Veeam Agent for Microsoft

Windows

Version 6.0
User Guide
March, 2023
© 2023 Veeam Software.

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NOTE
Read the End User Software License Agreement before using the accompanying software programs. Using
any part of the software indicates that you accept the terms of the End User Software License Agreement.

2 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Contents
CONTACTING VEEAM SOFTWARE ................................................................................................................... 9
ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT ............................................................................................................................. 10
OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................................... 11
Solution Architecture ............................................................................................................................... 12
Standalone and Managed Operation Modes .............................................................................................. 13
Data Backup ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Backup Types ................................................................................................................................. 16
How Backup Works........................................................................................................................ 24
Backup Job .................................................................................................................................... 26
Backup Job Schedule...................................................................................................................... 27
Ad-Hoc Backup ............................................................................................................................. 34
Parallel Disk Processing .................................................................................................................. 37
Backup Chain................................................................................................................................. 38
Backup to Object Storage ............................................................................................................... 52
Health Check for Backup Files ........................................................................................................ 57
Changed Block Tracking ................................................................................................................ 64
Data Compression ......................................................................................................................... 68
Guest Processing ........................................................................................................................... 70
Data Encryption ............................................................................................................................ 84
Backup Cache ................................................................................................................................ 94
Backup to Rotated Drives .............................................................................................................. 98
Backup of External Drives ............................................................................................................ 101
Data Restore .......................................................................................................................................... 102
Volume-Level Restore .................................................................................................................. 103
File-Level Restore ........................................................................................................................104
Volume Resize .............................................................................................................................. 105
Veeam Recovery Media ......................................................................................................................... 108
Drivers in Veeam Recovery Media ................................................................................................ 109
BitLocker Encrypted Volumes Support ................................................................................................... 110
Integration with Veeam Backup & Replication ......................................................................................... 115
Backup to Veeam Cloud Connect Repository ................................................................................. 117
MANAGING VEEAM AGENT IN VEEAM BACKUP & REPLICATION .................................................................... 118
PLANNING AND PREPARATION ................................................................................................................... 119
System Requirements............................................................................................................................. 120
Permissions ............................................................................................................................................ 123
Ports ...................................................................................................................................................... 124

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INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION ........................................................................................................ 129
Before You Begin ................................................................................................................................... 130
Installing Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows ....................................................................................... 131
Installing Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows in Unattended Mode ..................................................... 132
Using Sysprep and Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows ........................................................................ 134
Upgrading Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows .................................................................................... 135
Configuring Advanced Settings .............................................................................................................. 137
Uninstalling Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows .................................................................................. 138
What You Do Next .................................................................................................................................. 139
GETTING STARTED .................................................................................................................................... 140
LICENSING ................................................................................................................................................. 141
Product Editions ..................................................................................................................................... 142
License Agreements ............................................................................................................................... 143
Installing License ................................................................................................................................... 144
Selecting Product Edition ....................................................................................................................... 146
Revoking License.................................................................................................................................... 147
PERFORMING BACKUP ............................................................................................................................... 148
Creating Veeam Recovery Media ............................................................................................................ 149
Before You Begin ......................................................................................................................... 150
Step 1. Launch Create Recovery Media Wizard .............................................................................. 152
Step 2. Specify Recovery Media Options ....................................................................................... 154
Step 3. Specify Path to ISO ........................................................................................................... 156
Step 4. Review Recovery Image Settings ...................................................................................... 157
What You Do Next ........................................................................................................................ 159
Creating Veeam Recovery Media with Command Line Interface ............................................................. 160
Creating Backup Jobs ............................................................................................................................. 161
Before You Begin ......................................................................................................................... 162
Step 1. Launch New Backup Job Wizard ........................................................................................ 163
Step 2. Specify Job Name and Description .................................................................................... 164
Step 3. Select Backup Mode ......................................................................................................... 165
Step 4. Specify Backup Scope Settings ......................................................................................... 167
Step 5. Select Backup Destination ................................................................................................ 174
Step 6. Specify Backup Storage Settings ...................................................................................... 176
Step 7. Specify GFS Retention Policy ............................................................................................ 201
Step 8. Specify Advanced Backup Settings .................................................................................. 203
Step 9. Specify Backup Cache Settings ........................................................................................ 209
Step 10. Specify Guest Processing Settings .................................................................................. 210
Step 11. Specify Backup Schedule ................................................................................................. 219
Step 12. Review Backup Job Settings ............................................................................................224

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 What You Do Next ........................................................................................................................ 225
Managing Backup Jobs .......................................................................................................................... 226
Editing Backup Job Settings ......................................................................................................... 227
Disabling and Enabling Scheduled Backups ................................................................................. 228
Removing Backup Job ................................................................................................................. 230
Controlling Backup Post-Job Action ....................................................................................................... 231
Performing Ad-Hoc Backups................................................................................................................... 232
Creating Incremental Backups ...................................................................................................... 233
Creating Active Full Backups ........................................................................................................ 235
Creating Standalone Full Backups ................................................................................................ 237
Performing Backup to Another Location .......................................................................................239
Performing Backup with Command Line Interface .................................................................................. 241
Deleting Backups ...................................................................................................................................245
Managing Backup Cache ........................................................................................................................ 246
Monitoring Backup Cache Activity ................................................................................................ 247
Pausing Backup Cache Synchronization ....................................................................................... 250
Deleting Restore Points from Backup Cache ................................................................................. 251
PERFORMING RESTORE ............................................................................................................................. 252
Restoring from Veeam Recovery Media .................................................................................................. 253
Before You Begin .........................................................................................................................254
Step 1. Boot from Veeam Recovery Media .................................................................................... 255
Step 2. Select Network Adapter or Wireless Network ................................................................... 257
Step 3. Launch Veeam Recovery Media Wizard .............................................................................259
Step 4. Specify Backup File Location ........................................................................................... 260
Step 5. Select Network Storage Type .......................................................................................... 262
Step 6. Specify Network Storage Settings ....................................................................................263
Step 7. Select Backup ................................................................................................................... 277
Step 8. Select Restore Point .........................................................................................................279
Step 9. Select Data Restore Mode ............................................................................................... 280
Step 10. Map Restored Disks ........................................................................................................ 281
Step 11. Resize Restored Volumes................................................................................................ 285
Step 12. Start Restore Process ..................................................................................................... 286
Using Veeam Agent and Microsoft Windows Tools .................................................................................287
Using Microsoft Windows Recovery Environment .................................................................................. 289
Restoring Volumes ................................................................................................................................ 290
Before You Begin ......................................................................................................................... 291
Step 1. Launch Volume Level Restore Wizard .............................................................................. 292
Step 2. Specify Backup File Location ............................................................................................293
Step 3. Select Network Storage Type .......................................................................................... 294

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 Step 4. Specify Network Storage Settings ....................................................................................295
Step 5. Select Backup .................................................................................................................. 308
Step 6. Select Restore Point ......................................................................................................... 310
Step 7. Map Restored Disks ........................................................................................................... 311
Step 8. Resize Restored Volumes ................................................................................................. 315
Step 9. Complete Restore Process ................................................................................................ 316
Restoring Files and Folders .................................................................................................................... 317
Before You Begin ......................................................................................................................... 318
Step 1. Launch File Level Restore Wizard ...................................................................................... 319
Step 2. Specify Backup File Location ........................................................................................... 320
Step 3. Select Remote Storage Type ............................................................................................. 321
Step 4. Specify Remote Storage Settings ...................................................................................... 322
Step 5. Select Backup ................................................................................................................... 335
Step 6. Select Restore Point ......................................................................................................... 337
Step 7. Complete Restore Process ................................................................................................338
Step 8. Save Restored Files ..........................................................................................................339
Restoring Data from Encrypted Backups ............................................................................................... 344
REPORTING ............................................................................................................................................... 346
Viewing Statistics in Control Panel ......................................................................................................... 347
Viewing Statistics for Separate Restore Points............................................................................. 350
Viewing Information About Job Retries ........................................................................................ 353
Viewing Status of Restore Points in Backup Cache ........................................................................ 355
Monitoring Backup State with Tray Agent ..............................................................................................356
Monitoring Backup Process in Taskbar Button ........................................................................................358
Viewing and Dismissing Veeam Agent Events .........................................................................................359
Viewing Events with Windows Notification Center .................................................................................362
Viewing Job Session Results in Email Reports ........................................................................................ 364
SPECIFYING SETTINGS ............................................................................................................................... 365
Throttling Backup Activities .................................................................................................................. 366
Restricting Network Connections Usage ................................................................................................. 367
Limiting Bandwidth Consumption................................................................................................ 368
Disabling Backup over Metered Connections ............................................................................... 369
Disabling Backup over VPN Connections ...................................................................................... 371
Selecting Wireless Networks for Backup ....................................................................................... 372
Managing Rotated Drives ....................................................................................................................... 374
Disabling Control Panel Notifications ..................................................................................................... 375
Enabling Email Notifications .................................................................................................................. 376
Custom SMTP Server Settings ...................................................................................................... 377
Gmail Server Settings ................................................................................................................... 379

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 Microsoft 365 Server Settings ..................................................................................................... 382
Checking for New Product Versions and Updates .................................................................................. 386
MANAGING VEEAM CBT DRIVER ................................................................................................................. 387
Installing Veeam CBT Driver .................................................................................................................. 388
Removing Veeam CBT Driver ................................................................................................................. 390
Removing CBT Driver with Veeam Recovery Media ................................................................................. 391
Resetting CBT ........................................................................................................................................392
GETTING SUPPORT .................................................................................................................................... 393
Reporting Issues .................................................................................................................................... 394
USING WITH VEEAM BACKUP & REPLICATION ............................................................................................ 396
Setting Up User Permissions on Backup Repositories ............................................................................. 398
Managing License ...................................................................................................................................401
Managing Instance Consumption by Veeam Agents ..................................................................... 402
Assigning License to Veeam Agent .............................................................................................. 403
Viewing Licensed Veeam Agents and Revoking License ............................................................... 404
Performing Data Protection Tasks ......................................................................................................... 406
Backing Up to Backup Repositories.............................................................................................. 407
Backing Up to Cloud Repositories ................................................................................................ 408
Performing Backup Copy for Veeam Agent Backups .....................................................................410
Archiving Veeam Agent Backups to Tape ...................................................................................... 412
Restoring Data from Veeam Agent Backups............................................................................................ 413
Restoring Veeam Agent Backup to vSphere VM ............................................................................ 414
Restoring Veeam Agent Backup to Hyper-V VM ........................................................................... 416
Restoring Veeam Agent Backup to Nutanix VM ............................................................................ 417
Restoring to Microsoft Azure ........................................................................................................ 418
Restoring to Amazon EC2 ............................................................................................................. 419
Restoring to Google Compute Engine .......................................................................................... 420
Restoring Volumes ....................................................................................................................... 421
Restoring Files and Folders ..........................................................................................................432
Restoring Application Items .........................................................................................................433
Exporting Disks ........................................................................................................................... 434
Exporting Restore Point to Full Backup File ................................................................................. 444
Performing Administration Tasks ........................................................................................................... 445
Importing Veeam Agent Backups ................................................................................................. 446
Enabling and Disabling Veeam Agent Backup Jobs ...................................................................... 448
Viewing Veeam Agent Backup Job Statistics ................................................................................ 449
Deleting Veeam Agent Backup Jobs ............................................................................................ 450
Viewing Veeam Agent Backup Properties ..................................................................................... 451
Removing Veeam Agent Backups .................................................................................................452

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 Configuring Global Settings .........................................................................................................453
Assigning Roles to Users ............................................................................................................. 454
Copying Veeam Agent Backups ....................................................................................................455
Creating Recovery Token ............................................................................................................. 456
Deleting Agent Backups from Disk .............................................................................................. 458
AUTOMATING VEEAM AGENT FOR WINDOWS OPERATIONS ........................................................................ 459
APPENDIX A. VEEAM AGENT EVENTS ........................................................................................................ 460

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Contacting Veeam Software
At Veeam Software we value feedback from our customers. It is important not only to help you quickly with your
technical issues, but it is our mission to listen to your input and build products that incorporate your
suggestions.

Customer Support
Should you have a technical concern, suggestion or question, visit the Veeam Customer Support Portal to open a
case, search our knowledge base, reference documentation, manage your license or obtain the latest product
release.

Company Contacts
For the most up-to-date information about company contacts and office locations, visit the Veeam Contacts
Webpage.

Online Support
If you have any questions about Veeam products, you can use the following resources:

• Full documentation set: veeam.com/documentation-guides-datasheets.html

• Veeam R&D Forums: forums.veeam.com

9 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

About This Document
This user guide provides information about Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

Intended Audience
The user guide is intended for anyone who wants to use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 6.0 to protect
their computer.

10 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Overview
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is a data protection and disaster recovery solution for physical and virtual
machines. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows can be used to protect different types of computers and devices:
desktops, laptops and tablets. The solution can be installed on Windows-based workstations, physical servers
and virtual machines. To learn about supported OSes, see System Requirements.

NOTE

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows can operate in either standalone or managed mode. Depending on the
mode, Veeam Agent provides different features and limitations. To learn more, see Standalone and
Managed Operation Modes.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows offers a variety of features to protect your data. You can:

• Create a Veeam Recovery Media on an external hard drive, USB flash drive, CD/DVD/BD, or create an ISO
file with the Veeam Recovery Media on disk.

• Create an entire system image backup, back up specific computer volumes or individual folders with files.
Backups can be stored on an external hard drive, in a network shared folder, in object storage, in a Veeam
backup repository or Veeam Cloud Connect repository.

In case of a disaster, you can perform the following restore operations:

• Start the OS from the Veeam Recovery Media and use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows and standard
Microsoft Windows tools to diagnose and fix problems.

• Perform bare metal restore.

• Restore necessary data from backups to its original location or a new location.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows integrates with Veeam Backup & Replication. Backup administrators who
work with Veeam Backup & Replication can perform advanced tasks with Veeam Agent backups: perform data
restore tasks with Veeam Agent backups, manage Veeam Agent backup jobs or backups created with these jobs.

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Solution Architecture
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is set up on a computer whose data you want to protect.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows has a one-service architecture. When you install the product, Veeam Agent
deploys the following components on the computer:

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Service is a Microsoft Windows service responsible for performing all
types of backup and restore tasks. The service is started automatically when you power on the computer,
and runs in the background under the Local System account.

• Veeam Agent Tray is a tray agent that communicates with the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Service
to let you monitor the backup operation status and provide quick access to main functions of Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows: starting backup and restore operations, viewing statistics for created backups and
so on. The Veeam Agent Tray starts when you log on to the system and runs in the background.

• To store its configuration data, Veeam Agent uses the SQLite database engine. SQLite requires only few
files to install and takes little resources to run.

NOTE

The account under which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Service runs should not be changed.
Configurations with custom account are not supported.

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Standalone and Managed Operation Modes
Veeam Agent can operate in two modes: standalone mode and managed mode. The current User Guide covers
subjects related to Veeam Agent operating in the standalone mode only. Depending on the operation mode,
Veeam Agent has different functionality and limitations.

Standalone Mode
In this mode, Veeam Agent operates as a standalone product. To use Veeam Agent operating in the standalone
mode, you must manually install the product directly on the computer whose data you want to protect.

For Veeam Agent operating in the standalone mode, data protection, disaster recovery and administration tasks
are performed by the user. You can also use Veeam Agent operating in the standalone mode with Veeam Backup
& Replication. In this scenario, you can use backup repositories managed by Veeam Backup & Replication as a
target location for Veeam Agent backups and use the Veeam Backup & Replication console to perform a number
of tasks with Veeam Agent backup jobs and backups. For details, see Integration with Veeam Backup &
Replication.

You can also use Veeam Backup & Replication as a gateway for creating backups targeted at the following types
of repositories:

• Veeam Cloud Connect repository. For details, see Backup to Veeam Cloud Connect.

• Object storage repository.

With Veeam Agent operating in the standalone mode, you can also back up data directly to object storage.
For more information on both options, see Backup to Object Storage.

Managed mode
In this mode, Veeam Agent operates under control from one of the following Veeam products:

• Veeam Backup & Replication

You can automate management of Veeam Agents on multiple computers in your infrastructure in the
Veeam Backup & Replication console. You can configure Veeam Agent backup policies and perform other
data protection and administration tasks on remote computers. To use the Veeam Agent management
functionality in Veeam Backup & Replication, you must install Veeam Backup & Replication on the Veeam
backup server.
To use Veeam Agent operating in the managed mode, you must deploy the product in one of the following
ways:

o From Veeam Backup & Replication

o Manually using external tools

To learn more about managed Veeam Agent deployment, see the Protected Computers Discovery and
Veeam Agent Deployment section in the Veeam Agent Management Guide.
For Veeam Agent managed by Veeam Backup & Replication, data protection, disaster recovery and
administration tasks are performed by a backup administrator in the Veeam Backup & Replication console.
To learn about managing Veeam Agent in Veeam Backup & Replication, see the Veeam Agent Management
Guide.

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 • Veeam Service Provider Console
You can use Veeam Service Provider Console to manage Veeam Agents on multiple computers in your
infrastructure. When Veeam Agent is managed by Veeam Service Provider Console, you can configure
backup job settings, start and stop backup, change global settings, update and uninstall Veeam Agent and
collect Veeam Agent data for monitoring and billing.
To manage Veeam Agent from Veeam Service Provider Console, you must install Veeam Service Provider
Console management agent and Veeam Agent on the computer whose data you want to protect. After
that, in Veeam Service Provider Console, you must activate Veeam Agent on the protected computer to
set it into the managed operation mode.
For Veeam Agent managed by Veeam Service Provider Console, data protection, data restore and
administration tasks are performed by a backup administrator in Veeam Service Provider Console.
Backup administrator can enable a read-only access mode for Veeam Agent installed on the protected
computer. When you work directly with Veeam Agent operating in the read-only access mode, you can
perform a limited set of operations, including:

o Running the backup job manually.

o Viewing backup session statistics.

o Restoring individual files.

To learn about deploying and managing Veeam Agent with Veeam Service Provider Console, see Veeam
Service Provider Console Guides. Select the guide that suits your user role.

14 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Data Backup
We recommend that you regularly back up data stored on your computer. Backup creates a safety copy of your
data. If any kind of disaster strikes, you can restore your data from the backup and be sure that you will not lose
the necessary information.

You can set up Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to perform automatic scheduled backups (triggered at
specific time of the day or on specific events), or you can choose to back up data manually when needed. You
can back up the entire computer image, specific computer volumes or individual folders with files.

Backups created with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows can be saved to one of the following locations:

• Removable storage device

• Local computer drive

• Network shared folder

• On-premises or cloud-based object storage

• Backup repository managed by a Veeam backup server

• Cloud repository managed by a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider

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Backup Types
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows lets you create the following backup types:

• Volume-level backup

• File-level backup
In the file-level backup, you can select what personal data to back up. To learn more, see Personal Data
Backup.

When backing up the operating system data, you can select the desired backup type. To learn more, see System
State Data Backup.

Volume-Level Backup
You can set up Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to create a volume-level backup. The volume-level backup
captures the whole image of a data volume (also called logical drive or partition) on your computer. You can use
the volume-level backup to restore a computer volume, specific files and folders on the volume or perform bare
metal recovery.

You can back up all computer volumes or specific computer volumes.

