and resilient Veeam 12 platform using best practices, 3rd Edition (amazon.com)\nFellow Vanguard Blogs -\nAl Rasheed - 2024 Veeam Vanguard – Al Rasheed – A personal Blog about IT related subjects. (wordpress.com) Nico Stein - Veeam Vanguard 2024! | Nothing a Jameson can\u0026rsquo;t fix (nicostein.com) Falko Banaszak - Reflecting on 4 years as a Veeam Vanguard - virtualhome.blog ","date":"12 March 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/03/12/veeam-vanguard-2024-wow-year-7/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Vanguard 2024 - Wow, Year 7!","type":"posts"},{"content":"Have you ever wondered how to create a storage pool and volume using SSDs on a Synology NAS? Well today I will walk you through the process to use the SSD drives within your Synology NAS to create a storage pool and volume to use within a VMware environment.\nNow you must be using one of the supported NAS devices that allow you to use SSD as a Storage Pool as many just allow SSD drives to be used as Cache within a Storage Pool - Supported NAS Devices. You must be using a device on the supported list otherwise the only option you will have is to create an SSD Cache. I will discuss SSD Cache vs Storage Pools in my next article.\nIn order to configure an SSD storage pool you need to use the Storage Manager application on the web UI. Launch the web UI and log in, from the main screen open Storage Manager and use the Create button to begin the process to create a new LUN.\nHere is the new Storage Pool Creation Wizard that opens after clicking the option above -\nAfter clicking Next you are presented with Configuration screen on which RAID type to use and the option for a Description.\n**NOTE: I am using RAID0 as I wanted to maximize the 400GB SSD drives I have in my DS923+. You typically would have larger supported drives and do a RAID1 for protection.**\nAfter selecting the RAID you want to use and optinally typing a Description, you click Next to proceed. You will select the following things -\nWarning - a warning about SSD drives not being hot pluggable and ensureing a backup power supply Disk Selection - selecting the SSD drives to use in the Storage Pool Drive Check - whether to enable drive checking while it creates the Storage Pool - I selected not to check since the NAS is still fairly new After you have accepted the warning, selected the SSD drives to use and chosen to check the drives or not, you click Next to proceed to the validation screen. Here you will ensure all the settings are correct and click the Apply button to create the Storage Pool. You also receive a warning about the drives being erased.\nYou click OK to the warning and the Storage Pool is now created. After creating a Storage Pool, before you can use this to create a LUN to present to VMware, you first must create a Storage Volume in the new Storage Pool. You click the Create button and select Storage Volume, which will present the following dialog. Here you select the new Storage Pool for your volume.\nSo once you click the Next button you now choose the file system of your volume -\nBTRFS (Recommended) - this is the default file system for Synology NAS volumes EXT4 - this is commonly used for Linux operating systems After you choose the file system and in my case Btrfs, you click Next to proceed. You are now presented with the option to configure Encryption on your new volume. You make the choice and click Next.\nThe last screen is the confirmation so you click Apply to create your new volume in the Storage Pool.\nThat now completes how to set up both a new Storage Pool and creating a Volume using the SSD drives in your supported Synology NAS system. You would now crate a new LUN or NFS to present to your VMware Cluster for use and get some faster performance for critical VMs. I used this for some smaller VMs since the space I have available is only 724GB but I used Thin Provisioning as well. So far the VMs perform well and seem faster than when they were on the spinning disks.\nI will be creating another blog soon that compares using SSD drives in a Cache Pool versus a Storage Pool so stay tuned for that article.\nI hope you found this article useful and look for more on the Synology NAS devices and features in the future. Until then, happy blogging!\n","date":"14 February 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/02/14/synology-ssd-pool/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Synology - Using SSD Drives for a Storage Pool","type":"posts"},{"content":"Veeam released the 12.1 update back in November 2023, and with it comes upgrades to most components, including Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication. Today, I will walk through the upgrade process in my HomeLab to update my current Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication server from 12.0 to 12.1. Many enhancements came with Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12.1, including some of the following -\nInline Malware Detection Early Threat Detection Scan Backups with YARA Four-eyes Authorization KMS Integration Object Storage Backup AI Assistant (ChatGPT like) Postgres DB Support for Veeam Cloud Connect (previously was SQL before 12.1) A full list of the enhancements in Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12.1 can be found here - Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12.1 - What\u0026rsquo;s New.\n***NOTE - You must download the Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12.1 ISO file to follow the steps.***\nAt the time of this writing the version of Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12.1 is - 12.1.0.2131, but there has since been a Cumulative Patch 1 released bringing the build to 12.1.1.56. If you download the ISO file, you will want to ensure you have the latest with CP1 included.\nVeeam v12 release information KB - Veeam v12 - Release Information for Builds\nThe following steps are required to upgrade Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication to 12.1 -\nMount the ISO file on your Veeam ONE server and run the SETUP.EXE file. Upon launch of the installation wizard on the first screen, you will click the Upgrade button to begin. After clicking the Upgrade button, you will select the option for your upgrade, which could be - Upgrade Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication Upgrade Veeam Enterprise Manager (You will need to upgrade this feature first if you are using it) I clicked on Upgrade Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication for my server. The upgrade process starts, and the first screen is the License Agreement, where you click \u0026ldquo;I Accept\u0026rdquo; to proceed. The next screen shows you which components of Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication are going to be upgraded - You will click Next to proceed to the next screen, the License. At the License screen, there are two ways to input a license file - Logging in to your Veeam account for the license Browsing to a license file (LIC) - this will be the option I am using. After clicking Next, the system will do a Configuration Check to ensure no components are missing or there are issues that could prevent the installation of 12.1. Click Next to proceed to the Service Account screen. At the Service Account Screen, you will type in the account to be used for the Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication services - this should detect the current account being used, so you need to type the password and click Next to proceed. The next screen is the Database screen, which will detect the currently installed version of PostgreSQL and the database. Click Next to keep the current settings. After you click Next, you are prompted with an Upgrade Database confirmation which you need to click Yes to proceed. The final screen is the Ready to Upgrade, where you can validate settings and then click the Upgrade button to begin. You will then be able to watch the upgrade progress, showing each step from one to four. Once the upgrade completes the final dialog is shown where you can complete the upgrade using the Finish button.\nYou then unmount the ISO file and can begin working on the new Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12.1 software by launching the Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication Console.\nIf you go in the Veeam Console now and select Help \u0026gt; About you will see that you are updated to version 12.1 as noted in the screenshot below -\nThis now completes the upgrade process of Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication to 12.1 and the steps required.\nThere was one more step I needed to do after my upgrade to Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12.1 and that was to upgrade my Veeam Hardened Linux Repositories. Hopefully when you set them up the first time you noted down the root password just in case you need it, but the single-use credentials that were used within Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication to connect the server to the console should suffice (I had to use the root password on one of my servers so while in Single-User mode I changed it). This process requires you to do the following -\nBoot the Linux Hardened Repo in to Single-User mode Enable SSH on the system Run the Upgrade Wizard in the Veeam console to update the components on the Linux Hardened Repository Validate that it is updated by check the repository and doing a rescan. Reboot the system after the update to go back to lockdown mode - disables SSH. Please note that the SSH is not required with the CP1 patch update - 12.1.1.56 as noted in the release notes -\nBackup Infrastructure\nHardened repository servers and other managed Linux servers that were initially registered by leveraging single-use credentials no longer require enabling SSH Server and providing SSH credentials to perform Veeam components upgrade. The instructions to place your Veeam Linux Hardened Repository in to Single-User mode can be found here - Veeam Hardened Repository - Single-User Mode\nA couple of tricks with this -\nIf you end up at a GRUB prompt that does not look like the one noted on the website, type NORMAL and it will get you where you need to be. When you reboot the Linux Hardened Repository - do not keep hitting the ESC key - hit it just once otherwise you do get the other prompt (GRUB) The Single-User mode can be tricky and might take you a few tries to get in to it but if you run in to problems you can always reach out on the Veeam Community here - Veeam Community and someone like me can assist you.\nI hope that you found this useful and are able to follow along with your lab or upgrade project for Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication.\nPlease click on this link on my blog if you’re interested in anything about Veeam.\n","date":"29 January 2024","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2024/01/29/veeam-vbr-12-1-upgrade/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam VBR - 12.1 Upgrade","type":"posts"},{"content":"Veeam released the 12.1 update back in November 2023, and with it comes upgrades to most components, including Veeam ONE. Today, I will walk through the upgrade process in my homelab to update my current Veeam ONE server from 12.0 to 12.1. Many enhancements came with Veeam ONE 12.1, including some of the following -\nVeeam Threat Center Unified Analytics-Driven Approach to Data Management Integrated Dashboards Alarm Lifecycle ServiceNow Incident Management Integration Syslog SIEM Integration Elevating Veeam Data Platform Security Backup Security and Compliance: Instant Insights for Robust Data Protection Malware Detection: Pinpoint, Protect, Prevail A full list of the enhancements in Veeam ONE 12.1 can be found here - Veeam ONE 12.1 - What\u0026rsquo;s New.\n***NOTE - You must download the Veeam ONE 12.1 ISO file to follow the steps.***\nThe following steps are required to upgrade Veeam ONE to 12.1 -\nMount the ISO file on your Veeam ONE server and run the SETUP.EXE file Upon launch of the installation wizard on the first screen, you will click the Upgrade button to begin. After clicking the Upgrade button, you will select the option for your upgrade, which could be - Upgrade Veeam ONE Upgrade Veeam ONE Client I clicked on Upgrade Veeam ONE since my server is an all-in-one. The upgrade process starts, and the first screen is the License Agreement, where you click \u0026ldquo;I Accept\u0026rdquo; to proceed. The next screen shows you which components of Veeam ONE are going to be upgraded - You will click Next to proceed to the next screen, the License. At the License screen, there are two ways to input a license file - Logging in to your Veeam account for the license Browsing to a license file (LIC) - this will be the option I am using Click Next to proceed to the Service Account screen. At the Service Account Screen, you will type in the account to be used for the Veeam ONE services - this should detect the current account being used, so you need to type the password and click Next to proceed. The next screen is the Database screen, which will detect the currently installed version of SQL and the database. Click Next to keep the current settings. The final screen is the Ready to Upgrade, where you can validate settings and then click the Upgrade button to begin. You will then be able to watch the upgrade progress, showing each step from one to four. Once the upgrade completes the final dialog is shown where you can complete the upgrade using the Finish button.\nYou then unmount the ISO file and can begin working on the new Veeam ONE 12.1 software by launching the Veeam ONE Client or Veeam ONE Web Client.\nThis now completes the upgrade process of Veeam ONE to 12.1 and the steps required. I hope that you found this useful and are able to follow along with your lab or upgrade project for Veeam ONE.\nPlease click on this link on my blog if you’re interested in anything about Veeam.\n","date":"29 December 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/12/29/veeam-one-12-1-upgrade/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam ONE - 12.1 Upgrade","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have been using Synology NAS devices for the past two years in my homelab with VMware vSphere 8.0U2, vSAN, Intel Optane, Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication, Backup Eagle, Runecast and a host of other things. I have my newest DS923+ set up as my primary storage for my VMware environment and my older DS920+ is my backup NAS as well as Replication partner.\nOne thing that comes with the Synology DSM 7.2 upgrade (OS) is the ability to set up snapshots on a schedule, including Immutability. With Ransomware on the rise protecting your systems with backups alone is starting to not be sufficient enough. Enter the Immutable storage snapshots with replication on the Synology NAS devices.\nIn order to configure storage snapshots with Immutability you first need to create a LUN within the SAN Manager application on the web UI. Launch the web UI and log in, from the main screen open SAN Manager and use the Create button to begin the process to create a new LUN.\n***NOTE: When creeating a LUN for snapshots you need to select Thin Provisioned as the Thick Provisioned option does not allow snapshots.***\nHere is the new LUN Creation Wizard with all the options selected -\nOnce the new LUN is created we will now set up snapshots with Immutability and replicate them to my secondary Synology NAS. You will again use the SAN Manager for this process, but select the Snapshot option on the left side menu. This will show the newly created LUN and how it is not scheduled for snapshots - \u0026quot; No Scheduled Protection\u0026quot;. We will use both the Settings and Replication buttons on this screen to set things up.\nOnce you click on you new LUN, in my case LUN-4 it will highlight it and then you click the Settings button at the top of the window in order to configure snapshot scheduling. You will select the following things -\nSchedule - how you want the snapshots to be taken and what time Immutability - this is the check box to set to make the snapshots of your LUNs immutable - it is recommended 7 to 14 days Retention - this is where you set up the retention period for your snapshots - how long and how many you want to keep Application - this allows application consistent snapshots but requires the Synology Storage Console within your VMware environment After you have set all the required details for your snapshots you click the OK button at the bottom of the Settings dialog to apply your new schedule, retention and application settings. We have now set up a new LUN with snapshots, which includes Immutability as well. Now let\u0026rsquo;s take a look at how we configure Replication to a partner Synology NAS using once again the SAN Manager and the Replication button.\nClick again on your new LUN highlighting it and then click the Replication button, which opens the Replication dialog where you will use the Create button to set up a new replication to your target Synology for the new LUN.\nSo once you click the create button this will begin the process of creating the Replication for your new LUN -\nStart screen Replication Method - can use VMware Site Recovery Manager as well as Synology Destination location Destination Server with credentials and Encryption Destination volume on replication partner LUN to replicate Destination Schedule - includes turning on Immutability for your replicated LUN which enables double protection Destination Retention - typically I set the same as the snapshot retention Advanced Settings Final confirmation dialog - review all settings chosen After you click Done on the final confirmation settings dialog this will then set up and begin the replication process for you new LUN(s). Mine did not take long as there is currently nothing on it as I created a new one specifically for this blog. Once the replication completes you can then check both the source and destination Synology devices to see the newly created LUN with replication completed.\nAnother really great feature with the Synology NAS lineup is after you set up your replication, you can select a LUN from your list and click the Info button to show you some really nice statistics -\nStatus - the status of your replication Statistics - number of runs, speed of transfer, duration, and size Topology - replication topology between Synology NAS devices with some extra details And that folks is how you configure a new LUN on your Synology NAS to have Immutability for both Snapshots and Replication. This adds an extra layer of protection against Ransomware on top of your backups which you should also be doing!\nI hope you found this article useful and look for more on the Synology NAS devices and features in the future. Until then, happy blogging!\n","date":"28 December 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/12/28/synology-immutability/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Synology - Immutable LUN Snapshots with Immutable Replication","type":"posts"},{"content":"I’d like to first thank Rick Vanover, Madalina Cristil, Nikola Pejková, and everyone at Veeam for their efforts and support leading into my second Veeam 100 Summit. It’s a HUGE undertaking that requires many levels of coordination. This was my second time attending the event in person. It was an honour to attend such a prestigious event for the second time and meet many fellow Vanguards, Legends and MVPs in person. It is amazing how being at an event and being able to speak to others of the same mindset makes you feel great. As for the host city of Prague, it never fails.\nDay 1 included a Welcome Reception hosted by Object First. A big thanks to Kevin Allan and Probax for sponsoring our Go Kart event earlier in the day! It’s safe to assume everyone thoroughly enjoyed this experience! However, we did have one minor mishap during racing, as Thiago Dos Santos Nunes decided to crash into a wall and ended up like this. The Kasten workshop was once again held on Monday afternoon for those who signed up to attend with Michael Cade.\nDay 2 was the official kickoff for the Veeam 100 Summit. Rick, Madalina, Safiya and Nikola started the day with a presentation in which we learned more about the various Community groups that comprise the Veeam 100 Community. If you’re not familiar with each community, I have provided a link and/or description for each below:\nVeeam Vanguard – The Veeam Vanguard Program is Veeam’s top-level influencer community. This group shares points of view, provides feedback and is committed to mutual success. Experts in the Vanguard program are a combination of many different disciplines, contribution types, and advocacy mechanisms. Yet, they are each the best regarding technical thought leadership for the technical communities in which Veeam exists. These individuals have been nominated as Veeam Vanguards. A Veeam Vanguard represents our brand to the highest level in many technology communities we engage. These individuals are chosen for their acumen, engagement and style in their activities on and offline. Veeam Legend – Veeam Legends are Veeam users and data protection industry experts passionate about technology and innovation and eager to further develop their careers while sharing their experiences with the community. As avid Veeam users, they participate in various community projects, drive local Veeam User Groups and can also influence the development of Veeam products and solutions — they have a tangible impact within the community! Apart from that, Veeam Legends are always eager to help their peers and get connected with other community members. Veeam MVP – this group includes top Veeam employees with a customer-facing technical role who share and engage when it is not part of their job. This program is ONLY available to Veeam employees. The program even got a big Thank You from Veeam and was mentioned in recent socials and media. We then hear from our sponsors of the event, both Object First and Wasabi. Next on the agenda was the topic of the 12.1 release coming in Q4 of 2023. There are many enhancements coming to the VBR Suite:\nInline Malware scanning Suspicious Activity Detection Veeam Incident API Four-eyes Authorization KMS Integration with KMIP SIEM \u0026amp; Syslog Integration Configuration Backup on Immutable Storage Veeam AI Assistant in the Console And the list goes on We then talk about some new enhancements coming to Veeam Recovery Orchestrator v7.\nWe concluded the first day with the annual Veeam 100 toast given by Craig Dalrymple and concluded the evening with the Wasabi Poker Night. The eventual poker winners -\nDay 3 started off with a look into Veeam ONE 12.1 and was followed up by the new Cirrus offering from Veeam. We then went into some new features for Veeam VB365, including a sneak peek into v8, and after lunch, there was the anticipated VCSP Tech Summit session for those who are Service Providers and invited to the exclusive event. We then looked at some Veeam Backup for Salesforce and finished up the 12.1 content. We concluded the day with sessions on Ransomware PoV with Rick Vanover and Edwin Weijdema and concluded with some news on a new release of Kasten. The evening ended with the Veeam 100 Closing Party, which took place at Opero. They even had a photo booth for pictures!\nDay 3 finished with the Veeam Backup for Public Clouds and the super secret \u0026ldquo;Ask Me Anything (Code RED)\u0026rdquo; session with Veeam employees. Please check out additional Veeam 100 Summit posts from fellow attendees, which include:\nMichael Paul did a live blog on the community each day, including the evening social Veeam 100 Summit - Live Blog #Day 0 + 1 Veeam 100 Summit 2023 - Day 2 Veeam 100 Summit 2023 - Social Veeam 100 Summit Recap – Prague 2023 (Al Rasheed) Veeam 100 Summit 2023 (Jim Jones) VEEAM 100 SUMMIT IN PRAGUE (Geoff Burke) Additional video and content can be found on Twitter using the hashtag #Veeam100Summit It was a great time catching up with everyone I had already met in person at VeeamON 2023 and previously at the V100 Summit in 2022. It was now time to wind down for an early morning flight back home on Friday.\nInterested in learning more about the Veeam Vanguard and Veeam Legends programs? Click on the links provided, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions! Interested in pursuing a Veeam Certification? More information about the training can be found here.\nThank you to everyone at Veeam, the Veaam Vanguard Program and the #vCommunity for your support! This is the best influencer program and the other Legends/MVPs that make up the #Veeam100.\nPlease click on this link on my blog if you’re interested in anything about Veeam.\nAnd to finish it all off, here are a few wonderful pictures of Prague that I could take during the trip. Such a beautiful city and architecture. Walking is the best way to see the sites and visit places for a drink or food.\n","date":"8 November 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/11/08/veeam-100-summit-recap-prague-2023/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam 100 Summit Recap - Prague 2023","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"18 September 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/backup-eagle/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Backup-Eagle","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"18 September 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/cloud-provider/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Cloud-Provider","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"18 September 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/monitoring/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Monitoring","type":"categories"},{"content":"In my first blog post, I reviewed what Backup Eagle was and how it can monitor your environment. I also went through the installation process as well. Part 1 can be found here -\nMonitoring with BackupEagle - Part 1\nThe company graciously granted me an NFR license to test within my homelab - Backup Eagle by Schmitz RZ Consult GmbH.\nIn this post, I am going to cover the Administration Console, including things like -\nInstalling a license file Adding servers for monitoring Dashboards Reports Backup Eagle is used for Backup Monitoring, Reporting, and Audit \u0026amp; Compliance.\nLaunching the console is very straightforward; double-click the desktop icon \u0026quot; BACKUP EAGLE Administration Client,\u0026quot; which launches the console. You can see the console when it first opens below (keeping in mind I already have data showing - a new installation will not have any data until you add servers).\nAfter you get into the dashboard within the Administration Console, you need to configure a license and set up servers to monitor. To install a license, which is an XML file you will receive, click the Settings menu and select License Management, which brings up the License Management dialog.\nAfter you import the license XML file, you will see the products you are licensed for in the dialog. My license is an NFR with all available products, so there is more to the list, like Veeam, etc., below SEP. The next step is adding servers for the licensed products to your console. To that, we click again on the Settings menu and select Server and Device Management. This will bring up a dialog showing licensing in the top part of the window and the servers you add in the bottom half.\nAt the screen above, you click the Add button, which brings up a dialog to enter information regarding the device you will monitor and what type it is based on your licensing. Once done, Save the new device/server, which conducts a connectivity test, and click the Close button. Your device/server now shows up in the dialog for Server and Device Management; you can click Close.\nOnce you have given the system time to collect data, you can view the information by navigating the console. One of the tabs is Reporting, which has abundant reports and documents you can view, email, and print based on your environment data collected. I will show an example of a Veeam report, which I mainly monitor in my lab environment.\nWhen you are in the console, you click the Reporting button in the ribbon, and then you can filter reports based on Veeam by clicking the \u0026ldquo;V\u0026rdquo; icon. This will bring up anything Veeam-related and show you Documents (DOC) and Reports you can schedule and run. Below is the console showing the reports and also a sample document. While I am just touching on the Reporting tab, there is so much more you can do with it when using multiple products that Backup Eagle supports.\nI hope that you have found the information in this blog post useful.\nYou can find out more about Backup Eagle on their website here - https://www.backup-eagle.com\nIn my next post, I will explore the console more, investigate collected data, and view more detailed reports and other options available. So stay tuned!\n","date":"18 September 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/09/18/monitoring-with-backup-eagle-part-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Monitoring with Backup Eagle - Part 2","type":"posts"},{"content":"At the beginning of 2023, I was selected to be part of the Tech Field Day Delegate list, which was an honour. You can find my profile here - https://techfieldday.com/people/chris-childerhose/.\nAfter this, I signed up for my first field day, which was Storage Field Day 25 #SFD25. More information can be found here - https://techfieldday.com/event/sfd25/\nIt was a different experience being part of such a great event by @GestaltIT and @TechFieldDay, along with Steven Foskett. After the event, attendees are contacted regarding writing a blog spot for the GestaltIT website from the event you attended.\nI decided to write a blog about Storpool Storage, and the blog can be found here -\nhttps://gestaltit.com/sponsored/storpool/chris-childerhose/storpool-storage-delivery-with-commodity-hardware-the-right-way/\nI hope you enjoy reading it!\n","date":"29 June 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/06/29/tech-field-day-storage-field-day-25/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Tech Field Day - Storage Field Day 25","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have been a Veeam Vanguard for six years and Veeam Legend for just over a year and was fortunate enough to have attended the VeeamON 2017 event in New Orleans and VeeamON 2022 in Las Vegas, which was fantastic.