• When you back up the entire computer image, Veeam Agent captures the content of all volumes on your
computer. The resulting backup file contains all volume data and Microsoft Windows OS system data:
system partition and boot partition. For GPT disks on Microsoft Windows 8.1, 10, 11, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016,
2019 and 2022, Veeam Agent additionally backs up the recovery partition.

• When you back up a specific computer volume, Veeam Agent captures only that data that resides on this
specific volume: files, folder, application data and so on.
If you choose to back up the system volume (volume on which Microsoft Windows is installed), Veeam
Agent automatically includes the System Reserved partition into the backup scope. You can exclude the
System Reserved partition from the backup if necessary. In this case, Veeam Agent will capture only data
on the system volume.
To learn more, see System State Data Backup.

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File-Level Backup
You can set up Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to create a file-level backup. The file-level backup captures
only data of individual folders on the computer. You can use the file-level backup to restore files and folders
that you have added to the backup scope.

Veeam Agent lets you create two types of file-level backups:

• You can include individual folders into the backup. When you recover from such backup, you will be able
to restore folders that you have selected to back up, and files in these folders.

• You can create a hybrid backup that will include folders and specific computer volumes. When you recover
from such backup, you will be able to restore the following components:

o For backed-up volume: the entire volume and individual files and folders on this volume.

o For backed-up folders: folders that you have selected to back up, and files in these folders.

System State Data Backup

To be able to restore critical components related to the OS and start the OS after recovery, you must include in
the backup the system volume (volume on which the OS is installed) and the System Reserved/UEFI or other
system partitions. To simplify this process, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows offers you to add the Operating
system component to the backup scope. When you select to back up the operating system data, Veeam Agent
automatically includes in the backup all data related to the OS. This mechanism differs depending on the backup
type: volume-level backup or file-level backup.

System State Backup in Volume-Level Backup

To include the operating system data in the volume-level backup, select Operating system data. When you
select to back up the operating system data, Veeam Agent automatically includes in the backup the system
volume and the System Reserved partition. If some additional system partitions appear on the Veeam Agent
computer in the future, for example, after the OS upgrade, Veeam Agent will add these partitions to the backup
scope, too.

17 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Alternatively, you can explicitly select to back up the system volume. When you select to back up the system
volume, Veeam Agent automatically includes the System Reserved partition in the backup. However, if
additional system partitions appear on the Veeam Agent computer, Veeam Agent may be unable to back up such
volumes. Thus, we recommend that you use the Operating system option to create system state data backup.

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System State Backup in File-Level Backup
To include the operating system data in the file-level backup, select Operating system data. When you select to
back up the operating system data, Veeam Agent automatically includes in the backup all data related to the
OS: the system volume, personal files and the System Reserved partition.

Alternatively, you can select to back up the system volume and the System Reserved partition.

In this case, you will be able to exclude specific folders related to the OS from the backup (for example, the
Users folder and Documents and Settings folder). When you select to back up the Operating system data, you
cannot choose which components related to the OS must be backed up and which must be excluded.

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Personal Data Backup
You can include personal data in the backup. In the file-level backup, to simplify this process, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows offers you to add the Personal files component to the backup scope. When you select to
back up the personal data, Veeam Agent automatically includes in the backup data related to Veeam Agent
computer user profiles.

Personal Data Backup in File-Level Backup

To include personal data in the file-level backup, select the Personal files option. When you select to back up
the personal data by default, Veeam Agent includes in the backup all data stored in the Users folder on the
system volume excluding application data and data related to roaming user profiles. If you store personal
folders of user profiles in custom locations, Veeam Agent backs up them too. If you do not want to back up
default personal data, you can change the backup scope by selecting what folders Veeam Agent includes in the
Personal files component.

20 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

 TIP
• By default, in the Personal Folders window, all options are selected in the Backup user profile
folders list excluding the Application Data option and the Exclude roaming profiles option is
selected.
• If you want Veeam Agent to back up personal data close to the way personal data was backed up in
Veeam Agent 3.0 and 4.0, select all options in the Backup user profile folders list and clear the
Exclude roaming profiles option. Note that in this case, the only difference is that Veeam Agent 6.0
also backs up selected folders of user profiles that are stored in custom locations.
• If Veeam Agent fails to back up personal data, Veeam Agent displays a warning message in the job
session and a warning notification for each folder that Veeam Agent failed to back up. If you do not
want to get these warnings, you can disable them with a registry value. For more information,
contact Veeam Customer Support.

You can use the Other files and folders option to back up all folders and files that are located in the Users folder
on the system volume, but are not available in the Personal Folders window. Keep in mind that depending on
the Other files and folders option, Veeam Agent behaves in one of the following ways:

• If the option is cleared, Veeam Agent backs up only selected personal folders in the Users folder on the
system volume and personal folders stored in custom locations. Keep in mind, that in such case Veeam
Agent backs up only those user profiles that are related to authenticated users. As a result, for example,
default and system user profiles will be excluded. Besides that, temporary and corrupted user profiles will
be excluded too.

• If the option is selected, Veeam Agent backs up all files and folders in the Users folder on the system
volume and personal folders stored in custom locations, but excludes personal data according to the
options that you cleared.

21 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Alternatively, you can explicitly select to back up the Users folder. In this case, you still will be able to exclude
specific subfolders of the Users folder from the backup. But you will need to exclude subfolders for each user
manually. You will also need to find user folders stored in custom locations and include subfolders there if
necessary. Thus, we recommend that you use the Personal files component to create personal data backup.

22 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Personal Data Backup in Volume-Level Backup
Typically, data and settings of the Veeam Agent computer users are located in the Users folder on the system
volume, for example, C:\Users. Thus, to include the operating system data in the volume-level backup, you
must explicitly select to back up the system volume.

23 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

How Backup Works
During backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs the following operations:

1. Veeam Agent creates a Microsoft VSS snapshot of the volume whose data you want to back up. The VSS
snapshot helps make sure that the data on the volume is consistent and does not change at the moment
of backup.

o In the Free and Workstation product editions, the VSS snapshot type depends on the OS of the Veeam
Agent computer. On Microsoft Windows Client OSes, Veeam Agent creates a copy-only VSS snapshot.
On Microsoft Windows Server OSes, Veeam Agent creates a full VSS snapshot.

o In the Server product edition, the VSS snapshot type depends on the specified application-aware
processing settings. To learn more, see Application-Aware Processing.
Veeam Agent does not create a VSS snapshot for the EFI system partition on GPT disks, because its data
does not change during backup. For the System Reserved and other system partitions, VSS snapshot can
be created if there is enough free disk space on the partition.

NOTE

Condider the following:

• By default, Microsoft Windows does not include offline Outlook Data Files (.ost) into a VSS
snapshot. As a result, these files are not included into Veeam Agent backups, too.
• If the Microsoft VSS technology fails to create a VSS snapshot for some reason, Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows retries the operation up to 3 times.

2. Veeam Agent reads data from the created VSS snapshot, compresses it and copies it to the target location.

o For volume-level backup, Veeam Agent copies data blocks of the whole volume.

o For file-level backup, Veeam Agent creates a volume inside the backup file in the target location. The
content of the volume in the backup file is synchronized with the volume on the source: Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows copies only those data that you have selected to back up.
During incremental backup, Veeam Agent uses Changed Block Tracking (CBT) to retrieve only those data
blocks that have changed since the previous backup session. To learn more, see Change Block Tracking.

In the target location, Veeam Agent stores copied data to the backup file.

3. If an application on the computer uses transaction logs to maintain the database consistency, Veeam
Agent can truncate transaction logs upon successful backup.

o In the Free and Workstation product editions, Veeam Agent truncates transaction logs depending on
the OS of the Veeam Agent computer. On Microsoft Windows Client OSes, Veeam Agent does not
truncate logs. On Microsoft Windows Server OSes, Veeam Agent always truncates logs.

o In the Server product edition, Veeam Agent truncates logs depending on the specified application-
aware processing settings. To learn more, see Application-Aware Processing.

IMPORTANT

The Veeam Agent Service runs under the LocalSystem account. On Microsoft SQL Server 2012, this account
does not have necessary permissions to truncate transaction logs. If you want Veeam Agent to
automatically truncate transaction logs, you need to manually add the LocalSystem account to a group
that has the SQL Server System Administrator rights.

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25 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide
Backup Job
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows lets you configure a scheduled backup job that will perform backup
automatically in a timely manner. You can set up the backup job once and forget about running the backup
operation manually. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will periodically launch the job to back up necessary
data on your computer.

The backup job settings define what data you want to back up, what the target location and retention policy for
created backups are and how often you want to back up your data. If necessary, you can re-configure the backup
job at any time or remove the job.

Depending on the product edition, you can configure one or more backup jobs in Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows:

• For the Free product edition, you can configure one backup job only.

• For the Workstation product edition, you can configure an unlimited number of backup jobs targeted at a
Veeam Cloud Connect repository plus one backup job targeted at any other supported backup location
(local or removable computer drive, network shared folder or Veeam backup repository).

• For the Server product edition, you can configure an unlimited number of backup jobs targeted at any
supported backup location.

For example, you can configure one backup job to create volume-level backup and another backup job to create
file-level backup. Or you can configure backup jobs targeted at different backup locations to keep several copies
of your backed-up data. You can also configure multiple backup jobs with individual schedule to fine-tune
automatic backup creation process.

Settings of the backup job apply to ad-hoc backups as well: standalone full backups, active full backups and
incremental backups.

26 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Backup Job Schedule
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows launches the backup job according to the schedule you define. Scheduling
options available for the backup job differ depending on the edition of Veeam Agent:

• For the Free and Workstation product editions, you can schedule the job to start at specific time daily or
on specific week days. You can also instruct Veeam Agent to automatically perform backup on specific
events. To learn more, see Scheduling Options in Free and Workstation Editions.

• For the Server product edition, you can configure daily, monthly and periodic backup job schedule. You
can also specify settings for automatic job retries and configure a backup window. To learn more, see
Scheduling Options in Server Edition.

If you configure multiple backup jobs in Veeam Agent, you can specify individual schedule for each job. Veeam
Agent processes backup jobs sequentially, one after another. If the backup job must start upon schedule at the
time when another backup job is already running, the job will wait for the running job to complete, and start
afterwards.

For portable devices, Veeam Agent does not start a backup job on the defined schedule if a device is working on
battery and the battery level is below 20%.

If a backup job fails, Veeam Agent automatically retries the job. In the Free and Workstation editions, Veeam
Agent retries the job every 10 minutes within the next 23 hours. In the Server edition, you can specify retry
settings along with other scheduling options. To learn more, see Automatic Job Retries and Job Retry

In any edition, Veeam Agent can wake your computer from sleep at the time when the backup job must start. To
learn more, see Computer Wake Up from Sleep.

Scheduling Options in Free and Workstation Editions

You can schedule the backup job to start at specific time daily or on specific week days. You can also instruct
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to automatically perform backup on specific events.

Missed Backup Schedule

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not perform scheduled backups if the computer is powered off. To
handle situations of short power outage or computer restart, Veeam Agent provides a tolerance window of 15
minutes for scheduled backups.

For example, you have configured the backup job to run daily at 10:00 PM. At 9:55 PM, there is a power outage
that lasts for 10 minutes. When the computer is on again at 10:05, Veeam Agent will automatically launch the
scheduled job to back up your data.

Additionally, you can instruct Veeam Agent to resume missed daily backup. If the computer is powered off at
the time when the scheduled backup job must start, and you power on the computer later, Veeam Agent will
not wait for the next scheduled backup. Instead, Veeam Agent will start the backup job right after the computer
is powered on to ensure no necessary data is lost because of the missed backup.

Backup on Specific Events

In addition to the basic job schedule, you can instruct Veeam Agent to launch the backup job on specific events.
Veeam Agent lets you trigger backup on the following events:

• Lock — the user locks the computer.

• Log off — the user performs a logout operation on the computer.

27 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

 • When backup target is connected — the target backup location becomes available: the user attaches a
known removable storage device to the computer or a network connection to the backup repository is
established.
You can instruct Veeam Agent to eject the removable storage device after the backup job successfully
completes. This helps to protect backup files in the target location from encrypting ransomware, such as
CryptoLocker.

Backup on specific event helps you ensure that you capture all changes made within a specific time interval —
for example, during a working day. When the necessary event occurs, Veeam Agent automatically launches the
scheduled backup job. As a result, you can be sure that all changes made within some period of time are backed
up, and you do not lose your data.

If you choose to perform backup on specific events, you can restrict the frequency of backup job sessions. You
can instruct Veeam Agent not to start the backup job at specific events more often than once a specified time
interval, for example, not more often than every 2 hours. This option does not affect daily schedule. Daily
backups are performed according to the defined schedule regardless of the specified time interval.

Backup on specific events helps you fine-tune the backup job schedule. For example, you can specify the
following scheduling settings for the backup job:

• The backup job must start automatically at 10:00 PM every day.

• The backup job must start at computer lock.

• The backup job must not run more often than every 2 hours.

Veeam Agent will launch the backup job at the end of the working day, when you lock your computer. In
addition, Veeam Agent will perform backup at 10:00 PM regardless of the time interval between the computer
lock and scheduled backup.

If you lock your computer later than at 10:00 PM, Veeam Agent will perform backup in the following order. At
10:00 PM, Veeam Agent will launch the backup job upon the daily schedule. If the time interval between the
scheduled backup and computer lock is greater than 2 hours, Veeam Agent will additionally perform backup at
computer lock. If the time interval between the scheduled backup and computer lock is not greater than 2
hours, Veeam Agent will not perform backup at computer lock.

Automatic Job Retries

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports automatic retries for the scheduled backup job. If the backup job
is started on the defined daily schedule and fails for some reason, Veeam Agent automatically retries the job
every 10 minutes within the next 23 hours.

If the backup job fails and Veeam Agent retries the job session, Veeam Agent does not transfer all the data
again. Instead, Veeam Agent continues data transfer that was started before the backup job fail. To do so,
Veeam Agent compares hash values for data blocks on source and target. After the hash comparison, Veeam
Agent transfers only those data blocks that were not transferred before the job fail. If data blocks on source
were changed before the automatic retry, Veeam Agent transfers these data blocks as well.

If you edit certain job configuration options before the automatic retry, Veeam Agent may require to transfer all
the data to target again. These options include backup scope, data compression, storage optimization, data
encryption. Keep in mind that if you back up data to the Veeam backup repository and change data encryption
options on the Veeam Backup & Replication side, Veeam Agent transfers all the data to the repository again.

Veeam Agent does not fail the backup job session in case Veeam Agent computer is put into sleep or hibernate
mode during the job session, and the backup job is targeted at one of the following locations:

• Local computer drive

• Network shared folder

28 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

After the computer is turned on and the connection is restored, Veeam Agent operates in the same way as in
case of automatic job retry. Veeam Agent does not transfer all the data again, but continues the job session
from the point where it stopped.

Limitations for Automatic Job Retry

• Veeam Agent continues data transfer after the backup job fail only if you configured a job that creates
volume-level backups.

• Veeam Agent does not perform automatic retry for jobs started manually.

• Veeam Agent does not automatically retry the backup job if the job session is started when the
computer is powered on after missed daily backup.

• Veeam Agent retries a job only if the previous job session has failed. Veeam Agent does not perform a
retry if a job session has finished with the Success or Warning status.

• For portable devices, Veeam Agent does not automatically retry the backup job if a device is working on
battery and the battery level is below 20%.

Scheduling Options in Server Edition

You can schedule the backup job to start automatically at specific time. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
lets you configure the following settings for the job:

• Scheduling settings

• Job retry settings

• Backup window settings

Automatic Startup Schedule

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows lets you configure the following scheduling settings for jobs:

• You can schedule the backup job to run at specific time every day or on selected days

• You can schedule the backup job to run periodically at specific time intervals

• You can schedule the backup job to run continuously

Job Started at Specific Time

You can schedule the backup job to start at specific time daily, on specific week days or monthly on selected
days.

This type of schedule requires that you define the exact time when the job must be started. For example, you
can configure the job to start daily at 10:00 PM or every first Sunday of the month at 12:00 AM.

29 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Job Started at Specific Time Intervals
You can schedule the backup job to start periodically throughout a day at a specific time interval. The time
interval between job sessions can be defined in minutes or hours. For example, you can configure a job to start
every 30 minutes or every 2 hours.

For periodically run jobs, reference time is midnight (12:00 AM). Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows always
starts counting defined intervals from 12:00 AM, and the first job session will start at 12:00 AM. For example, if
you configure a job to run with a 4-hour interval, the job will start at 12:00 AM, 4:00 AM, 8:00 AM, 12:00 PM,
4:00 PM and so on.

If necessary, you can specify an offset for periodically run jobs. The offset is an exact time within an hour when
the job must start. For example, you can configure the job to start with a 4-hour interval and specify offset
equal to 15 minutes. In this case, the job will start at 12.15 AM, 4:15 AM, 8:15 AM, 12:15 PM, 4:15 PM and so on.

If a session of the periodically run job does not fit into the specified time interval and overlaps the next planned
job session, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows starts the next backup job session at the nearest scheduled
interval. For example, you set up the job to run with a 4-hour interval. The first job session starts at 12:00 AM,
takes 5 hours and completes at 5:00 AM. In this case, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will start a new job
session at 8:00 AM.

Job Run Continuously

You can schedule the job to run continuously — that is, in a non-stop manner. A new session of the continuously
running job starts as soon as the previous job session completes. Continuously run job can help you implement
near-continuous data protection (near-CDP) for the most critical applications.

Job Retry
You can instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to retry the backup job several times if the initial job
session fails. By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows automatically retries a failed job for 3 times within
one job session. If necessary, however, you can define a custom number of retries in the job settings.

If a backup job fails and Veeam Agent retries the job session, Veeam Agent does not transfer all the data again.
Instead, Veeam Agent continues data transfer that was started before the backup job fail. To do so, Veeam
Agent compares hash values for data blocks on source and target. After the hash comparison, Veeam Agent also
transfers only those data blocks that were not transferred before the job fail. If data blocks on source were
changed before the retry, Veeam Agent transfers these data blocks as well.

30 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

If you edit certain job configuration options before the retry, Veeam Agent may require to transfer all the data
to target again. These options include backup scope, data compression, storage optimization, data encryption.
Keep in mind that if you back up data to the Veeam backup repository and change data encryption options on
the Veeam Backup & Replication side, Veeam Agent transfers all the data to the repository again.

Veeam Agent does not fail the backup job session in case Veeam Agent computer is put into sleep or hibernate
mode during the job session, and the backup job is targeted at one of the following locations:

• Local computer drive

• Network shared folder

After the computer is turned on and the connection is restored, Veeam Agent operates in the same way as in
case of job retry. Veeam Agent does not transfer all the data again, but continues the job session from the point
where it stopped.

Limitations for Job Retry

• Veeam Agent continues data transfer after the backup job fail only if you configured a job that creates
volume-level backups.

• Veeam Agent does not perform retry for jobs started manually.

• Veeam Agent does not retry the backup job if the job session is started when the computer is powered
on after missed daily backup.

• Veeam Agent retries a job only if the previous job session has failed. Veeam Agent does not perform a
retry if a job session has finished with the Success or Warning status.

• For portable devices, Veeam Agent does not retry the backup job if a device is working on battery and
the battery level is below 20%.