\nBeing a Vanguard is a real honour, and many people ask me when they see my Veeam Vanguard jacket or shirt - What is Veeam? My answer is a typical one - it is backup software for your infrastructure for now and the future, leading to a conversation around technology, backups, and many other things.\nThis year\u0026rsquo;s VeeamON 2023 event was in Miami, which I attended in person, and it was amazing. Besides the great weather and hotel, there were many sessions, networking, a VeeamON playground with the Veeam Community Booth, Lab Warz, Hands-on-Labs and the legendary swag shop.\nAttending VeeamON is one of the best events if you want to learn more about backup and what Veeam is all about. From user sessions to networking and training, this event is packed with something for everyone. Thanks to the #Veeam100 program I am part of, we had the luxury of attending VeeamON 2023 in Miami at no cost. What a fantastic gesture from @Veeam\nVeeamON 2023\nFrom the General sessions and keynotes to the breakout sessions, there was much to see and hear from Veeam.\nDay 1\nMonday was technically the first day of the conference, where you could register and retrieve your badge. There was also a Day 0 session with Michael Cade on Kubernetes \u0026amp; Kasten, which I could not attend but heard was great from those who did. It was also my day with my good friend and fellow Vanguard Al Rasheed to conduct Veeam Community Booth duty. Veeam was also gracious enough to purchase 20 of my newest book, Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication Third Edition (v12), which I signed and handed out to lucky attendees.\nThat was pretty much it for day 1 as I travelled with my family to the conference, and we took extra vacation afterwards, so it was time to hit the pool with them.\nDay 2\nThe day started out with an early breakfast with some fellow Vanguards then it was off to attend the General Session at 9:30. This was the welcome and innovation session for what was coming with Veeam.\nThere were many speakers for the general session as well that we heard from.\nThere was also a shoutout to the #Veeam100 from Anand in the general session -\nFrom here, it was time for breakout sessions and the Tech Festival, where the vendors were located. I was able to attend some of the sessions that I picked out, but every year, there are always so many that overlap it is hard to choose, so this is why you can catch all of them again online at the VeeamON website - VeeamON 2023 - Miami. I attended the sessions that I found relevant and what I wanted to learn on day 2, including a great session by our very own Vanguards - Jim Jones \u0026amp; Falko Banaszak, on Architecting Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 - AMAZING session! There were many other speakers from #Veeam100, but I could not attend all the sessions. Congratulations to all those that had sessions and represented the Veeam Community!\nDay 2 wrapped up with the Tech Festival happy hour, and there were draws from vendors for prizes.\nDay 3 - Last Day\nThe conference\u0026rsquo;s final day again started with a nice breakfast in the scorching sun on the terrace. It was a little too warm, to be honest, so inside it was to the wonderful air conditioning.\nThere were many more breakout sessions and the second General session on this day. On the last day, another really great session with Rick Vanover, Hannes Kasparick, and Christoph Meyer - All Demo Session for the Hardened Repository. The session was all demo and used the new ISO that Veeam is working on for deploying the hardened repo for users.\nThe last day also includes the famous VeeamON party, but this year I decided to skip that and join Al Rasheed with our families at a great eating place - Taco Taco.\nSo that wraps up another great VeeamON event in Miami. If you can attend a VeeamON event, I highly recommend it as it is a great place to learn about technology, backups, Veeam and network with peers. One of the best events of the year, hands down!\nWhile most were set to travel home on Thursday and Friday, my family and I decided to stay longer and visit Orlando and Universal Studios. It was a great day on my birthday there and the following Monday. One last picture from a truly remarkable event and vacation.\n","date":"6 June 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/06/06/veeamon-2023-event-review/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON 2023 - Event Review","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"6 June 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/veeamon2023/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Veeamon2023","type":"categories"},{"content":"A few years ago I was in touch with someone at Synology and was able to secure as DS920+ along with a DX517 expansion NAS unit which I have written reviews about. Fast forward to 2023 and I was again in touch with Nick Kozup at Synology, who graciously helped me secure a DS923+ NAS for testing and blogging.\nThe DS923+ is the latest version in the 9xx line of Synology NAS products and has many new features, including an updated CPU based on AMD - Ryzen R1600 which is a 2-core processor. The unit also supports up to 32GB of RAM, 10GB PCIe network add-on, NVME drives for caching, and has on-board 2 x 1GB NICs.\nThe following is a list of things my unit was installed with -\nAdditional 16GB of RAM for a total of 20GB (includes the already included 4GB stick) - my plan is to get another 16GB stick at a future date to upgrade it to the max 32GB 10GB network card option 2 - 10TB Seagate Ironwolf NAS drives \u0026ndash; I ordered 2 more of these drives from Newegg to fill all four slots 2 - 400GB NVME SSD drives for Cache Here is the unit packaging once I opened the box -\nSo the unboxing was complete but in order to complete my setup I had to wait on the additional 2 x 10TB Seagate Ironwolf drives that I ordered from Newegg. Once those arrived it was time to assemble the DS923+ NAS - \u0026ldquo;Avengers Assemble\u0026rdquo;.\nSo the first install was the extra 16GB RAM stick was you need the drive caddies out of the unit. Next I installed the 2 x 400GB NVME SSD drives to be used for the cache in the bottom of the unit. Next I installed the 10GB network add-on card by removing the cover, inserting the PCIe card to the back of the unit and then putting the screws back in to hold it in place. Finally the 10TB drives (4) were installed in the drive caddies.\nNext I connected the power and the network cable to the 10GB card and powered the unit on. I used the Synology Assistant tool that finds NAS devices on your network. The trouble with this is that my new DS923+ was not being found for some reason. So I unplugged the 10GB port and connected to one of the 1GB ports on the back. Voila! The device showed up in the Synology Assistant application -\nSo I clicked the Not Installed link, which opened my web browser showing me my new NAS and that it was ready for setup -\nSo I clicked the Install button and began the process of setting up my device. The first screen is the installation of Diskstation Manager where you can select from two options -\nDownload the latest release from the Synology website Upload an update PAT file - manual update So I chose the manual option as I wanted to install DSM 7.2RC on my new NAS. I selected the file and then clicked the next button to proceed. It asks you to confirm then begins the installation and reboot process -\nIt took about 15 minutes or so to install the DSM software and reboot the unit. Once it came back up the Welcome to DSM 7.2 screen was showing where you click the Start button to begin the rest of the device setup.\nI then proceeded to create a Storage Pool from my 4 x 10TB drives in a RAID5 configuration which gave me a total of 27.3TB of usable capacity. This also creates a new Volume for you as well. Next was created the RAID1 for Caching using the installed 2 x 400GB NVME SSD drives. The whole setup looks like this now -\nOnce I had my storage set up it was time to -\nAdd my hosts for the WWNs to allow iSCSI LUN access Create 3 LUNs of 8TB each and map to the Synology iSCSI Host - this grants access to all my other hosts and is a best practice for mapping by Synology versus host mappings Add the 3 LUNs to VMware and create VMFS volumes Create a cluster within VMware for Storage DRS setup Update the Synology Storage Console VM to the latest release, 1.1.3-0104, which is compatible with DSM 7.2 I was now ready to begin the migration process of my VMs from the old DS920+ to the DS923+. The new NAS will be used for all my VMware workload via iSCSI and I am repurposing the DS920+ as a backup repository as well as using the Backup for Business application for my home devices and Synology Drive to backup photos from my Android phone.\nFor those that might be asking what Synology Storage Console is - this is a VM that allows the integration and optimization of your Synology volumes provisioned in VMware and manages the volumes from within the vCenter Web UI to expand. More information can be found here - https://kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/help/StorageConsoleforVMware/storageconsoleforvmware?version=7\nThat now completes my initial setup of the new DS923+, and it is time to get using and putting the unit through its paces. I will be doing more blogs on this unit as I get working with it more, including setting up snapshots for my LUNs and replicating them to my DS920+. The DS920+ is going to be a backup to the current NAS so we will see what features I can unlock.\nI hope you found this article useful and look for more on the Synology DS923+ in the future. Until then, happy blogging!\n","date":"17 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/05/17/synology-ds923-installation-setup/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Synology DS923+ - Installation \u0026amp; Setup","type":"posts"},{"content":"Recently VMware released Update 1 for both VMware vCenter and ESXi. I successfully upgraded my vCenter but had to wait on the ESXi hosts until the VMware USB NIC Fling was updated to be compatible with Update 1. It is now updated and can be downloaded from here - VMware USB NIC Fling\nI downloaded the fling and the Update1 ZIP file from the VMware site that I could run on the CLI of each host after enabling SSH. So I connected to my hosts via the Web UI, logged in and enabled SSH. I then used Mobaxterm to connect to each of my hosts.\nThe steps at a high level to upgrade are as follows -\nRemove the current USB Fling driver from each host Reboot the host to complete the VIB removal Enable SSH again on each host Run the CLI command to process the Update1 ZIP file on each host Reboot each host to ensure Update 1 is applied Enable SSH again on each host Install the USB NIC Fling for Update 1 Reboot each host to ensure the drivers are loaded Check the Web UI to ensure the USB NIC is showing as available After connecting to each of my hosts using SSH, I ran the following command -\nesxcli software vib remove \u0026ndash;vibname=vmkusb-nic-fling After the command runs, you see the successful message -\nI then typed in the command to restart the server and waited - reboot\nOnce the server returned, I logged in to the Web UI and enabled SSH again, as I only have it set to manually be started for security purposes. I then connected again to each of my hosts using SSH and ran the following command to install Update 1 and then reboot -\nesxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/Synology-NFS4/ISOs/VMware-ESXi-8.0U1-21495797-depot.zip\nThen once the update completes, you will see the success message and reboot requirement -\nI then typed in the command to restart the server and waited - reboot\nI then needed to log back into the Web UI to enable SSH again, but it also allowed me to confirm that the hosts were at Update 1 as well based on the initial page -\nSo I connected one last time to the hosts using SSH and ran the command to install the new USB NIC Fling, and then rebooted each host -\nesxcli software component apply -d /vmfs/volumes/Synology-NFS4/ISOs/ESXi80U1-VMKUSB-NIC-FLING-64098092-component-21669994.zip\nAfter completing the last reboot and logging in to my VMware vCenter UI, I was able to see the USB NIC on each of my hosts and ensure that it was added back into the VDS as well for Uplink 2 -\nSo I completed updating my VMware ESXi hosts to Update 1, which also included an update to the VMware USB NIC Fling.\nI hope you enjoyed this article and can use it if you need to update your hosts using the USB NIC fling!\n","date":"9 May 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/05/09/how-to-update-vmware-esxi-v8-update-1-with-usb-nic-fling/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"How to Update VMware ESXi v8 - Update 1 with USB NIC Fling","type":"posts"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 12 - Third Edition\u0026rdquo; is now in publication (since April 2023) and is ready to order either the book or e-book/kindle.\nWell, since writing my first book on v10 and my second one on v11, I debated to myself about writing the update of the book to v12. It took me some time to process and think about if I wanted to do it, and after attending VeeamON 2022 in Las Vegas, where v12 was introduced, it got me excited, and I then took the plunge. This time, the process was much smoother as I had already done the first \u0026amp; second books and understood the templates, formatting, etc. The team at Packt worked with me again and my busy schedule to create something I think that everyone will enjoy reading. Whether you are a newbie with Veeam or a seasoned expert, you can learn something from this book.\nVeeam 12 best practices: design and deploy a secure and resilient platform # Key Features # Gain in-depth knowledge of Core Architecture Changes, including PostgreSQL Work with VeeaMover and how it will help manage backups and SOBRs Explore Object Storage - Direct to Object - the ability to add Object Storage to be your primary repository Book Description # Veeam is one of the leading modern data protection solutions, making it a necessary skill for anyone responsible for backing up virtual environments. This revised third edition of Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication is updated to cover Veeam version 12. The book guides you through implementing modern data protection solutions for your cloud and virtual infrastructure with Veeam while helping you master advanced concepts such as Continuous Data Protection (CDP), extended object storage support, VeeaMover, and Security settings.\nStarting with Veeam essentials, including installation, best practices, and optimizations for Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication, you\u0026rsquo;ll get to grips with this process. You\u0026rsquo;ll understand how to set up a backup server, proxies, repositories, and more and then advance to cover a powerful feature of Veeam 12 – Direct to Object Storage. As you progress, you\u0026rsquo;ll learn about using PostgreSQL for your database instead of Microsoft SQL and discover the best way to implement this with Veeam 12. Finally, you\u0026rsquo;ll explore the new Tape server options available in Linux and become well-versed with advanced topics such as VeeaMover, Security, NAS Backup changes and using CDP with Cloud Connect.\nBy the end of this Veeam book, you\u0026rsquo;ll be able to implement Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication to secure your environment and enable disaster recovery.\nWhat you will learn # Understand Installing \u0026amp; Upgrading Veeam to v12 Master the ability to use PostgreSQL for the database Explore SOBR - Direct to Object storage in Performance Tier Discover tape server enhancements Explore updated security, including MFA and Auto-Logoff Understand NAS Backup with Immutability Support Get to the grips of CDP \u0026amp; Cloud Connect - CDP to vCD via VCC Who This Book Is For # Backup Administrators or cloud disaster architects will gain expertise in all things Veeam. This book teaches you the basics, like installing \u0026amp; upgrading to more advanced concepts like Direct to Object Storage configuration and best practices. There will also be some things not to do or worst practices by Rick Vanover from Veeam.\n# Table of Contents # Installation – Best Practices \u0026amp; Optimizations Core Architecture Changes Scale-Out Backup Repository – What\u0026rsquo;s New Tape Server \u0026amp; Other Enhancements Veeam’s New Enhanced Security Features Object Storage – What\u0026rsquo;s New and Enhancement NAS Backup – What\u0026rsquo;s new CDP \u0026amp; Cloud Connect While only the book\u0026rsquo;s first chapter got a refresh for v12, the rest of the chapters are new and cover many enhancements in the v12 release, including a first look at Continuous Data Protection (CDP) with Veeam Cloud Connect. I believe it will also be a great reference guide once you have completed it to quickly refer back to when doing a new deployment or possibly trying to remember something about CDP or Object Storage. It might be helpful for the VMCE/VMCA exams and as an additional study resource.\nSo I hope I have piqued your interest, and if so, you can order the book below at the link to Packt Publishing and Amazon, where the Kindle version is available and the paperback.\nOrder the book/e-book here at Packt - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v12 - Third Edition\nOrder the book/e-book here at Amazon - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v12 - Third Edition\n","date":"27 April 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/04/27/mastering-veeam-backup-replication-v12-third-edition-published/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v12 (Third Edition) - PUBLISHED!","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was recently introduced to a product requiring me to do a PoC to determine if it was a viable monitoring option for my company. I was granted an NFR license to test within my homelab for a product named - Backup Eagle by Schmitz RZ Consult GmbH.\nI was curious about how the Backup Eagle product works compared to other monitoring software. It was a straightforward install for the software based on Java, including the database used to store the data.\nBackup Eagle is used for Backup Monitoring, Reporting, and Audit \u0026amp; Compliance.\nInstalling the software is very simple after downloading and extracting the zip file. The latest release as of this writing is - 9.9.2.73. Begin the installation using the EXE file and click through the screens.\nAfter the initial screen, you can install either the BE Server or the Admin Client, a component that can be installed on other systems to connect to the Backup Eagle Server. In this case, I have installed the Backup Eagle Server option.\nThe following screens are the program file location and the start menu folder name, including the Install button to finish things up. At the end of the file installation, the second last screen is the installation and startup of the services. Once you click next, the services are created and started in a command prompt window on the screen.\nThe final screen lets you start the Administration client and exit the installer.\nOnce the product is installed, you can open the console from the installer or use the icon on the desktop named - Backup Eagle Administration Client. You will be prompted for a username \u0026amp; password to log in, and a default admin account is documented in the installation guide.\nSome of the many things that Backup Eagle can monitor are -\nMicrosoft Azure Cohesity Commvault Data Domain Networker RMAN Veeam - VBR/VCC/VB365 VMware - vCenter/Nodes You can find out more about Backup Eagle on their website here - https://www.schmitz-rz-consult.de/en/\nIn my next post, I will take you through the Administration Console and do things like license installation, adding servers to monitor, dashboards, reports, etc. So stay tuned!\n","date":"27 April 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/04/27/monitoring-with-backup-eagle/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Monitoring with Backup Eagle","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"17 April 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/vcp/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Vcp","type":"categories"},{"content":"Well, for the second year, I have been accepted to the vExpert Cloud Provider subprogram for 2023!\nI applied to the vExpert sub program last year in 2022 and was accepted for the first time. So after renewing my vExpert for 2023, I figured I might as well apply again for the Cloud Provider subprogram once they opened up.\nI was accepted to the vExpert Cloud Provider 2023 subprogram for the second year this year. Since I work with an MSP and we have many vCloud/NSX installations in our data centers, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to expand my skills further on the Cloud side of things with @VMware.\nAs always with any evangelist program applications, the waiting is the hard part, and then an email came Friday indicating my acceptance to the program once again.\nThanks to the @vExpert program and Corey Romero - @vCommunityGuy. I look forward to what this subprogram brings and helping to contribute in any way I can for another year.\n","date":"17 April 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/04/17/vmware-vexpert-subprogram-acceptance-cloud-provider-2023/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VMWare vExpert Subprogram Acceptance - Cloud Provider 2023","type":"posts"},{"content":" I have been a Veeam Vanguard for six years and Veeam Legend for just over a year and was fortunate enough to have attended the VeeamON 2017 event in New Orleans and VeeamON 2022 in Las Vegas, and it was fantastic. Great sessions, lots of networking and meeting more of the Veeam folks and Vanguards/Legends.\nBeing a Vanguard is a real honour, and many people ask me when they see my Veeam Vanguard jacket or shirt - What is Veeam? My answer is a typical one - it is backup software for your infrastructure for now and the future which then leads to a conversation around technology, backups, and many other things.\nThis year\u0026rsquo;s event in Miami looks to build on previous events like New Orleans, Chicago, and Las Vegas.\nAttending VeeamON is one of the best events if you want to learn more about backup and what Veeam is all about. From user sessions, networking and training this event is packed with something for everyone. I was lucky to be able to attend VeeamON 2022 in Las Vegas last year and thanks to the #Veeam100 program which I am part of we have the luxury of attending VeeamON 2023 in Miami at no cost to us. What an amazing gesture from @Veeam\nAgenda - Agenda\nVeeam Industry Speakers - Industry Experts\n50+ Breakout Sessions - Breakout Sessions\nVeeam Certified Training - VMCE/VMCA training will be available on May 21st/22nd for anyone to take at an extra cost.\nVeeamON 2023\n\\[embed\\]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sth4w1zzQ_o\n\\[/embed\\]I hope to see you in Miami! If you purchase my new book and run into me, I will gladly sign it as well. :)\n","date":"4 April 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/04/04/veeamon-2023-backups-premier-event/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON 2023 - Backups Premier Event","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"31 March 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/intel/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Intel","type":"categories"},{"content":"Thank you to @Intel and @vExpert for the opportunity to test some unique technology in the Intel Optane drives.\nI have been part of the VMware vExpert program for four years now, and in 2023, there was a webinar done by Intel on their Optane drives. After the webinar, there was the chance to be chosen to receive a gift from Intel of some Optane drives for homelab testing.\nI decided to submit for the chance to receive the Optane drives and was lucky enough to be selected. At the time of selection, you had to choose your drive choice, which was PCIe or U2 format. My homelab consists of four Intel Skull Canyon NUCs, so using PCIe was not going to work, but dumb of me was the selection that I accidentally chose. After a discussion with Corey Romero, the vExpert Community Manager, I got in touch with Intel, which sent the U2 format drives to me.\nOnce receiving the Intel Optane U2 form factor drives, it was time to determine a USB adapter to use them with my Intel NUCs. One of the first things I needed to do to use a USB drive within VMware ESXi8 was to turn off the USBArbitrator service on all my hosts. After that, it will recognize the USB adapter and drive, at which point I can change the drive to \u0026quot; FLASH \u0026quot; to be used with vSAN.\nSo I tried the first adapter from Sabarent, which can be found here -\nSabarent Adapter - https://www.amazon.com/SABRENT-Type-Adapter-Cable-EC-U2SA/dp/B0BRBTKJMD/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3E6MFWXOTRQM3\u0026amp;keywords=sabrent+u2+to+usb\u0026amp;qid=1680287407\u0026amp;sprefix=sabarent+u2+to+usb%2Caps%2C229\u0026amp;sr=8-3\nWhile this adapter did work for my U2 drives, it was very problematic within VMware ESXi8, wherein it would randomly disappear from the storage list. I would need to unplug the drive from the adapter and then plug it back in to get it working again. This was not going to suffice for me to be able to properly test vSAN without it constantly going into error states.\nThis would just not do, so I started to explore other adapters. I found another one which is also USB but is like a dock for the U2 drives, keeping it vertical, so I decided to just order one to try before committing to four total.\nThis adapter is from StorageMall and can be found here -\nStorageMall Adapter - https://www.amazon.ca/NVMe-Adapter-SFF-8639-Docking-Station/dp/B0B31LRRGZ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=36RVYLRAIITRR\u0026amp;keywords=storagemall+u2+to+usb\u0026amp;qid=1680287840\u0026amp;sprefix=storagemall+u2+t%2Caps%2C406\u0026amp;sr=8-1\nSo I ordered it, and it was time to connect it to one of my Intel NUCs for testing.\nThis is what it looks like connected to my Intel NUC -\nSo after testing just one adapter, the U2 drive never disconnected from ESXi8 while the other drives, which were still connected via the Sabrent adapter, did! So that sealed the deal, and I ordered three more adapters - one for each Intel NUC. I already had a 1TB NVME drive in each Intel NUC for the capacity tier, and the Intel Optane drives would be used for the cache tier.\nI received my other StorageMall adapters and got all my drives connected to each Intel NUC. I then set up vSAN correctly, and it has been rock solid since getting these little docking units. Highly recommend them if you want something reasonably priced and not overly expensive for USB connectivity.\nSo I could configure VMware vSAN with just minimal settings as I did not need anything fancy, and the status eventually appeared as OK.\nOne of my first tests was with a Windows VM using DiskSpd. The configuration is as follows -\nWindows 10 (64-bit) VMware Paravirtual SCSI controllers (x2) OS drive (C), Data drive (E) So I used the following command to run the tests on both the C drive and E drive, just changing the command for the drive letter each time, and the command was piped to a text file for future reference -\ndiskspd.exe -d60 -W15 -C15 -c128M -t4 -o4 -b8k -L -r -Sh -w50 c:\\disk-speed-test.dat\nThe results were not bad, to say the least, with the VM being on vSAN and having USB Intel Optane U2 drives. An example of the tests is below for the C drive -\nInput parameters: timespan: 1 ------------- duration: 60s warm up time: 15s cool down time: 15s measuring latency random seed: 0 path: \u0026#39;c:\\disk-speed-test.dat\u0026#39; think time: 0ms burst size: 0 software cache disabled hardware write cache disabled, writethrough on performing mix test (read/write ratio: 50/50) block size: 8KiB using random I/O (alignment: 8KiB) number of outstanding I/O operations per thread: 4 threads per file: 4 using I/O Completion Ports IO priority: normal System information: computer name: TON-7UZ start time: 2023/03/21 18:37:39 UTC Results for timespan 1: ******************************************************************************* actual test time:\t60.02s thread count:\t4 proc count:\t4 CPU | Usage | User | Kernel | Idle ------------------------------------------- 0| 17.29%| 3.07%| 14.22%| 82.71% 1| 18.15%| 3.20%| 14.95%| 81.85% 2| 17.42%| 2.79%| 14.63%| 82.58% 3| 16.95%| 3.05%| 13.90%| 83.05% ------------------------------------------- avg.| 17.45%| 3.03%| 14.42%| 82.55% Total IO thread | bytes | I/Os | MiB/s | I/O per s | AvgLat | LatStdDev | file ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 | 1355177984 | 165427 | 21.53 | 2756.41 | 1.450 | 3.899 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 1 | 1347731456 | 164518 | 21.42 | 2741.26 | 1.458 | 3.943 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 2 | 1348632576 | 164628 | 21.43 | 2743.09 | 1.457 | 3.926 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 3 | 1348214784 | 164577 | 21.42 | 2742.24 | 1.457 | 3.976 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- total: 5399756800 | 659150 | 85.80 | 10983.00 | 1.455 | 3.936 Read IO thread | bytes | I/Os | MiB/s | I/O per s | AvgLat | LatStdDev | file ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 | 678486016 | 82823 | 10.78 | 1380.03 | 0.209 | 0.552 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 1 | 673710080 | 82240 | 10.71 | 1370.31 | 0.210 | 0.914 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 2 | 672129024 | 82047 | 10.68 | 1367.10 | 0.211 | 1.162 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 3 | 674004992 | 82276 | 10.71 | 1370.91 | 0.211 | 0.894 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- total: 2698330112 | 329386 | 42.88 | 5488.35 | 0.210 | 0.906 Write IO thread | bytes | I/Os | MiB/s | I/O per s | AvgLat | LatStdDev | file ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 | 676691968 | 82604 | 10.75 | 1376.38 | 2.693 | 5.201 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 1 | 674021376 | 82278 | 10.71 | 1370.95 | 2.705 | 5.210 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 2 | 676503552 | 82581 | 10.75 | 1376.00 | 2.694 | 5.130 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 3 | 674209792 | 82301 | 10.71 | 1371.33 | 2.703 | 5.263 | c:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- total: 2701426688 | 329764 | 42.93 | 5494.65 | 2.699 | 5.201 total: %-ile | Read (ms) | Write (ms) | Total (ms) ---------------------------------------------- min | 0.025 | 0.810 | 0.025 25th | 0.089 | 1.980 | 0.125 50th | 0.125 | 2.337 | 1.283 75th | 0.197 | 2.952 | 2.343 90th | 0.383 | 3.534 | 3.111 95th | 0.652 | 3.959 | 3.541 99th | 1.380 | 6.024 | 4.755 3-nines | 3.349 | 28.245 | 18.948 4-nines | 14.731 | 242.986 | 240.320 5-nines | 213.511 | 244.998 | 244.357 6-nines | 239.836 | 340.090 | 340.090 7-nines | 239.836 | 340.090 | 340.090 8-nines | 239.836 | 340.090 | 340.090 9-nines | 239.836 | 340.090 | 340.090 max | 239.836 | 340.090 | 340.090The results from the E drive -\nInput parameters: timespan: 1 ------------- duration: 60s warm up time: 15s cool down time: 15s measuring latency random seed: 0 path: \u0026#39;e:\\disk-speed-test.dat\u0026#39; think time: 0ms burst size: 0 software cache disabled hardware write cache disabled, writethrough on performing mix test (read/write ratio: 50/50) block size: 8KiB using random I/O (alignment: 8KiB) number of outstanding I/O operations per thread: 4 threads per file: 4 using I/O Completion Ports IO priority: normal System information: computer name: TON-7UZ start time: 2023/03/31 19:33:49 UTC Results for timespan 1: ******************************************************************************* actual test time:\t60.00s thread count:\t4 proc count:\t4 CPU | Usage | User | Kernel | Idle ------------------------------------------- 0| 76.69%| 30.42%| 46.28%| 23.31% 1| 76.46%| 32.14%| 44.32%| 23.54% 2| 75.63%| 33.41%| 42.21%| 24.38% 3| 76.72%| 36.41%| 40.31%| 23.28% ------------------------------------------- avg.