Backup Window
If necessary, you can specify a backup window for the backup job. The backup window is a period of time on
week days when the job is permitted to run.

The backup window can be helpful if you do not want the data protection job to produce unwanted overhead for
the production environment or do not want the job to overlap production hours. In this case, you can define the
time interval during which the job must not run.

If the job exceeds the allowed window, it will be automatically terminated. In this case, data transport and
backup chain transformation processes are stopped.

IMPORTANT

The backup window does not affect the process of uploading backup files from the backup cache to the
target storage. If Veeam Agent creates one or more backup files in the backup cache, and then the backup
target becomes available, Veeam Agent uploads backup files to the target location immediately, regardless
of the specified backup window.

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Backup Window for Periodically Run Job
If you define the backup window for the job that runs periodically at specific time intervals, Veeam Agent will
immediately start the job after the denied window is over. All subsequent backup job sessions will be performed
according to specified scheduling settings.

For example, you have configured the job to run with a 4-hour interval with an offset of 15 minutes. The allowed
backup window for the job is 7:00 PM to 8:00 AM. Veeam Agent will run this job in the following way:

1. The first job session will start at 12:15 AM (since midnight is a reference time for periodically run jobs).

2. The next job session will start at 4:15 AM.

3. The job session at 8:15 AM will not be performed, because it falls into the denied period of the backup
window.

4. The next job session will start immediately after the denied period is over: at 7:15 PM.

5. After that, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will run the job by the defined schedule: at 8:15 PM, 12:15
AM and so on.

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Computer Wake Up from Sleep
If your computer is in the standby mode at the time when the backup job must start, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows automatically wakes your computer from sleep. The wake-up feature lets you schedule your backup at
night. At the defined time, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will wake up the computer and perform a
scheduled task. If necessary, you can additionally instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to bring the
computer back to the standby mode or power off the computer after the backup is finished.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows wakes up the computer by default, unless the power saving settings on the
computer prohibit this. If the wake up operation is not possible for some reason, the computer will remain in the
standby mode, and the backup operation will not be performed. You can instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows to resume missed backup in such situations. To learn more, see Missed Backup Schedule.

IMPORTANT

[For tablets running Microsoft Windows 8.1 or later] If at the moment of backup a computer is in the
Connected Standby power saving mode, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will fail to wake it up due to
limitations set by the OS itself.

33 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Ad-Hoc Backup
You can create ad-hoc backups of your data when you need.

Ad-hoc backups let you capture your data at a specific point in time. You can create ad-hoc backups before you
perform some alterations on your computer: install new software or enable a new feature. Ad-hoc backups help
you protect your computer from potential data corruption or data loss that can be caused by these operations. If
an error occurs, you can always restore data from the ad-hoc backup and bring your computer system to a state
before the alteration was made.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows lets you create the following types of ad-hoc backups:

• Incremental backup

• Standalone full backup

Ad-Hoc Incremental Backup

If you want to create a new backup of your data in addition to backups created with the scheduled backup job,
you can perform ad-hoc incremental backup. Ad-hoc incremental backup adds a new restore point to the backup
chain. For example, you may want to back up your data before you install new software on your computer or
enable a new feature.

For ad-hoc incremental backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses settings specified for the backup job.
For example, if you have configured the backup job to perform backup of a specific volume, the ad-hoc
incremental backup operation will create an incremental backup of this volume and save it in the target location,
next to existing backup files in the backup chain.

Unlike the backup job started upon schedule, the ad-hoc incremental backup task is not retried automatically. If
the task fails for some reason, you will have to start it manually again.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows treats restore points created by ad-hoc incremental backup as regular
restore points, and applies to them retention policy settings specified for the backup job. To learn more, see
Backup Retention Policy.

Standalone Full Backup

Sometimes you need to create a full backup of your data. For example, you may want to save a copy of your
data on a CD or DVD or create a full backup of all data on your computer at some point in time. In these
situations, you can perform standalone full backup.

When Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs standalone full backup, it produces a full backup of your
data in a separate folder in the target location. The standalone full backup is not associated with subsequent
incremental backups. You can use it as an independent restore point for data recovery.

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To create a standalone full backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses settings specified for the backup
job. For example, if you have configured the backup job to perform backup of a specific volume, the standalone
full backup will create a full backup of this volume in a separate folder in the target location.

Unlike the backup job started upon schedule, the standalone full backup task is not retried automatically. If
standalone full backup fails for some reason, you will have to start the standalone full backup task manually
again.

The standalone full backup is not removed by retention. To remove it, you must manually delete the full backup
file from disk.

NOTE

You cannot perform standalone full backup if the backup job is targeted at one of the following locations:

• Veeam backup repository

• Veeam Cloud Connect repository
• Object storage

Standalone Full Backup to Another Location

You can create a standalone full backup in a separate location that is not specified as a target location in the
backup job settings. For example, you may want to save a copy of your data on a removable storage device
while your scheduled backup job is targeted at the network shared folder.

Backup to another location practically does not differ from regular standalone full backup. The only difference is
that you must manually select a target location in which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will save the
backup file. You can save backup files to the following locations:

• Removable storage device

• Local computer drive

• Network shared folder

You cannot use a Veeam backup repository or Veeam Cloud Connect repository as a target for backup to another
location.

35 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

36 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide
Parallel Disk Processing
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports parallel disk processing. If you included several disks of the
Veeam Agent computer in the backup scope, Veeam Agent will process disks simultaneously.

How Parallel Disk Processing Works

During backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates a Microsoft VSS snapshot of the volume whose
data you want to back up as described in How Backup Works. After the VSS snapshot is created, Veeam Agent
transfers data blocks of disks to the target storage simultaneously.

The number of disks that are simultaneously processed by Veeam Agent is limited by repository settings on the
Veeam Backup & Replication side. During the backup job session, Veeam Backup & Replication compares the
number of currently processed disks to the limit specified in the properties of the backup repository. If the
number of currently processed disks is greater than the limit, Veeam Agent will not transfer data of a new disk.
Only after data transfer for at least one of the disks completes, Veeam Agent starts data transfer for the next
disk. To learn more, see the Limitation of Concurrent Tasks section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User
Guide.

You can also limit the number of disks that are processed simultaneously with a registry value. Keep in mind
that if the number of simultaneously processed disks is limited by both repository settings and registry value,
Veeam Agent uses the lower limit. For the registry value, see this Veeam KB article.

If processing of at least one disk fails, the entire backup job session completes with an error.

Limitations for Parallel Disk Processing

• Parallel disk processing is available only in the Server edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

• Veeam Agent offers parallel disk processing for backups that are created in the following types of target
locations:

o Veeam backup repository

o Veeam Cloud Connect repository

• Parallel disk processing is not supported for dynamic disks.

• Parallel disk processing is not performed for file-level backups.

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Backup Chain
Every backup job session produces a new backup file in the target location. Backup files make up a backup chain.
The backup chain can contain files of two types: full backups and incremental backups.

• During the first backup job session, Veeam Agent performs full backup. Veeam Agent copies all data that
you have chosen to back up (entire volumes and folders) and stores the resulting full backup file (VBK) in
the target location. The full backup takes significant time to complete and produces a large backup file:
you have to copy the whole amount of data.

• During subsequent backup job sessions, Veeam Agent performs incremental backups. It copies only new or
changed data relatively to the last backup job session and saves this data as an incremental backup file
(VIB) in the target location. Incremental backups typically take less time than full backup: you have to
copy only changes, not the whole amount of data.

After several backup cycles, you have a chain of backup files in the target location: the first full backup file and
subsequent incremental backup files. Every backup file contains a restore point for backed-up data. A restore
point is a "snapshot" of your data at a specific point in time. You can use restore points to roll back your data to
the necessary state.

To recover data to a specific restore point, you need a chain of backup files: a full backup file plus a set of
incremental backup files following this full backup file. If some file from the backup chain is missing, you will
not be able to roll back to the necessary state. For this reason, we recommend that you do not delete separate
backup files manually. To learn more, see Deleting Backups.

Types of Backup Files

Veeam Agent produces backup files of the following types:

• VBK — full backup file.

• VIB — incremental backup file.

• VBM — backup metadata file. The backup metadata file is updated with every backup job session. It
contains information about the computer on which the backup was created, every restore point in the
backup chain, how restore points are linked to each other and so on. The backup metadata file is required
for performing file-level and volume-level restore operations.

38 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

 NOTE

For backup jobs with database log backup options enabled, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
additionally produces backup files of the following types:

• VLB, VSM and VLM files — for Microsoft SQL Server transaction log backups
• VLB, VOM and VLM files — for Oracle archived log backups

Keep in mind that Veeam Agent creates VLM files only in backup chains started in Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows 5.0 and later. If you upgrade Veeam Agent and continue the backup chain that was
started in the earlier Veeam Agent version, Veeam Agent will not create VLM files in this backup chain.

Short-Term Retention Policy

Restore points in the backup chain are not kept forever. They are removed according to the retention policy. The
short-term retention policy helps maintain the life cycle of restore points and make sure that backup files do not
consume the whole disk space.

Short-term retention policy depends on the edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows:

• In the Free and Workstation editions, Veeam Agent retains restore points for a certain number of days. To
learn more, see Retention Policy in Free and Workstation Editions.

• In the Server edition, you can select the logic behind the short-term retention policy. Veeam Agent can
retain restore points for a certain number of days or retains a certain number of latest restore points that
is defined by the user. To learn more, see Retention Policy in Server Edition.

You can also specify the retention policy for outdated backups — backups for which Veeam Agent does not
create new restore points within a specified time period. To learn more, see Retention Policy for Outdated
Backups.

Retention Policy in Free and Workstation Editions

In the Free and Workstation editions, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows retains restore points for the last N
days; the number of days is defined by the user. During every backup job session, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows checks if there is any obsolete restore point in the backup chain. If some restore point is obsolete, it is
removed from the chain.

For retention policy settings, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows takes into account not calendar days but days
on which backup files were successfully created.

For example, you have configured the backup job in the following way:

• The backup job runs daily.

• The retention policy is set to 5 days.

The backup job has successfully run 3 times and created 3 restore points in the backup chain. After that, you
have turned off your computer for 10 days. When you turn on your computer, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows runs a backup job by schedule and creates a new restore point. The earliest restore point, however, is
not removed from the backup chain. At the end of a new backup job session, the backup chain will have only 4
restore points created during 4 days when the backup job was successfully run.

39 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Removing Backups by Retention
When removing obsolete restore points, Veeam Agent does not just delete backup files from disk. It transforms
the backup chain so that the backup chain always contains a full backup file on which subsequent incremental
backup files are dependent. To maintain the consistency of the backup chain, Veeam Agent uses the following
rotation scheme:

1. During every backup job session Veeam Agent adds a backup file to the backup chain and checks if there is
an obsolete restore point.

2. If an obsolete restore point exists, Veeam Agent transforms the backup chain. As part of this process, it
performs the following operations:

a. Veeam Agent re-builds the full backup file to include in it data of the incremental backup file that
follows the full backup file. To do this, Veeam Agent injects into the full backup file data blocks from
the earliest incremental backup file in the chain. This way, a full backup ‘moves’ forward in the backup
chain.

b. The earliest incremental backup file is removed from the chain as redundant: its data has already been
injected into the full backup file, and the full backup file includes data of this incremental backup file.

If the backup chain contains several obsolete restore points, the rebuild procedure is similar. Data from
several restore points is injected to the re-built full backup file. This way, Veeam Agent makes sure that
the backup chain is not broken, and you will be able to recover your data to any restore point.

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Retention Policy in Server Edition
In the Server edition, you can select the logic behind the short-term retention policy. Veeam Agent offers the
following options:

• Veeam Agent retains restore points for the last N days; the number of days is defined by the user. In this
case, Veeam Agent works in a similar way as in the Free or Workstation editions. To learn more, see
Retention Policy in Free and Workstation Editions.

• Veeam Agent retains the number of latest restore points defined by the user.

During every backup job session, Veeam Agent checks if there is any obsolete restore point in the backup chain.
If some restore point is obsolete, it is removed from the chain.

Removing Backups by Retention

When removing obsolete restore points, Veeam Agent does not just delete backup files from disk. It transforms
the backup chain so that the backup chain always contains a full backup file on which subsequent incremental
backup files are dependent. To maintain the consistency of the backup chain, Veeam Agent uses the following
rotation scheme:

1. During every backup job session Veeam Agent adds a backup file to the backup chain and checks if there is
an obsolete restore point.

2. If an obsolete restore point exists, Veeam Agent transforms the backup chain. As part of this process, it
performs the following operations:

a. Veeam Agent re-builds the full backup file to include in it data of the incremental backup file that
follows the full backup file. To do this, Veeam Agent injects into the full backup file data blocks from
the earliest incremental backup file in the chain. This way, a full backup ‘moves’ forward in the backup
chain.

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 b. The earliest incremental backup file is removed from the chain as redundant: its data has already been
injected into the full backup file, and the full backup file includes data of this incremental backup file.

If the backup chain contains several obsolete restore points, the rebuild procedure is similar. Data from
several restore points is injected to the re-built full backup file. This way, Veeam Agent makes sure that
the backup chain is not broken, and you will be able to recover your data to any restore point.

Retention Policy for Outdated Backups

In addition to specifying general retention policy settings, you can define retention policy for outdated backups.
An outdated backup is a backup for which no new restore points were created within the last N days. Retention
policy for outdated backups helps to avoid keeping redundant data in the target location: once the outdated
backup retention period is over, an outdated backup is automatically removed from the target location.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows offers retention policy for outdated backups that are created in the
following types of target locations:

• Veeam backup repository

• Veeam Cloud Connect repository

To specify retention policy for outdated backups, you must enable the Remove deleted items data after <N>
days option in backup job settings and specify the number of days for which data of outdated backups must be
retained in the backup repository. By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows retains outdated backups for
30 days. You can change the number of days to retain outdated backups if necessary.

Consider the following:

• You must use retention policy for outdated backups wisely. We strongly recommend that you set
retention policy for outdated backups to 7 days or more to prevent unwanted data loss.

• The Remove deleted items after <N> days option lets you control data of backups for which Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows does not produce new restore points for some time. In addition to it, Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows applies general retention policy rules to maintain the necessary number of restore
points in the backup chain. To learn more, see Backup Retention Policy.

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How Retention Policy for Outdated Backups Works
Although you specify retention policy settings for outdated backups in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows,
actions required to track and delete outdated Veeam Agent backups are taken on the Veeam Backup &
Replication side.

To perform necessary actions, Veeam Backup & Replication uses the Veeam Agent backup retention job that
runs on the backup server. The Veeam Agent backup retention job runs upon schedule, at 12:30 AM daily.

NOTE

You can change the schedule for the Veeam Agent backup retention job with registry values. For more
information, contact Veeam Customer Support.

During the Veeam Agent backup retention job session, Veeam Backup & Replication performs the following
operations:

1. Veeam Backup & Replication checks the configuration database to detect Veeam Agent backups that
reside in the backup repository.

2. For each Veeam Agent backup, Veeam Backup & Replication checks whether the following conditions are
met:

a. The configuration database contains information about the backup job that created the Veeam Agent
backup.
The configuration database does not contain information about the backup job that created the
backup in the following cases:

▪ The backup job that created the backup was removed in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

▪ The Veeam Agent backup was imported in the Veeam Backup & Replication console.

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 ▪ The Veeam Agent backup is a standalone full backup.
If the configuration database does not contain information about the backup job that created the
backup, Veeam Backup & Replication does not remove such a backup from the backup repository.

b. The Remove deleted items after <N> days option is enabled in the backup job settings. If the option is
enabled, Veeam Backup & Replication checks whether the following conditions are met:

▪ No new restore points were created by the backup job for the last N days.

▪ No new backup job sessions were detected by Veeam Backup & Replication for the last N days.

▪ [For backup jobs with database log backup enabled] No database log copies (Microsoft SQL
Server transaction log or Oracle archive log copies) were created by the database log backup job
for the last N days.
Where N is the number of days specified for the Remove deleted items data after <N> days
option.

3. If all the conditions listed in the step 2 are met, Veeam Backup & Replication removes the Veeam Agent
backup from the configuration database and deletes actual backup files from the backup repository.

Long-Term Retention Policy (GFS)

The long-term or Grandfather-Father-Son (GFS) retention policy allows you to store backup files for long
periods of time — for weeks, months and even years. For this purpose, Veeam Agent does not create any special
new backup files — it uses backup files created while backup job runs and marks these backups with specific GFS
flags.

To mark a backup file for long-term retention, Veeam Agent can assign to the file the following types of GFS
flags: weekly (W), monthly (M) and yearly (Y). The types of GFS flags that Veeam Agent assigns depend on the
configured GFS retention policy settings.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• GFS flags can be assigned only to full backup files created during the time period specified in GFS
policy settings.
• If you store your backups in object storage, and you do not configure Veeam Agent to perform
active full backups periodically, Veeam Agent creates a full backup based on the last incremental
backup and assigns a GFS flag to this full backup. If some data blocks required to create the full
backup reside in the object storage, the full backup will contain links that point at such data blocks.
Veeam Agent does not retrieve actual data blocks from the object storage to avoid extra costs.

If Veeam Agent assigns a GFS flag to a full backup file, this backup file can no longer be deleted or modified.
Veeam Agent does not apply short-term retention policy settings to the full backup file. For example, Veeam
Agent ignores the backup file when determining whether the number of allowed backup files is exceeded.

When the specified retention period ends, Veeam Agent unassigns the GFS flag from the full backup file. If the
backup file does not have any other GFS flags assigned, it can be modified and deleted according to the short-
term retention policy.

Veeam Agent assigns GFS flags in the similar way as Veeam Backup & Replication does for VM backup files. To
learn about logic behind GFS flags, see the Assignment of GFS Flags and Removal of GFS Flags sections in the
Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

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Limitations
When planning to use GFS retention policy, consider the following limitations:

• [Applicable to all backup targets except object storage] While applying the GFS retention policy, Veeam
Agent does not create new full backup files. You must configure your backup jobs in a way you do not lose
any essential data due to an insufficient number of full backup files. For example, if you configure monthly
GFS retention, you need at least one full backup file per month.

• If a GFS flag is assigned to a full backup file in an active backup chain, the following applies:

o Veeam Agent cannot transform the backup chain according to the short-term retention policy.

o Veeam Agent is not able to merge data from incremental backup files into the full backup file.

• Veeam Agent assigns GFS flags only after you save GFS retention policy settings. This means that GFS
flags are assigned only to those backup files created after the configuration, while backup files created
earlier are not affected and previously assigned flags are not modified.

• You cannot store full backups to which GFS flags are assigned in backup repositories with rotated drives.

• Retention policy for deleted items does not apply to full backup files to which GFS flags are assigned.

Active Full Backup

In some cases, you need to regularly create a full backup. For example, your corporate backup job may require
that you create a full backup on weekend and run incremental backup on work days. To let you conform to these
requirements, Veeam Agent lets you create active full backups.

When Veeam Agent performs active full backup, it produces a full backup file and adds this file to the backup
chain.

The active full backup resets the backup chain. All incremental backup files use the latest active full backup file
as a new starting point. A previously used full backup file and its subsequent incremental backup files remain on
the disk. After the last incremental backup file created prior to the active full backup becomes outdated, Veeam
Agent automatically deletes the previous backup chain. To learn more, see Retention Job for Active Full
Backups.