| 76.37%| 33.09%| 43.28%| 23.63% Total IO thread | bytes | I/Os | MiB/s | I/O per s | AvgLat | LatStdDev | file ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 | 1076240384 | 131377 | 17.11 | 2189.62 | 1.824 | 2.812 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 1 | 1060225024 | 129422 | 16.85 | 2157.03 | 1.852 | 2.830 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 2 | 1046495232 | 127746 | 16.63 | 2129.10 | 1.877 | 2.965 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 3 | 1010950144 | 123407 | 16.07 | 2056.78 | 1.943 | 3.253 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- total: 4193910784 | 511952 | 66.66 | 8532.53 | 1.873 | 2.967 Read IO thread | bytes | I/Os | MiB/s | I/O per s | AvgLat | LatStdDev | file ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 | 539795456 | 65893 | 8.58 | 1098.22 | 0.499 | 1.017 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 1 | 530014208 | 64699 | 8.42 | 1078.32 | 0.514 | 1.017 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 2 | 521920512 | 63711 | 8.30 | 1061.85 | 0.514 | 1.139 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 3 | 505266176 | 61678 | 8.03 | 1027.97 | 0.529 | 1.360 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- total: 2096996352 | 255981 | 33.33 | 4266.35 | 0.513 | 1.139 Write IO thread | bytes | I/Os | MiB/s | I/O per s | AvgLat | LatStdDev | file ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 | 536444928 | 65484 | 8.53 | 1091.40 | 3.158 | 3.357 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 1 | 530210816 | 64723 | 8.43 | 1078.72 | 3.190 | 3.377 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 2 | 524574720 | 64035 | 8.34 | 1067.25 | 3.233 | 3.544 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) 3 | 505683968 | 61729 | 8.04 | 1028.82 | 3.356 | 3.914 | e:\\disk-speed-test.dat (128MiB) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- total: 2096914432 | 255971 | 33.33 | 4266.18 | 3.233 | 3.551 total: %-ile | Read (ms) | Write (ms) | Total (ms) ---------------------------------------------- min | 0.034 | 0.730 | 0.034 25th | 0.137 | 2.079 | 0.240 50th | 0.240 | 2.618 | 1.564 75th | 0.517 | 3.483 | 2.676 90th | 1.023 | 4.860 | 3.865 95th | 1.572 | 6.412 | 5.025 99th | 4.330 | 13.682 | 10.370 3-nines | 15.588 | 30.139 | 25.808 4-nines | 29.935 | 223.382 | 68.381 5-nines | 58.715 | 238.147 | 236.003 6-nines | 77.962 | 238.896 | 238.896 7-nines | 77.962 | 238.896 | 238.896 8-nines | 77.962 | 238.896 | 238.896 9-nines | 77.962 | 238.896 | 238.896 max | 77.962 | 238.896 | 238.896So the overall performance, while not great, is pretty decent using U2 over USB. I will try to run some further benchmarking tests, and since I did receive the PCIe Intel Optane drives, I will be testing a couple of those in a Synology DS923+ NAS that I am getting from them for testing and more blogs. It will be interesting to see how they boost the performance in the NAS using them as possible cache drives or even volumes may be depending on the number I can squeeze in there.\nI hope this article was informative, and I will do more on the Intel Optane drives in future posts. Until then, happy testing!\n","date":"31 March 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/03/31/intel-optane-vexpert-awesome/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Intel Optane + vExpert = Awesome!","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"31 March 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/optane/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Optane","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"31 March 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/tanzu-vanguard/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Tanzu-Vanguard","type":"categories"},{"content":"","date":"23 March 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/tanzu/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Tanzu","type":"categories"},{"content":" VMware Tanzu Vanguard 2023 # It is official, and I have been awarded VMware Tanzu Vanguard 2023 for the first time applying.\nOn December 18, 2022, a very nice email arrived in my inbox from Brian Chang ( @techadvoguy), one of the community managers indicating he received my application and was giving me the chance to join the program. I just had to fill out some forms and accept some agreements (the usual stuff), and voila, everything was processed, and I was in the program.\nAfter this, I received an invite to the Tanzu Vanguard slack channel to talk with fellow community members and get a ton of information about Tanzu in general. Being new to the Tanzu/Kubernetes world, it was a great place to start and ask general questions without worrying about my knowledge level. Everyone is extremely friendly, like many of the IT communities out there.\nThere were some badges and social media graphics that we got access to, and I received a great swag box with shirts, hoodies and other goodies.\nSwag Box with goodies :)\nThe other community manager for the program is Cami Hough ( @cami_hough), who can also be found on the slack channel posting about events, calls, and the \u0026ldquo;Hump Day Highlights\u0026rdquo; for Tanzu.\nSo what is a Tanzu Vanguard, you might be asking? As per a recent email from Cami Hough -\n\u0026quot; WHAT MAKES A TANZU VANGUARD SO SPECIAL?\nAs an active technologist in the IT field, you are well aware that your knowledge, skills, and technical talents make you unique and stand out. The vanguard community was born out of a privilege and acknowledgment that your special skills are to shine, be amplified, and celebrated for everything you have done and will do. This is not your typical community. If you were looking to add this community to your list of product advocacy communities, then you have really lost sight of what we are truly trying to do here. In this community, we set out to accomplish two very important milestones\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;.to grow and nurture TANZU SUPER USERS and FUTURE THOUGHT LEADERS. If that describes you, then it is time we started on our journey together! \u0026quot;\nYou can also find an explanation from the Tanzu Vanguard website as well -\n\u0026ldquo;The VMware Tanzu Vanguard is a select group of active customers, cloud users, and practitioners that are passionate about our products and services. They openly share their experiences and knowledge with the community and the industry.\u0026rdquo;\nBenefits of being a Tanzu Vanguard\nAccess to VMware Tanzu product and service groups Exclusive invitations to our conferences and user group meetups Networking with a small group of peers to get complex IT challenges solved Recognition and rewards for contributions and achievements Digital Tanzu Vanguard badges Community-branded swag Congratulations to all those awarded the Tanzu Vanguard 2023. Don\u0026rsquo;t be shy about reaching out and asking questions on the Slack channel.\nIf you would like to apply to the program, please visit the following webpage - Tanzu Vanguard - Apply\nMy journey begins in the Tanzu/Kubernetes world - come and join me!\n","date":"23 March 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/03/23/vmware-tanzu-vanguard-2023/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VMware Tanzu Vanguard - 2023","type":"posts"},{"content":"WOW! Accepted for the sixth year in a row. #VeeamVanguard Veeam Vanguard 2023\nI was a part of the Veeam Vanguard program for the past five years in 2018-2022, with the hopes of another renewal for the 2023 year. Applications opened up for the 2023 year, and this time, it was all based on your application, whereas in previous years, you could have others nominate you. I have remained active with the Veeam space promoting the product, blogging, Twitter, Paper.li E-Newspaper, and even wrote a third edition of my book for Packt Publishing - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v12 So I filled out the application with examples of all my activities throughout the year in the hopes I would be accepted. After applying, waiting is hard for that email to indicate whether you are in or out.\nSo based on my post as you can imagine, I was accepted for a sixth year into one of the best evangelist programs out there - Veeam Vanguard. Many thanks to @RickVanover @NikolaPejkova and the amazing people at @Veeam @Veeamvanguard\nTo be part of such a great group is an amazing feeling. This program is one of the best for promoting the Veeam products and giving insight to the Veeam Team.\nYou can read about it here - https://www.veeam.com/vanguard.html\nVeeam Vanguard benefits include the following:\nAccess to Veeam Product teams A forum to provide feedback and perspective Sharing of unique perspectives in the industry and exclusive networking opportunities NFR licenses for all Veeam products. Access to pre-releases and betas. Exclusive access to Veeam Forums and Support. Exclusive access to Veeam events like VeeamON. One of the best benefits is the #VanguardFriday calls we have on Teams, where you can chat about anything as it ends the week on a good note, even when we are all busy.\nHere is to another successful year of the Veeam Vanguard program for 2023, and looking forward to meeting many of you in person again at VeeamON 2023 in Miami.\n","date":"16 March 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/03/16/veeam-vanguard-2023-year-six/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Vanguard 2023 - Year Six","type":"posts"},{"content":" Veeam Legend 2023 # It is official; I have been awarded Veeam Legends 2023 for the 2nd year.\nI received a great surprise in my email from Madalina Cristil ( @MadiCristil), the manager of the Veeam Community Legends program, Rick Vanover ( @rickvanover), Safiya Mohamed ( @safiya), and Nikola Pejkova ( @NikolaPejkova) I was renewed into the 2023 first intake.\nYou can find out about the Veeam Legends program on the Community Hub here - Veeam Community Hub.\nIt has been a great first year in the Legends program, and I was happy to contribute to helping the community. I look forward to another year and meeting many of the Legends in person at the #Veeam100 event in October.\nThere are some great benefits to being a Legend -\nAs a part of Veeam Legends, you’ll be eligible for unique content, NFR licenses, private betas, prelaunch briefings, Veeam R\u0026amp;D insights and, of course, awesome Veeam Legends swag!\nBut one of the most significant benefits is being part of a community to share knowledge, experience, tips, tricks, etc. I know this from being in the Veeam Vanguard program for six years. Talking with fellow vCommunity members is the most rewarding part of being in any evangelist program.\nSo if you are interested, check out the link to the Community Hub above and work your way up to becoming Legendary!\n","date":"16 March 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/03/16/veeam-legends-program-renewed-for-2023/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Legends Program - Renewed for 2023!","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"16 March 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/nsx/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Nsx","type":"categories"},{"content":" VMware vExpert 2023 # It is official; I have been awarded VMware vExpert 2023 for the 4th year.\nMy first application was in 2020, and I was accepted, so I continued to apply again in the Evangelist Path for 2023. As luck would have it, I was accepted for 2023, another year in a great program.\nJust to highlight what it takes to be a vExpert and the official benefits; however, the non-official benefits of resources and career growth I feel benefitted me most from being in the program. Nothing can beat the vCommunity out there, and networking with your peers on anything IT-related, not just VMware-specific, is another great benefit.\nBenefits of being a vExpert Here’s a list of some of the benefits when receiving the award. Networking with 2,000+ vExperts / Information Sharing Knowledge Expansion on VMware \u0026amp; Partner Technology Opportunity to apply for vExpert BU Lead Subprograms (see below) Possible Job Opportunities Direct Access to VMware Business Units via Subprograms Blog Traffic Boost through Advocacy, @vExpert, @VMware, VMware Launch \u0026amp; Announcement Campaigns 1 Year VMware Licenses for Home Labs for almost all Products \u0026amp; Some Partner Products Private VMware \u0026amp; VMware Partner Sessions Gifts from VMware and VMware Partners vExpert Celebration Parties at both VMworld US and VMworld Europe VMware Advocacy Platform Invite (share your content to thousands of vExperts \u0026amp; VMware employees who amplify your content via their social channels) Private Slack Channels for vExpert and the BU Lead Subprograms Which Path Should you Apply for? Evangelist Path The Evangelist Path includes book authors, bloggers, tool builders, public speakers, VMTN contributors, and other IT professionals who share their knowledge and passion with others with the leverage of a personal public platform to reach many people. Employees of VMware can also apply via the Evangelist path. A VMware employee reference is recommended if your activities weren’t all in public. Customer Path The Customer Path is for leaders who evangelize VMware. We are looking for passionate customers who do the work to evangelize within their organization or worked with VMware to build success stories, act as customer references, give public interviews, speak at conferences, or were VMUG leaders. The actives must not be related to your position within the company, i.e. not being paid for evangelizing VMware. A VMware employee reference is recommended if your activities weren’t all in public. Partner Path The VPN Path is for employees of our partner companies who lead with passion and by example, who are committed to continuous learning through accreditations and certifications and to making their technical knowledge and expertise available to many. This can take shape of event participation, video, IP generation, as well as public speaking engagements. VMUG \u0026amp; VCDX If you are an active VMUG Leader or hold the title of VCDX, you will qualify for the vExpert award. VMUG leaders are verified through the VCDX directory. VMUG leader titles and activities are also verified, and you must be an active leader in your chapter. Inactive VMUG leaders will not qualify for the award. To apply via VMUG or VCDX, please use the evangelist path and state you are a VCDX or VMUG leader and which chapter. All VCDX applicants will be verified via vcdx.vmware.com. To apply, you need to enter vexpert.vmware.com in your browser. If it is for the first time, you need to create an account, and then you can apply. If you need any help with your application, you can always contact a vExpert PRO. They will assist you with how to apply and explain the best way to apply.\nCongratulations to all those awarded the vExpert 2023, and welcome to the newcomers. Don\u0026rsquo;t be shy about reaching out and asking questions on the Slack channel.\nIf you did not apply when applications were opened at the end of 2022, you can apply again in the vExpert 2023 second-half applications that should be open around June/July.\nMy vExpert page: vExpert - Chris Childerhose\nMy VMware forum page: VMware Forums - Chris Childerhose\nVMware Advocacy Program: https://advocacy.vmware.com/\n","date":"16 March 2023","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2023/03/16/vmware-vexpert-2023-year-4/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VMware vExpert 2023 - Year 4","type":"posts"},{"content":" The Veeam Vanguard program is one of the best influencer/evangelist programs out there, and one reason you need to nominate yourself or someone else that deserves to be in this program. You will gain access to cutting-edge technology as well as resources. With 2023 just around the corner, now is the time to consider nominating yourself or someone you know who should be considered. Also, at this time, for the existing Veeam Vanguards like myself, it is renewal time to ensure I am selected for another year in this exciting program.\nBeing a Veeam Vanguard means being part of an exclusive community of top IT professionals and thought leaders worldwide. As a member, you’ll have access to a wide range of exclusive resources and opportunities, including:\nEarly access to new Veeam products and features Invitations to Veeam-sponsored events and webinars Opportunities to provide feedback and input on Veeam product development Access to the Veeam Vanguard private community, where you can connect with other Veeam Vanguards and share ideas and experiences Opportunities to collaborate with Veeam on blog posts, case studies, and other content And much more! The benefits of being a Veeam Vanguard don’t stop there. As a member of the group and the extended Veeam 100, you’ll also have the opportunity to grow your skills and knowledge through access to a wide range of training and educational resources. This includes:\nOnline courses and training materials to help you stay up-to-date on the latest Veeam technologies and best practices Exclusive access to Veeam Certified Engineers (VCES) and Veeam Certified Architects (VCAs) for mentoring and guidance Opportunities to attend VeeamON, our annual conference for data management professionals, where you can learn from industry experts and network with other IT professionals. Attend the Veeam 100 Summit in Prague, which is an amazing event and the highlight of the year for most in the program. I have been in the Veeam Vanguard program for five years (2018-2022), and this was my first year attending the Prague Veeam 100 Summit. I have to tell you it was an amazing experience, and you can read all about it in my recap post here - Veeam 100 Summit - Recap.\nSo if you’re a current Veeam Vanguard, now is the time to renew your membership for another year of exclusive benefits and opportunities. And if you’re not yet a member, now is the perfect time to join the Veeam Vanguard community and take advantage of all the resources and opportunities available.\nTo learn more about renewing your Veeam Vanguard membership or joining for the first time, visit the Veeam Vanguard Nomination Form.\n","date":"6 December 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/12/06/veeam-vanguard-nominations-for-2023-are-now-open/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Vanguard Nominations for 2023 are Now Open","type":"posts"},{"content":" \u0026ldquo;Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 11\u0026rdquo; was released earlier this year in February 2022. The book can be seen at the following links and ordered:\nVersion 11 Book is here -\nPackt - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication - Second Edition\nAmazon - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication - Second Edition\nI have since been approached to write an update to the book for Version 12 and have accepted the challenge. The current book will get an updated chapter 1, and then everything else will be brand new with all new features in the latest release of Veeam.\nMastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v12 (Third Edition) \u0026ndash; Coming Soon # I will update my blog as my journey progresses with the new version. I hope to create an updated book that is as good as the first two, which everyone enjoyed that gave me feedback on. It will be fun writing about the newest features of Veeam v12.\nKeep an eye out for further updates and other blog posts.\n","date":"14 November 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/11/14/mastering-veeam-backup-replication-v12-third-edition-coming-soon/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v12 (Third Edition) - COMING SOON","type":"posts"},{"content":"I’d like to first thank Rick Vanover, Madalina Cristil, Nikola Pejková, Aubrey Galen, and everyone at Veeam for their efforts and support leading into the Veeam 100 Summit. It’s a HUGE undertaking that requires many levels of coordination. This was my first time attending the event in person. It was an honour to attend such a prestigious event and meet many fellow Vanguards, Legends and MVPs in person. It is amazing how being at an event and being able to speak to others of the same mindset makes you feel great. As for the host city of Prague, it never fails.\nDay 1 included a Welcome Reception.\nA big thanks to Jim Jones and 11:11 Systems for sponsoring our Go Kart event earlier in the day! It’s safe to assume everyone thoroughly enjoyed this experience! Day 2 was the official kickoff for the Veeam 100 Summit. Rick, Madalina, and Hannes Kasparick started the day with a presentation in which we learned more about the various Community groups managed by each. If you’re not familiar with each community, I have provided a link and\\or description for each below:\nVeeam Vanguard – The Veeam Vanguard Program is Veeam’s top-level influencer community. This group shares points of view, provides feedback and is committed to mutual success. Experts in the Vanguard program are a combination of many different disciplines, contribution types, and advocacy mechanisms. Yet, they are each the best regarding technical thought leadership for the technical communities in which Veeam exists. These individuals have been nominated as Veeam Vanguards. A Veeam Vanguard represents our brand to the highest level in many technology communities we engage. These individuals are chosen for their acumen, engagement and style in their activities on and offline. Veeam Legend – Veeam Legends are Veeam users and data protection industry experts passionate about technology and innovation and eager to further develop their careers while sharing their experiences with the community. As avid Veeam users, they participate in various community projects, drive local Veeam User Groups and can also influence the development of Veeam products and solutions — they have a tangible impact within the community! Apart from that, Veeam Legends are always eager to help their peers and get connected with other community members. Veeam MVP – this group includes top Veeam employees with a customer-facing technical role who share and engage when it is not part of their job. This program is ONLY available to Veeam employees. Next was Rick Vanover and Edwin Weijdema from Veeam, and their presentation was about Ransomware. As we know, this subject matter is relevant and is always in the news. Below are a few slides from the presentation: What risks to consider when trying to protect your data, and are you prepared for a disaster? Recovery considerations should include How (the method), Where (the location), and Time (how long it should take to recover from a disaster).\nThe next session evolved around Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v12, and it was presented by Hannes Kasparick, and Anton Gostev; below is a list of a few of the updates\\highlights:\nSimplified Hardened Repository\nSSH credentials are no longer needed\\required\nImproved compatibility with security standards (DISA STIG, NIST, etc.)\nPerl is no longer required for a hardened repository\n“Permissions Only” restore for Windows\nManage Linux without SSH and SUDO\nSingle-Use credentials\nCredentials of backup servers are not stored anymore\nVeeaMover\nNetworking\\Enhanced Traffic Management:\nMultiple locations w\\ different internet bandwidth, use the “Internet” rule\nAlways restore w\\ full speed\nThe ability to “unthrottle” without disabling\nJorge de la Cruz, Roman Kuksov, and Kirsten Stoner discussed What’s New in Veeam ONE v12, but due to this product not being GA, and the content from this session can not be shared at this time.\nMatt Crape provided the final session for Day 1, but unfortunately, it was labelled as Red and cannot be discussed outside the Summit.\nAnother thing that came up is CFPs for VeeamON 2023 are currently being accepted. Click on the QR code found in the image below to learn more!\nInterested in learning more about the Veeam Hardened Repository (VHR)? Scan the QR code below for a walk-through video:\nPlease check out additional Veeam 100 Summit posts from fellow attendees, which include:\nLuciano Patrao ( Veeam 100 Summit 2022 Prague Recap – First Day)\nLuciano Patrao ( Veeam 100 Summit 2022 Prague Recap – Second D ay)\nVladan Seget ( Veeam 100 Summit Prague – My Czech Roots!!!)\nJorge da la Cruz ( Veeam 100 Summit, to Community and beyond)\nBen Young ( Vanny’s Historic Run Around Prague)\nMatt Crape ( Knowing, understanding, and valuing your audience)\nVeeam Community Recap #94 (at the Veeam 100 Summit) w\\ Rick, Madalina, Geoff, and Maurice Kevenaar\nAl Rasheed ( Veeam 100 Summit Recap)\nNico Stein ( Veeam 100 Summit in Prague)\nAdditional video content can be found on Twitter using the hashtag #Veeam100Summit\nIt was a great time catching up with everyone I had already met in person at VeeamON or other events and those I had not, other than on weekly calls for Vanguards or Legends. Video chat is not the same as in-person I think we can all agree!\nSPECIAL SHOUT-OUT: # A special thank you goes out to Craig Dalrymple, who helped me tremendously. I typically have everything ready to go the night before leaving for travel, but in this case, I did not. I used the safe in the hotel room to store my passport and guess what - yes, I left the hotel, got to the airport, then got an email from the hotel that I left a document behind. My heart sank as I realized the safe and my passport. I contacted the hotel, and they had it at the desk, so I told them someone would get it and bring it to the airport for me. Craig to the rescue! He grabbed my passport and dropped it to me at the airport.\nI cannot say enough about this great group of people and how they are willing to help out another fellow #Veeam100 member.\nInterested in learning more about the Veeam Vanguard and Veeam Legends programs? Click on the links provided, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions! Interested in pursuing a Veeam Certification? More information about the training can be found here.\nBy the way, a little birdie shared a secret with me (This bird has all the privileges). Ready?? VeeamON 2023 is back in Miami, and I hope to see you there!\nThank you to everyone at Veeam, the Veaam Vanguard Program and the #vCommunity for your support! This is the best influencer program and the other Legends/MVPs that make up the #Veeam100.\nThat concludes days 1 \u0026amp; 2 for this recap. I plan to update this post as soon as possible to include my experiences for days 3 and 4.\nPlease click on this link on my blog if you’re interested in anything related to Veeam.\nAnd to finish it all off, here are a few wonderful pictures of Prague that I could take during the trip. Such a beautiful city and architecture. Walking is the best way to see the sites and visit places for a drink or food.\n","date":"11 November 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/11/11/veeam-100-summit-recap/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam 100 Summit Recap","type":"posts"},{"content":"Today I received a great surprise in my email from Madalina Cristil ( @MadiCristil), the manager of the Veeam Community Legends program, and Rick Vanover ( @rickvanover) that I was renewed into the 2022 second intake. You can find out about the Veeam Legends program on the Community Hub here - Veeam Community Hub.\nIt has been a great first year in the Legends program, and I was happy to contribute to helping the community. I look forward to another year and meeting many of the Legends in person at the #Veeam100 event in October.\nThere are some great benefits to being a Legend -\nAs a part of Veeam Legends, you’ll be eligible for unique content, NFR licenses, private betas, prelaunch briefings, Veeam R\u0026amp;D insights and, of course, awesome Veeam Legends swag!\nBut one of the most significant benefits is being part of a community to share knowledge, experience, tips, tricks, etc. I know this from already being in the Veeam Vanguard program for the past five years.\nSo if you are interested, check out the link to the Community Hub above and work your way up to becoming Legendary!