You can create active full backups manually or schedule a backup job to create active full backups periodically.

• To create an active full backup manually, use the Active full backup command from the Veeam Agent Tray
menu. To learn more, see Creating Active Full Backups.

• To schedule active full backups, specify scheduling settings in the Advanced Settings window of the New
Backup Job wizard. You can schedule active full backups to run weekly, for example, every Saturday, or
monthly, for example, every first Thursday of a month.

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Retention Job for Active Full Backups
To be able to restore data from a Veeam Agent backup, you need to have a full backup file and a chain of
subsequent incremental backup files on the disk. If you delete a full backup file, the whole chain of incremental
backup files will become useless. In a similar manner, if you delete any incremental backup file before the point
to which you want to roll back, you won’t be able to restore data (since later incremental backup files depend on
earlier incremental backup files).

For this reason, if you create an active full backup, in some days there will be more restore points on the disk
than specified by retention job settings. Veeam Agent will remove the full backup chain only after the last
incremental backup file in the chain becomes outdated.

For example, the retention job is set to 3 restore points. A full backup file is created on Sunday, incremental
backup files are created on Monday and Tuesday, and an active full backup is created on Wednesday. Although
the backup chain now contains 4 restore points, Veeam Agent will not delete the previous backup chain. Veeam
Agent will wait for the next 2 incremental backup files to be created, and only then will delete the whole
previous chain, which will happen on Friday. As a result, although the retention job is set to 3 restore points, the
actual number of backup files on the disk will be greater for some time.

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Veeam Agent treats the active full backup in the same way as a regular full backup. If some restore point
becomes obsolete, Veeam Agent will re-build the full backup file to include in it data of the incremental backup
file that follows the full backup file. After that, Veeam Agent will remove the earliest incremental backup file
from the chain as redundant.

Synthetic Full Backup

In some situations, running active full backups periodically may not be an option. Active full backups are
resource-intensive and consume considerable amount of network bandwidth. As an alternative, you can create
synthetic full backups.

NOTE
Consider the following:
• Synthetic full backup is available only in the Workstation and Server editions of Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows.
• Synthetic full backup is not available for backup jobs targeted at object storage.

In terms of data, the synthetic full backup is identical to a regular full backup. Synthetic full backup produces a
VBK file that contains all data that you have chosen to back up. The difference between active and synthetic full
backup lies in the way how backed-up data is retrieved:

• When you perform active full backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows reads backed-up data,
compresses it and copies it to the target location.

• When you perform synthetic full backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not retrieve all
backed-up data from the Veeam Agent computer. Instead, it creates a new incremental backup and then
synthesizes a full backup from data you already have on the target location. Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows accesses the previous full backup file and a chain of subsequent incremental backup files in the
backup chain including a new incremental backup, consolidates data from these files and writes
consolidated data into a new full backup file. As a result, the created synthetic full backup file contains
the same data as an active full backup.

The synthetic full backup has a number of advantages:

• The synthetic full backup does not use network resources: it is created from backup files you already have
on the target location.

• The synthetic full backup produces less load on the production environment: it is synthesized right on the
target location.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows treats synthetic full backups as regular full backups. As well as any other
full backup file, the synthetic full backup file resets the backup chain. All subsequent incremental backup files
use the synthetic full backup file as a new starting point.

A previously used full backup file and its subsequent incremental backup files remain on the disk. After the last
incremental backup file created prior to the synthetic full backup becomes outdated, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows automatically deletes the previous backup chain. To learn more, see Retention Policy for Synthetic Full
Backups.

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To create synthetic full backups, you must enable the Create synthetic full backups periodically option and
schedule creation of synthetic full backups on specific days in the backup job settings.

Retention Policy for Synthetic Full Backups

To be able to restore data from a Veeam Agent backup, you need to have a full backup file and a chain of
subsequent incremental backup files on the disk. If you delete a full backup file, the whole chain of incremental
backup files will become useless. In a similar manner, if you delete any incremental backup file before the point
to which you want to roll back, you will not be able to restore data (since later incremental backup files depend
on earlier incremental backup files).

For this reason, if you set up the backup job to create synthetic full backups, in some days there will be more
restore points on the disk than specified by retention policy settings. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will
remove the full backup chain only after the last incremental backup file in the chain becomes outdated.

For example, the retention policy is set to 3 restore points. A full backup file is created on Sunday, incremental
backup files are created Monday through Saturday, and synthetic full backup is scheduled on Thursday.
Although the retention policy is already breached on Wednesday, the full backup is not deleted. Without the full
backup, backup chain is useless, leaving you without any restore point at all. Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will wait for the next full backup file and 2 incremental backup files to be created, and only then will
delete the whole previous chain, which will happen on Saturday.

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Keep in mind that if the backup job is set up to create synthetic full backups, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will never transform the backup chain. Instead, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will always wait
for the next full backup file and the necessary number of incremental backup files to be created, and only then
will delete the whole previous chain. In the example above, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will delete the
previous chain every Saturday. As a result, although the retention policy is set to 3 restore points, the actual
number of backup files on the disk will be greater most of the time.

How Synthetic Full Backup Works

To create a synthetic full backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs the following steps:

1. On a day when synthetic full backup is scheduled, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows triggers a new
backup job session. During this session, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows first performs incremental
backup in a regular manner and adds a new incremental backup file to the backup chain. Incremental
backup helps Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows ensure that the synthetic full backup includes the
latest changes of the backed-up data.

2. At the end of the backup job session, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows builds a new synthetic full
backup using backup files that are already available in the backup chain, including the newly created
incremental backup file.

3. When the synthetic full backup is created, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows deletes the incremental
backup file created at the beginning of the job session. As a result, you have a backup chain that consists
of a full backup file, set of incremental backup files and synthetic full backup file.

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 4. Every next job session creates a new incremental restore point starting from the synthetic full backup
until the day on which synthetic full backup is scheduled. On this day, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows creates a new synthetic full backup.

Compact of Full Backup File

If you do not create periodic full backups, the backup job constantly transforms the full backup file in the
backup chain to meet retention policy settings. The transformation process, however, has a side effect. In the
long run, the full backup file grows large and gets badly fragmented. The file data occurs to be written to non-
contiguous clusters on disk, and operations of reading and writing data from and to the backup file slow down.

To resolve the fragmentation problem, you can instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to compact the full
backup file periodically. During the file compact operation, Veeam Agent creates a new empty file and copies to
this file data blocks from the original full backup file. As a result, the full backup file gets defragmented and the
speed of reading and writing from and to the file increases.

To compact the full backup file periodically, you must enable the Defragment and compact full backup file
option in the backup job settings and define the compact operation schedule. By default, the compact operation
is performed on the last Saturday of every month. You can change the compact operation schedule and instruct
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to perform it weekly or monthly on specific days.

Limitations for Full Backup File Compact

The full backup file compact has the following limitations:

• The Defragment and compact full backup file option can be enabled only for backup jobs for which active
full and synthetic full backups are not scheduled.

• The Defragment and compact full backup file option is not available for backup jobs targeted at an object
storage.

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 • The compact full backup file operation is not performed during backup job sessions that produce active
full backups. If the backup job starts again on the same day when the active full backup was created,
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not perform the compact full backup operation. This limitation
helps reduce the number of backup operations — Veeam Agent considers that the full backup is recent and
does not need to be rebuilt.
If such situation occurs, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows triggers the full backup file compact
operation during the next backup job session that produces an incremental backup file on another day.

• The target location must have enough space to store a file of the full backup size. During the compact
process, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates auxiliary files that exist in the target location until
the end of the compact operation.

• If you change the block size in backup job settings, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not change
the block size in the compacted backup file till the next full backup. However, if you change compression
settings in backup job settings, during the next compact file operation Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows changes the compression level for the compacted backup file.

• The file compact operation is not performed during a backup job session that creates a restore point in the
backup cache.

• The file compact operation is not performed during the backup cache synchronization process.

Removal of Deleted Drives Data

During the compact operation, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not copy all data blocks from the VBK
file to the newly created file. It copies only data blocks of Veeam Agent computer drives whose information is
stored in the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows database. For example, if a drive was removed from the
Veeam Agent computer, its data is not copied to the new full backup file. This approach helps reduce the size of
the full backup file and remove unnecessary data from it.

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Backup to Object Storage
If you want to store your data in a cloud-based or on-premises object storage, you can create backup jobs
targeted at the object storage or another storage that uses object storage as a back end.

You can store Veeam Agent backups in the following object storage types:

• S3 compatible (including Wasabi Cloud and IBM Cloud)

• Amazon S3

• Google Cloud

• Microsoft Azure Blob

Depending on your backup infrastructure, object storage can be available in different configurations. To learn
more, see the following subsections:

• Backup destinations

• Connection types

Backup Destinations
You can back up Veeam Agent computer data to an object storage in the following ways:

• Directly to object storage. In this case, Veeam Agent connects to the object storage and creates a backup
repository in this storage.
Keep in mind that to connect to object storage, you need to specify an account with access permissions to
read and write data.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not support direct backup to the Microsoft Azure
Blob Storage under the general-purpose V1 storage account type.
• You can store backups only in those S3 compatible storage repositories that are accessible
over the HTTPs protocol.
To learn more, see Object Storage Settings.

• To object storage added as a Veeam backup repository. In this case, an object storage repository is created
in Veeam Backup & Replication. Veeam Agent connects to Veeam Backup & Replication and uses this
Veeam backup repository.
To learn more, see Veeam Backup Repository Settings.

• To object storage added as a Veeam Cloud Connect repository. In this case, a Veeam Cloud Connect service
provider creates an object storage repository in Veeam Backup & Replication and exposes it as a cloud
repository to tenants. Veeam Agent connects to the service provider and uses the Veeam Cloud Connect
repository.
To learn more, see Veeam Cloud Connect Repository Settings.

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Connection Types
If you back up data to object storage added as a Veeam backup repository or Veeam Cloud Connect repository,
you must configure a repository beforehand on the Veeam Backup & Replication side. Depending on the
repository configuration, Veeam Backup & Replication provides one of the following connection types to the
repository in the object storage:

• Connection through a gateway server. With this connection type, Veeam Agent connects to the repository
using a proxy component — a gateway server that is assigned in the Veeam Backup & Replication console.
The backup data is transferred from the Veeam Agent computer to the gateway server, then it is
transferred from the gateway server to the repository.

• Direct connection. With this connection type, Veeam Agent connects directly to the repository. The
backup data is transferred from the Veeam Agent computer to the repository without proxy components.
The access to this repository is managed by Application Programming Interface (API) that is provided by
an external cloud service provider.

IMPORTANT

If you want to back up your data directly to the S3 compatible storage, you must additionally specify
access permissions settings for the storage. For direct access, enable the Agents share credentials to
object storage repository or the Provided by IAM/STS object storage capabilities access control
option. For more information, see Managing Permissions for S3 Compatible Object Storage.

Backup Immutability
If you store your backup files in an object storage repository, Veeam Agent allows you to protect backup data
from deletion or modification by making that data temporarily immutable. It is done for increased security:
immutability protects data in your recent backups from loss as a result of attacks, malware activity or any other
injurious actions.

IMPORTANT

Backup immutability uses native object storage capabilities. You may incur additional API and storage
charges from the storage provider.

Supported Object Storage Types

Veeam Agent supports backup immutability for the following object storage types:

• Amazon S3 storage.

• S3 compatible storage that supports S3 Object Lock (including Wasabi).

• Microsoft Azure Blob storage.

NOTE

Veeam Agent does not support backup immutability for the Google Cloud storage.

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Before You Begin
Before you configure immutability for Veeam Agent backups, you must prepare the target storage account.
Depending on the selected object storage type, perform the following actions:

• [S3 Compatible and Amazon S3 storage] When you create the S3 bucket, you must enable versioning and
the S3 Object Lock feature for the bucket. For more information, see AWS documentation.

• [S3 Compatible and Amazon S3 storage] After you create the S3 bucket with Object Lock enabled, make
sure that the default retention is disabled to avoid unpredictable system behavior and data loss. To
disable the default retention, edit the Object Lock retention settings as described in AWS documentation.

• [Microsoft Azure Blob storage] You must enable blob versioning and version-level immutability support in
the storage account. For more information, see Microsoft Azure documentation.

Consider the following about backup immutability:

• The effective immutability period consists of the user-defined immutability period and the block
generation period automatically appended by Veeam Agent. For more information, see How Backup
Immutability Works and Block Generation.

• [S3 Compatible and Amazon S3 storage] Veeam Agent will use the compliance retention mode for each
uploaded object. For more information on retention modes of S3 Object Lock, see AWS documentation.

Configuring Backup Immutability

Depending on how you create the backup job and configure connection to an object storage repository, you can
define backup immutability settings in one of the following ways:

• If you create the backup job with the Backup Job wizard and configure it to back up data directly to an
object storage repository, you must specify the immutability period in the bucket properties of the backup
job settings. For details, see Object Storage Settings.

• If you create the backup job that is targeted at an object storage repository configured as a Veeam backup
repository or Veeam Cloud Connect repository, the immutability period in the settings of the repository
must be specified in Veeam Backup & Replication. For details, see Adding Object Storage Repositories in
Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

Backup Immutability and Retention Policy

Backup immutability operates with backup data and related metadata (checkpoints) on the object storage side.
Retention policy operates with logical representation of the stored data, or restore points, on the Veeam Agent
side. These two mechanisms act independently from each other.

Veeam Agent will remove the irrelevant restore points per the defined backup retention policy. If the data
associated with the removed restore point is still immutable, such data will remain in the repository until
expiration of the immutability period. After that it will be automatically removed from the storage.

Limitation of Backup Immutability

If you use Veeam Agent in the standalone mode, you can restore the immutable data that is associated with a
restore point removed by retention policy only in Veeam Backup & Replication console. In Veeam Backup &
Replication, you must perform the following actions:

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 • Add the object storage repository that contains the necessary data to Veeam Backup & Replication. For
details, see Adding Object Storage Repositories in Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

• Roll back to the necessary checkpoint. For details, see Immutability in Veeam Backup & Replication
PowerShell Reference.

• Remove the repository from the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure. For details, see Removing
Backup Repositories in Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

After that, you will be able to use Veeam Agent to restore data from the object repository in a regular manner.

How Backup Immutability Works

After you specify the immutability period for a backup and run the backup job for the first time, Veeam Agent
will append an additional period of 10 days to the specified immutability period. This additional period of 10
days is called block generation. The resulting effective immutability period is the sum of the user-defined
immutability period and the block generation period. All data blocks transferred to the target repository within
the block generation period will have the same immutability expiration date. For example, data block a added
on day 1 of the block generation period will have the same immutability expiration date as block b added on day
9. For more information, see Block Generation.

During the effective immutability period, the following operations with backup data in the object storage
repository will be prohibited:

• Manual removal of data from the backup repository.

• Removal of data by backup retention policy.

• Removal of data using any object storage provider tools.

• Removal of data by the technical support department of the object storage provider.

Extension of Effective Immutability Period

During each transfer of data to the object storage repository, Veeam Agent creates a new checkpoint file with
metadata that describes the latest state of the backup in the storage. The immutable blocks of data from a
previous checkpoint may be reused in the newly created checkpoint. Veeam Agent keeps reused, or dependent,
blocks of data locked by continuously assigning them to new generations and extending their effective
immutability period. This guarantees that the effective immutability period is no less than the immutability
period defined by user.

During data transfer, the effective immutability period for the backup is set as follows:

• [For new data blocks in the checkpoint] Immutability is set anew. The user-defined immutability period is
appended with a 10-day block generation period.

• [For data blocks reused from the previous checkpoint] Immutability is extended to the immutability
expiration date set for the new blocks.

• [For data blocks that are not reused in the checkpoint] Immutability is not extended. Such data blocks will
remain in the repository until their immutability period is over. After that Veeam Agent will automatically
remove them from the repository.

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Block Generation
When you specify an immutability period for the recent backups, Veeam Agent will automatically add 10 days to
the immutability expiration date. This period is called block generation. The block generation period serves to
reduce the number of requests to the object storage repository, which results in lower traffic and reduced
storage costs. You do not have to configure it, the block generation period is applied automatically.

When the block generation period is appended to the user-defined immutability period, it means there is no
need to extend the immutability period for old data blocks when adding new data blocks to the backup during
that block generation period.

Consider this example. When you create a full backup to start a backup chain, all data blocks transferred to the
object storage repository are new. For these new blocks of data, Veeam Agent will add the block generation
period of 10 days to the specified immutability period. If the immutability period is set by user to the default
period of 30 days, the effective immutability period with the added block generation period will become 40
days. The first full backup starts its generation that will last for 10 days. All new and reused data blocks within
this block generation period will have the same immutability expiration date. For instance, a data block that was
transferred to the target repository on day 9 will have the same immutability expiration date as a data block
transferred on day 1. This mechanism guarantees that the effective immutability period for all the data blocks
within a generation is no less than 30 days.

If a block generation period is over but data blocks from that generation are reused in the newly created
checkpoint, their effective immutability period is automatically extended to ensure that the effective
immutability period for all the data blocks in the new checkpoint is no less than the user-defined immutability
period. For more information, see How Backup Immutability Works.

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Health Check for Backup Files
You can instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to periodically perform the health check for your backups.

Veeam Agent offers two different health check mechanisms:

• In the first case, Veeam Agent performs a CRC check for metadata and a hash check for data blocks in the
backup file to verify their integrity. The health check verifies the latest restore point in the backup chain to
make sure that the restore point is consistent, and you will be able to restore data from this restore point.
To learn more, see Standard Health Check.

• In the second case, Veeam Agent does not perform a hash check for data blocks, but verifies metadata for
the whole backup, not just the latest restore point. This mechanism uses less traffic than the standard
health check as it does not read data from data blocks. This type of health check is intended and is the
default option for object storage targets. To learn more, see Health Check for Object Storage.

Health Check Schedule

To run the health check periodically, enable the Perform backup files health check option in the backup job
settings and define the health check schedule. By default, the health check is performed on the last Friday of
every month. You can change the schedule and run the health check weekly or monthly on specific days.

When you configure the health check schedule, consider the following:

• The health check runs automatically during the first incremental backup job session on the days specified
in the health check schedule. If the backup job runs several times on a specified day, the health check is
performed only with the first run of the backup job on that day. For example, if the job is scheduled to run
several times on Saturday, and the health check is scheduled on Saturday, the health check will only be
performed during the first backup job session on Saturday.
The health check is not performed during the first full backup or subsequent active full backup job
sessions.

• If Veeam Agent does not run any backup jobs on the day specified in the health check schedule, the health
check will be performed during the first backup job session following that day.
For example, you scheduled to run the health check every last day of a month, while the backup job is
scheduled to run every day and create an active full backup on Sundays. If the last day of a month falls on
a Sunday, the health check will be preformed on the following Monday with the first incremental backup
job session on that day.

Limitations for Health Check

• The health check is not performed during an active full backup job session started manually or
automatically by schedule.

• The health check is not performed during a backup job session that creates a restore point in the backup
cache.

• The health check is not performed during the backup cache synchronization process.

Health Check Retries

The health check itself is started during the backup job session or the job retry session if the backup job session
has failed. If the attempts are not successful, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will perform the health check
during the last job retry in any case.

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If the health check detects corrupted data, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows completes the backup job with
the Error status and starts the health check retry process. The health check retry starts as a separate backup job
session. During the health check retry, Veeam Agent attempts to transport data blocks for the corrupted restore
point from the Veeam Agent computer to the target location.

For a backup job started automatically upon schedule, the number of health check retries is equal to the number
of job retries specified in the job settings. For a job started manually, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
performs 1 health check retry.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• If Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows fails to fix the corrupted data during all health check retries,
you must retry the job manually. In this case, Veeam Agent will transport the necessary data blocks
from the Veeam Agent computer to fix the corrupted restore point.
• If you try to restore data from a corrupted restore point, Veeam Agent will display a warning
message informing you that the restore operation may fail or the restored data may be corrupted.

Standard Health Check

During the standard health check, Veeam Agent performs a CRC check for metadata and a hash check for data
blocks in the backup file to verify their integrity. The health check helps make sure that the restore point is
consistent, and you will be able to restore data from this restore point.

You can use the standard health check for all backup targets.

NOTE

Keep in mind that for the object storage targets, Veeam Agent offers another health check mechanism as
default. To learn more, see Health Check for Object Storage.

To run the standard health check periodically, enable the Perform backup files health check option in the
backup job settings and define the health check schedule.

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How Standard Health Check Works
When Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows saves a new restore point to the backup location, it calculates CRC
values for backup metadata and hash values for data blocks in the backup file, and saves these values in the
metadata of the backup file, together with the backed-up data. During the health check session, Veeam Agent
uses these values to make sure that a verified restore point is consistent.

NOTE

If the backup job is targeted at a Veeam backup repository or cloud repository, and you perform the health
check for the encrypted backup files, Veeam Backup & Replication will pass encryption keys to the Veeam
backup repository or cloud repository. For more information on encryption, see Data Encryption.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs the health check in the following way:

1. During the backup job session, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates a new restore point in the
backup chain.

2. At the end of the backup job session, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs the health check. It
calculates CRC values for backup metadata and hash values for data blocks in the backup file and
compares them with the CRC and hash values that are already stored in the backup file.
During the health check, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows verifies the latest restore point in the
backup chain (restore point created with the current backup job session — the session during which the
health check is performed). If the latest restore point in the backup chain is incomplete (for example, if
the current backup job session completed with an error), Veeam Agent checks the restore point preceding
the latest one.
If the health check does not detect data corruption, the backup job session completes in a regular way.

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 3. If the health check detects corrupted data, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows completes the backup job
with the Error status and starts the health check retry process. The health check retry starts as a separate
backup job session.
Depending on the revealed data corruption, Veeam Agent performs the following actions:

o If the health check detects corrupted backup metadata in the full backup file, Veeam Agent marks the
backup chain starting from this full restore point as corrupted in the Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows database. During the health check retry, Veeam Agent transports the entire data selected
for backup from the Veeam Agent Computer, creates a new full backup file in the target location and
saves transported data blocks to this backup file.

o If the health check detects corrupted backup metadata in the incremental backup file, Veeam Agent
removes information about this incremental restore point and subsequent incremental restore points
from the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows database. During the health check retry, Veeam Agent
transports incremental data relatively to the latest valid restore point in the backup chain from the
Veeam Agent computer, creates a new incremental backup file in the target location and saves
transported data blocks to this backup file.

o If the health check detects corrupted data blocks in the full or incremental backup file, Veeam Agent
marks the restore point that includes the corrupted data blocks and subsequent incremental restore
points as corrupted in the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows database. During the health check
retry, Veeam Agent transports data blocks from the Veeam Agent computer. In addition, Veeam
Agent transports data blocks that have changed since the backup job session that has triggered the
health check. Veeam Agent stores these data blocks to the latest restore point that has been created
with the current backup job session (session that has triggered the health check retry).
You can view the health check result in the restore point statistics. If the health check finds corrupted
data, it will display information on where corrupt data has been detected — in metadata or blockstore, as
well as list all restore points that share the corrupted data blocks.

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Health Check for Object Storage
For backup jobs targeted at object storage, Veeam Agent offers a special health check mechanism that differs
from the standard health check in the following ways:

• The health check for object storage verifies metadata for the whole backup, not just the latest restore
point.

• The health check for object storage does not read data from data blocks; it only lists data blocks to make
sure all blocks in the storage are available for rebuilding every restore point in the backup chain.

The health check for object storage works faster than the standard health check and helps save traffic.

NOTE

The health check mechanism described in this section is only available for object storage targets.

To run the special health check for object storage periodically, select the Perform backup files health check
check box in the backup job settings and define the health check schedule. Make sure that the Verify content of
each object in backup check box is not selected.

If necessary, you can enable the standard health check mechanism for object storage targets. To do so, select
the Verify content of each object in backup check box in the backup job settings. Keep in mind that enabling this
setting may result in additional charges from your object storage provider.

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How Health Check for Object Storage Works
Veeam Agent performs the health check of a backup in the following way:

1. During the backup job session after a new incremental backup file is created, Veeam Agent starts the
health check of the whole backup. Veeam Agent checks if the metadata of the backup is consistent and no
metadata is missing. Veeam Agent also checks if all data blocks for every restore point are available in the
storage. Veeam Agent does not read data from data blocks.

2. If Veeam Agent does not find any corrupted data, the health check completes successfully.
If Veeam Agent detects corrupted data, the health check completes with an error. Depending on the
detected data inconsistency, Veeam Agent behaves in one of the following ways:

o If the health check detects corrupted metadata, Veeam Agent marks the backup as corrupted in the
Veeam Agent configuration database; the backup job session fails. During the next scheduled or
manual backup job session, Veeam Agent will create a full backup and will start a new backup chain.
The corrupted backup will become orphaned and will remain in the repository — you can keep or
delete it.

o If the health check detects corrupted data blocks in the latest restore point in the backup chain,
Veeam Agent launches the health check retry.
During the health check retry, Veeam Agent restarts the backup job to create a new restore point and
transports data blocks from the Veeam Agent computer including the blocks that contain corrupted
data and the blocks that have changed since the backup job session that has triggered the health
check. Veeam Agent will not perform another health check after the job retry is finished; the next
health check will run according to the defined schedule during another incremental backup job
session.

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 • If the health check detects corrupted data blocks in an inactive backup chain, Veeam Agent does not
launch the health check retry. Veeam Agent marks the backup and all related restore points as
corrupted. The backup job session ends with a warning message.
You can view the health check result in the restore point statistics. If the health check finds corrupted
data, it will display information on where corrupt data has been detected — in metadata or blockstore, as
well as list all restore points that share the corrupted data blocks.

NOTE

Consider the following:

In case of immutable backups, Veeam Agent performs the health check only for valid restore points
according to the retention policy. Immutable data associated with removed restore points can still remain
in the repository depending on the immutability period, but Veeam Agent will not perform the health
check for such data.

For information about backup immutability settings, see Backup Immutability.

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Changed Block Tracking
To perform incremental backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows needs to know what data blocks have
changed since the previous job session. To get the list of changed data blocks, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows uses the changed block tracking mechanism, or CBT. CBT increases the speed and efficiency of
incremental backups.

To keep track of changed data blocks, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows can use the following mechanisms:

• Default CBT mechanism — this mechanism is enabled by default in all installations of Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows. To learn more, see Default Changed Block Tracking Mechanism.

• Veeam CBT driver — this driver helps Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows keep track of changed data
blocks in a more efficient way. This functionality is available if the Veeam Agent computer meets a list of
requirements. To learn more, see Veeam Changed Block Tracking Driver.

Default Changed Block Tracking Mechanism

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs the changed block tracking differently depending on the backup
type:

• CBT for volume-level backup

• CBT for file-level backup

CBT for Volume-Level Backup

In case of the volume-level backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs changed block tracking in
the following way:

1. During the full backup job session, Veeam Agent reads the Master File Table (MFT) of the backed-up
volume. Veeam Agent uses MFT records to create digests with file system metadata, transfers the created
digests to the target location and stores them to the resulting backup file.

2. During subsequent incremental job sessions, Veeam Agent performs the following operations:

a. Reads the Master File Table (MFT) of the backed-up volume and creates the new digests with file
system metadata.

b. Interacts with the target backup location to obtain digests from the backup file that was created
during the previous job session.

c. Compares new and previous digests to detect files whose data blocks have changed on the volume
since the previous job session.
During incremental backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows reads from the VSS snapshot only
data blocks pertaining to files that have changed since the previous job session. If Veeam Agent
cannot calculate information about the changed files, for example, if it fails to retrieve digests from
the backup file, Veeam Agent will need to read all data blocks from the VSS snapshot. As a result, the
backup may take significantly more time.

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 NOTE

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses the default CBT mechanism for NTFS volumes only. As a result,
for volumes that use other file systems, incremental backup will require greater time, because Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows will read all data from the VSS snapshot to detect what blocks have changed
since the last job session.

CBT for File-Level Backup

In case of the file-level backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs changed block tracking in the
following way:

1. During the full backup job session, Veeam Agent creates a new NTFS partition in the backup file. Veeam
Agent uses this partition to store all backed-up files and folders.

2. During subsequent incremental job sessions, Veeam Agent performs the following operations:

a. Compares the last modification time attribute of files on the Veeam Agent computer and files in the
backup. This operation allows Veeam Agent to detect files that have changed since the previous job
session.

b. Transfers data blocks that contain metadata related to each changed file and its parent folders from the
target backup location to the Veeam Agent computer.
If the backed-up file system has a complex folder structure with many hierarchy levels, and you back
up data to a remote location, during incremental backup, the inbound network traffic on the Veeam
Agent computer may exceed by far the outbound traffic. Significant amount of data can be
transferred to the Veeam Agent computer even if few files are changed since the previous job session.

c. Replaces file system metadata in the downloaded data blocks with the current file system metadata.

d. Transfers data blocks with current metadata from the Veeam Agent computer to the target backup
location along with changed files. In the target backup location, Veeam Agent stores data and
metadata in the newly created backup file.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows detects changed files using the last modification time
attribute. If you change the file in any way, but the last modification time attribute remains
unchanged, Veeam Agent will not back up this file during an incremental job session.
• If the backed-up file has changes, Veeam Agent will copy to the target location not only changed
data blocks of the file but the entire file. To save space on the target storage, consider using the
volume-level backup. To learn more, see Backup Types.

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Veeam Changed Block Tracking Driver
You can set up Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to use the Veeam CBT driver instead of the default CBT
mechanism. The Veeam CBT driver is a class filter driver for volume devices that helps Veeam Agent keep track
of changed data blocks in a more efficient way. The driver is intended for computers running applications with
large database files. The Veeam CBT driver is supported for volume-level and file-level backups.

NOTE

In case of the file-level backup, consider the following:

• Veeam Agent does not use the Veeam CBT driver to back up deduplicated files.
• Veeam Agent uses the Veeam CBT driver to back up files of 50 MB and larger including files with
unchanged last modification time attribute.
• The Veeam CBT driver is designed to track data blocks that changed since the last run of the backup
job. If you work with a file in an application that downloads the entire file into RAM, after you save
the changes, all file blocks will be overwritten. Veeam Agent will backup such a file as a whole upon
the next run of the backup job.

To use the Veeam CBT driver, the Veeam Agent computer must meet the following requirements:

• Run a 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows OS.

• Run one of the following Oses:

o Microsoft Windows 11 (versions 21H2, 22H2).

o Microsoft Windows 10 (from version 1803 to version 22H2).

o Microsoft Windows Server OS that is supported by Veeam Agent. For more information, see System
Requirements.

• Run the Workstation or Server edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

IMPORTANT

Consider the following:

• Prior to installing the Veeam CBT driver on a computer running Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
SP1, make sure that update KB3033929 is installed in the OS.
The update adds the SHA-2 code signing support that is required for verification of the Veeam CBT
driver signature. Without this update installed, the OS running on a protected computer will fail to
boot after you install the Veeam CBT driver. To learn more, see this Microsoft KB article.
• Do not install the Veeam CBT driver on a computer running Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1,
2012 or 2012 R2 if one or more volumes on this computer are encrypted with Microsoft BitLocker (or
other encryption tool), or if you plan to use Microsoft BitLocker to encrypt volumes on this
computer. Concurrent operation of Microsoft BitLocker and Veeam CBT driver may result in driver
failures and may prevent the OS from starting.

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To enable the advanced CBT mechanism provided by the Veeam CBT driver, you need to install the driver in the
Veeam Agent control panel. You can perform this operation at any time you need. To activate the driver after
installation, Veeam Agent needs to reboot the computer. After computer reboot, the Veeam CBT driver will
start keeping track of changed data blocks on computer volumes whose data you have selected for backup in
the Veeam Agent backup job settings.

In contrast to the default CBT mechanism that supports NTFS volumes only, the Veeam CBT driver can keep
track of changed data blocks on volumes that use the following file systems:

• FAT (only for volume-level backups)

• NTFS

• ReFS

Information about changed data blocks is registered in special VCT files. VCT files are stored in the
C:\ProgramData\Veeam\EndpointData\CtStore folder on the Veeam Agent computer. When the backup job
runs, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses VCT files to find out what data blocks have changed since the
last run of the job, and copies only changed data blocks from the backed-up volume.

If you use the Veeam CBT driver, the C:\ProgramData\Veeam\EndpointData\CtStore folder accessibility
is crucial for a successful backup. Consider the following:

• The folder and its content must not be compressed or encrypted.

• The folder and its parent folders must not be reparse points.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• If the Veeam Agent computer shuts down unexpectedly, the Veeam CBT driver may fail to register
information about changed data blocks in a VCT file. In this case, during the next backup job session,
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will need to read all data from the backed-up volume to create
incremental backup. As a result, incremental backup will require greater time.
• If data blocks are changed on a volume while this volume is mounted on another Windows-based
machine, during the next backup job session, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will also read all
data from the volume to create incremental backup.
• The Veeam CBT driver cannot detect data block changes made on a volume that is mounted in a
non-Windows OS. For example, such changes can be made when you boot your computer using a
Linux-based antivirus rescue disk. To continue the backup chain after such changes, you need to
create active full backup instead of incremental backup. Alternatively, you can reset CBT. To learn
more, see Resetting CBT.

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Data Compression
Veeam Agent provides mechanisms of data compression and deduplication. Data compression and deduplication
let you decrease traffic going over the network and disk space required for storing backup files.

Data Compression
Data compression decreases the size of created backups but affects duration of the backup procedure. Veeam
Agent allows you to select one of the following compression levels:

Compression Compression Description

Level Algorithm

None No compression This compression level is recommended if you plan to store backup
files on storage devices that support hardware compression and
deduplication.

Dedupe-friendly Rle Optimized compression level for very low CPU usage. You can
select this compression level if you want to decrease the load on
the CPU of the Veeam Agent computer.

Optimal Lz4 The default recommended compression level. It provides the best
ratio between size of the backup file and time of the backup
procedure.

High Zstd 3 Provides additional 10% compression ratio over the Optimal level
at the cost of about 10x higher CPU usage.

Extreme Zstd 9 Provides the smallest size of the backup file but reduces the backup
performance. We recommend that you use the extreme
compression level only on Veeam Agent computers with modern
multi-core CPUs (6 cores recommended).

You can change data compression settings for existing backup jobs. New settings will not have any effect on
previously created backup files in the backup chain. They will be applied to new backup files created after the
settings were changed.

Compression settings are changed on the fly. You do not need to create a new full backup to use new settings —
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will automatically apply the new compression level to newly created
backup files.

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Storage Optimization
Depending on the type of storage you select as a backup target, Veeam Agent uses data blocks of different size,
which optimizes the size of a backup file and job performance. You can choose one of the following storage
optimization options:

• The 4 MB option is recommended for backup jobs that can produce very large full backup files — larger
than 16 TB. With this option selected, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses data block size of 4096
KB.
Large data blocks produce a smaller metadata table that requires less memory and CPU resources to
process. Keep in mind, however, that this storage optimization option will provide the largest size of
incremental backup files.

• The 1 MB option is recommended for backup to SAN, DAS or local storage. With this option selected,
Veeam Agent uses data block size of 1024 KB.
The SAN identifies larger blocks of data and therefore can process large amounts of data at a time. This
option provides the fastest backup job performance.

• The 512 KB option is recommended for backup to NAS and onsite backup. With this option selected,
Veeam Agent uses data block size of 512 KB. This option reduces the size of an incremental backup file
because of reduced data block sizes.

• The 256 KB option is recommended if you plan to use WAN for offsite backup. With this option selected,
Veeam Agent uses data block size of 256 KB. This results in the smallest size of backup files, allowing you
to reduce the amount of traffic over WAN.

NOTE

If you change storage optimization settings, the new settings will be applied only after an active full
backup is created. Veeam Agent will use the new block size for the active full backup and subsequent
backup files in the backup chain. For more information on scheduling active full backups, see Backup
Settings.

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Guest Processing
For Server edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you can specify guest processing options. Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows offers the following guest processing options:

• Application-aware processing. You can create transactionally consistent backups of servers running
applications that support Microsoft VSS. Application-aware processing guarantees that you can perform
restore from Veeam Agent backups without data loss.

• Pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts. You can use pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts to quiesce applications
that do not support Microsoft VSS.

• Transaction log truncation. You can set up the backup job to truncate transaction logs after the job
successfully completes.

• Transaction log backup for Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle. You can set up the backup job to back up
transaction logs from servers running Microsoft SQL Server and archived logs of Oracle database systems.

• File system indexing. You can set up the backup job to create a catalog of files and folders on the Veeam
Agent computer OS. If you use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows with Veeam Backup & Replication,
you will be able to search for individual files in Veeam Agent backups and perform 1-click restore in Veeam
Backup Enterprise Manager.
File system indexing is optional. If you do not enable this option in the backup job settings, you will still
be able to perform 1-click restore from the Veeam Agent backup. For more information, see the Veeam
Backup Enterprise Manager User Guide.

Supported Applications
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports VSS-aware processing for the following systems:

Specification Requirement

Microsoft Active Directory The following versions of Microsoft Active Directory Domain Services
Domain Controllers servers (domain controllers) are supported:
• Microsoft Windows Server 2022
• Microsoft Windows Server 2019
• Microsoft Windows Server 2016
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

Minimum supported domain and forest functional level is Windows Server

2003.

Microsoft Exchange The following versions of Microsoft Exchange are supported:

• Microsoft Exchange 2019
• Microsoft Exchange 2016
• Microsoft Exchange 2013 SP1
• Microsoft Exchange 2013

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 Specification Requirement

Microsoft SharePoint The following versions of Microsoft SharePoint Server are supported:
• Microsoft SharePoint Server Subscription Edition
• Microsoft SharePoint Server 2019
• Microsoft SharePoint Server 2016
• Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013

All editions are supported (Foundation, Standard, Enterprise).

Microsoft SQL Server The following versions of Microsoft SQL Server are supported:
• Microsoft SQL Server 2022
• Microsoft SQL Server 2019
• Microsoft SQL Server 2017
• Microsoft SQL Server 2016
• Microsoft SQL Server 2014
• Microsoft SQL Server 2012
• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2
• Microsoft SQL Server 2008

All editions of Microsoft SQL Server except LocalDB are supported.