\n","date":"31 August 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/08/31/veeam-legends-program-renewed-for-2022/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Legends Program - Renewed for 2022!","type":"posts"},{"content":"So part one of the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 discusses the shared responsibility model and outlines both Microsoft and Customer responsibilities. I also look at why you need to backup briefly but will dive more into this for part two. You can find resource links and part one here - Part 1\nWhen it comes to backing up your Microsoft 365 data, there are seven reasons why you NEED to back it up -\nAccidental deletion: This is actually the most common cause of data loss in Microsoft 65. If you delete a user, whether you meant to or not, that deletion will then be replicated across the network. A backup could restore that user, either to on-premises Exchange or Microsoft 365. Retention policy gaps and confusion: Retention policies in Microsoft 365 are designed to help organizations comply with regulations, laws and internal policies that require that they retain or delete content; they are not back ps. But even if you do rely on your retention policy in place of a backup, these retention policies are hard to keep up with, let alone manage. A backup provides longer and more accessible retention that’s all protected and stored in one place for easy recovery. Internal security threats: When we think of threats to our business, we usually think in terms of protecting against external for us. However, many businesses also experience threats from the inside, and these issues happen more often than you think. Having a high-grade recovery solution mitigates the risk of critical data being lost or destroyed. External security threats: Ransomware is becoming more and more sophisticated, and criminals are finding more ways to reach our users and deceive them into clicking a link that encrypts the entire organization’s data for ransom. A backup can easily restore data to an instance before the attack. Legal and compliance requirements: There are eDiscovery capabilities built into Microsoft 365, but a third-party backup solution is purpose-built to easily search within a backup and quickly bring back data to meet any regulatory compliance needs. Managing hybrid email deployments and migrations to Microsoft 365: Whether you are migrating to Microsoft 365 or have a blend of on-premises Exchange and Microsoft 365 users, the exchange data should be managed and protected the same way, which makes the source location irrelevant. Teams’ data structure: The Microsoft Teams backend is much more complex than many real ze. Teams is not a self-contained application, meaning the data generated in Teams resides in other applications like Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDr ve. With this added layer of complexity, ensuring that data is adequately protected is paramount. Reference - 7 Reasons Why Microsoft 365 Backup is Critical\nThe above reasons are the most common for Microsoft 365 backups, and the article referenced is a good read if you want further information.\nSo again - Why back up Microsoft 365? Microsoft provides a wide array of powerful services within Microsoft 365, but a comprehensive backup of your Office 365 data is not one of them. The data residing in Microsoft 365 is your responsibility, and you need a backup to ensure you have total access, control and protection of your Office 365 data. It cannot be stated enough that you need to backup up the Microsoft 365 data in your organization even if you are using On-Premise Exchange.\nSo when it comes to a solution Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 is the one to look at whether directly from Veeam or via a Service Provider that might offer that along with storage too. Be sure to follow the 3-2-1-1-0 rule as well with your Microsoft 365 data so you ensure that you have multiple copies of it and offsite as well for DR recovery.\nAlong with Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 being able to back up your data they also have 45 ways to restore it as well. It works with:\nExchange Online \u0026amp; Exchange On-Premise OneDrive for Business Microsoft Teams SharePoint Online \u0026amp; SharePoint On-Premise\nDepicted below is the many ways Veeam can restore your data and also in the referenced link below is further information: So again it bears repeating that you need to BACK UP your Microsoft 365 data to ensure it is protected from things like Ransomware, Malicious actors, etc. In part three of the series will start to get in to the workings of the actual Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 product and things to consider when deploying, configuration, and other best practices. For now you can reference some other great links mentioned in this blog below.\nGreat resource links for more on Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 -\nVeeam Backup for Microsoft 365 45 Microsoft 365 recovery options with Veeam\nUntil Part 3\u0026hellip;\u0026hellip;.\n","date":"17 August 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/08/17/veeam-backup-for-microsoft-365-blog-series-part-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 - Blog Series - Part 2","type":"posts"},{"content":"For this blog series, I will look at M365, which many people use daily, and why it is necessary to have backups using the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365. Now my approach will be coming not from a typical user perspective but from an MSP (Managed Service Provider) perspective. I work for ThinkOn, which provides many services, including Veeam for Microsoft 365.\nI will start part one of this series by going through the shared responsibility model for Microsoft 365 and how Veeam plays a key role there. As we progress through the series, I will talk more about the installation of Veeam for Microsoft 365 and other best practices. I will even make mention a custom portal that we have developed here at ThinkOn to make management of your backups as easy as 1-2-3.\nShared Responsibility Model # The shared responsibility model regarding your data relates to what Microsoft is responsible for and what you as the end-user are responsible for in protecting your data. Many thought that Microsoft did backups for your data, and that assumption could not be farther from the truth. When your data resides in Microsoft 365 as the end-user, you are responsible for backing up your data.\nWhat is explicitly each party responsible for, you ask? Well, here is an outline with a chart also that explains:\nMicrosoft: # Global Infrastructure - Uptime of the Cloud service O365 data replication - DC to DC for geo-redundancy Recycle Bin - limited time data recovery and no point in time recovery Security - physical, logical, app-level, and User/Admin controls Regulatory - data privacy, regulatory controls, industry certifications, HIPPA compliance Customer: # O365 Data - access and control of the data Office 365 Backup - a copy of data stored in another location, including full data retention Point in Time Recovery - ability to recover to a specific point in time Data-Level: Internal - accidental deletion, malicious insiders, employee retaliation, evidence tampering Data-Level: External - ransomware, malware, hackers, rogue apps Owner Role - corporate and industry regulations And a few more reasons why you need a backup solution for Microsoft 365: This is where having a solution like Veeam for Microsoft 365 allows the Service Provider and end-user to protect their data that resides in the Microsoft Cloud. This can be on-premise for both the end-user and provider or within the Service Providers\u0026rsquo; infrastructure for the end-user. When using a Service Provider where I work at ThinkOn, we have developed our own portal and solution for backups, which I will not go too detailed on but just leave this picture. This will conclude Part 1 of the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 backup series. In part 2, I will start to get into the application for Veeam and discuss some configurations and best practices. For now, I will leave these URLs below for resources and references regarding Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 and my company site if you know anyone interested in our services or are looking for a Service Provider for your backup needs. One more thing I forgot in this post - BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP is needed! See the following links, including one from Microsoft.\nRecover from Ransomware - Microsoft 365 - Recover from Ransomware Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 - https://www.veeam.com/backup-microsoft-office-365.html ThinkON - https://thinkon.com/cloud-backup-microsoft-365/\nAnd another great resource recently released by Dave Kawula, Cristal Kawula, and Cary Sun -\nVeeam Backup for Microsoft 365: Operational Guide\n","date":"11 August 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/08/11/veeam-backup-for-microsoft-365-blog-series-part-1/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 - Blog Series - Part 1","type":"posts"},{"content":"VeeamON 2022 was live this year in Las Vegas and it was a great event. I am a little late with my review of the conference due to catching COVID when I got back which took me out last week. But I am back to feeling great again so here is my in-depth review and many of the new things coming in v12.\nBeing able to walk the strip as well being my first time in Vegas was something of amazement with the sights and sounds as well as the lights. You definitely get your steps in when you go to Vegas!\nFirst off the conference was great and to be able to attend live again was something else. Being able to discuss and mingle with the vCommunity again was terrific as chatting with someone in person is something special. The conference was packed into three days of exciting sessions, the welcome reception, expo hall, tech town, swag shop and even a visit from some friendly little dogs to lighten your day.\nThe welcome reception on the first night was filled with music, live performers, some great food and the ability to just mingle and chat with everyone. After a long first night, the next two days would be jam-packed with sessions, expo hall meeting vendors and tech town where you could do the Hands-On-Labs or participate in LabWarz with the chance to win $10,000!!\nWhile attending sessions there was also work meetings and discussions with Veeam on future outlooks and strategies which was another great benefit of attending live. Below are some of the highlights from the event and what is coming in v12 for Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication which many I am looking forward to.\nv12 - What\u0026rsquo;s New \u0026amp; Enhancements # Veeam Console # Better Kerberos support MFA Login – ability to use Authenticator app for secure logins – this will help improve security and also allow us to keep Veeam off the Domain now possibly (needs testing) Auto-Logoff option now to kill disconnected sessions – will save memory and usage on Veeam servers Group Managed Service Account (gMSA) The backup server does not store passwords for application processing The backup server gets passwords on-demand from Active Directory Core # Improved retention for freeing up space on repositories Drastically improved per-machine backup chains – separate VBM for every VM in a job now NEW – PostgreSQL database option and a migration path from SQL – saves MS licenses Better Compression algorithms: # High compression Backup: up to three times faster, up to 20% better compression Restore: two times faster Extreme compression Backup: up to 40% faster, up to 15% better compression Restore: two times faster VCC Improvements # CDP for Service Providers now – tenant can direct CDP to VCC CDP to vCloud Director – can direct CDP to vAPPs CDP from VCC to another VCC – ability to set up CDP to send data from one VCC to another VCC at another Datacenter The ability of the Service Provider to complete a restore within the VCC environment from Tenant backups (Instant Recovery) VSPC # Ability to patch remotely managed VBR servers - improved VeeaMover (not the final name) # Any file system to any other file system\nMove backups to a different repository\nScale-Out Repository extent evacuation\nMigrate NTFS to REFS (any to any)\nCopy backups to a different repository\nRebalance Scale-Out Repository\nMigrate REFS to XFS for Hardened Repository\nJob level move\nDisables job during migration Moves backup files (including transaction logs) Machine level move\nExcludes machine(s) from existing job Moves backup files (including transaction logs) Includes machine(s) to a new job SOBR rebalance: # Puts extents into maintenance mode and rebalances Object storage # Can be used as a performance tier as well as a capacity tier Can go straight from performance tier to archive tier without a capacity tier (optional) Can be used as extents in SOBR with immutability for a set number of days Can export full backup from object storage Agents can send directly to OBS now Improved Object Storage format of files Export full backups from OBS New Features for Linux: # Linux proxy: backup from Storage Snapshots for NFS CDP proxy Tape server Top Secret session # VM365 integration with VeeamONE and VSPC coming in VM365 v7\nMonitoring and reporting on controllers, repository/proxy servers, object storage repository While all these enhancements and new offerings for v12 are coming I think one of my favourites is the \u0026ldquo;VeeaMover\u0026rdquo; that is going to allow easy migrations from ReFS to XFS and vice versa as well as the ability to rebalance your SOBR now! Game changer!!\nMany of the sessions that were live are also now available on-demand to watch including the virtual content as well. You can check it out here - VeeamON 2022 - On-Demand\nOne other noteworthy announcement is that VeeamON 2023 is returning to Miami next year, so get your sunscreen and bathing suits ready to hit the beach with Veeam next year.\n","date":"30 May 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/05/30/veeamon-2022-live-recap/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON 2022 Live - Recap","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have been a Veeam Vanguard for five years now and was fortunate enough to have attended the VeeamON 2017 event in New Orleans, and it was fantastic. Great sessions, lots of networking and meeting more of the Veeam folks as well as Vanguards.\nBeing a Vanguard is a real honour, and many people ask me when they see my Veeam Vanguard jacket or shirt - What is Veeam? My answer is a typical one - it is backup software for your infrastructure for now and the future, leading to a conversation around technology, backups, and many other things.\nThis year\u0026rsquo;s event is back in Las Vegas in the hybrid mode with in-person and virtual attendees. It will be the first event since 2019 in Miami that will be back to live attendance which is a great thing. In the last couple of years, with the COVID pandemic, the switch to all virtual has left many people feeling disconnected, including me, so getting back to being able to speak to people and share technology stories will be great.\nOne other great benefit is if you register, you have the chance to win the wicked Veeam Kicks sneakers as well!\n\\[embed\\]https://psr.veeam.com/local/veeamon/2022/video/Veeam_Nike_Air_Force.mp4\n\\[/embed\\]Attending VeeamON is one of the best events to learn more about backup and what Veeam is all about. This event is packed with something for everyone, from user sessions to networking and training.\nPlease also check out the CrowdCompass App ( hopefully, that is what will get used again this year) that lets you organize your day and sessions to attend. Available for Android and Apple as well -\nVeeamON - crowdcompass app - VeeamON 2022 - CrowdCompass\nGoogle Play store - CrowdCompass - Google Play Store iTunes - CrowdCompass - iTunes Agenda - Agenda Veeam Industry Speakers - Industry Experts Experiences - Experiences at VeeamON Veeam Certified Training - VMCE/VMCA Training\nHopefully, those that can join in person do and here is to having a great experience again live. I hope to see you there!\nIf you’re interested in learning more about the event from fellow Veeam Vanguards, please click on the links below:\nVeeamON 2022 ( Al Rasheed ) VeeamON 2022 Countdown – Full Agenda Released! ( Michael Paul ) I am speaking (twice) at VeeamON 2022 – come have a listen! (in person or virtual) ( Ben Young ) VeeamON 2022 – in person or virtual ( Falko Banaszak ) VeeamON 2022 is next week! ( Nico Stein ) VeeamON 2022 – v12, Ransomware, Kubernetes, Cloud-native Backups, Salesforce and Microsoft 365 ( Vladan Seget ) ","date":"21 April 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/04/21/veeamon-2022-backups-premier-event-live-again/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON 2022 - Backups Premier Event - LIVE AGAIN!!","type":"posts"},{"content":"I got accepted to the vExpert Cloud Provider subprogram! This year I was accepted to the vExpert 2022 program for the third year in a row and decided to apply to the subprogram for Cloud Provider. Since I work with an MSP and we have many vCloud/NSX installed in our datacenters, I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to expand my skills further on the Cloud side of things with @VMware.\nAs always with any evangelist program applications, the waiting is the hard part, and then an email came yesterday indicating the acceptance emails were going out, but nothing was received. Wait - is this a good thing, maybe? So after another day of waiting, the email finally arrived with an acceptance.\nThanks to the @vExpert program and Corey Romero - @vCommunityGuy. I look forward to what this subprogram brings and helping to contribute in any way I can. I will post back on some of the benefits of the subprogram once I have more information on it.\n","date":"29 March 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/03/29/vmware-vexpert-subprogram-acceptance-cloud-provider-2022/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VMWare vExpert Subprogram Acceptance - Cloud Provider 2022","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have been using my Synology DS920+ now for just over a year. I got contacted by someone there about testing a unit, and my initial blog was in February 2021 - Synology Initial Blog and I have since written other blogs about different aspects of the Synology interface, etc. -\nSynology Web Console Synology Active Backup for Business Synology DMS - iSCSI Accidental Deletion\nSince then, I have been in touch with Synology and received at the end of last year the DX517 expansion unit, which is a 5-bay device attached using an eSATA cable to the central unit. When I received the unit, I got told by the contact at Synology that they were sorting out hard drives for the unit as it did not come with any. So I had to wait on the drives.\nSo on March 3, 2022, I finally received my drives for the unit, the Seagate Ironwolf Pro 10TB drives (5 of them).\nSo I proceeded to install the drives into the caddies in the unit to get them all ready. I then moved the unit under my office desk where the main DS920+ was located to place this one underneath it since it was larger in length and so that the central unit could sit on top of it, making the cable connection for the eSATA easier.\nSo I cabled everything, including power, and powered up the expansion unit before turning on the central unit to recognize it on boot up. During this process, I happened to unplug my central unit, which has my VMware lab running on it and corrupted my Domain Controllers, but that will be another blog and how to restore LUNs from backup after my testing.\nSo, upon initial configuration, I decided to go with RAID5 for the expansion as having five 10TB drives, I would lose one for parity but still, get close to 40TB of useable space. I kicked off the configuration, which then created Storage Pool 1 - So once the storage pool was created, I then proceeded to create three extra volumes since I already had one volume from Storage Pool 2, which is the main unit with four drives in it that are 8TB a piece using the Synology file system format ( Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR)), not your typical RAID. The volumes started at one and then skipped two since it was already created in Storage Pool 2 - So I will have three extra storage volumes to use for my homelab now, and I divided them up as -\n2 x 10TB and 1 x 16TB (remaining space)\nI may even eventually move the information on the primary unit to the expansion and redo the RAID configuration, but that has not been decided just yet. I plan to spread out the LUNs I currently have on to each of the volumes to allow for better performance in VMware.\nThe next steps will be to create LUNs that can be mapped to my four homelab hosts (NUCs) to be used within the VMware environment for additional VMs and used for storing backups for Veeam. As you can see in the above pictures, I need to wait for the Optimization task that runs once you set up new pools and volumes to complete.\nSo it is going to be great to have much more storage to use with my homelab and test out how the DX517 works with the DS920+. I also have two NVME SSD drives in the DS920+ used for caching, and with the upgrade to the DSM 7.1 Beta, I can use the same cache across multiple volumes, so I cannot wait; to test this!\nAgain thank you to @Synology for shipping me this stuff to use in my homelab, as it has been a blessing to have good storage.\nUntil my next blog, I will cover the power mishap and restoring of LUNs.\n","date":"4 March 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/03/04/synology-ds920-network-attached-storage-dx517-expansion/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Synology DS920+ Network Attached Storage – DX517 Expansion","type":"posts"},{"content":"WOW! Accepted for the fifth year in a row. #VeeamVanguard\nVeeam Vanguard 2022\nI was a part of the Veeam Vanguard program for the past four years in 2018-2021 with the hopes of another renewal for the 2022 year. Applications opened up for the 2022 year, and this time, it was all based on your application, whereas in previous years, you could have others nominate you. I had been very active and remain active with the Veeam space promoting the product, blogging, Twitter, Paper.li E-Newspaper, and even wrote a second edition of my book for Packt Publishing - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v11\nSo I filled out the application with examples of all my activities throughout the year in the hopes I would be accepted. After applying to wait is the hard part for that email indicating you are in or out.\nSo based on my post as you can imagine, I was accepted for a fourth year into one of the best evangelist programs out there - Veeam Vanguard. Many thanks to @RickVanover @NikolaPejkova and the amazing people at @Veeam @Veeamvanguard\nTo be part of such a great group is an amazing feeling. This program is one of the best out there for promoting the Veeam products and giving insight to the Veeam Team.\nYou can read about it here - https://www.veeam.com/vanguard.html\nVeeam Vanguard benefits include the following:\nAccess to Veeam Product teams A forum to provide feedback and perspective Sharing of unique perspectives in the industry and exclusive networking opportunities NFR licenses for all Veeam products. Access to pre-releases and betas. Exclusive access to Veeam Forums and Support. Exclusive access to Veeam events like VeeamON. One of the best benefits is the #VanguardFriday calls we have on Teams where you are able to chat about anything as it ends the week on a good note even when we are all busy.\nHere is to another successful year of the Veeam Vanguard program for 2022 and looking forward to meeting many of you in person again at VeeamON.\n","date":"28 February 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/02/28/veeam-vanguard-2022-year-five/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Vanguard 2022 - Year Five","type":"posts"},{"content":" VMware vExpert 2022 # It is official, I have been awarded VMware vExpert 2022 for the 3rd year in a row.\nI first applied in 2020 as my first go-round and was accepted, so continued to apply again in the Evangelist Path for 2022. As luck would have it I was accepted for 2022 so another year in a great program.\nJust to highlight what it takes to be a vExpert and the official benefits, however, the non-official benefits of resources and career growth I feel benefitted me most from being in the program.\nBenefits of being a vExpert Here’s is a list of some of the benefits when receiving the award. Networking with 2,000+ vExperts / Information Sharing Knowledge Expansion on VMware \u0026amp; Partner Technology Opportunity to apply for vExpert BU Lead Subprograms (see below) Possible Job Opportunities Direct Access to VMware Business Units via Subprograms Blog Traffic Boost through Advocacy, @vExpert, @VMware, VMware Launch \u0026amp; Announcement Campaigns 1 Year VMware Licenses for Home Labs for almost all Products \u0026amp; Some Partner Products Private VMware \u0026amp; VMware Partner Sessions Gifts from VMware and VMware Partners vExpert Celebration Parties at both VMworld US and VMworld Europe VMware Advocacy Platform Invite (share your content to thousands of vExperts \u0026amp; VMware employees who amplify your content via their social channels) Private Slack Channels for vExpert and the BU Lead Subprograms Which Path Should you Apply for? Evangelist Path The Evangelist Path includes book authors, bloggers, tool builders, public speakers, VMTN contributors, and other IT professionals who share their knowledge and passion with others with the leverage of a personal public platform to reach many people. Employees of VMware can also apply via the Evangelist path. A VMware employee reference is recommended if your activities weren’t all in public. Customer Path The Customer Path is for leaders who evangelize VMware. We are looking for passionate customers who do the work to evangelize within their organization or worked with VMware to build success stories, act as customer references, given public interviews, spoken at conferences, or were VMUG leaders. The actives must not be related to your position within the company, i.e. not being paid for evangelizing VMware. A VMware employee reference is recommended if your activities weren’t all in public. Partner Path The VPN Path is for employees of our partner companies who lead with passion and by example, who are committed to continuous learning through accreditations and certifications and to making their technical knowledge and expertise available to many. This can take shape of event participation, video, IP generation, as well as public speaking engagements. VMUG \u0026amp; VCDX If you are an active VMUG Leader or hold the title of VCDX you will qualify for the vExpert award. VMUG leaders are verified through the VCDX directory. VMUG leader titles and activities are also verified and you must be an active leader in your chapter. Inactive VMUG leaders will not qualify for the award. To apply via VMUG or VCDX, please use the evangelist path and state you are a VCDX or VMUG leader and which chapter. All VCDX applicants will be verified via vcdx.vmware.com. To apply you need to enter vexpert.vmware.com in your browser. If it is for the first time, you need to create an account and then you can apply. If you need any help with your application you can always contact a vExpert PRO. They will assist you with how to apply and explain the best way to apply.\nCongratulations to all those awarded the vExpert 2022 and welcome to the newcomers. Don\u0026rsquo;t be shy about reaching out and asking questions on the Slack channel.\nIf you did not apply when applications were opened at the end of 2021, you can apply again in the vExpert 2022 second-half applications that should be open around June/July.\nMy vExpert page: vExpert - Chris Childerhose My VMware forum page: VMware Forums - Chris Childerhose\nVMware Advocacy Program: https://advocacy.vmware.com/\n","date":"16 February 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/02/16/vmware-vexpert-2022-year-3/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VMware vExpert 2022 - Year 3","type":"posts"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 11\u0026rdquo; is now in publication (since February 2022) and is ready to order either the book or e-book/kindle.\nWell, since writing my first book on v10, I debated to myself about writing the update of the book to v11. It took me some time to process and think about if I wanted to do it, which I then took the plunge. This time, the process was much smoother as I had already done the first book and understood the templates, formatting, etc. The team at Packt worked with me again and my busy schedule to create something I think that everyone will enjoy reading. Whether you are a newbie with Veeam or a seasoned expert, you can learn something I think from this book.\nProtect your cloud, virtual, and on-premises environments by implementing Veeam\u0026rsquo;s powerful backup and replication technology\nKey Features # Gain in-depth knowledge of CDP and Hardened Repositories to use in your virtual environment Explore Veeam\u0026rsquo;s monitoring and reporting utility - Veeam ONE - along with Linux proxy enhancements Work with the new Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator (VDRO) for testing failovers and backups. Book Description # Veeam is one of the leading modern data protection solutions, making it a necessary skill for anyone responsible for securing virtual environments. This new second edition of Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication is updated to cover Veeam version 11. This book guides you through implementing modern data protection solutions for your cloud and virtual infrastructure with Veeam, all while mastering advanced concepts such as CDP, Extended Object Storage support, Veeam ONE enhancements, and VDRO.\nStarting with Veeam essentials, including installation, best practices, and optimizations for Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication, you\u0026rsquo;ll get to grips with the 3-2-1-1-0 rule to safeguard data. You\u0026rsquo;ll understand how to set up a backup server, proxies, repositories, and more and then advance to cover a powerful feature of Veeam 11 – Continuous Data Protection (CDP). As you progress, you\u0026rsquo;ll learn about immutability (also known as hardened repositories) and discover best practices for creating them. In the concluding chapters, you\u0026rsquo;ll explore the new proxy option available in Linux and become well-versed with advanced topics such as CDP, extended object storage support, Veeam ONE enhancements, and VDRO.\nBy the end of this book, you\u0026rsquo;ll be equipped with the skills you need to implement Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication for securing your environment and disaster recovery.