Oracle Oracle Database from version 11g to version 21c is supported for the
following operating systems (32-bit and 64-bit architecture):
• Microsoft Windows Server 2019
• Microsoft Windows Server 2016
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

Important notes:
• Automatic Storage Management (ASM) is not supported.
• Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) are not supported.
• Oracle servers using Data Guard are not supported.
• Oracle Database Express Edition is supported.
• Configurations with different versions of Oracle Database deployed
on the same server are not supported.
• 32-bit Oracle running on 64-bit operating systems is not supported.

Application-Aware Processing
To create transactionally consistent backups of servers that run VSS-aware applications such as Microsoft SQL
Server, Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Exchange or Oracle, you must enable application-aware processing for
the backup job.

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Application-aware processing is Veeam’s proprietary technology based on Microsoft VSS. Microsoft VSS is
responsible for quiescing applications and creating a consistent view of application data on the OS of the Veeam
Agent computer. Use of Microsoft VSS ensures that there are no unfinished database transactions or incomplete
application files when Veeam Agent creates a Microsoft VSS snapshot and starts copying backed-up data to the
target location. For more information about Microsoft VSS, see this Microsoft article.

In the Server edition of Veeam Agent, the type of the VSS snapshot depends on application-aware processing
settings:

• If application-aware processing is disabled for the backup job, Veeam Agent creates a copy-only VSS
snapshot.

• If application-aware processing is enabled and the Perform copy only option is selected, Veeam Agent
creates a copy-only VSS snapshot.

• If application-aware processing is enabled and the Process transaction logs with this job option is
selected, Veeam Agent creates a full VSS snapshot.

To learn more, see Specify Application-Aware Processing Settings.

Application-aware processing is supported for Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 SP1 and later. To use application-
aware processing, you must have the latest updates installed on the Veeam Agent computer OS. To learn more,
see Supported Applications.

IMPORTANT

If your computer OS runs an application that does not support Microsoft VSS (there is no VSS writer for this
particular type of application, for example, MySQL), Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will not be able
to utilize Microsoft VSS and application-aware processing for this application. To process such applications,
you can use pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts. For more information, see Pre-Freeze and Post-Thaw Scripts.

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Pre-Freeze and Post-Thaw Scripts
If Veeam Agent computer runs applications that do not support Microsoft VSS, you can instruct Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows to run custom scripts during the backup job session. For example, the pre-freeze script may
quiesce the file system and application data to bring the computer OS to a consistent state before Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows creates a Microsoft VSS snapshot. After the VSS snapshot is created, the post-thaw script
may bring the OS and applications to their initial state.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports scripts in the EXE, BAT and CMD file format.

Scripts must be created beforehand. You must specify paths to them in the backup job settings. Scripts must
reside on a local drive of the Veeam Agent computer.

When the backup job starts, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows executes scripts specified for the job. A script
is considered to be executed successfully if “0” is returned.

The default time period for script execution is 10 minutes. If the script fails to execute before the timeout
expires, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays an error message in the job session and error or warning
messages issued during script execution.

Limitations for Pre-Freeze and Post-Thaw Scripts

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows has one limitation for pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts: you cannot stop a
job when the pre-freeze or post-thaw script is executed. If the script hangs up, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows waits for 10 minutes and terminates the job.

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Transaction Log Truncation
If you back up database systems that use transaction logs, for example, Microsoft SQL Server, you can instruct
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to truncate transaction logs so that logs do not overflow the storage
space. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows provides the following options of transaction logs handling:

• Truncate logs

• Do not truncate logs

• Back up logs periodically

Truncate Logs
You can instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to truncate logs after a backup is successfully created.
With this option selected, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows behaves in the following way:

• If the backup job completes successfully, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows produces a backup file and
truncates transaction logs on the Veeam Agent computer. As a result, you have the backup file that
contains a computer image, image of a specific data volume or individual folders at a specific point in time.
In this scenario, you can recover a database to the point in time when the backup file was created. As
transaction logs on the Veeam Agent computer are truncated, you cannot use them to get the restored
database to some point in time between backup job sessions.

• If the backup job fails, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not truncate transaction logs on the
Veeam Agent computer. In this scenario, you can restore computer data from the most recent point in the
backup and use database system tools to apply transaction logs and get the database system to the
necessary point in time after the restore point.

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Do not Truncate Logs
You can choose not to truncate transaction logs. We recommend this option if you use another backup tool
together with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

For example, you can use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to create a computer image backup and instruct
the native Microsoft SQL Server log backup job to back up transaction logs. If you truncate transaction logs with
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, the chain of transaction logs will be broken, and the Microsoft SQL Server
log backup job will not be able to produce a consistent log backup.

With this option selected, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows produces a backup file and does not trigger
transaction log truncation. As a result, you have a backup file that contains a computer image, image of a
specific data volume or individual folders captured at a specific point in time, and transaction logs. You can use
transaction logs to restore the Veeam Agent computer to any point in time between job sessions. To do this, you
must recover data from the backup file and use database system tools to apply transaction logs and get the
database system to the necessary point in time.

Back Up Logs Periodically

This option can be used if you back up Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle database system.

You can choose to back up database logs with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows. With this option selected,
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates a backup and additionally copies Microsoft SQL Server transaction
logs or Oracle archived logs and saves them to the backup location next to the backup files. To learn more, see
Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Logs Backup.

In this scenario, you can use transaction logs to restore the Veeam Agent computer to any point in time between
backup job sessions. To do that, you must recover data from the Veeam Agent backup and use Veeam Explorer
for Microsoft SQL Server or Veeam Explorer for Oracle to perform transaction log replay and get the database
system to a necessary point in time.

Copy Only Backup

Some organizations prefer to back up Microsoft SQL Server databases and transaction logs with native Microsoft
SQL Server tools or 3rd party backup tools. To restore database systems in a proper way, database administrators
must be sure that they have database backups and a sequence of transaction log backups associated with these
backups at hand.

If you use native Microsoft SQL Server tools or 3rd party backup tools and also want to back up a machine that
runs Microsoft SQL Server with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you must enable the Perform copy only
option in the backup job settings.

The Perform copy only option indicates that a chain of database backups is created with native Microsoft SQL
Server means or by a 3rd party tool, and instructs Veeam Agent to preserve this chain (backup history). If the
Perform copy only option is enabled, Veeam Agent produces the backup of the Copy Backup type that is
independent of the existing chain of database backups and does not contain transaction log data. As a result,
the backup does not change the log sequence number and transaction log backup time. To learn more about
Copy Backup and other VSS backup types, see this Microsoft article.

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 IMPORTANT

Consider the following:

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not truncate transaction logs after copy-only backup. For
this reason, if you instruct the backup job to perform copy-only backup, you cannot specify
transaction log handing settings for this job.
• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports one transaction log backup job per Veeam Agent
computer. If you plan to configure several backup jobs using Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows,
you can enable database log backup settings for one job only.

Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Logs Backup

NOTE

This and subsequent sections describe application-aware processing of Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle
database systems in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows. You can perform item-level recovery of
Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle systems if you use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows with Veeam
Backup & Replication. For more information, see Veeam Backup & Replication Documentation.

Microsoft SQL Server Log Backup

You can instruct the Veeam Agent backup job to create volume level or file-level backups and also periodically
back up database transaction logs. If Microsoft SQL Server fails, you can restore Microsoft SQL Server from the
necessary restore point of the Veeam Agent backup. If you use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows with Veeam
Backup & Replication, you can also use Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SQL Server to apply transaction logs and
get databases on the Microsoft SQL Server to the necessary state between backups.

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Requirements for Microsoft SQL Server Transaction Log Backup
• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports transaction log backups for the following systems:

o Microsoft SQL Server 2022

o Microsoft SQL Server 2019

o Microsoft SQL Server 2017

o Microsoft SQL Server 2016

o Microsoft SQL Server 2014 SP2

o Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP3

o Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP3

o Microsoft SQL Server 2008 SP4

• The database whose logs you want to back up must use the Full or Bulk-logged recovery model. In this
case, all changes of the Microsoft SQL Server state will be written to transaction logs, and you will be able
to replay transaction logs to restore the Microsoft SQL Server. You can use the Microsoft SQL Server
Management Studio to switch to one of these models. For more information, see this Microsoft article.

Oracle Log Backup

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports backup of Oracle database archived logs. If you use Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows with Veeam Backup & Replication, you can use Veeam Explorer for Oracle to apply
archived logs and get Oracle databases to the necessary state between backups.

Database archived logs are created by the Oracle system. The Oracle database can run in one of the following
logging modes:

• ARCHIVELOG turned on — logs are saved and can be used for recovery purposes.

• ARCHIVELOG turned off — no archived logs are saved. We do not recommend this mode, because it does
not provide for proper disaster recovery.

With ARCHIVELOG turned on, the Oracle system stores database archived logs to a certain location on the
machine that runs the database system, as specified by the database administrator. Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows allows you to set up the following ways of log handling:

• Instruct the backup job to collect log files from the Oracle system and ship them to the backup location
where they are stored next to regular backup files created by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

• Skip log processing — log files remain untouched and are preserved within the Veeam Agent backup.

If you enable application-aware processing for Oracle, during the job session Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows collects information about the database and processes archived logs according to job settings.
Application-specific settings are configured at the Guest Processing step of the New Backup Job wizard — you
can specify how logs should be managed for Oracle databases.

Requirements for Oracle Archived Log Backup

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports archived log backup and restore for Oracle database version
11.2 and later.

• Automatic Storage Management (ASM) is not supported.

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 • The database must run in the ARCHIVELOG mode.

Database Log Backup Job

To back up database logs (Microsoft SQL Server transaction logs and Oracle archived logs), you must specify
advanced settings for transaction log backup in the Veeam Agent backup job settings. The resulting job will
comprise two jobs:

• Parent backup job — the backup job that creates a volume-level or file-level backup. The backup job
becomes the parent job after you enable database log backup options at the Guest Processing step of the
New Backup Job wizard.

• Child job — a transaction log backup job. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows automatically creates the
child job if transaction log backup is enabled for the backup job. Session data of the transaction log
backup job is stored in the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows database and displayed in the Veeam
Agent control panel. To learn more, see Transaction Log Backup Statistics.

The parent job runs in a regular manner — it starts by schedule or is started manually by the user. The
transaction log backup job is triggered by the parent backup job. This sequence ensures that the restore point is
present when it comes to transaction log replay.

NOTE

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports one transaction log backup job per Veeam Agent computer.
If you plan to configure several backup jobs using Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you can enable
database log backup settings for one job only.

Sessions of Transaction Log Backup Jobs

The transaction log backup job runs permanently in the background, shipping transaction logs to the backup
location at a specific time interval (by default, every 15 minutes). A sequence of time intervals between sessions
of the parent backup job makes up a session of the transaction log backup job.

The transaction log backup session starts and stops in the following way:

• The initial session starts when the parent backup job schedule is enabled. After that, the session starts
with every new session of the parent backup job.

• The session ends before the next session of the parent backup job or when this parent backup job is
disabled.

How Microsoft SQL Server Log Backup Works

The transaction log backup for Microsoft SQL Server is performed in the following way:

1. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows launches the parent backup job by schedule.

2. The parent backup job creates a volume-level or file-level backup and stores it to the backup location.

3. A new session of the transaction log backup job starts. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows copies
transaction log files from the log archive destination (set by the Microsoft SQL Server administrator) to a
temporary folder on the Veeam Agent computer file system.

4. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows detects what databases currently exist on the Microsoft SQL Server
and maps this data with the information kept in the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows database. This
periodic mapping reveals the databases for which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows must process
transaction logs during this time interval.

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 5. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows transports transaction log backup copies from the temporary folder
to the backup location and saves them as VLB files. As soon as copies of transaction log backups are saved
to the backup location, transaction log backups in the temporary folder on the Veeam Agent computer are
removed.

The session of the transaction log backup job remains working until the next start of the parent backup job.
When a new session of the parent job starts, the transaction log backup job stops the current session and then
starts a new session, performing steps 1–5.

Transaction logs that for some reason were not processed during the log backup interval remain in the
temporary folder and are processed during the next log backup interval. To detect these remaining logs, Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows enumerates log files in the temporary folder.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• If a new session of the transaction log backup starts and the parent backup job has not created a
new restore point yet, the transaction log backup job will remain in the idle state, waiting for a new
restore point to be created.
• Default location of the temporary folder where Veeam Agent copies transaction log files is
C:\ProgramData\Veeam\Endpoint\SqlLogBackup. If it is necessary to change the location,
you can use a registry value. For more information, contact Veeam Customer Support.

How Oracle Archived Log Backup Works

The archived log backup for Oracle is performed in the following way:

1. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows launches the parent backup job by schedule.

2. The parent backup job creates a volume-level or file-level backup and stores it to the backup location.

3. A new session of the archived log backup starts. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows scans the Oracle
system and collects information about databases whose logs must be processed, including:

o List of all databases

o Database state — a database is on or off, in which logging mode it runs

o Paths to all database files (configuration logs and so on) and other data required for backup

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows copies archived log files from the log archive destination (set by the
Oracle administrator) to a temporary folder on the Veeam Agent computer.

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 4. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows maps information about the Oracle system collected at the step 3
with information kept in the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows database. This periodic mapping helps
reveal databases for which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows must ship archived logs to the backup
location during this time interval.

5. Archived log backup files are transferred from the temporary folder on the Veeam Agent computer to the
backup location.

Archived logs that for some reason were not processed during the log backup interval remain in the temporary
folder and are processed during the next log backup interval. To detect these remaining logs, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows enumerates log files in the temporary folder.

NOTE

If a new session of the archived log backup starts and the parent backup job has not created a new restore
point yet, the transaction log backup job will remain in the idle state, waiting for a new restore point to be
created.

Retention for Database Log Backups

Transaction log backups are stored in files of the proprietary Veeam format — VLB. Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows keeps transaction log backups together with the chain of backup files on the target location.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows removes transaction log backups by retention. You can choose one of the
following retention methods:

• Retain logs according to the image-level backup

• Retain logs for the specified number of days

Retain Logs with Image-Level Backup

By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows retains transaction log backups together with the backup file.
When Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows removes a restore point from the backup chain, it also removes a
chain of transaction logs relating to this restore point.

This method allows you to have both the file-level or volume-level backup and necessary transaction log
backups at hand. If you need to recover a database to some state, you can restore a machine running Microsoft
SQL Server or Oracle from the necessary restore point and perform transaction log replay to bring the database
to the desired state.

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Retain Logs for a Number of Days
You can instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to keep transaction logs only for a specific period of time.
This retention setting can be used, for example, if you want to save on storage space and plan to retain
transaction log backups for the last few days. In this case, you will be able to perform transaction log replay
only to one of the most recent states.

If you select this retention method, you must make sure that retention policies for the Veeam Agent backup and
transaction log backup are consistent. The restore point of the volume-level or file-level backup must always be
preserved. If a backup of the database itself is missing, you will not be able to perform transaction log replay.

File System Indexing

You can instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to create an index of files and folders on the Veeam Agent
computer OS during backup. If you use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows with Veeam Backup & Replication,
you will be able to search for individual files inside Veeam Agent backups and perform 1-click restore in Veeam
Backup Enterprise Manager.

NOTE

File system indexing is optional. If you do not enable this option in the backup job settings, you will still be
able to perform 1-click restore from the backup created with such backup job. For more information, see
the Preparing for File Browsing and Searching section in the Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager User Guide.

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How File Indexing Works
When you run a backup job with the file indexing option enabled, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs
the following operations:

1. When the backup job starts, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows starts indexing the file system. The
indexing procedure is carried out in parallel with the backup procedure. If indexing takes long, Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows will not wait for the indexing procedure to complete. It will start copying
data to the target location and continue file indexing.

2. When file indexing is complete, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows collects indexing data, writes it to an
archive file and stores this archive file to the backup file along with the backed-up data.

3. If the backup job is set up to create backups in a Veeam backup repository, when the job completes,
Veeam Guest Catalog Service running on the backup server also saves indexing data in the Veeam Catalog
folder on the backup server.
To learn more about the Veeam Guest Catalog Service, see the Veeam Backup Catalog section in the
Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

4. During the next catalog replication session, the global Veeam Guest Catalog Service replicates data from
the backup server to the Veeam Catalog folder on the Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager server.

NOTE

If the backup job is set up to create backups in a Veeam Cloud Connect repository, Veeam Backup &
Replication running on the SP backup server does not save indexing data in the Veeam Catalog folder.

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Data Encryption
Data security is an important part of the backup strategy. You must protect your information from unauthorized
access, especially if you back up sensitive data to remote locations. To keep your data safe, you can use data
encryption.

Data encryption transforms data to an unreadable, scrambled format with the help of a cryptographic algorithm
and a secret key. If encrypted data is intercepted, it cannot be unlocked and read by the eavesdropper. Only
intended recipients who know the secret key can reverse encrypted information back to a readable format.

In Veeam Agent, encryption works at the backup job level.

Veeam Agent uses the block cypher encryption algorithm. Encryption works at the source side. Veeam Agent
reads backed-up data, encodes data blocks, transfers them to the target location in the encrypted format and
stores the data to a backup file. Data decryption is also performed on the source side: Veeam Agent transfers
encrypted data back to the source side and decrypts it there.

To create encrypted backups, you must enable the encryption option and specify a password that will be used
for data encryption. To learn more, see the Storage Settings.

NOTE

You cannot enable encryption options in the properties of the Veeam Agent backup job if you have chosen
to create Veeam Agent backups on a Veeam backup repository. For such jobs, encryption options are
managed by a backup administrator working with Veeam Backup & Replication. To learn more about data
encryption capabilities available in Veeam Backup & Replication, see the Data Encryption section in the
Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

Encryption Algorithms
To encrypt data in backups and files, Veeam Agent employs a symmetric key encryption algorithm.

The symmetric, or single-key encryption algorithm, uses a single, common secret key to encrypt and decrypt
data. Before data is sent to the target location, it is encoded with a secret key. To restore encrypted data, you
must have the same secret key. Users who do not have the secret key cannot decrypt data and get access to it.

Veeam Agent relies on a hierarchical encryption scheme. Each layer in the hierarchy encrypts the layer below
with a key of specific type.

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Encryption Keys
An encryption key is a string of random characters that is used to bring data to a scrambled format and back to
unscrambled. Encryption keys encode and decode initial data blocks or underlying keys in the key hierarchy.

Veeam Agent uses 4 types of keys:

• 3 service keys generated by Veeam Agent:

o Session Key

o Metakey

o Storage key

• 1 key generated based on a user password: a user key.

Session Keys and Metakeys

The session key is the lowest layer in the encryption key hierarchy. When Veeam Agent encrypts data, it first
encodes every data block in a file with a session key. For session keys, Veeam Agent uses the AES algorithm with
a 256-bit key length in the CBC-mode.

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Veeam Agent generates a new session key for every backup job session. For example, if you have created an
encrypted backup job and run 3 job sessions, Veeam Agent will produce 3 backup files that will be encrypted
with 3 different session keys:

• Full backup file encrypted with session key 1

• Incremental backup file encrypted with session key 2

• Incremental backup file encrypted with session key 3

The session key is used to encrypt only data blocks in backup files. To encrypt backup metadata, Veeam Agent
applies a separate key — metakey. Use of a metakey for metadata raises the security level of encrypted backups.

For every job session, Veeam Agent generates a new metakey. For example, if you have run 3 job sessions,
Veeam Agent will encrypt metadata with 3 metakeys.