\nWhat you will learn # Discover the advanced concepts of Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 11 Master application optimization based on Veeam best practices Get to grips with configuring CDP and working with repositories and proxies Explore ways to protect your backups with immutable hardened repositories Understand the enhancements to backups, instant recovery, and Linux proxies Explore the Veeam ONE enhancements Become well versed in Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator Who This Book Is For # This Veeam backup book is for IT professionals who have intermediate to advanced-level knowledge of virtualization and backups and backup applications. Anyone who needs a reference guide for learning the advanced features of Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication and how they are used, including best practices and optimizations, will also find this book helpful.\n# Table of Contents # Installing and Upgrading Veeam The 3-2-1-1-0 Rule – Keeping Data Safe CDP – Continuous Data Protection Immutability – Hardened Repositories Backup Enhancements – Jobs, Copy Jobs, Restores, and More Expanded Object Storage Support – Capacity and Archive Tiers Linux Proxy Enhancements Instant Recovery Veeam ONE v11 Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator (Orchestrator) While some of the book chapters got a refresh for v11, there are many new chapters on the latest and exciting features of v11a, including a first look at Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator. I believe it will be a great reference guide as well once you have completed it to quickly refer back to when doing a new deployment or possibly trying to remember something about CDP. It might just be helpful for the VMCE exam and an additional study resource.\nSo I hope I have piqued your interest, and if so you can order the book below at the link to Packt Publishing and Amazon, where the Kindle version is available, and the paperback will be shortly.\nOrder the book/e-book here - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 11\n","date":"11 February 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/02/11/mastering-veeam-backup-replication-v11-published/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v11 -- PUBLISHED","type":"posts"},{"content":"It is almost time and excitement when writing a book, and then the marketing department contacts you to say time for the big push! Well, I was contacted today by Packt Publishing to indicate that my new book - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v11, will be out in approximately two weeks (give or take).\nI look forward to this book with updated content and some new stuff directly from v11. I will create another blog post once my book is published, but you can use the link to pre-order the book until then.\nExciting times ahead!!\n","date":"1 February 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/02/01/mastering-veeam-backup-replication-v11-publication-soon/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v11 - Publication SOON","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"31 January 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/certification/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Certification","type":"categories"},{"content":"It took two tries, but I completed the Veeam Certified Architect (VMCA) certification exam. While taking it twice was not my ideal way to pass the exam, I found the newest version of the exam much easier to handle, including the setup and much better than the initial exam release for v1. Below are my thoughts on the exam itself and things you can prepare before you book it.\nTraining Requirements # If you are new to Veeam exams, there is a requirement for taking the courses before you site the exams for both VMCE and VMCA. While I had the VMCAv1 already, and I didn’t need to sit in the class, I did nonetheless. I am thrilled I sat the course as it was a complete overhaul of the v1 course and a much better way to learn is primarily hands-on. You can read my course review here -\nVeeam Certified Architect 2022 - Course Review\nFurther, each is now a “versioned” exam for each year - in this case, VMCA 2022, with versioning done on an annual basis. Each exam will need to be independently renewed. As long as you pass each year, you will not be required to retake the class to upgrade, but if you miss a year, you will need to retake the course. This process can be challenging for many, and paying for each class and exam can hit the wallet if your company does not.\nThat said, if you are like me, you may have employer requirements to maintain the credential, so this is for you. Where I work, we are a Pro Partner and VASP Platinum. You can find us on the VCSP Reseller Ready website - VCSP Reseller Ready Companies\nMy VMCA Journey # I have worked with Veeam for close to 10 years now, and as I got deeper into the program, I started looking at certification. My first attempt at a Veeam certification was on the VCMEv9 one, which took me two tries to pass as well. Once I got past that, I started to look at the VMCA side of things on how it could help me do the Architecture components and design a new solution for my company. Here comes the v1 course, which I took back in the Summer/Fall of 2019 and was able to write the exam and pass on the first try. The exam for VMCA went better than the VMCE exam that I wrote on the same version.\nThe exam was very heavy on memorizing formulas for things like Proxy and Repository configurations and how you arrive at the CPU/RAM values. This was much harder than the current VMCA 2022 course and exam, which was not the case.\nStarting in 2021, Veeam retooled the course to be more approachable and more hands-on, working with classmates to develop all the input and designs needed. The course was not heavy on lecture but rather hands-on working on an actual case study scenario to help you collect all the data. I work at ThinkOn Inc., where I am now the Lead Infrastructure Architect doing all our Datacenter designs and documentation. This course fitted right into my role and was something I am glad that I took before writing the exam.\nThe Exam Methodology # While the VMCE exam is multiple-choice based and requires your knowledge of the Veeam products, the VMCA exam gets based on a single scenario similar to the class. There are more than one of these, so if you have to retake, it won’t be the same, so don’t bother with trying to memorize any of the questions or answers; however, in my case, I did happen to get the same case study which I found odd. Also, the practice exam found in the Veeam LoChoice site will not be part of the exam either, so use that as just practice. The exam itself is split-screen, and the scenario is broken up into several tabs (5) and will always be present on the left side of your screen as you take the exam to refer back to it as needed for questions. I recommend for those questions that you have a more challenging time with refer back to the case study and use the Find feature (CTRL+F) for quick searches.\nEven though the case study is available as you progress through the exam, be sure to take the first 10-20 minutes to read through the entire thing. Hence, you understand what they are looking for, especially the Business and Technical Requirement tabs.\nOnce you get through the scenario, there will be 40 multiple choice questions that all relate to the case study, but one thing to note directly from the exam guide notes - This makes taking the exam slightly easier where each question you get asked is irrelevant to the previous one, so you don’t have to worry if you got the last wrong question making the current question harder - that is not the case as noted!\nPreparation # As noted above, you can read my course review on my blog, but I highly recommend taking the course before the exam as it helps to cement the foundation of what being a VMCA means and how to think through the process.\nFor my preparation, I completed the following -\nReviewed the Exam Guide as it outlines things like the number of questions and the part about each not being related to the other Reviewed my course notes, and you get a completed Word document at the end with all the answers to each part of the lab with the scenario, which is invaluable Completed the practice test on the Veeam LoChoice website several times Reviewed the questions with Rasmus Haslund (@haslund) on his YouTube channel, which he shared from the practice test - he walks through each question, and it is not the answer to the question that is the most valuable; it is how he looks at the question, relates it to the scenario and then goes through the answers to help select the correct ones \u0026ndash;\u0026gt; This was probably my most valuable asset after failing the first time by only a couple questions was to review his YouTube channel - A MUST!!! Rasmus YouTube channel for VMCA 2022 review - Rasmus Haslund - VMCA 2022 Question Review\nRasmus also does excellent review exams for the VMCE 2021 exam as well which you can find on his website - VMCE 2021 Practice Exams - Rasmus Haslund\nAnother highly recommended resource you consider is the Veeam Best Practices guide - Veeam Best Practices. This content is created and managed by the Veeam Solutions Architecture group. It is exceptional for understanding how you need to consider things both for the scope of this exam but also for right-sizing and designing your environment.\nConclusion # While the VMCA (or even VMCE, for that matter) is not for those who want to get another credential to add to your list, you need to have the skills and hands-on with Veeam to pass these challenging exams. But if you are looking to work with Veeam daily, I highly recommend at least the VMCE 2021, and if you are an Architect doing designs or customer implementations with Veeam, then taking the VMCA 2022 will help you on your journey. I also cannot say enough about taking the course, which should be a MUST for anyone looking to go the route of VMCA. And last but not least - take the practice test and review Rasmus’s YouTube channel for the VMCA 2022 questions as it will prove to be invaluable as it was for me.\n","date":"31 January 2022","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2022/01/31/veeam-certified-architect-2022-achieved-unlocked/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Certified Architect 2022 - Achieved \u0026amp; Unlocked","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was able to sit the VMCA2022 course on Thursday, October 7th and Friday, October 8th. The course was taken through HPE Learning and is a two-day course. The course is the entire day for the duration and is jam-packed with great content and labs. My instructor was George Vish II and he was extremely great with the course teaching.\nOverview: # The course takes you through the new “Design Methodology” of Veeam and covers the following topics -\nDiscovery Conceptual Design Logical Design Physical/Tangible Design Implementation \u0026amp; Governance Validation and Iteration The course is a mix of both lecture and lab work using the Veeam Activity Guide document which lays out the methodology, Architecture principles, the Scenario you work on and all the required details including questions with answers and charts that you fill in.\nYou are taught in the Discovery phase how to get things like -\nRequirements Security Requirements Constraints Assumptions Risks Other Information pertinent to the project Labs - Group Work # During the labs (well technically not hands-on with Veeam itself) you work in groups to fill out the charts in the document for each phase of your Scenario given. You populate all the information regarding discovery, sizing, etc. You also use some calculators that are recommended by Veeam -\nRestore Point Calculator - New One Wolfram Alpha Calculator These two sites come in handy for calculations. The other great thing with the document you use is that they have links that take you to the Wolfram Alpha site with example calculations so you just need to change the values to what is relevant to your scenario - pretty slick!\nAs you work through the document, each person took the lead for a section so that you can get input from everyone in the group and fill in the charts, data, etc. I was lucky as the class I was in was just three students so we all worked in one group and the instructor joined for questions and acted as the customer in the scenario if we had more questions or needed a nudge/hint for things. Overall # If any of you are thinking about doing the VMCA2022 exam I could not recommend enough taking this course before you do. It is truly amazing the work that has gone into this one compared to the older VMCA and I know @haslund has done tremendous work too with the course content.\nI can truly say that this has helped me better understand how Veeam can and should be architected which I will bring to my role at work. Along with the great document that you get a copy of with all the answers including the links to the calculation sites, recommendations, etc. makes this invaluable.\nAll I can say is take the course as you won’t be disappointed at all!!\n","date":"10 November 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/11/10/veeam-certified-architect-2022-course-review/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Certified Architect 2022 - Course Review","type":"posts"},{"content":"Today I received a great surprise in my email from Kseniya (@frainpan) the manager of the Veeam Community Legends program and Rick Vanover (@rickvanover) that I was accepted into the 2021 second intake. You can find out all about the Veeam Legends program on the Community Hub located here - Veeam Community Hub\nThere are some really great benefits to being a Legend -\nAs a part of Veeam Legends, you’ll be eligible for unique content, NFR licenses, private betas, prelaunch briefings, Veeam R\u0026amp;D insights and, of course, awesome Veeam Legends swag!\nBut one of the biggest benefits is being part of a community to share knowledge, experience, tips, tricks, etc. I know this from already being in the Veeam Vanguard program for the past four years as well.\nSo if you are interested check out the link to the Community Hub above and work your way up to becoming Legendary!\n","date":"15 September 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/09/15/veeam-legends-program-accepted/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Legends Program - Accepted!","type":"posts"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10\u0026rdquo; was released earlier this year in February 2021. The book can be seen at the following link and ordered:\nVersion 10 Book is here - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10\nI have since been approached to write an update to the book for Version 11 and have accepted the challenge. The current book will get updates, some things removed and definitely all the new goodies that are in the latest release of @Veeam.\nMastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v11 \u0026ndash; Coming Soon # I will update my blog as my journey progresses with the new version. I hope to create an updated book that was as good as the first one which everyone enjoyed that gave me feedback. It will be fun writing about the newest features of Veeam v11 and updating existing stuff to make it current.\nKeep an eye out for further updates and other blog posts.\n","date":"8 September 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/09/08/mastering-veeam-backup-replication-v11-coming-soon/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v11 - COMING SOON","type":"posts"},{"content":"***Disclaimer: This article was written to explain what not to do and is in no way blaming Synology for my mistake. I want to ensure no one else makes a similar mistake and loses data as I did.***\nIt has been a while since I blogged about the Synology DS920+ that I have and received for testing, as well as to create blogs about features, etc. I recently had an experience with my LUNs on my NAS which caused them to be deleted and thought that a blog article was warranted.\nNOTE: This applies to anyone that upgraded from DSM 6.x to DSM 7.x RC prior to the GA release\nMy Synology DS920+ came with DSM 6.x for the operating system. I have used it for several things as noted in the other articles I have written, so when I had the chance to test the DSM 7.x RC release I figured why not and completed the upgrade on my device.\nWhile everything looked normal after the upgrade including some new applications and a giant list of enhancements the one thing I did notice with my Intel NUCs in my home lab is that they showed the LUN devices but were not automatically mapping them. This is where the troubleshooting started out.\nI tried many things like:\nRemoving the iSCSI target in the Software iSCSI adapter, rescanning and then adding it back - this did not solve the problem I checked the configuration on my Synology device and everything looked good as the hosts were connected via their IQNs So what to do now? Well, next step was opening a ticket with Synology to determine what the issue might be and if possibly related to VMware 7.0. I got a response to my ticket the next day indicating that there was a change in the DSM 7.x on how it handles iSCSI LUNs and connections. Now you need to create a Generic iSCSI connector and then use a new tab called \u0026ldquo;HOSTS\u0026rdquo; to manage the IQNs for the hosts and what LUNs they can access in the new - \u0026ldquo;SAN Manager\u0026rdquo; application.\nSo I proceeded to create a new iSCSI using the Create button - Once you click Create the wizard opens asking for things like Name, IQN, LUNs and then you complete the wizard. It was explained to me by Support to leave the generic IQN that Synology puts there and NOT to change it because you can cause conflicts with your VMware hosts. This is where things got very interesting for me once I upgraded to the DSM 7.x RC release of the Operating System. While troubleshooting my hosts not mapping the LUNs, I decided to delete the iSCSI target that I created. When you do this you are then prompted with another dialog to confirm that it will \u0026ldquo;Delete\u0026rdquo; the LUNs. At this point, I don\u0026rsquo;t recall seeing this prompt but might have been a little too click-happy and just clicked through it (unfortunate for me and no fault on Synology\u0026rsquo;s part).\nOnce this happens you enter your Administrator password and boom the iSCSI target is gone, but unlucky for me so were my LUNs. So another Support case was opened and in the end, recovery was determined to be a best effort at which point I decided to create new LUNs and rebuild my environment again from scratch. :(\nAfter rebuilding my environment including my hosts again when I created a new iSCSI target on DSM 7.x (GA at this point) there was something that I noticed with the default setting and that is you can only Disable it and the Delete button is grayed out. This is a nice touch to prevent accidental deletion of LUNs. This was a big lesson learned but one that I felt should be told to help others that may have upgraded to DSM 7.x from 6.x to inform them of the new SAN Manager as well as the new method of using iSCSI to connect to hosts for VMware. As well as what not to do like in my case by deleting the iSCSI target.\nIf you are able to recreate your LUNs and iSCSI target then use the Host tab to manage your ESXi connections that is the best thing. Until my next article - stay safe out there.\n","date":"2 September 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/09/02/synology-ds920-network-attached-storage-dsm-iscsi-lun-accidental-deletion/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Synology DS920+ Network Attached Storage – DSM \u0026amp; iSCSI LUN - Accidental Deletion","type":"posts"},{"content":"Recently on July 21st, there was a new storage plugin release by @Veeam for the Hitachi storage arrays. It can be found here - Veeam - Hitachi Plugin. This plugin allows you to connect Veeam to your Hitachi storage arrays to leverage the SAN-based snapshots for your backups. Hitachi has also released documentation which can be found here - Hitachi - Veeam Plugin.\nHitachi Plug-In for Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication supports integration with the following storage systems:\nVSP E590, E790, E990 ( 93-03-01-60/00 or later), VSP F350, F370, F700, F900 ( 88-07-01-x0/00 or later), VSP G350, G370, G700, G900 ( 88-07-01-x0/00 or later), VSP 5000 series ( 90-05-01-00/00 or later) Today I am going to walk through the installation and configuration of the plugin within the Veeam software. This will show how easy the plugin is to install and configure within the Veeam environment. One thing to note is that you need to take a look at the Hitachi documentation so that you can configure the access for the Veeam Proxies to be able to leverage the backup from snapshot technology otherwise any jobs will fail if the failover mode is not selected.\nFirst, you need to download the Hitachi plugin from the link above and extract the zip file. You will then see the executable file that you need to run - \u0026ldquo;HitachiPlugin_1.0.66.exe\u0026rdquo;. Double-click on this file to start the plugin installation wizard showing the initial screen - Click Next, accept the agreement, click Next again then Install. This will then install the plugin to be accessed via the Veeam console so click Finish once completed. (***NOTE: This will stop and restart the Veeam backup service so ensure to have a maintenance window***)\nOpen your Veeam console and go to the \u0026ldquo;Storage infrastructure\u0026rdquo; tab to click on the Add Storage toolbar button or link on the right side of the screen - Once you click the Add Storage option you are presented with which vendor you want to add. Hitachi does not appear on the first screen and you need to click the Show More Vendors option to get to the second screen to see Hitachi listed. After you click the HITACHI vendor option the wizard opens up and depending on if you are using Veeam v10 or v11 the wizard may look slightly different as seen below. Also, another thing to note is when you type in the \u0026ldquo;DNS name or IP Address\u0026rdquo; it must be that of one of the controllers on your Hitachi array. You cannot use the SVP IP address for access.\nThe new Storage Role information can be found at this link in regards to their function - Veeam - Storage Role. Once you select either or of these \u0026ldquo;Roles\u0026rdquo; other options will appear in the wizard to select some options for either VMware or Microsoft Windows - After you select your options and finish the wizard it will do a storage infrastructure scan to find the volumes within the Hitachi array. Once complete you see something like this in the tree - This now completes adding your array to Veeam for snapshot backups. If you have followed the Hitachi documentation to ensure proper access you can now configure your Proxies as well as your jobs to back up from Storage Snapshots. Be sure to enable the fallback method to NBD just in case something is not configured correctly so that your jobs do no fail. You can then review the documentation and configurations to correct settings then test again.\nBe sure to read the documentation noted at the beginning of this blog article to ensure you get everything set up the correct way. Enjoy backing up from storage snapshots with @Hitachi!\n","date":"6 August 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/08/06/veeam-hitachi-storage-plugin-installation-how-to/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam - Hitachi Storage Plugin Installation How-To","type":"posts"},{"content":"One of the great features built into the Synology DS920+ is an application called \u0026ldquo;Active Backup for Business\u0026rdquo;. This is an application that you can download from the Package Center on the NAS device. Once installed you are able to add a shortcut to the menu bar that I noted in my previous article - Synology DS920+ - Web Console.\nActive Backup allows for you to back up things like -\nPC or Laptop - you are able to download an Agent to install and direct to the Synology device Physical Server - Windows or Linux and there is an Agent install File Server - allows for SMB or rsync backups Virtual Machine - you can add VMware or Hyper-V hypervisors to access VMs ***NOTE: The backup Agent must be installed before proceeding with the tasks below and can be downloaded from this screen below. In this case under the PC tab, there is an ADD DEVICE button and when that comes up it allows the download of the Agent software as noted in Figure 1 below*** Figure 1: Add Device - Agent Installer download links\nYou navigate through each of the tabs in Figure 2 below to display the settings for each type of backup noted. When you get to the \u0026ldquo;Virtual Machine\u0026rdquo; tab this is where you can add your hypervisor for either or VMware and/or Hyper-V. You specify the server, port and credentials to connect. Once that is done you set up \u0026ldquo;Tasks\u0026rdquo; which are backup jobs. For my laptop, I have a weekly job configured as you can see In the screen in Figure 2 which runs weekly on Friday. You can set up tasks for Daily, Weekly and Monthly to back up your servers or virtual machines. Figure 2: Active Backup for Business window\nWhen you click on the tab of the particular system you want to back up, in my case, I am selecting the PC tab for my laptop it is here that you create the Task (backup): Figure 3: PC tab for laptop - Create Task button\nOnce you click the \u0026ldquo;Create Task\u0026rdquo; button it launches a wizard that you step through to create your backup job as seen below in the follow screenshots: Figure 4: Task name, Source type and transfer settings\nNote in Figure 4 above that if you select \u0026ldquo;Entire Device\u0026rdquo; the option for backing up externally attached USB drives is turned on by default. You just may want to disable that depending on the size or quantity of the drives attached to your system. Figure 5: Backup Destination - default is the ActiveBackupforBusiness share Figure 6: Backup Destination settings - configured when setting up initially Figure 7: Scheduled backup - Daily, Weekend, Weekdays with checkboxes Figure 8: Repeat type - Daily/Weekly or Hourly Figure 9: Retention Policy - Keep all or GFS set up for daily, weekly, monthly, yearly Figure 10: Task Summary - validate settings and then apply to create\nNow the task you have created going through the wizard will run as scheduled to your Synology NAS.\nAs you can see Backup for Business could be a way for SMBs to leverage backup software that is included in the Synology devices and the licenses are FREE! You cannot beat that.\nStay tuned to my next article as I will cover a component that pairs with the Backup for Business called - \u0026ldquo;Hyper Backup\u0026rdquo;. This allows you to send the backups from your NAS to a Cloud Service Provider including a new offering from Synology called \u0026ldquo;Synology C2\u0026rdquo; . Here is a sneak peak at the screen within the console of which I have signed up for a trial of the Synology C2 offering: I will discuss this as well as other providers that you can register in the Synology NAS for sending your backups offsite. If you want more information on Backup for Business or Synology C2 please visit the following websites:\nActive Backup for Business Synology C2 - Cloud Storage\n","date":"9 April 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/04/09/synology-ds920-network-attached-storage-active-backup-for-business/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Synology DS920+ Network Attached Storage – Active Backup for Business","type":"posts"},{"content":"2020 saw unprecedented changes in our world with the COVID19 virus and the many changes that it has made all around the world. Technology and technology conferences are not immune to this virus or the changes that it has brought. Vendors are realizing the severity of what is going on around us and have taken steps to do what\u0026rsquo;s best for everyone\u0026rsquo;s health. Many have had to modify their usual physical in-person conference format to the online variety. And Veeam is no exception again in 2021 with VeeamON.\nVeeam has transitioned its conference to be held online for 2021 on May 25-27. So why should you attend a Veeam conference?\nIt\u0026rsquo;s FREE for everyone! This has to be the best part as it won\u0026rsquo;t hurt your wallet or bank account. You can watch in the comfort of your home office while social distancing. CONTENT - This is really the most fantastic part of VeeamON. Veeam\u0026rsquo;s sessions are really technical in nature. Even though I achieved my Certified Veeam Architect (VMCA), there\u0026rsquo;s still always something I don\u0026rsquo;t know about Veeam Backup and VeeamONE features and enhancements. The presenters fill in those gaps. This year will be all about v11 with possible sneak peeks into v12, as well as Kubernetes which is taking off including backups with @Kasten. INTERACTION \u0026amp; COLLABORATION - Similar to the in-person event, you can interact and collaborate with Veeam technology experts. Take advantage of the opportunity to enter chat-rooms and take part in the hands-on-labs Veeam will offer to diver deeper into their product line VEEAM LEADERSHIP ACCESSIBILITY - You can gain access\u0026hellip;direct access to those who make the technical decisions on the future of Veeam\u0026rsquo;s products - what enhancements will be made; what features implemented. You can submit for an opportunity to meet with Veeam leaders to provide input and feedback on your experience with Veeam products. While everyone enjoys the in-person events being able to meet fellow Veeam users and Vanguards, 2021 will still be great. So be sure to sign up and make the first online event a great success for Veeam. For more information, and to register, visit Veeam\u0026rsquo;s VeeamON 2021 information and registration link VeeamON 2021. If you register before April 22nd you have the chance to get a FREE Veeam SWAG box!\nI have registered and hope to see you there!