In the encryption process, session keys and metakeys are encrypted with keys of a higher layer — storage keys.
Cryptograms of session keys and metakeys are stored to the resulting file next to encrypted data blocks.
Metakeys are additionally kept in the Veeam Agent database.

Storage Keys
Backup files in the backup chain often need to be transformed, for example, when the earliest incremental
backup file in the chain becomes obsolete and its data should be included into the full backup file. When Veeam
Agent transforms a full backup file, it writes data blocks from several restore points to the full backup file. As a
result, the full backup file contains data blocks that are encrypted in different job sessions with different session
keys.

To restore data from such “composed” backup file, Veeam Agent would require a bunch of session keys. For
example, if the backup chain contains restore points for 2 months, Veeam Agent would have to keep session
keys for a 2-month period.

In such situation, storing and handling session keys would be resource consuming and complicated. To facilitate
the encryption process, Veeam Agent uses another type of service key — a storage key.

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For storage keys, Veeam Agent uses the AES algorithm with a 256-bit key length in the CBC-mode. A storage
key is directly associated with one restore point in the backup chain. The storage key is used to encrypt the
following keys in the encryption hierarchy:

• All session keys for all data blocks in one restore point

• Metakey encrypting backup metadata

During the restore process, Veeam Agent uses one storage key to decrypt all session keys for one restore point,
no matter how many session keys were used to encrypt data blocks in this restore point. As a result, Veeam
Agent does not need to keep the session keys history in the Veeam Agent database. Instead, it requires only one
storage key to restore data from one file.

In the encryption process, storage keys are encrypted with a key of a higher layer — a user key. Cryptograms of
storage keys are stored to the resulting file next to encrypted data blocks, and cryptograms of session keys and
metakeys.

Storage keys are also kept in the Veeam Agent database. To maintain a set of valid storage keys in the database,
Veeam Agent uses retention policy settings specified for the job. When some restore point is removed from the
backup chain by retention, the storage key corresponding to this restore point is also removed from the Veeam
Agent database.

User Keys
When you enable encryption for a job, you must define a password to protect data processed by this job, and
define a hint for the password. The password and the hint are saved in the job settings. Based on this password,
Veeam Agent generates a user key.

The user key protects data at the job level. In the encryption hierarchy, the user key encrypts storage keys for all
restore points in the backup chain.

Veeam Agent saves a hint for the password to its database and to the backup metadata file (VBM). When you
decrypt a file, Veeam Agent displays a hint for the password that you must provide. After you enter a password,
Veeam Agent derives a user key from the password and uses it to unlock the storage key for the encrypted file.

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According to the security best practices, you should change passwords for encrypted jobs regularly. When you
change a password for the job, Veeam Agent creates a new user key and uses it to encrypt new restore points in
the backup chain. If you lose a password that was specified for encryption, you can change the password in the
encryption settings. You can use the new password to restore data from all restore points in the backup chain,
including those restore points that were encrypted with an old password.

How Data Encryption Works

Data encryption is performed as part of the backup process. Encryption works at the source side, before data is
transported to the target location. As a result, encryption keys are not passed to the target side, which helps to
avoid data interception.

The encryption process includes the following steps:

1. When you create a backup job, you enable the encryption option for the job and enter a password to
protect data at the job level.

2. Veeam Agent generates a user key based on the entered password.

3. When you start an encrypted job, Veeam Agent creates a storage key and stores this key to its database.

4. Veeam Agent creates a session key and a metakey. The metakey is stored to the Veeam Agent database.

5. Veeam Agent processes job data in the following way:

a. The session key encrypts data blocks in the backup file. The metakey encrypts backup metadata.

b. The storage key encrypts the session key and the metakey.

c. The user key encrypts the storage key.

6. Encrypted data blocks are passed to the target. The cryptograms of the user key, storage key, session key
and metakey are stored to the resulting file next to encrypted data blocks.

How Data Decryption Works

When you restore data from an encrypted backup file, Veeam Agent performs data decryption automatically in
the background or requires you to provide a password.

• If encryption keys required to unlock the backup file are available in the Veeam Agent database, you do
not need to enter the password. Veeam Agent uses keys from the database to unlock the backup file. Data
decryption is performed in the background, and data restore does not differ from that from an
unencrypted one.

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 Automatic data decryption can be performed in one of the following situations:

o You encrypt and decrypt the backup file on the same Veeam Agent computer using the same Veeam
Agent database.

o You have included encryption keys into the Veeam Recovery Media and perform bare metal recovery
after booting from this Veeam Recovery Media. To learn more, see Specify Recovery Media Options.

• If encryption keys are not available in the Veeam Agent database, you need to provide a password to
unlock the encrypted file.

Data decryption is performed at the source side, after data is transported back from the target side. As a result,
encryption keys are not passed to the target side, which helps avoid data interception.

The decryption process includes the following steps. Keep in mind that steps 1 and 2 are required only if you
decrypt the file on the Veeam Agent computer other than the computer where the file was encrypted.

1. You select the backup from which you want to restore data. Veeam Agent notifies you that one or more
files in the backup chain are encrypted and requires a password.

2. You specify a password for the imported file. If the password has changed once or several times, you need
to specify the latest password. In Veeam Agent, you can use the latest password to restore data form all
restore points in the backup chain, including those restore points that were encrypted with an old
password.

3. Veeam Agent reads the entered password and generates the user key based on this password. With the
user key available, Veeam Agent performs decryption in the following way:

a. Veeam Agent applies the user key to decrypt the storage key.

b. The storage key, in its turn, unlocks underlying session keys and a metakey.

c. Session keys decrypt data blocks in the encrypted file.

After the encrypted file is unlocked, you can work with it as usual.

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Backup Job Encryption
Encryption for the backup job is configured in the advanced job settings. You should enable the encryption
option and specify a password to protect data in backup files produced by the backup job.

The backup job processing with encryption enabled includes the following steps:

1. You enable encryption for a backup job and specify a password.

2. Veeam Agent generates the necessary keys to protect backup data.

3. Veeam Agent encrypts data blocks and transfers them to the target location already encrypted.

4. On the target storage, encrypted data blocks are stored to a resulting backup file.

Restore of an encrypted backup file includes the following steps:

1. You select an encrypted backup file and define a password to decrypt the backup file. If the password has
changed once or several times, you need to specify the latest password that was used to encrypt files in
the backup chain.

2. Veeam Agent uses the provided password to generate user key and unlock the subsequent keys for backup
file decryption.

3. Veeam Agent retrieves data blocks from the backup file, sends them to the target volume and decrypts
them on the target volume.

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Resuming Encrypted Backup Chain
In some situations, encryption keys may be unavailable in the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows database,
and Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows cannot create a new encrypted restore point in the backup chain. For
example, this may happen after you change the password for encryption and then recover the entire Veeam
Agent computer to a restore point that was created before you have changed the password. In this case,
information about backup in the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows database will become outdated and will
not match backup metadata residing on the target location. To continue the existing encrypted backup chain,
you need to provide the latest password in the Veeam Agent control panel.

When the backup job is started (either manually or upon the defined schedule), Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows detects the latest encrypted backup created by this job in the target location and displays a window in
the Veeam Agent control panel offering to enter a password and continue the backup chain. You can choose to
perform one of the following operations:

• To continue the existing encrypted backup chain, you can enter the password specified for encryption and
click OK. If the password has changed more than once, you need to specify the latest password.
After you provide the correct password, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will use this password to
decrypt backup metadata on the target location and update information about backup in its database.
After that, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will create the new incremental backup file in the existing
encrypted backup chain. To encrypt this backup file and subsequent backup files, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will use the password that is kept in its database at the time when continue the backup
chain.
You will be able to use this password to restore data from any restore point in the backup chain, including
restore points that were encrypted with an older password and restore points that were created before
you have enabled the encryption option for the job.

• If you do not remember the password or do not want to continue the existing backup chain for some
reason, you can click Start New immediately without providing a password.
When you start a new backup chain, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates the active full backup
file. All incremental backup files use this full backup file as a new starting point. Depending on the defined
encryption settings, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates a full backup file according to the
following rules:

o If the encryption option is disabled in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows at the time when you start
a new backup chain, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates an unencrypted full backup file.
Subsequent incremental backup files will be unencrypted, too.

o If the encryption option is enabled in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows at the time when you start
a new backup chain, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates an encrypted full backup file. To
encrypt this backup file, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses the password that exists in its
database at the time when you start a new backup chain.

• You can click Cancel to close the notification window and cancel the job. In this case, the next time the
backup job is started, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will again prompt to enter the password.

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 NOTE

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays the notification window for 1 hour. If you do not choose to
continue the existing backup chain, start a new backup chain or cancel the backup job, after this time
period expires, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will automatically close the window and cancel the
job. If email notification settings are enabled for the backup job, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will
also send an email report informing that the job was canceled.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will display this window every time the backup job is started
(manually or upon schedule) until you choose to continue the existing backup chain or start a new backup
chain.

Encryption Best Practices

To guarantee the flawless process of data encryption and decryption, consider the following advice.

Password
1. Use strong passwords that are hard to crack or guess. Consider the following recommendations:

a. The password must be at least 8 characters long.

b. The password must contain uppercase and lowercase characters.

c. The password must be a mixture of alphabetic, numeric and punctuation characters.

d. The password must significantly differ from the password you used previously.

e. The password must not contain any real information related to you, for example, date of birth, your
pet’s name, your logon name and so on.

2. Provide a meaningful hint for the password that will help you recall the password. The hint for the
password must significantly differ from the password itself. The hint for the password is displayed when
you select an encrypted backup server and attempt to unlock it.

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 3. Change passwords for encrypted jobs regularly. Use of different passwords helps increase the encryption
security level.

Encryption for Existing Job

If you enable encryption for an existing job, during the next job session Veeam Agent will create active full
backup. The created full backup file and subsequent incremental backup files in the backup chain will be
encrypted with the specified password.

Encryption is not retroactive. If you enable encryption for an existing backup job, Veeam Agent does not encrypt
the previous backup chain created with this job. However, Veeam Agent encrypts backup metadata. As a result,
you need to enter the password to restore data from unencrypted backup files in the backup chain as well as
from encrypted backup files in this chain.

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Backup Cache
A remote storage specified as a target location for backup files may be unavailable at the time when the backup
job must start. In this case, Veeam Agent cannot create a regular restore point upon the defined schedule. As a
result, the backup chain in the remote storage will not contain a sequence of restore points that precisely
complies with the backup schedule.

To overcome this limitation, Veeam Agent offers the concept of the backup cache. The backup cache is a
temporary local storage in which Veeam Agent creates backup files in case the backed-up data cannot be
transferred to a remote location. When the target location becomes available, Veeam Agent uploads backup
files from the backup cache to the remote storage, adding regular restore points to the backup chain.

The backup cache lets you perform scheduled backup in due time ensuring that the resulting backup chain will
contain “snapshots” of your data at desired points in time. This may be helpful, for example, for laptop users
who go on business trips with no or limited access to the corporate network in which the backup location
resides.

Technically, the backup cache is a local folder on the computer on which Veeam Agent is installed. A user can
define a folder for the backup cache and the size of the backup cache in the backup job settings.

The backup cache is available if the following types of storage are chosen as a target location:

• Network shared folder

• Object storage

• Backup repository managed by a Veeam backup server

• Cloud repository managed by a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider

How Backup Cache Works

When you create a backup job targeted at a remote storage, you can select to use the backup cache in its
properties. The procedure of data backup with the backup cache enabled is performed in the following way:

1. The user enables the backup cache in the properties of the backup job targeted at a remote location.

2. During a regular backup job session, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates in the backup cache a
map of data blocks on the remote location. Information about data blocks on the remote location is saved
in a file with digests and stored in the folder
C:\ProgramData\Veeam\EndpointData\CacheDigests.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will use the created digests to create incremental backup files in the
backup cache when the remote storage itself is unavailable at the time of scheduled backup.

3. If the target location is unavailable at the time when the scheduled backup job must start, Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows creates the new restore point in the backup cache.
The target location is considered as unavailable in the following conditions:

o [For network shared folder] Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Service that runs on the protected
computer cannot connect to the network shared folder. In this case, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will immediately start creating the new restore point in the backup cache.

o [For object storage] Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Service that runs on the protected computer
cannot connect to the object storage.

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 o [For Veeam backup repository] Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Service cannot connect to the
Veeam Backup Service that runs on the backup server to which the backup repository specified as a
target location for Veeam Agent backups is connected.

o [For Veeam Cloud Connect repository] Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Service cannot connect to
one of the following services on the Veeam Cloud Connect provider side:

▪ Veeam Backup Service that runs on the backup server used for managing the Veeam Cloud
Connect infrastructure.

▪ Veeam Cloud Connect Service that runs on the backup server used for managing the Veeam
Cloud Connect infrastructure.

▪ Veeam Cloud Gateway Service that runs on a cloud gateway deployed in the Veeam Cloud
Connect infrastructure.
In case the connection to the target location is lost when the backup job is already running, Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows performs backup based on the following rules:

o [For network shared folder] Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows immediately switches to the backup
cache and writes to the backup cache all data that must be backed up within the current backup job
session. If some data has already been transferred to the target location, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows starts the data transfer operation from the beginning and transfers all backed-up data to the
backup cache.

o [For object storage, Veeam backup repository and Veeam Cloud Connect repository] Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows tries to reconnect to the target location. The reconnection process may last 30
minutes or more. After the reconnection period expires, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows switches
to the backup cache and writes to the backup cache only remaining data that has not been transferred
to the target location yet. Data that has been already transferred to the target location remains in the
backup repository.
The process of data backup to the backup cache practically does not differ from the regular one. The
difference is that the resulting backup file is saved to the local folder instead of the remote storage.
If the target location becomes available after Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows has started creating a
restore point in the backup cache, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will not switch back to the target
location. Instead, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will create a restore point in the backup cache and
then upload this restore point to the target location.

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 4. After the remote storage becomes available, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uploads backup files
that were created in the backup cache to the target location. If more than one restore point was created in
the backup cache, these restore points are uploaded to the target location sequentially, one by one.
Until all restore points are uploaded from the backup cache to the target location, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will continue to create new restore points in the backup cache even if the target
location is available at the time when the backup job is running.

Limitations for Backup Cache

The backup cache has the following limitations:

• The backup cache is available only in Workstation and Server editions of Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows.

• You cannot use the backup cache for a file-level backup job.

• You cannot restore data from backup files that reside in the backup cache. Until restore points are
uploaded from the backup cache to the target location, these restore points are not considered as a fully
valid part of the backup chain.

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not support creating full backups (including active full backups
and synthetic full backups) in the backup cache except for the very first full backup file in the backup
chain.

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not support creating encrypted backups in the backup cache. If
encryption options are specified for the backup job, Veeam Agent will create unencrypted backup files in
the backup cache. When the target location becomes available, Veeam Agent will encrypt data prior to
uploading it to the remote storage.

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not support creating transaction log backups in the backup
cache. You cannot enable transaction log backup and the backup cache for the backup job simultaneously.

• Restore points created in the backup cache cannot be uploaded to the target location after you perform
the following operations:

o Change target location for backup files in the properties of the backup job

o Change a folder defined for the backup cache

o Move or delete backup files on the target location

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 o [For Veeam backup repository] Enable or disable data encryption settings in Veeam Backup &
Replication
If the backup cache contains one or more restore points at the time when you perform one of these
operations, you need to delete restore points from the backup cache.

• You cannot delete restore points from the backup cache while Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is
performing the following operations:

o Creating a new restore point in the backup cache.

o Uploading a restore point from the backup cache to the target location.

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Backup to Rotated Drives
You can use rotated drives as a target location for backups. This scenario can be helpful if you want to store
backups on several external hard drives (for example, USB or FireWire) and plan to swap these drives between
different locations regularly.

Backup on rotated drives is performed in the following way:

1. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates a backup chain on an external drive that you use as a backup
target. The backup chain consists of the first full backup and a set of subsequent incremental backups.

2. When you swap drives and attach a new external drive, Veeam Agent creates a separate backup chain on
the new drive.

3. After you swap drives again, Veeam Agent detects if there is a backup chain on the currently attached
drive. If the backup chain exists, Veeam Agent continues the existing chain: it creates a new incremental
backup file and adds it to the existing backup files.

To use rotated drives for backup, you must perform the following actions:

1. Attach one of external drives from the set to your computer.

2. Configure the backup job to store backups on the currently connected external drive. To do this:

a. At the Local Storage step of the wizard, select the connected drive.

b. From the Local drives list, select the necessary volume on the connected drive and specify a folder
where backups must be stored.

c. Save the job settings.

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 3. When you need to swap files, disconnect the drive that was used previously and attach a new drive to your
computer.

4. Register a newly connected drive as a known removable storage in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.
To do this:

a. Double-click the Veeam Agent icon in the system tray to open the control panel.

b. From the main menu, select Settings.

c. Click the Manage registered storage devices link.

d. Click Register next to the newly connected drive.

If you do not register the newly connected drive before the backup job starts, Veeam Agent will be unable
to detect the backup target and launch the backup job. Veeam Agent will display a warning in the system
tray and in the control panel. To register a new device, click the Add removable storage device link in the
Status view of the control panel and register the newly connected drive as described above. To learn
more, see Managing Rotated Drives.

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 5. After you register the newly connected drive, you can start a new backup session manually or wait Veeam
Agent to start a new session.

NOTE

Keep in mind that you cannot target a backup job at a certain set of rotated drives. If the backup job to
rotated drive starts, and the drive that was used previously is not connected, Veeam Agent creates a
backup file on any registered drive that is currently attached to the Veeam Agent computer.

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Backup of External Drives
You can use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to back up data that resides on external USB/eSATA or
FireWire drives connected to the Veeam Agent computer.

IMPORTANT

Veeam Agent supports backup of external drives that support Microsoft VSS: HDD, SSD, and so on. USB
flash drives (USB sticks) are not supported, because it is impossible to create a VSS snapshot on a device of
this type. To check if your drive is supported, see this Veeam KB article.

You can include an external drive in any type of backup: entire computer backup, volume-level backup or file-
level backup.

• For entire computer backup, you can instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to back up data of all
external drives the are currently connected to the Veeam Agent computer. To do this, you must enable
the Include external USB drives option at the Backup Mode step of the New Backup Job wizard.
An external drive whose data you want to back up must be connected to the Veeam Agent computer at
the time when the backup job must start.
If an external drive that was backed up within a previous backup job session is not connected to the Veeam
Agent computer when the backup job must start, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will back up data of
all existing drives and skip the absent one. The backup job session will complete successfully.

• For volume-level backup, you can include in the backup a specific volume that resides on an external
drive. To do this, you must select the necessary volume at the Volumes step of the New Backup Job
wizard.
If a USB drive that contains the volume included in the backup is not connected to the Veeam Agent
computer when the backup job must start, the backup job will complete with an error.

• For file-level backup, you can include in the backup data of a specific volume that resides on an external
drive (entire volume or specific folders with files). To do this, you must select the necessary object at the
Files step of the New Backup Job wizard.
If a USB drive that contains a volume or folder included in the backup is not connected to the Veeam
Agent computer when the backup job must start, the backup job will complete with an error.

NOTE

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not back up external drives used as rotated drives. USB drives
registered as a known removable storage in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows are excluded from the
backup.