\nReport this\n","date":"5 April 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/04/05/veeamon-2021-online-conference/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON 2021 - ONLINE Conference","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"5 April 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/veeamon-virtual/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Veeamon-Virtual","type":"categories"},{"content":" Synology DS920+ \u0026ndash; Web Console # I have completed the initial setup of my DS920+ and now want to take you through the Web Interface where the management of the NAS takes place. You connect to the device using either the DNS name or IP address as follows - http://:5000/\nOnce you get to the login page and type in the Administrator username \u0026amp; password you are then presented with the main console screen which has a widget showing in the bottom right and buttons on the left side of the screen: The widget is the \u0026ldquo;Health Widget\u0026rdquo; and shows the status of your DS920+. It will show if it is healthy or not, the Server name, network IP, uptime and the bottom half shows CPU, RAM and network traffic. The button in the top right corner of the screen can toggle the Health widget on or off as noted in the screenshot.\nThe button on the top left side of the screen is the customization button for the buttons on the left-hand side of the window, which when clicked brings up the respective Widget on the main window. These can then be arranged as needed to allow for a customized view. The following shows some of the widgets toggled on with the buttons on the left and arranged on the screen for viewing components you want to monitor or watch.\nThis has covered off the web console for the Synology DS920+ and then the next post will look at setting up things like:\nNetworking - single or bonded network cards including IP settings Storage - created a RAID setup including NVME for caching iSCSI - setup of volumes for use in VMware to connect to hosts File Services - SMB/NFS, FTP, and rsync Look for the next blog in a few days and check back frequently. Also, feel free to subscribe to the site and receive newsletters as blogs are posted including a weekly recap.\n","date":"15 March 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/03/15/synology-ds920-network-attached-storage-web-console/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Synology DS920+ Network Attached Storage - Web Console","type":"posts"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10\u0026rdquo; is now in publication (since February 2021) and is ready to order either the book or e-book/kindle.\nWhile I had not thought about writing a book, when I was approached by Packt Publishing about doing on for Veeam v10 I decided to take the plunge. The process from beginning to end was lengthy from coming up with Sections, Chapters, scheduling, etc., the team at Packt worked with me and my busy schedule to create something I think that everyone is going to enjoy reading. Whether you are a newbie with Veeam or a seasoned expert you can learn something I think from this book.\nGain proficiency in monitoring infrastructure along with focusing on cloud backup and recovery\nKey Features # Explore the 3-2-1 rule of backups in Veeam to keep your data safe Gain in-depth knowledge of NAS backups and Scale-Out Repositories to use in your virtual environment Discover Veeam\u0026rsquo;s monitoring and reporting utility - Veeam ONE - along with Linux and Window\u0026rsquo;s proxy Book Description # Veeam is one of the leading modern data protection solutions, and mastering this technology can help you to protect your virtual environments effectively. This book guides you through implementing modern data protection solutions for your cloud and virtual infrastructure with Veeam. You will even gain in-depth knowledge of advanced concepts such as DataLabs, cloud backup and recovery, Instant VM Recovery, and Veeam ONE.\nThis book starts by taking you through Veeam essentials, including installation, best practices, and optimizations for Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication. You\u0026rsquo;ll get to grips with the 3-2-1 rule to safeguard data along with understanding how to set up a backup server, proxies, repositories, and more. Later chapters go on to cover a powerful feature of Veeam 10 – NAS backup. As you progress, you\u0026rsquo;ll learn about scale-out Repositories and best practices for creating them. In the concluding chapters, you\u0026rsquo;ll explore the new proxy option available in both Linux and Windows. Finally, you\u0026rsquo;ll discover advanced topics such as DataLabs, cloud backup and recovery, Instant VM Recovery, and Veeam ONE.\nBy the end of this book, you will be equipped with the skills you need to implement Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication for your environment and disaster recovery.\nWhat you will learn # Discover the advanced concepts of Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10 Master application optimizations based on Veeam best practices Understand how to configure NAS backups and work with repositories and proxies Explore different ways to protect your backups, including object immutability and cloud backup and recovery Discover how DataLabs works Understand how Instant VM Recovery allows you to restore virtual machines Become well versed in Veeam ONE for monitoring and reporting on your environment Who this book is for # This Veeam backup book is for IT professionals who have intermediate to advanced-level knowledge of virtualization as well as backups and backup applications. Anyone who needs a reference guide for learning the advanced features of Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication and how they are used, including best practices and optimizations, will also find this book useful.\nTable of Contents # Installation – Best Practices and Optimizations The 3-2-1 Rule – Keeping Data Safe NAS Backup Scale-Out Repositories and Object Storage – New Copy Policy Windows and Linux – Proxies and Repositories Object Storage – Immutability Veeam DataLabs Cloud Backup and Recovery Using Veeam Cloud Connect Provider and Insider Protection Feature Instant VM Recovery Veeam ONE While the chapters of the book do not go too much in-depth for each topic they touch on all the basics as well as some more advanced features as well. I believe it will be a great reference guide as well once you have completed it to quickly refer back to when doing a new deployment or possibly trying to remember something about a Proxy server. It might just be useful for the VMCE exam as well as an additional study resource.\nSo I hope I have piqued your interest and if so you can order the book below.\nOrder the book/e-book here - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10\n","date":"4 March 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/03/04/mastering-veeam-backup-replication-10-published/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10 -- Published","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was a part of the Veeam Vanguard program for the past three years in 2018-2020 with the hopes of another renewal for the 2021 year. Applications opened up for the 2021 year, and this time, it was all based on your application, whereas in previous years, you could have others nominate you. I had been very active and remain active with the Veeam space promoting the product, blogging, Twitter, Paper.li E-Newspaper, and even decided to write a book for Packt Publishing - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v10\nSo I filled out the application with examples of all my activities throughout the year in the hopes I would be accepted. After applying to wait is the hard part for that email indicating you are in or out.\nSo based on my post as you can imagine, I was accepted for a fourth year into one of the best evangelist programs out there - Veeam Vanguard. Many thanks to @RickVanover @NikolaPejkova and the amazing people at @Veeam @Veeamvanguard\nTo be part of such a great group is an amazing feeling. This program is one of the best out there for promoting the Veeam products and giving insight to the Veeam Team.\nYou can read about it here - https://www.veeam.com/vanguard.html\nMy blog will have more content this year including a new endeavour of evaluating a @Synology DS920+ NAS. I look forward to bringing more articles to everyone.\n","date":"26 February 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/02/26/veeam-vanguard-2021-year-four/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Vanguard 2021 - Year Four","type":"posts"},{"content":"Synology DS920+ - Network Attached Storage I was recently in contact with someone in sales at Synology and we discussed some of their new storage options and it was decided to send over a home NAS device for me to test out - DS920+. I will be completing a blog series on things like setup, configuration, backups, software, etc. The device I was sent had two 7TB drives in it and I was able to add an M.2 NVME drive that I had laying around for caching. When you first set up the device on the network you need to install an application called \u0026ldquo;Synology Assistant\u0026rdquo; in order to detect the device. Once detected you can then click on one of the IP addresses (if both NICs connected), then the Connect button to open a web browser to the management console start screen.\nAt this start screen, you enter things like device name, user, password, etc. to get the ability to log in for management.\nSo now I begin my journey to configure things like networking as the device has two 1GB connections that can be bonded together which is a nice feature. There are several settings but I decided to enable the \u0026ldquo;Adaptive Load Balancing\u0026rdquo; option, but depending on your network and switches you can select the other options. So for now this is where I have got with my device and will work on setting up other pieces which I will cover in further blog posts.\nI want to thank Kyle Foster @Synology for setting this up for me to allow me to get the device and test it to get the word out.\nMore to come in further blogs next week where I will set up things like iSCSI for my homelab as well as other utilities built-in to the device that can do backups of virtual machines, Office 365, etc. I will also be testing the device with Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication as a target to see how things perform.\nStay tuned for more on the Synology DS920+!!\n","date":"19 February 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/02/19/synology-ds920-network-attached-storage-blog-series/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Synology DS920+ Network Attached Storage - Blog Series","type":"posts"},{"content":"My first book with Packt, \u0026ldquo;Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10\u0026rdquo; is now published and I\u0026rsquo;m proud to bring you this one! I\u0026rsquo;m excited to know your thoughts on it and hence have decided to offer 5 print copies of the book to my community i.e. you guys out there. I\u0026rsquo;d love to see your honest reviews about it on Amazon.com.\nAll you have to do is comment on my post on LinkedIn with your interest in reading and reviewing the book! If you happen to see this after the first 5 and are still interested, I will send you the e-book version of it.\nTo know more about the book, go to - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v10 on Packt ***REMEMBER - Comment on the post on LinkedIn only and share it to spread the word***\n","date":"17 February 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/02/17/mastering-veeam-backup-replication-10-book-giveaway/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10 -- Book Giveaway","type":"posts"},{"content":" # VMware vExpert 2021 # It is official, I have been awarded VMware vExpert 2021 for the 2nd year in a row.\nI only applied last year in 2020 as my first go-round and was accepted, so continued to apply again in the Evangelist Path for 2021. As luck would have it I was accepted for 2021 so another year in a great program.Just to highlight what it takes to be a vExpert and the official benefits, however, the non-official benefits of resources and career growth I feel benefitted me most from being in the program. Benefits of being a vExpert Here’s is a list of some of the benefits when receiving the award.\nNetworking with 2,000 vExperts / Information Sharing Knowledge Expansion on VMware \u0026amp; Partner Technology Opportunity to apply for vExpert BU Lead Subprograms (see below) Possible Job Opportunities Direct Access to VMware Business Units via Subprograms Blog Traffic Boost through Advocacy, @vExpert, @VMware, VMware Launch \u0026amp; Announcement Campaigns 1 Year VMware Licenses for Home Labs for almost all Products \u0026amp; Some Partner Products Private VMware \u0026amp; VMware Partner Sessions Gifts from VMware and VMware Partners vExpert Celebration Parties at both VMworld US and VMworld Europe with VMware CEO, Pat Gelsinger VMware Advocacy Platform Invite (share your content to thousands of vExperts \u0026amp; VMware employees who amplify your content via their social channels) Private Slack Channels for vExpert and the BU Lead Subprograms Which Path Should you Apply for?\nEvangelist Path The Evangelist Path includes book authors, bloggers, tool builders, public speakers, VMTN contributors, and other IT professionals who share their knowledge and passion with others with the leverage of a personal public platform to reach many people. Employees of VMware can also apply via the Evangelist path. A VMware employee reference is recommended if your activities weren’t all in public. Customer Path The Customer Path is for leaders who evangelize VMware. We are looking for passionate customers who do the work to evangelize within their organization or worked with VMware to build success stories, act as customer references, given public interviews, spoken at conferences, or were VMUG leaders. The actives must not be related to your position within the company, i.e. not being paid for evangelizing VMware. A VMware employee reference is recommended if your activities weren’t all in public. Partner Path The VPN Path is for employees of our partner companies who lead with passion and by example, who are committed to continuous learning through accreditations and certifications and to making their technical knowledge and expertise available to many. This can take shape of event participation, video, IP generation, as well as public speaking engagements.\nVMUG \u0026amp; VCDX If you are an active VMUG Leader or hold the title of VCDX you will qualify for the vExpert award. VMUG leaders are verified through the VCDX directory. VMUG leader titles and activities are also verified and you must be an active leader in your chapter. Inactive VMUG leaders will not qualify for the award. To apply via VMUG or VCDX, please use the evangelist path and state you are a VCDX or VMUG leader and which chapter. All VCDX applicants will be verified via vcdx.vmware.com. To apply you need to enter vexpert.vmware.com in your browser. If it is for the first time, you need to create an account and then you can apply. If you need any help with your application you can always contact a vExpert PRO. They will assist you with how to apply and explain the best way to apply.\nCongratulations to all those awarded the vExpert 2021 and welcome to the newcomers. Don\u0026rsquo;t be shy about reaching out and asking questions on the Slack channel.\nIf you did not apply when applications were open end of 2020, you can apply again in the vExpert 2021 second-half applications that should be open around June/July.\nMy vExpert page: https://vexpert.vmware.com/directory/3332 My VMware forum page: https://communities.vmware.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/4938613\nVMware Advocacy Program: https://advocacy.vmware.com/\n","date":"12 February 2021","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2021/02/12/vmware-vexpert-2021-year-2/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VMware vExpert 2021 - Year 2","type":"posts"},{"content":"As I posted some time back I was taking on a new project of writing a book called \u0026ldquo;Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10\u0026rdquo;. This will be the close out to 2020 and the book is to be published next year on March 9th. The pre-order webpage has gone up and I am doing my best to get this publishing date moved up sooner. I will keep everyone posted.\nTo order the book please go to the order link below.\nhttps://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Veeam-Backup-Replication-environment-ebook/dp/B08QZRXMSC/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1\u0026amp;keywords=Mastering+Veeam+Backup+%26+Replication+10\u0026amp;qid=1609310271\u0026amp;sr=8-1\nOrder link -\nAmazon.com: Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10: Protect your virtual environment and implement cloud backup using Veeam technology eBook: Childerhose, Chris: Kindle Store\n","date":"30 December 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2020/12/30/mastering-veeam-backup-replication-10-book-pre-orders/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 10 -- Book Pre-Orders","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"24 September 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/categories/uncategorized/","section":"Categories","summary":"","title":"Uncategorized","type":"categories"},{"content":"While VeeamON is long past us now just around the corner is the next big @Veeam event called - VeeamLive. This is online, All Live as well as FREE! Who does not like free events and being able to attend in the comfort of your home office.\nBeing a live event means you will be able to interact with speakers, ask questions and network with peers. You will get to Learn, Connect and Grow. The great thing is you can be anywhere and join!\nLearn Learn live, with insights and perspectives from expert keynotes, actionable how-to’s, solutions sessions and product demos led by Veeam technical gurus.\nConnect Tap into a collective intelligence network where you’ll build lasting connections with industry leaders and peers.\nGrow Up your data protection strategy and prepare for tomorrow’s challenges. Deep dives with tech entrepreneurs, futurists and other industry thought leaders will bring the future of IT to your fingertips.\nJust like other events, there will be session tracks that cover off a variety of topics -\nHybrid Cloud\nDigital transformation is exciting, but challenging. Learn about the cloud-native landscape with sessions on Cloud Data Management™, the Modern Data Center and de-risking your operations.\nCyber Security\nThe risk of data loss is ever-present and evolving. Business continuity is at stake. Prepare your organization with critical insight on ransomware, malware and disaster recovery.\nModern Data Protection\nData drives everything - you need smart solutions to protect your most prized resource. Explore modern data protection from any environment, across any workload, to meet evolving demands.\nYou can check out the agenda here - Agenda | Veeam Live: Cloud Data Best Practices (veeamlive.com)\nAlong with the Session Tracks, Veeam always has great speakers at events and this one is no different. You will see the likes of @dannyallan5, @BackupDave, @RickVanover, @Jbuff, @MichaelCade1, @vmiss33 and @anthonyspiteri.\nYou can register for the event here - Veeam Live: Cloud Data Best Practices (veeamlive.com)\nSo join your fellow ITers and Veeamers on October 20th for a packed day of sessions and speakers.\nHope to see you there!\n","date":"24 September 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2020/09/24/veeamlive-online-event/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamLIVE - Online Event","type":"posts"},{"content":"As many know writing a blog can be a challenge at times especially with work and family commitments. While I have not posted in a while work has been crazy and I plan to get back to my writing of blog posts for both Veeam and VMware.\nIn the meantime, something else has come up for my next challenge and that is writing a book for Packt Publishing. The book will be called - Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v10.\nI look forward to this next challenge in my career and will post more about it as things develop. If anyone has tips please do share.\nI will ensure that my other posts are informative on Veeam and VMware, but the book writing will take up a majority of my time to come.\nUntil my next post!\n","date":"30 August 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2020/08/30/my-next-adventure-writing-a-book/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"My Next Adventure - Writing a Book!","type":"posts"},{"content":"VeeamON 2020 has been over for a couple of weeks now, as it was held virtually online on June 17-19. I have to say for the first time being a virtual event; it was an extreme success. The site was easy to navigate and get around, the general sessions were full of information, and the breakout sessions, as well as the VeeamathON, were excellent. Overall I would say it was a tremendous success, and I know everyone will say not the same as being there in person, but being online, it reached many thousands more. Hopefully, 2021 will be a better year, and we can have it in person.\nSome of the new technology announcements made were around Veeam v11, amongst other things:\nv11 – Google Cloud Storage, Archive Tier, Instant SQL and NAS # Anton Gostev discussed the top new features and enhancements in Backup \u0026amp; Replication v11. @michaelcade1 then demoed those features.\nThose features included:\nContinuous Data Protection Scale-Out Backup Enhancements Google Cloud Storage Archive Tier and Amazon Glacier/Deep Archive and Azure Blob Archive Instant Recovery Any Backup to Hyper-V NAS Backup as File Share MSSQL and Oracle Databases And finally releasing a Veeam Agent for macOS!\nBackup for Microsoft Office 365 v5 # The most significant part of this release is the ability to backup and recover Microsoft Teams data. In the v5 demo, @vmiss33 showed off the new capability we have with Teams backup and recovery. Teams now have their own Explorer, used for restore operations.\nBackup for AWS v2 # This version is out now and comes just six months after the release of v1. This new version ( available from AWS Marketplace now) includes new features like Snapshot Replication that replicates Amazon EBS snapshots across AWS accounts and regions—changed block tracking that only reads blocks that have changed since the last backup or replica.\nMore here - AWS v2 - What\u0026rsquo;s New\nVeeam Availability Orchestrator v3 # The next iteration of VAO is coming with many new enhancements. More found here - VAO v3.\nAs always, there were so many breakout technical sessions that it was hard to try to attend all of them. Ones that I was unable to make in the morning, I was lucky enough to have them in the west time zone to participate in the afternoon. Here are my top 5 sessions you should watch -\nVeeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication v10 Sizing Best Practices East - Tim Smith (@tsmith_co) \u0026amp; Neil Henderson Version 10: Unleash the Power of NAS Backup East - Dmitry Popov (@angrydok) \u0026amp; Michael Cade (@michaelcade1) Linux Repositories to the Rescue! - Tom Sightler (@SightUnseen_) Veeam Automation With PowerShell Deep Dive - Parts 1 \u0026amp; 2 - Joe Hughes (@jhoughes) Kubernetes Backups: Veeam and Kasten Essential Best Practices - David Hill (@davidhill_co) \u0026amp; Vaibhav Kamra (@vaibhavkamra) These are just some of the sessions that I attended, and I am watching many more now On-Demand like - Architecting Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 To Scale by Tim Smith as well.\nIf you use Veeam or are interested in the sessions as well as upcoming technologies I highly recommend you go to the VeeamON site to either login or register to watch things On-Demand - VeeamON 2020 - ONLINE\n","date":"8 July 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2020/07/08/veeamon-2020-online-event-recap-product-announcements/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON 2020 ONLINE - Event Recap \u0026amp; Product Announcements","type":"posts"},{"content":"With the second half of the vExpert program open until June 25th for applications, now is a great time to apply. 2020 is my first year in the vExpert program after many years of doubting myself to apply, but I am glad I did and here is why.\nMy vExpert Profile - Chris Childerhose - vExpert Profile\nNetworking \u0026amp; Information Sharing - Including Slack # Networking is one of the great things about vExpert as you get to network with your IT peers and share information like tips, tricks, how-tos, etc. Knowing some of the vExperts and even vExpert Pros, you will see at times cross over with other advocacy programs for other companies. You have the chance to join many information sharing sessions and ask questions.\nAlso, when accepted into the vExpert program, you have the chance to join the private Slack channel just for vExperts. There are a variety of channels within here where you can get valuable information on things like PowerCLI, Blogging, Home Labs, Certification and many more.\nAccess to the Business Units # Your voice will get heard! With direct access to the business units that hold vExperts in high regard, you can give input on products and help drive the success of VMware. Also, being a customer or Partner of VMware, you will be able to provide valuable feedback on your daily administrative tasks and challenges/problems that you may come across.\nFurther to the primary vExpert program, there are subprograms for more specific expertise. Within these subprograms, you gain access even further into the VMware ecosystem and business units.\nNFR Licensing # One of the cool things with vExpert is the ability to get 1-year NFR licensing for testing all of the latest products in a home lab. You can work on the newest vSphere seven, amongst other things. It also allows you to test scenarios like upgrades, changes, etc. that you might not want to do in a Production environment, so why not take advantage of the free NFR licensing.\nvExpert Swag # One of the many perks of advocacy programs is the swag. Everyone loves a great golf shirt or jacket. You also get some pretty cool badges to use, and when accepted in the program on consecutive years, they add a star to your badge. Mine only has one for 2020, but I hope to keep adding to it in the years to come. I cannot recommend participating in the vExpert program enough. Please don’t doubt that you are an expert “enough.” Your voice is essential.\nFor applications go to - vExpert - Second Half Application\nFor help on applying contact one of the many vExpert Pros - vExpert Pros -- These guys are great and able to assist you with your application.\n","date":"10 June 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2020/06/09/vmware-vexpert-2020-second-half-applications/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VMware vExpert - 2020 Second Half Applications","type":"posts"},{"content":"It is less than a week to go before one of the best events of the year for IT Professionals. VeeamON 2020 this year is an ONLINE even and is FREE. You can register here -\nVeeamON 2020 - Registration\nAt the event, you will be able to gain access to experts to master better backup so you can go beyond with Veeam. Connect via interactive chat rooms, live expert sessions and more to elevate your data strategy.\nWith speakers like this who would not want to attend - The agenda for the event has been updated and is available here - VeeamON 2020 - Agenda\nThe breakout sessions look to be great again this year and with a wide variety covering a depth of technical aspects, it is sure to be the event to attend. You can see a detailed view of the breakout sessions here - VeeamON 2020 - Breakout Sessions\nAs well this event is going to feature - VeeamathON\nTroubleshooting of common Hyper-V issues Microsoft Teams backup/restore Troubleshooting common VMware issues Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 performance troubleshooting Using user-written scripts in Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication™ First boot failures in AWS Anti-virus testing Guest processing skipped Verifying desired transport modes Troubleshooting and fixing Veeam services So if you have not already I recommend registering for one of the great events in the IT industry with @Veeam.\n","date":"10 June 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2020/06/09/veeamon-2020-online-agenda/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON 2020 - Online Agenda","type":"posts"},{"content":"2020 has seen unprecedented changes in our world with the COVID19 virus and the many changes that it has made all around the world. Technology and technology conferences are not immune to this virus or the changes that it has brought. Vendors are realizing the severity of what is going on around us and have taken steps to do what\u0026rsquo;s best for everyone\u0026rsquo;s health. Many have had to modify their usual physical in-person conference format to the online variety. And Veeam is no exception.\nVeeamON was originally scheduled for the middle of May in Las Vegas at the Aria. Veeam has since transitioned its conference to be held online on June 17-18. So why should you attend a Veeam conference?\nIt\u0026rsquo;s FREE for everyone! This has to be the best part as it won\u0026rsquo;t hurt your wallet or bank account. You can watch in the comfort of your home office while social distancing. CONTENT - This is really the most fantastic part of VeeamON. Veeam\u0026rsquo;s sessions are really technical in nature. Even though I achieved my Certified Veeam Architect (VMCA), there\u0026rsquo;s still always something I don\u0026rsquo;t know about Veeam Backup and VeeamONE features and enhancements. The presenters fill in those gaps. INTERACTION \u0026amp; COLLABORATION - Similar to the in-person event, you can interact and collaborate with Veeam technology experts. Take advantage of the opportunity to enter chat-rooms and take part in the hands-on-labs Veeam will offer to diver deeper into their product line VEEAM LEADERSHIP ACCESSIBILITY - You can gain access\u0026hellip;direct access to those who make the technical decisions on the future of Veeam\u0026rsquo;s products - what enhancements will be made; what features implemented. You can submit for an opportunity to meet with Veeam leaders to provide input and feedback on your experience with Veeam products. While everyone enjoys the in-person events being able to meet fellow Veeam users and Vanguards, this year will be different but somehow still great. So be sure to sign up and make the first online event a great success for Veeam.\n\\[embed\\]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPq2rkECicU\n\\[/embed\\]For more information, and to register, visit Veeam\u0026rsquo;s VeeamON 2020 information and registration link VeeamON 2020. I have registered and hope to see you there!\nReport this\n","date":"29 April 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2020/04/29/veeamon-2020-virtual-conference/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON 2020 - ONLINE Conference","type":"posts"},{"content":"I was a part of the Veeam Vanguard program for the past two years in 2018-2019 with the hopes of another renewal for the 2020 year. Applications opened up for the 2020 year, and this time, it was all based on your application, whereas previous years, you could have others nominate you. I had been very active and remain active with the Veeam space promoting the product, blogging, Twitter, Paper.li E-Newspaper, etc.\nSo I filled out the application with examples of all my activities throughout the year in the hopes I would be accepted. After applying to wait is the hard part for that email indicating you are in or out.\nSo based on my post as you can imagine, I was accepted for a third year into one of the best evangelist programs out there - Veeam Vanguard.\nTo be part of such a great group that got trimmed down this year has been great. This program is one of the best out there for promoting the Veeam products and giving insight to the Veeam Team.\nYou can read about it here - https://www.veeam.com/vanguard.html\nMy blog has been on a track where I want it to be as work-related things kept me as well as busy family life, but this year will be more content on Veeam and other products. I look forward to bringing more articles to everyone.\nUntil next time.\n","date":"7 April 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2020/04/07/veeam-vanguard-2020-three-years-in/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Vanguard 2020 - Three Years In","type":"posts"},{"content":"To start off the 2020 year I decided to apply to the vExpert program to see if I would be accepted. I was unsure at the time if I had done enough throughout the year to qualify myself, so after submitting my application I waited.\nThis week on Monday I received a great email indicating that I was accepted into the vExpert program. I have always wanted to be part of this program since already being a Veeam Vanguard (2018/2019). As outlined on the vExpert Application Portal the program and benefits are really great -\nProgram Overview # The VMware vExpert program is VMware\u0026rsquo;s global evangelism and advocacy program. The program is designed to put VMware\u0026rsquo;s marketing resources towards your advocacy efforts. Promotion of your articles, exposure at our global events, co-op advertising, traffic analysis, and early access to beta programs and VMware\u0026rsquo;s roadmap. The awards are for individuals, not companies, and last for one year. Employees of both customers and partners can receive the awards. In the application, we consider various community activities from the previous year as well as the current year\u0026rsquo;s (only for 2nd half applications) activities in determining who gets awards. We look to see that not only were you active but are still active in the path you chose to apply for.\nCriteria # If you are interested in becoming a vExpert the criteria is simple. We are looking for IT Professionals who are sharing their VMware knowledge and contributing that back to the community. The term \u0026ldquo;giving back\u0026rdquo; is defined as going above and beyond your day job. There are several ways to share your knowledge and engage with the community. Some of those activities are blogging, book authoring, magazine articles, CloudCred task writing, active in Facebook groups, forum (VMTN as well as other non-VMwar) platforms, public speaking, VMUG leadership, videos and so on.\nHow to apply for vExpert # The process to apply is easy, twice per calendar year we open applications for a period of 30 days. Once the 30 days are over we close the applications and start voting which takes 30 to 45 days. Applications open for each calendar year in November / December and results are announced in February. We open applications again which we refer to 2nd half applications in June with an August announcement. Every vExpert, VCDX as well as any new applicants must apply at least once per year.\nvExpert Program Benefits # Invite to our private #Slack channel vExpert certificate signed by our CEO Pat Gelsinger. Private forums on communities.vmware.com. Permission to use the vExpert logo on cards, website, etc for one year Access to a private directory for networking, etc. Exclusive gifts from various VMware partners. Private webinars with VMware partners as well as NFRs. Access to private betas (subject to admission by beta teams). 365-day eval licenses for most products for home lab/cloud providers. Private pre-launch briefings via our blogger briefing pre-VMworld (subject to admission by product teams) Blogger early access program for vSphere and some other products. Featured in a public vExpert online directory. Access to vetted VMware \u0026amp; Virtualization content for your social channels. Yearly vExpert parties at both VMworld US and VMworld Europe events. Identification as a vExpert at both VMworld US and VMworld EU. So I look forward to contributing more to the #vCommunity being a part of this great program - #vExpert. You can visit my profile here - vExpert - Chris Childerhose\nLook for articles on my blog which are now being divided into sections related to each technology. More to come!\n","date":"27 February 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2020/02/27/vexpert-2020-im-in/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"vExpert 2020 - I'm In!","type":"posts"},{"content":"Now that we are into the year 2020 it is time to start down the road to new certifications. 2019 was a light year for me as I completed VMCE-ADO and that was about it for certification due to work projects and family life.\nThis year my goals are high but I will try to achieve as many of these as I can -\nVCP-DCA 2020 - I need to upgrade my VCP to the latest version by taking the Delta exam. It should not be that difficult to do. VCP-NV - I have taken the ICM course for NSX and have the VCP6-NV Official Study Guide but have not used or played with the software. Now working at a Cloud Provider we will be using NSX in the future so time to set up my home lab with this and getting hands on to then take the exam afterward when I am fully comfortable. This exam is much different than the DCA track. VCAP-DCA/DCD - I am hoping to take the 2020 VCAP exams this year to then get my VCIX. This is a stretch and if I can do the DCA that will make me happy with the DCD as the cherry on top. Windows 2016/2019 - Shooting for getting my MCSA for the 2016/2019 track as my last certification goal for this year. If I get to this one great if not no biggie. Well with my list ready to go it is time to hit the books, blogs, sites, etc. to find information for study and practice questions. There is a ton of information out there and I just need Google to help me find it.\nUntil my next post on Certification where I hope to update on some of these and if I have been able to achieve them.\n","date":"27 February 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2020/02/27/my-2020-certification-goals-vmware-focused/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"My 2020 Certification Goals - VMware Focused","type":"posts"},{"content":"We are in a digital age. An age where more than half of the industries, as well as the governments, are embracing a cloud-first approach to drive innovation, performance, optimize cost and enhance security. Yet, with this modern data-driven approach comes the challenge of data protection.In my 24 years of experience in IT wearing different hats - ranging from Technical Support, Network Administration, Consulting and Infrastructure Architecture and now a Senior Engineer, I have gained experience in dealing with the most critical situations when it comes to backup and recovery – ones that have been nerve-wracking and exposed organizations to the risk of losing revenue as well as reputation in the industry.While some organizations acknowledge this as an impending issue that requires attention, sometimes they lack the education to execute a data protection strategy that can save them from potential data loss. According to \u0026lsquo;Veeam\u0026rsquo;s Cloud Data Management Report, lost data from mission-critical application downtime costs organizations $102,450 per hour, on average.On a similar note, most businesses have opted for SaaS products simply because this modern approach offers several advantages over the traditional software systems and the consumption models associated with them. The increased availability of cloud infrastructure and resources has eliminated the need to set-up, maintain and support infrastructure and brought the concept of resiliency to light. One such technology that delivers immense value to an organization is Microsoft Office 365.Did you know that by the end of Q3 FY19, there were 180 Million Monthly Active Office 365 users? I \u0026rsquo;t think any corporation can imagine a day without Office 365. Neither do I. Hands down, this data is huge. According to 451 research, Office 365 emails and documents shared and stored in SharePoint, OneDrive and Teams are the \u0026ldquo;New business-critical data.\u0026ldquo;But the real question is, in the event of a disaster such as accidental deletion, malicious attacks including ransomware or internal security threats:\nDoes Office 365 include backup? # Yes and no. Just like any other SaaS vendor focuses on protecting its infrastructure to meet its contractual service level agreements, Microsoft follows the same route. This protection, however, does not extend to the customer, and \u0026lsquo;it\u0026rsquo;s the customers\u0026rsquo; responsibility to be proactive in backing up data. While Office \u0026lsquo;365\u0026rsquo;s SharePoint and OneDrive offer data archiving workflows, this is not a complete solution to address the problem of accidental deletion. Once a file is permanently deleted, there is no way of recovering it again.\nLet me explain to you this BIG misconception in more detail. # There is an assumption that if the data is in SaaS, we don\u0026rsquo;t have to worry about it simply because we rely on the vendor for backing it up. But that is not the case. And neither it is with Office 365.With a Microsoft Office 365 license, here\u0026rsquo;s what you get:\nAccess to the suite of Office 365 business apps on infrastructure, that you \u0026lsquo;don\u0026rsquo;t have to maintain at all. Good one – check! Access to a recycle bin with a retention period of 30 days in Exchange Online, 93 days for SharePoint Online. So, if you delete a file – it goes directly into the recycle repository from where you can restore it. Another good one – at least you have some days to save it back. Full infrastructure level security – meaning, application level, logical and user/admin-level access control. Not bad because it saves you the pain of managing these apps on-premise. In-Geo data redundancy and replication in at least two geographically distributed data center locations – often mistaken for backup. Now here\u0026rsquo;s what you miss with Microsoft Office 365:\nData level security which means, that in the event of accidental permanent deletion \u0026lsquo;it\u0026rsquo;s your responsibility. Full data retention, which exceeds the temporary recycle bin allocation of 30/93 days based on your subscription. This means – hyper availability is simply what your organization must manage. If you miss the window, you cannot recover in time. Do you need to backup O365? # Yes, you need to backup Office 365. Despite the recovery options that Microsoft provides, you need to have full control of your data. With a backup, your data is independent of the cloud platform and managed by a set of tools that offer more sophisticated and granular recovery, security and governance around e-discovery and privacy-based laws with new ground rules in place.This post covers even more detail around the need to backup Office 365 for your organization.\nThe Road Ahead # Fast access, fast recovery and hyper-availability are not just trends or jargon. They are every \u0026lsquo;organizations\u0026rsquo; concern, period. Backups ensure peace of mind in an unforeseen event. Here are my two cents on this situation:\nSecurity and compliance drive the need to keep a copy of your data. Most businesses can be left unprotected due to misinterpretation of the safety of data on the cloud. Backup consistency will streamline organizational efficiency and minimize any overhead. The ability to airgap a backup repository that stores Office 365 data will take security to the next level. This means no one other than your service provider can have access to these backups – making them safe from ransomware. “Originally Published at ThinkOn\u0026rdquo;\n","date":"20 February 2020","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2020/02/20/things-you-need-to-know-about-office-365-backup/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Things You Need to Know About Office 365 Backup","type":"posts"},{"content":"To round out 2019, I was able to sit the VMCE-A1 exam on December 20, 2019, and managed to pass it on my first try with 83%.\nThe VMCE-A1: Design \u0026amp; Optimization V1 (VMCE-A1) exam is the second requirement to acquire the Veeam Certified Architect (VMCA) designation after you have taken the VMCE-A: Design \u0026amp; Optimization V1 training. Compared to the VMCE exam, it is more costly (USD 300) as it’s also a higher level of exam.\nThe exam must be taken at a Pearson VUE local testing facility with a time of 70 minutes and an additional 30 minutes if your native language is not English.\nThis exam includes 40 randomized questions from each of the course modules:\n1. Design and sizing 2. Infrastructure assessment 3. Security 4. Optimization 5. Automation 6. Audit and compliance 7. Troubleshooting ALL the Veeam Availability Suite™ is covered, so expect many questions on Veeam ONE.\nThe exam itself is not similar to the VMware VCAP design type exams. With this exam, the questions are all multiple choice with some items requiring more than one answer (which noted on each question - number of responses needed). Each question is less than 2 minutes to answer based on the time, but this is not something to be concerned about if prepared well.\nThe VMCE-A1 exam pass gets awarded to those who score 70% or higher. With many questions being multiple choice it used to be that you got one answer wrong, you failed the entire question. Well, that is not the case now as you can be awarded partial marks for questions even if you have to pick 2-3 answers and get 1-2 wrong. This partial marking now makes things somewhat easier to help you in passing the exam.\nHow to Prepare? # Everything comes from the course material! Including the textbook and handouts, which are the most crucial things to read over (more than once).\nFor the troubleshooting section - there are examples of log files (pay attention to these) and also throughout the textbook are references to KB articles on the Veeam website. Also, be sure to check out and read over the Best Practices website as well - \\[link\\]For the Design \u0026amp; Sizing section - be sure to note down the formulas from the textbook/handouts as they will come in handy for the exam. If you can memorize them, my first suggestion when sitting down for the exam is to write them down on the dry erase board given by the testing center (take the Tutorial on the exam at the beginning - hint).\nInfrastructure Assessment, as well as Audit \u0026amp; Compliance sections - these sections are the ones that take in to account Veeam ONE. Complete a review of the reports as well as what they are for, what they contain, etc. These things will help with this section of the exam.\nBe aware that most people are very familiar with VMware, but for this exam, Hyper-V is very much a part of it. If you know one or the other very well, be sure to brush up and read over the sections that relate to the Hypervisor you are not as familiar. In my case, I reviewed the Hyper-V sections and information more thoroughly than VMware.\nThe course taken was based on v9.5 of the products and was online through Global Knowledge. The instructor was - Chris Huss, who was excellent. Also, Global Knowledge records the classes for you to watch them later, which I highly recommend as well since most instructors will point out things that \u0026ldquo;might\u0026rdquo; be on the exam.\nMy last tip is this, which helped me allot on the exam - if there is a question you are unsure of, then mark it for review, even if you think you know the answer. Then when done, the exam review only the marked ones, and if you have time, do a full review of all questions. This process is how I completed my exam as I was done all the questions in about 30 minutes or so, then went back to review the \u0026quot; Marked\u0026quot; ones only and finally did a full review of all questions to be sure. I finished with about 2 minutes to go and let the time expire.\nSo to be fully prepared - # 1. Take the course at a recommended training facility or online 2. Read the textbook several times - CRITICAL 3. Read the handouts several times and make notes as there is room for this if printed 4. Review the noted KB articles in both the textbook and handouts 5. Go through the Best Practice website - \\[URL\\] 6. Ensure you know the formulas for anything and everything 7. Relax and have fun with the exam as it is not as stressful as you would think\nDrop me a line if you have any other questions or to let me know how your exam went. Best of luck to all that challenge and take the exam. #Veeam #VMCE-ADO #VeeamVanguard\n","date":"31 December 2019","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2019/12/31/vmce-ado-my-exam-review-tips/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VMCE-ADO - My Exam Review \u0026amp; Tips","type":"posts"},{"content":"VeeamON Virtual event will be held on November 20, 2019, and is an online-only event. As noted on the site - VeeamON Virtual 2019\nThe online event showcases many topics, and there is an Agenda divided into four sections -\nVision \u0026amp; Strategy Implementation of Best Practices Cloud-Powered Architecture \u0026amp; Design Each agenda offers sessions you pick or choose to attend. You can select one topic or participate in multiple sessions.\nSome of the sample sessions are as follows:\nVision \u0026amp; Strategy - # Intro: Veeam Predictions 2020\nVeeamON Virtual provides the latest insights and predictions for Cloud Data Management. Veeam will highlight predictions that will remain top of mind for 2020, including ones that will affect the backup and Availability markets. Understanding these predictions and preparing for them ahead of time will allow organizations to enhance and optimize their Cloud Data Management practice.\nThe Biggest IT challenge in 2020 is coming from the board room\nThree out of four organizations have a “reality gap” between what business leaders expect from IT and what IT is geared to deliver. This session will examine the industry trends that are causing the gap, how those expectations are driving 2020 challenges and strategy, and give some ideas on how to close the gap from both a technical and an operational perspective.\nThe Veeam difference: a customer perspective\nIn this session, Rick Vanover from Veeam will interview Ryan Jacksland on using Veeam products. This customer perspective is critical to gaining insight into the Veeam experience.\nImplementation of Best Practices - # VeeamON Virtual Exclusive: Sneak peek to upcoming releases from Veeam\nThere are many new capabilities that Veeam is bringing to the market. In this session, Melissa Palmer and Karinne Bessette from Veeam Product Strategy will provide an overview of new capabilities you can expect from Veeam in the near future.\nThe essential guide for physical and cloud data protection\nOrganizations have data in many different places that all must be made available and resilient. Physical systems and the cloud aren\u0026rsquo;t exceptions from this requirement. Despite obvious differences, these types of environments are still much alike in terms of data protection, and they demand a proper backup strategy. Luckily, Veeam has an answer to this challenge. Join this session where Andrew is going to showcase how Veeam Agents can play a major role in physical and cloud environments’ data Availability.\n5 DR headaches and how to fix them\nDisaster isn’t just an IT problem anymore. With the entire business dependent on 24/7 access to IT services, even a small outage can reach far and wide, wreaking havoc on anything in its path. To combat this, organizations must develop and deliver a foolproof disaster recovery (DR) plan that aligns both business and technical requirements and outcomes in order to mitigate risk and minimize the impact. However, doing this is seldom straightforward. Join this session to learn about the five biggest challenges our DR experts hear every day and get tips, tricks and advice on how to overcome them to ensure that your DR plan is fit and ready to go, no matter what the world throws at it.\nWinning the war on ransomware: Backup is part of your defense\nThe war on ransomware continues. Are you doing everything you can to be resilient against this threat? In this session, Rick Vanover and Travis Miller will outline some practical tips and strategies so you can be more resilient and have additional options to avoid data loss.\nVeeam’s partnerships explained: API to Z\nPartnering with top brands in the IT industry is part of Veeam’s strategy as a company. In this session, attendees will have an overview of the different types of partnerships that Veeam has and how they apply to your organization. David Hill will provide an overview of the different partnership programs (Veeam ProPartner, VCSP, Alliance Partner Program, GSI, VASP and more) that Veeam offers, followed by Travis Miller providing a technical overview of the storage integration capabilities.\n3 reasons why a Veeam Universal License makes sense\nLicensing may not be the reason you come to Veeam, but we believe it’s another reason you choose to stay with us. As the world needs flexibility and greater choice in their data management strategy, Veeam is enabling that for customers without added fees, taxes or blockers. In this session, we’ll cover how this license came about, how it is used interchangeably across various workloads, and why the improvements make sense and give customers greater choice.\nCloud-Powered - # The case for backing up Office 365 data\nDo you truly have complete access and control of your Office 365 data? The common reaction is typical, “Of course I do,” or “Microsoft takes care of that for me.” The reality is that Microsoft protects the underlying infrastructure in Office 365, but customers are still responsible for protecting their own data. For this reason, Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 was one of Veeam’s fastest-growing product lines of 2018 and trending towards this again in 2019. In this session, we will cover the six critical reasons for Office 365 backup and the Office 365 Shared Responsibility Model and go through an overall demo of how to back up and recover Office 365 data quickly and seamlessly.\nService Provider BaaS and DRaaS Use Cases\nMicrosoft Office 365 is not the only data your customers aren’t protecting. Your customers rely on you to have their back, making sure their workloads are protected, regardless of where they reside. Attend this session to learn how you can:\nOffer backup and intelligent recovery of production workloads residing in your hosted or customer‑owned infrastructure Build enterprise-calibre disaster recovery and data retention, powered by the reliability and affordability of your managed cloud services Expand into new markets with Availability and portability for hyperscale cloud workloads like Microsoft Office 365 Leverage the public cloud to safeguard your backups with Veeam Cloud Tier and Object Storage\nIn this session, an attendee will discover how they can leverage the public cloud object storage platforms to extend their backup capacity and more. With Veeam Cloud Tier, a scale-out backup repository can now be configured to meet compliance with industry regulations while implementing the critical best practice 3‑2‑1 rule. Come learn more about how Veeam Cloud Tier and Object Storage are changing backup storage forever.\nArchitecture \u0026amp; Design - # Enterprise applications — How to easily recover your data\nJoin us to learn about ways that Veeam simplifies backup and adds flexibility to meet recovery objectives for your enterprise workloads. Tap into key insights from the experts on protecting your most critical applications, including SQL, Exchange, Oracle and SAP HANA.\nDesigning for Veeam at scale\nIn this session, however, we will show the details behind the numbers. Implementing Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication™ is easy — but how can you properly size an environment for thousands of VMs? In this session, we will go over the different roles and components, how the data flows and what calculations, boundaries and obstacles you will encounter. After knowing what you can and will encounter, we will explain step by step through real customer examples and limitations to educate how sizing and design are done properly.\nNutanix Mine — Secondary Storage Simplified\nNutanix Mine is a purpose‑built backup solution that offers all the benefits of Nutanix’s distributed architecture, one‑click simplicity and rapid‑time value, along with Veeam’s robust backup capabilities. Anything that Veeam can back up, Nutanix Mine can back up, including Nutanix AHV, VMware vSphere or Microsoft Hyper‑V workloads, whether those workloads are running on Nutanix today or traditional infrastructure. Nutanix Mine with Veeam supports the ability to store backups locally on the mine secondary storage or any S3‑compatible object store, whether it’s Nutanix Objects or in the cloud.\nI will be joining other Veeam Vanguards in the Q\u0026amp;A section to answer questions during the event. There will also be plenty of Sponsor related sessions as well in each of the tracks. So if you have some time to spare and want to learn everything, Veeam then attend the VeeamON Virtual event on November 20, 2019.\nVeeamON Virtual\n","date":"17 October 2019","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2019/10/17/veeamon-virtual-2019-agenda/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON Virtual 2019 - AGENDA","type":"posts"},{"content":"Were you not able to attend VeeamON in Miami or did you miss VMware World? Well the Premier Virtual Conference for Cloud Data Management is right around the corner at VeeamON Virtual on November 20, 2019 - VeeamON Virtual\nJoin the premier virtual conference where we bring the latest and greatest in data protection, security and management directly to you.\nEngage with Veeam’s® leading experts, partners and more than 5,000 attendees and receive exclusive access to sessions and content that will keep you on top of the new innovations, tools and techniques needed today.\nThere are many reasons to attend the event some of which are -\nBackup for What’s Next with the leading Cloud Data Management™ platform\nGet ready for the future with 2020 predictions from Veeam’s top management\nEnsure your data is always available across any infrastructure — cloud, virtual and physical — with a single platform\nSee the latest cloud innovations with Azure, AWS and Office 365\nLeverage partnerships and integrations purpose-built to deliver the most value from your investments\nTest your knowledge and win prizes throughout the day, including a VR kit!\nIncluding the many reasons listed above to attend the event, there is an Agenda listed on the site -\nVision \u0026amp; Strategy Implementation Best Practices Cloud-Powered Architecture \u0026amp; Design I will dive into more detail in my next post regarding the agenda options and what they cover.\nStay Tuned\u0026hellip;\n","date":"27 September 2019","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2019/09/27/veeamon-virtual-2019/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON Virtual 2019","type":"posts"},{"content":" + ADO # I received my VMCE9 back in 2018 and have since not been active to pursue the next level, which is the VMCE-ADO and then grants you the VMCA certification - Veeam Certified Architect. Well, the journey to this certificate begins on Thursday, August 29, 2019, as this is when I start my 2-day class for the VMCE-ADO.\nOnce I take the course, then I plan to read through the student manual at least twice and use the many resources in the Veeam community from others that have achieved the ADO and created study material for it. Also, there is material from some Veeam Vanguards as well that I received.\nStay tuned as I will update my blog on how I make out and feedback once I take the exam. On to bigger and better things as they say!\nUPDATE #1:\nI took the VMCE-ADO course last week through Global Knowledge and it was great. You have to wonder how they get everything in within two days but it is possible.\nThe course goes over everything related to installation, best practices and designing Veeam solutions. It even touches on Veeam ONE as well which was great to see.\nI have since printed the textbook to read and review as well as the slide deck which is laid out nicely as it has the slides on the left with room to the right for notes. This is going to be used for a last-minute review prior to the exam so I have all my written notes. I also printed a study guide from a fellow Vanguard to use also which is condensed to the most important points.\nOff to study now and hopefully will be writing the test towards the end of the month as I want a week or two for reviewing everything.\nI will report back on exam results. Until then!\nUPDATE #2:\nThe exam has been scheduled for December 20th. Time to cram and review as well as do some practice tests. The textbook from class has been read but will read it again. Reading study guides from various Vanguards that wrote the exam and will also use the class slides as note-taking for last-minute cramming.\nI will also be reviewing the Best Practice page as per advice from a SA at Veeam.\nMore to come after the exam so stay tuned!\nUPDATE #3 (12/20/2019):\nI took the exam today and thankfully I passed with a pretty good score of 83%. I am going to write a blog on my experience and share some tips \u0026amp; tricks.\nOfficially a VMCA now and it feels good. :)\nStay tuned for that in the coming week!\n","date":"27 August 2019","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2019/08/27/vmce-ado-the-journey-begins/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VMCE-ADO - The Journey Begins (Update - 12/20/19)","type":"posts"},{"content":"When getting started with Veeam, it can be a daunting task if you have not had any experience with the product. The good thing with Veeam is that it is relatively easy to install and get set up for users of all experience levels. Now the question is, where do you start?\nWell, the great thing with Veeam is that they have many resources from Documentation, Best Practices website and the Veeam Forums.\nDocumentation\nThe documentation for Veeam can be found on the Installation media or via the resource web page at - Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication - Resources\nThis page lists User Guides, Evaluation Guides, Administration Guides, and links to other pages like FAQs on Licensing, Support and other things like Recorded Product Demos.\n**Best Practices Website **\nThe other great page full of useful resources is the Best Practices website located at - Veeam Best Practices\nThis is one of the most valuable sites to use when getting ready to install Veeam or even better to read before installing. The site contains many things like -\nSystem Requirements - All-in-One System or Separate Components How to calculate out sizing for things like Proxy Servers, Repository Servers, WAN Accelerators, Veeam Backup Server, and even Enterprise Manager Server Infrastructure Hardening - how to ensure a secure backup environment This is one of the most useful pages to size your environment - Sizing Summary Veeam Forums\nIf you are one who prefers to ask questions and interact with other users of Veeam including employees, then the Veeam Forums is the place to visit - Veeam Forums\nThe Veeam Forums are very well organized and divided mainly into the different products on the main page and then subpages for each main product.\nAn example of this would be the Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication section of the forum - Further to setting up Veeam the Documentation and Best Practices webpages are also a great place to gather information for studying for the VMCE and VMCE-ADO. These are the Veeam Certification tracks for their products and are for those that utilize and administer Veeam as well as Design/Architect Veeam solutions. More information can be found here -\nHow to: Become a Veeam Certified Engineer (VMCE) - Veeam Certified Engineer (VMCE)\nVeeam Training and Certification - Veeam Certification \u0026amp; Training\n","date":"10 June 2019","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2019/06/10/veeam-installation-where-do-i-start/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Installation - Where do I start?","type":"posts"},{"content":"I have been a Veeam Vanguard for two years now and was fortunate enough to have attended the VeeamON 2017 event in New Orleans, and it was fantastic. Great sessions, lots of networking and meeting more of the Veeam folks as well as Vanguards.\nBeing a Vanguard is a real honour, and many people ask me when they see my Veeam Vanguard jacket or shirt - What is Veeam? My answer is a typical one - it is backup software for your infrastructure for now and the future which then leads to a conversation around technology, backups, and many other things.\nThis year\u0026rsquo;s event in Miami looks to build on previous events like New Orleans and Chicago. A party with Flo Rida how can you beat that as well.\nAttending VeeamON is one of the best events if you want to learn more about backup and what Veeam is all about. From user sessions, networking and training this event is packed with something for everyone. Although I am unable to attend this year I will for sure be at the 2020 event and hope to see you all there.\nBe sure to also check out the CrowdCompass App that lets you organize your day and sessions to attend. Available for Android and Apple as well -\nVeeamON - crowdcompass app - VeeamON 2019 - CrowdCompass Google Play store - CrowdCompass - Google Play Store iTunes - CrowdCompass - iTunes Agenda - Agenda Veeam Industry Speakers - Industry Experts 50+ Breakout Sessions - Breakout Sessions Veeam Certified Training - VMCE Training\nPatry with Flo Rida -\nVeeamON 2019\n\\[embed\\]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWU2cfK6CGw\u0026utm_source=hootsuite\u0026amp;utm_medium=linkedin\u0026amp;utm_campaign=VON19\n\\[/embed\\]","date":"14 May 2019","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2019/05/14/veeamon-2019-backups-premier-event/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON 2019 - Backups Premier Event","type":"posts"},{"content":"Last year I was nominated for the coveted Veeam Vanguard program and was able to achieve my goal. This year was renewal time and I am happy to say that I was nominated and successfully received my renewal.\nThanks to @MattThatITGuy and others for nominations to such an elite group. This program is one of the best out there for promoting the Veeam products and giving insight to the Veeam Team.\nYou can read about it here - https://www.veeam.com/vanguard.html\nMy blog has not gone very far in the recent months due to job changes, etc. but this year will be more content on Veeam and other products. I look forward to bringing more articles to everyone.\nUntil next time\u0026hellip;..\n","date":"11 February 2019","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2019/02/11/veeam-vanguard-2019/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Vanguard 2019","type":"posts"},{"content":" Interested in Veeam\u0026rsquo;s latest update to their Availability Suite? Then join them on January 22, 2019 for the Q1 announcement of Veeam Availability Suite 9.5 Update 4 - https://go.veeam.com/q1-live-announcement\nVeeam expands its already great product by enabling more cloud-native data protection. Some of the benefits of this release are -\nCost Savings - Unlimited capacity for long-term data retention with native, cost effective object storage integration which allows organizations to scale both on-premises and in the cloud Cloud Flexibility - Veeam brings simplified Cloud Mobility with 2-step restores to AWS, Azure and Azure Stack as well as Cloud-native backup solutions Security \u0026amp; Compliance - Increase confidence in the areas of security, malware prevention and GDPR compliance using Veeam DataLabs Some of the guest speakers will be -\nRatmir Timashev, Veeam Co-Founder Danny Allan - Veeam VP of Product Strategy Anton Gostev - Veeam SVP of Product Management Casey McGee - VP Partner Development at Microsoft This announcement will also provide more details for Service Providers as per the website -\nHow Service Providers can ‘Power Up’ # NEW Veeam Availability Suite 9.5 Update 4 and Veeam Availability Console v3 include incredible features for cloud and managed services providers, to build Veeam‑powered data protection solutions for on premises and cloud‑based workloads:\nOffer your customers data protection for the multi‑cloud, including a cloud tier, cloud backup and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS). Provide security and control for your customers with new capabilities for anti‑virus, GDPR compliance, and data governance. Run a next‑gen services business with enhanced features for managed Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and remote managed backup services, setting you apart from the rest of the crowded IT services landscape. Can’t wait to get started? Check out the solutions already available for service providers by visiting vee.am/service‑providers.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t wait sign up today for this announcement and launch event.\n","date":"16 January 2019","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2019/01/16/veeam-q1-live-announcement-january-22-2019/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Veeam Q1 Live Announcement - January 22, 2019","type":"posts"},{"content":"VeeamON Virtual event will be held December 5, 2018 and is an online only event. As noted on the site - http://vee.am/vonv\nThe online event showcases many topics and there is an Agenda that is divided in to 3 tracks -\nBusiness Track Technical Track Cloud Track\nEach agenda offers sessions based on the selected track you pick or choose to attend. You can select one track or attend multiple sessions in different tracks.\nSome of the sample sessions are as follows:\nBusiness Track - # Intro: Veeam Predictions 2019 - Join Veeam Co-CEO and President Peter McKay and Dave Russell, Veeam Vice President of enterprise strategy, for their discussion of 2019 predictions, Digital Transformation, Hyper-Availability and so much more.\nJourney to Intelligent Data Management for the multi-cloud enterprise - Today’s modern enterprise faces the dual challenges of not only managing and mining the data they produce and use, but also ensuring that the digital experience is Always-On™ for both internal and external customers. Join us as we discuss how data must move to a new state of intelligence, automatically anticipate need and meet demand across multi-cloud infrastructures.\nUnderstanding the Availability Gap - In this session, former industry analyst and current Veeam product strategist Jason Buffington will discuss recent industry research related to SLA expectations in the real world and the Availability, protection drivers and mechanisms being sought in 2018. This session will focus on understanding the problems and IT industry imperatives, as well as the operational, economic and intangible challenges of not addressing these issues head on.\nTechnical Track - # Best practices of Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication 2018 - Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication™ is a flexible and dynamic product. As each update is released, new features become available as well as improvements to performance and operation. This session will take you through the basics of Veeam best practices and how to maximize your product to get the most of your investment. Choosing the right product is important but knowing what will work best for your individual environment is always a priority.\nNEW Veeam Availability Suite™ 9.5 Update 4 - Redefining cloud data management for on premises, AWS, Azure Stack and IBM Cloud, plus much more!\nJoin Veeam Global Technologist Michael Cade as he provides a detailed presentation on what’s new with NEW Veeam Availability Suite 9.5 Update 4.\nIn this informative video session, Michael will share how Veeam is redefining cloud data management for on premises, AWS, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack and IBM Cloud. He will also discuss how Veeam is delivering the following new, breakthrough capabilities with Update 4, such as:\nUp to 10x savings on long-term data retention costs using native object storage integration with NEW Veeam Cloud Archive Support for hybrid cloud data mobility with easy migration and recovery to AWS, Azure and Azure Stack with NEW Veeam Cloud Mobility Increased security and data governance including General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance and malware prevention with newly enhanced Veeam DataLabs™ Reduced management and support costs through proactive resolution of configuration problems with NEW Veeam Intelligent Diagnostics Plus much more! Join us for VeeamON Virtual on Dec. 5 to learn more about the latest breakthrough technologies introduced by NEW Veeam Availability Suite 9.5 Update 4!\nPlan for disaster with confidence using automated testing in Veeam Availability Orchestrator - Traditional DR tools were often just written-down lists or an item that allowed for manual testing and management of start order. However, with Veeam Availability Orchestrator, you get something different, new and exciting. Veeam ships a variety of application specific testing scripts and provides you with the option to add your own. This means automated testing becomes possible and quite useful. In this session, you will see how this works. You will see automated DR testing of SQL Server as an example of what is possible.\nVirtual to physical: Using Veeam Agents to protect your physical business infrastructure - For many years, Veeam was a virtual-only product. However, nearly all organizations rely on some form of physical hosts for important business applications that cannot migrate from the physical world for various reasons. This made total protection difficult. With Veeam Agents, you can now protect your physical estate to the same level as your virtual estate even from the same console to simplify administration. The best part of innovation is the ability to back step. Veeam Agents support capabilities in the virtual world for instances where virtual protection alone was not enough, simple disaster recovery for physical into the virtual world or to the cloud. VeeamLive will discuss Veeam Agents, how to choose the right product for the right job, and the advantages of using a single tool and single pane of glass for your protected business.\nCloud Track - # Expanded AWS data protection with new disaster recovery and serverless options - Protecting your data in AWS is your responsibility! Amazon provides a durable infrastructure and the tools necessary to orchestrate backup and DR plans, but it is up to YOU, the end user, to make sure that these plans are in place and can be executed if necessary.\nDuring this session, we discuss and demonstrate:\nThe native options for backing up data in AWS The free and low-cost options for protecting data in AWS What you get when you choose an enterprise backup and recovery solution Attend this session and learn everything you need to know about how to protect critical data and workloads in Amazon Web Services. We also demonstrate how to automate backups and recover quickly with N2WS.\nVeeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v2: Deep Dive - Enterprises and small businesses alike are using Microsoft Office 365, yet very few fully understand the importance of protecting Office 365 data. Microsoft Office 365 eliminates the need to host your own email, files and content management infrastructure. However, it doesn’t replace the need to have a backup of your business-critical data.\nWatch this session with Niels Engelen, global product evangelist, where they discuss Veeam Backup for Microsoft Office 365 v2 including:\nData Protection for OneDrive for Business Data Protection for SharePoint Major ease-of-use and backup flexibility improvements And much more! Save your data securely off site with Veeam Cloud Connect - In this session, Cloud Architect Luca Dell’Oca will discuss Veeam® Cloud Connect, the powerful technology offered to Veeam service providers, and how end users can leverage this solution to protect their data by consuming an off-site resource without the upfront investment in a second site. Join this session and learn more about:\nHosted off-site backups: Get your backups off site to a hosted cloud repository through an SSL connection and cloud gateway Complete visibility and control: Access and recover data in hosted backup repositories directly from the backup console Store data in a secure way: encryption and insider threat protection And more! There will also be plenty of Sponsor related sessions as well in each of the tracks. So if you have some time to spare and want to learn everything Veeam then attend the VeeamON Virtual event on December 5, 2018.\nVeeamON Virtual\n","date":"22 October 2018","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2018/10/22/veeamon-virtual-2018-agenda/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON Virtual 2018 - AGENDA","type":"posts"},{"content":"Do you use Veeam software? If the answer to that question is yes or you are even curious about Veeam Software then you need to look at attending the premier online event - VeeamON Virtual. The event will be held December 5, 2018 and is an online only event. As noted on the site - http://vee.am/vonv\n\u0026ldquo;VeeamON Virtual is a unique online conference designed to deliver the latest insights on Intelligent Data Management…to the comfort of your own office.\u0026rdquo;\nThere are many reasons to attend the event some of which are -\nUnderstand the five stages of Intelligent Data Management. Learn how to extend your Hyper-Availability of data to the multi-cloud World including Veeam Availability Suite 9.5 Update 4 coming soon. Hear about partnerships with other vendors like NetApp, Cisco, and Nutanix. See the latest cloud innovations. Learn Veeam\u0026rsquo;s predictions for 2019 and beyond. Including the many reasons listed above to attend the event, there is an Agenda that is divided in to 3 tracks -\nBusiness Track Technical Track Cloud Track\nI will dive in to more detail in my next post regarding the different tracks and what they cover.\nStay Tuned\u0026hellip;\n","date":"10 October 2018","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2018/10/10/veeamon-virtual-2018/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VeeamON Virtual 2018","type":"posts"},{"content":"Well with the start of a new year (well 3 months in to it) it is time to start down the road to new certifications. 2017 was a light year for me as I completed VMCE9 and upgraded my VCP to Version 6.\nThis year my goals are high but I will try to achieve as many of these as I can -\nVMCE-ADO - this is a top goal of mine since becoming a Vanguard as I want to further my knowledge in Veeam. VCP-DCA 6.5 - need to upgrade my VCP to the latest version by taking the Delta exam. Should not be that difficult to do. VCP-NV - with our foot in the IBM Cloud now I will be taking the ICM course for NSX and hope to complete the VCP this year as a different track for the certifications for VMware. VCAP-DCA/DCD - I am hoping to take the 6.5 VCAP exams this year to then get my VCIX. This is a stretch and if I can do the DCA that will make me happy with the DCD as the cherry on top. Windows 2016 - Shooting for getting my MCSA for the 2016 track as my last certification goal for this year. If I get to this one great if not no biggie. Well with my list ready to go it is time to hit the books, blogs, sites, etc. to find information for study and practice questions. There is a ton of information out there and I just need Google to help me find it.\nUntil my next post on Certification where I hope to update on some of these and if I have been able to achieve them.\n","date":"19 March 2018","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2018/03/19/my-2018-certification-goals/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"My 2018 Certification Goals","type":"posts"},{"content":"The Veeam Vanguard program is one coveted by many in the industry due to it being well known. Last year I started the quest to becoming a Veeam Vanguard and as of today the quest has been achieved. I had conducted many client reference calls, attended the SWOVUG user group meetings, attended VeeamON 2017 in New Orleans as well as other engagements. It was with the help of other Vanguards (@MattThatITGuy) and Veeam employees nominating me that I achieved this honour.\nI look forward to a great year ahead and meeting new Vanguards in the program as well as existing ones. I also look forward to taking off with my blog now that it is running as I want it to be. So look forward to more articles, tips, tricks, etc. from me.\n","date":"6 March 2018","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2018/03/06/quest-to-becoming-a-veeam-vanguard/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Quest to becoming a Veeam Vanguard","type":"posts"},{"content":" Choosing a Backup Solution Platform # Every Virtualization and System Administrator deals with having the ability to recover servers, files, etc. and having a Backup Solution to help with recovery will ease the burden. But how do you know which one is right for you? How would you go about choosing the right solution that will help you in your daily tasks?\nSoftware Criteria\nWhen choosing a backup solution there are many things to consider based on your physical/virtual environment. What hypervisor are you running, what storage is being used, etc.? The best way to choose the right solution for the job is through evaluation and the more you evaluate the easier it will be to pick the right one for you. During an evaluation process you should consider things such as:\nCompatibility with your chosen Hypervisor Ease of installation and setup Program ease of use and navigation Backup scheduling Reporting – is the reporting sufficient enough Popular within the industry Support for Physical and Virtual servers And so on…and so on…. There are many criteria you can use in the evaluation stage and the above examples are but just a few. Composing a list prior to starting to look at software would be the recommended approach, this way you are looking at software that will fit most of your criteria prior to the evaluation/PoC stage.\nComparison\nWhen you have completed your criteria list and selected vendors for evaluation ensure to install all of them. Installing all of the products allows you to do a side-by-side comparison of the features you are looking for like job setup, ease of use, etc. Being able to see the products and how they work side-by-side gives you the best evaluation experience.\nDuring the comparison stage look at something like ability to conduct SAN based backup versus LAN – how does each solution compare? Can the solution connect in to your SAN fabric allowing faster backups? If you cannot use SAN backups how will it affect the overall performance of the environment? After backups complete is there a reporting structure showing success/failure, length of time, amount of data, etc.? When working with the solution is navigation for job creation/modification simple? Is it cumbersome within the product and/or frustrating creating backups?\nThere are many things when comparing products to be aware of and answering questions as you go through the products is a great way to evaluate them.\nConclusion\nRemember that there are many backup solutions out there for evaluation and choosing the right one can be a difficult decision. Evaluating the ones that appeal most to your organization is the best way to go and using a methodology for testing them is even better. In the end you will ensure your success by choosing the right solution for the job! Evaluate…..evaluate…..evaluate\n","date":"13 April 2016","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2016/04/13/choosing-a-backup-solution-platform/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Choosing a Backup Solution Platform","type":"posts"},{"content":" Choosing a Virtualization Management Platform # Every Virtualization Administrator deals with frustrations daily and having a management platform to help with daily tasks will ease the burden. But how do you know which one is right for you? How would you go about choosing the right platform that will help you in your daily tasks?\nSoftware Criteria\nWhen choosing a management tool there are many things to consider based on your virtual environment. What hypervisor are you running, what storage is being used, etc.? The best way to choose the right tool for the job is through evaluation and the more tools you evaluate the easier it will be to pick the right one for you. During an evaluation process you should consider things such as:\nCompatibility with your chosen Hypervisor Ease of installation and setup Program ease of use and navigation Details – does the program give you what you need to see Reporting – is the reporting sufficient enough Automation And so on…and so on…. There are many criteria you can use in the evaluation stage and the above examples are but just a few. Composing a list prior to starting to look at software would be the recommended approach, this way you are looking at software that will fit most of your criteria prior to the evaluation/PoC stage.\nComparison\nWhen you have completed your criteria list and selected vendors for evaluation ensure to install all of them. Installing all of the products allows you to do a side-by-side comparison of the features you are looking for like navigation, reporting, etc.\nBeing able to see the products and how they work side-by-side gives you the best evaluation experience. During the comparison stage look at something like a VM that uses too much RAM:\nHow does each tool recommend fixing the issue? Can the fix be automated or is it a manual fix? If you make the change to the VM how will it affect the overall performance of the VM or virtual environment? Are there reports that can be run to determine all VM recommendations and can you schedule them? When viewing the issue in the product – how many clicks until you see the recommendation for a solution? Is it cumbersome to get to the recommendation within the product and/or frustrating finding the answer? There are many things when comparing products to be aware of and answering questions as you go through the products is a great way to evaluate them.\nConclusion\nRemember that there are many products out there for evaluation and choosing the right one can be a difficult decision. Evaluating the ones that appeal most to your organization is the best way to go and using a methodology for testing them is even better.\nIn the end you will ensure your success by choosing the right platform for the job! Evaluate…..evaluate…..evaluate\n","date":"13 April 2016","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2016/04/13/choosing-a-virtualization-management-platform/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"Choosing a Virtualization Management Platform","type":"posts"},{"content":"","date":"13 April 2016","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/turbonomic/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Turbonomic","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"13 April 2016","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/virtualization/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Virtualization","type":"tags"},{"content":"","date":"28 January 2015","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/tags/opvizor/","section":"Tags","summary":"","title":"Opvizor","type":"tags"},{"content":"opvizor allows you to proactively diagnose and fix critical errors in your virtual environment. Their rule base contains over 730+ known problems and misconfiguration issues and directs you on how to address the issue via PowerCLI, videos, VMware best practice documentation and more.\nYou can complete a free health check in 6 minutes. There are many advantages to using opvizor -\nAdvantages of opvizor • Presents valuable findings, without training in less than 30 minutes • Analyzes the VMware vSphere infrastructure against more than 730 scenarios • Offers detailed and validated solutions for each detected error • Analyzes performance shortcuts, configuration errors and security leaks • Points out Vendor and Community Best Practices for the environment • Offers several reports to effectively use resources and document detected and resolved issues\nEnterprise Edition highlights • Change Management report as well as assignment of the VM configuration changes according to the corresponding configuration problems • Application Optimizer, helps to optimize virtual machines for the usage of applications like Oracle data bases or a file server and to get the maximum performance out of VMware • Reports on discovered errors within the VMware infrastructure, which lead to downtimes and performance loss\nFree Edition – besides few functionality restrictions some analyses restrictions apply • Limited to 1 VM ware Cluster • Analyses every 48 hours • Maximum of 10 Reports per month\nVisit http://www.opvizor.com/ now to check your virtual infrastructure health.\n(Data from opvizor website)\n","date":"28 January 2015","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2015/01/28/opvizor-leading-vmware-healthcheck-solution/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"opvizor - Leading VMware healthcheck solution","type":"posts"},{"content":"Great article for those undecided on VCP-Cloud versus VCP-DCV + VCP-IaaS.\n","date":"11 June 2014","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/2014/06/11/vcp-iaas-vs-vcp-cloud-cloud-exam-faceoff/","section":"Posts","summary":"","title":"VCP-IaaS vs. VCP-Cloud: Cloud Exam Faceoff","type":"posts"},{"content":" About Me # Chris Childerhose has over 30 years of experience in Information Technology in various roles, including Help Desk, Technical Support, Network Administration, Consulting and Infrastructure Architecture. He currently works for ThinkOn as an Enterprise Architect.\nHe is passionate about technology and stays on top of the ever-evolving IT realm. He is a Veeam Vanguard/Legend, vExpert, Object First Ace, Veeam Certified - VMCA/VMCE/VMCE-SP, VMware - VCAP/VCP, Cisco Insider Champion and MCITP certified in most of the latest technologies. He is also the author of Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication First/Second/Third/Fourth editions by Packt Publishing.\nCertifications \u0026amp; Credentials # Awards \u0026amp; Recognition # Veeam Vanguard — 2018–Present Veeam Legend — 2021–Present VMware vExpert — 2019–Present Object First Ace — 2024–Present Author — Mastering Veeam Backup \u0026amp; Replication (v10, v11, v12, v13) Connect # LinkedIn Twitter/X GitHub ","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/about/","section":"","summary":"","title":"About","type":"page"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/authors/","section":"Authors","summary":"","title":"Authors","type":"authors"},{"content":"","externalUrl":null,"permalink":"/series/","section":"Series","summary":"","title":"Series","type":"series"}]