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Data Restore
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows offers two data restore scenarios:

• You can perform volume-level restore to recover the entire system image of your computer or specific
computer volumes. To learn more, see Volume-Level Restore.

• You can perform file-level restore to recover individual files and folders. To learn more, see File-Level
Restore.

When performing volume-level restore, you can resize restored volumes to fit available space on target
location. To learn more, see Volume Resize.

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Volume-Level Restore
If data on a computer volume gets corrupted, you can restore this volume from the backup. For volume-level
restore, you can use backups that were created at the volume level. File-level backups cannot be used for
volume restore.

When you perform volume-level restore, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows restores the entire content of the
volume. It retrieves from the backup data blocks pertaining to a specific volume and copies them to the
necessary location.

Keep in mind that you cannot browse the volume in the backup and select individual application items, files and
folders for restore. For granular file-level restore, you can use the File-Level Restore option.

A volume can be restored to its original location or new location. If you restore the volume to its original
location, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows overwrites data on the original volume. If you restore the volume
to a new location, and the target disk contains any data, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows overwrites data in
the target location with data retrieved from the backup.

A volume can be restored to a new location that has greater or less space than the size of the volume in the
backup. Depending on the amount of free disk space on target location, you can select either to shrink or to
extend the volume during restore. To learn more, see Volume Resize.

Limitations for Volume-Level Restore

Volume restore has the following limitations:

• You cannot restore the system volume to its original location.

• You cannot restore a volume to the volume on which the swap file is currently hosted.

• You cannot restore a volume to the volume where the backup file used for restore is located.

To overcome the first two limitations, you can create a Veeam Recovery Media and use the Veeam Bare Metal
Recovery wizard for volume-level restore. To learn more, see Veeam Recovery Media.

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File-Level Restore
If you have lost or modified files and folders on your computer by mistake, you can restore a copy of the
necessary objects from the backup. For file-level restore, you can use a backup of any type:

• Volume-level backup

• File-level backup

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not extract files and folders from the backup file. Instead, it uses
Veeam’s proprietary driver to publish the backup content directly into the computer file system, under
C:\VeeamFLR\<Volume N>. For accessing the backup file content, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses a
separate program — Virtual Disk Driver (VDK) that is provided with the product.

After the backup content is mounted, you can use a built-in Veeam Backup browser or Microsoft Windows
Explorer to browse and copy necessary files and folders to your local machine drive, save them in a network
shared folder or point applications to files and work with them in a regular way.

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Volume Resize
With Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you can resize backup volumes during Volume-Level Restore. When
you select to resize a volume, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows restores data from the backup and resizes
the restored volume to the specified size.

There are two ways to resize a volume depending on the amount of free disk space on the target location:

• Volume shrink — you can shrink a volume when you restore it to a new location that has less space than
the size of the volume in the backup. You can also shrink a volume that is restored to its original location
to free disk space on the target location. To learn more, see How Volume Shrink Works.

• Volume extend — you can extend a backup volume when you restore it to a new location that has more
available disk space than the size of the backup volume. To learn more, see How Volume Extend Works.

Volume resize may be also helpful when you need to restore data after hardware upgrade. For example, you
may want to resize volumes in the following situations:

• Shrink backup data to restore system volumes of your computer to a smaller disk after you replace an old
HDD drive with a faster but less capacitive SSD drive.

• Extend the backup volume during volume-level restore to a new, more capacitive HDD drive.

You can restore and resize volumes:

• With the Volume Restore wizard when Restoring Volumes under Microsoft Windows system.

• With the Veeam Bare Metal Recovery wizard when Restoring from Veeam Recovery Media.

The volume resize option is available only in the Manual restore mode at the Disk Mapping step of the wizard.

Limitations for volume resize

Volume resize has the following limitations:

• You cannot restore a volume to the volume of the smaller size if the amount of data stored on the backup
volume exceeds the free space on the target disk.

• You can only resize basic volumes that use the NTFS file system.

• If you resize a BitLocker encrypted volume during restore, the restored volume will be unencrypted.

How Volume Shrink Works

When you restore a volume to a target location of the smaller size, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
performs the following operations:

1. When you select the Resize option to shrink a volume, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows mounts the
backup volume to a temporary NTFS folder on the system drive, for example:
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp.

2. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows mounts the created NTFS folder as a VHD disk next to other disks
that are present on the computer.
Mounting VBK file content as a VHD disk makes it possible for Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to use
Microsoft Windows system’s disk management tools to measure current size of the backup volume and
maximum and minimum size for the restored volume.

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 3. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows sends a query request to the mounted VHD disk to calculate its size,
amount of stored data and free disk space by which the volume can be shrunk.
This step may take some time depending on the size of the backup volume and its data fragmentation
ratio.
When the query is complete and you specify the desired size for the restored volume, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows unmounts the VHD disk.

4. When you start the restore process, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates on the target disk a
volume of the specified size and restores to that volume the amount of backed-up data that fits the
specified size.

5. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows mounts the backup volume as a VHD disk as described in steps 1 and
2 and starts to shrink it to the size of the target volume. During the process of volume shrink, empty data
blocks from the part of the mounted VHD disk that does not fit the size of the target volume are moved to
the part of the disk that contains actual data.

6. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows captures on the VHD disk data blocks that are moved during shrink
and writes them to the target volume.
When all data blocks are written to the target volume, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows unmounts the
VHD disk.

How Volume Extend Works

When you restore a volume to a target location of the larger size, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs
the following operations:

1. When you select the Resize option to extend a volume, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows mounts the
backup volume to a temporary NTFS folder on the system drive, for example:
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Temp.

2. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows mounts the created NTFS folder as a VHD disk next to other disks
that are present on the computer.
Mounting VBK file content as a VHD disk makes it possible for Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to use
Microsoft Windows system’s disk management tools to measure current size of the backup volume and
maximum and minimum size for the restored volume.

3. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows sends a query request to the mounted VHD disk to calculate its size,
amount of stored data and free disk space by which the volume can be extended.
This step may take some time depending on the size of the backup volume and its data fragmentation
ratio.

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 When the query is complete and you specify the desired size for the restored volume, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows unmounts the VHD disk.

4. When you start the restore process, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates on the target disk a
volume of the same size as the backup volume and restores to that volume all data blocks from the
backup volume.

5. When all data blocks are written to the target location, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows extends the
size of the target volume to the specified size.

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Veeam Recovery Media
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows lets you create a Veeam Recovery Media — a recovery image of your
computer.

The recovery image is a “copy” of your OS with the limited functionality — it contains all data required to run
Microsoft Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE), and provides an alternative way to boot your
computer. If the OS installed on the computer fails to start for some reason, you can boot the Windows RE from
the recovery image. After booting, you can do the following:

• You can use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Windows tools to diagnose problems and
fix errors on your computer.

• You can restore data from a backup to your computer. For this scenario, you must have a backup created
with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows or system image created with Microsoft Windows.

The recovery image can be helpful if one of the following errors occur:

• The OS on the computer fails to start.

• The computer is blocked with malware and you cannot get access to your data.

• You want to perform bare metal restore from the backup on the computer without the OS and other
software installed.

• You want to restore the system volume of the computer and so on.

You can create a recovery image on different kinds of media:

• Removable storage devices such as USB drives or SD cards

• CD/DVD/BD

• ISO images on local or external computer drives

When you boot from the Veeam Recovery Media, you can use the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows recovery
environment to fix the OS system errors on your computer or restore data from the backup. Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows offers a set of tools for the computer system image and data recovery:

• Bare Metal Recovery — the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows wizard to recover data on the original
computer or a new computer.

• Windows Recovery Environment — a built-in Microsoft Windows tool to recover the computer system
image.

• Tools — Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Windows utilities for advanced computer
administration.

Limitations for Veeam Recovery Media

• You cannot restore dynamic volumes using a Veeam Recovery Media. To restore dynamic volumes, you can
recover data from the volume-level backup on a working computer system. To learn more, see Restoring
Volumes.

• The Veeam Recovery Media is based on the Microsoft Windows RE. Due to Microsoft limitations, Microsoft
Windows RE automatically reboots after 72 hours of continuous use. All data that has not been saved
before reboot will be lost.

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Drivers in Veeam Recovery Media
The Veeam Recovery Media created with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows contains the following data:

• Set of files required to start your computer OS from the recovery media.

• Diagnostic tools from Microsoft and Veeam.

• Drivers required to run hardware and devices on your computer in a regular way. When you boot your
computer from the Veeam Recovery Media, drivers included into the Veeam Recovery Media are
automatically loaded on the recovered OS.

• Network connection settings from your computer. When you boot your computer from the Veeam
Recovery Media, network settings included into the Veeam Recovery Media are automatically applied and
can be used to connect to the remote backup storage.

• If you have enabled data encryption options for the backup job, you can also include a decryption key into
the Veeam Recovery Media. To learn more, see Creating Veeam Recovery Media.

NOTE

The Veeam Recovery Media contains all locales (languages) that are included in the OS of the Veeam Agent
Computer.

You can include the following drivers in the Veeam Recovery Media:

• Drivers that are currently installed on your computer. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows detects hard
disk controller drivers, network adapter drivers and USB controller drivers and includes them into the
Veeam Recovery Media.

• Additional storage and network drivers. If you use non-standard drivers, you can include them in the
created Veeam Recovery Media manually. For example, you can include drivers for a discrete network
card, third-party USB 3.0 controllers and non-standard hard disk controllers.

TIP

If you do not include some drivers in the Veeam Recovery Media, you can load them from the computer
drive when you perform bare metal recovery. To learn more, see Restoring from Veeam Recovery Media.

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BitLocker Encrypted Volumes Support
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports scenarios of data backup and restore to/from volumes encrypted
with Microsoft Windows BitLocker.

Data Backup
You can create backups of BitLocker encrypted volumes and store backups created with Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows on BitLocker encrypted volumes.

BitLocker encrypted volumes (both source and target) must be unlocked at the moment when Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows starts the backup operation.

• If the volume added to the backup scope is locked at the moment of backup, the backup job will be unable
to process it and will fail.

• If the volume to which the backup file must be stored is locked at the moment of backup, the backup job
will be unable to save the resulting file, and the job will fail.

Data Restore
You can restore data from backups stored on BitLocker encrypted volumes and restore data to BitLocker
encrypted volumes.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows restores volumes in their initial state:

• If you restore an encrypted volume to its original location, the restored volume will be encrypted.

• If you restore an unencrypted volume to an encrypted volume, the restored volume will be unencrypted.

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 IMPORTANT

If you resize a BitLocker encrypted volume during restore, the restored volume will be unencrypted. To
learn more about volume resize, see Volume Resize.

BitLocker encrypted volumes must be unlocked at the moment when you perform the restore operation.

• If the backup file is stored on a locked volume, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will fail to access it,
and you will not be able to restore data from it.

• If you perform volume-level restore, and the target volume is locked, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will display a warning and will ask you to unlock the volume. You can do this using the Microsoft
Windows UI.

Veeam Recovery Media

If you boot from the Veeam Recovery Media, you can restore data from backups stored on BitLocker encrypted
volumes and restore data to BitLocker encrypted volumes.

• If the backup file that you want to use for data restore resides on a locked volume, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows cannot access this backup file. To unlock the volume with the backup file, click Unlock
drive under the Backup file field and enter a password for the volume.

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 • If the target volume is BitLocker encrypted and locked, at the Restore Mode step of the wizard, Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows displays a warning informing about it. You can use one of the following
scenarios:

You can restore data to the target volume and keep BitLocker encryption enabled for the volume. To do
this, you must unlock the volume before you start data restore.
To unlock the volume, click Cancel in the warning window. At the Restore Mode step of the wizard,
select Manual Restore. At the Disk Mapping step of the wizard, click Customize disk mapping and click
Unlock under the necessary volume.

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 You can restore data to the target volume and disable BitLocker encryption for the volume. To do this,
click OK in the warning window. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will delete existing BitLocker
encrypted partitions on the volume, format the disk and restore data from the backup as unencrypted.

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 IMPORTANT

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows cannot back up volumes formatted as FAT32 and encrypted with
BitLocker. In general, FAT32 does not allow storing VSS snapshots on the same volume. When Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows triggers a VSS snapshot of a FAT32 formatted volume, the VSS snapshot is
stored on another, non-FAT32 volume on the computer.

If BitLocker is enabled, the VSS cannot save the snapshot on another volume due to Microsoft limitations,
and the backup process fails.

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Integration with Veeam Backup &
Replication
If you plan to use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 6.0 with Veeam Backup & Replication, you must install
Veeam Backup & Replication 12 on the Veeam backup server. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 5.0 supports
integration with Veeam Backup & Replication 12 as well.

NOTE

You can also use Veeam Backup & Replication to manage Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows on
computers in your infrastructure. Within the Veeam Agent management scenario, you can remotely deploy
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to your computers, as well as configure and manage Veeam Agent
backup jobs in Veeam Backup & Replication. To learn more, see the Veeam Agent Management Guide.

The current guide covers subjects related to Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows operating in the
standalone mode.

You can store backup files created with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows on backup repositories managed by
Veeam Backup & Replication. To do this, you must select a backup repository as a target location in the
properties of the Veeam Agent backup job. To store Veeam Agent backups, you can use a simple backup
repository or a scale-out backup repository.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows works with the backup repository as with any other target location. Backup
files are stored to a separate folder; you can perform standard restore operations using these files.

Information about Veeam Agent backups stored on the backup repositories, backup jobs and sessions becomes
available in the Veeam Backup & Replication console:

• The Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows backup job is displayed in the list of jobs in Veeam Backup &
Replication.

• Backup files created with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows are displayed in the list of backups, under
the Backups > Disk or Backups > Object Storage node.

• Performed job sessions are available in the History view of Veeam Backup & Replication.

Backup administrators working with Veeam Backup & Replication can perform a set of operations with Veeam
Agent backups:

• Perform data protection operations: copy Veeam Agent backups to secondary backup repositories and
archive these backups to tape.

• Perform restore operations: restore individual files and folders, application items; restore computer disks
and convert them to the VMDK, VHD or VHDX format; restore Veeam Agent backups to Microsoft Azure,
Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud or to Hyper-V VMs.

• Perform administrative tasks: disable and delete Veeam Agent backup jobs, remove Veeam Agent backups
and so on.

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116 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide
Backup to Veeam Cloud Connect Repository
If you want to store your data in the cloud, you can connect to a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider (SP) and
create Veeam Agent backups in a cloud repository.

Limitations for Backup to Cloud Repository

Backup to a Veeam Cloud Connect repository has the following limitations:

• You can store backups in a Veeam Cloud Connect repository if you use the Workstation or Server edition of
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows only.

• You cannot use a Veeam Cloud Connect repository as a target for standalone full backup. For details, see
Standalone Full Backup.

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not support creating transaction log backups in the cloud
repository. You cannot enable transaction log backup options in the properties of the backup job targeted
at the cloud repository.

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Managing Veeam Agent in Veeam
Backup & Replication
Veeam Backup & Replication lets you automate management of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows on
multiple computers in your infrastructure. You can deploy Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, configure
Veeam Agent backup jobs and perform other data protection and administration tasks on remote computers. To
use the Veeam Agent management functionality in Veeam Backup & Replication, you must install Veeam Backup
& Replication on the Veeam backup server.

To learn more, see the Veeam Agent Management Guide.

118 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Planning and Preparation
Before you install Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, make sure that the target computer meets the system
requirements and all required ports are open.

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System Requirements
The protected computer must meet requirements listed in the table below.

NOTE
The following system requirements apply to Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows operating in the
standalone mode.

To learn about system requirements for Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows managed by Veeam Backup &
Replication, see the System Requirements section in the Veeam Agent Management Guide.

Specification Requirement

Hardware CPU: x86-64 processor.

Memory: 2 GB RAM or more. Memory consumption varies depending on

number and size of processed disks.

Disk Space: 200 MB for product installation.

Network: 1 Mbps or faster. High latency and reasonably unstable WAN links
are supported.

System firmware: BIOS or UEFI.

Drive encryption: Microsoft BitLocker (optional). BitLocker encrypted

volumes must be unlocked at the moment when Veeam Agent starts the
backup or restore operation. Only Microsoft BitLocker is supported for drive
encryption. Other drive encryption products are not supported.

OS Both 64-bit and 32-bit (where applicable) versions of the following

operating systems are supported1:
• Microsoft Windows Server 2022
• Microsoft Windows Server 2019
• Microsoft Windows Server 2016
• Microsoft Windows Server General Availability Channel (from version
1803 to version 20H2)
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012
• Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP12
• Microsoft Windows 11 (versions 21H2, 22H2)
• Microsoft Windows 10 (from version 1909 to version 22H2)3
• Microsoft Windows 10 Long-Term Servicing Channel (versions 2015,
2016, 2019)
• Microsoft Windows 8.1
• Microsoft Windows 7 SP1

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 Specification Requirement

1
Consider the following:
• Small Business Server, Server Essentials, and Server Storage editions
of Microsoft Windows Server Oses are supported.
• Server Core installations of Microsoft Windows Server Oses are
supported for Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows managed by
Veeam Backup & Replication only. To learn more, see Veeam Agent
Management Guide. Veeam Agent operating in the standalone mode
does not support Server Core installations.
• Windows Embedded / Windows IoT Oses are supported (except for
custom builds by certain vendors that do not have components
required for Veeam Agent operation).
• Microsoft Failover Clusters are supported for Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows managed by Veeam Backup & Replication only.
To learn more, see Veeam Agent Management Guide. Veeam Agent
operating in the standalone mode does not support Microsoft
Failover Clusters.

2
Veeam CBT driver is supported only if Microsoft Windows update
KB3033929 is installed on the Veeam Agent computer.
3
Microsoft Windows 10 Education is supported starting from build 10586
and later.

File System Microsoft Windows FAT32/exFAT, NTFS, ReFS file systems are supported.

The supported file system must reside on a volume that is 64 TB or smaller,

because Veeam Agent uses the Microsoft Software Shadow Copy Provider
to create a volume shadow copy during the backup. To learn more about
the limitation, see this Microsoft article.

Software The following required 3rd party software is included in the setup program:
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2
• Windows Universal C Runtime Library

When installing the product, the setup program checks whether all
prerequisite software is available on the target computer. If some of the
required software components are missing, the missing software is installed
automatically.

If you plan to use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows with Veeam Backup
& Replication, you must install Veeam Backup & Replication 12 on the
Veeam backup server.

Database SQLite database engine (installed with the product).

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Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows works with only those hard drive types that are supported by the Microsoft
Windows OS. Thus, Veeam Agent supports the 512 bytes and 4 KB sector hard drives only. Other hard drive
types are not supported. To learn more, see this Microsoft article.

Backup Source
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports backup of data that resides in the following types of storage:

• Local (internal) storage of the protected computer.

• Direct attached storage (DAS), such as USB, eSATA or Firewire external drives (USB sticks and SD cards are
not supported).

• Storage Area Network (SAN), such as iSCSI connected volumes.

Keep in mind that Veeam Agent cannot work with third-party volume managers installed on the protected
computer. Such managers may not allow Veeam Agent to interact with necessary interfaces and services
properly.

Backup Target
Backup can be performed to the following types of storage:

Disk-based storage

• Local (internal) storage of the protected computer (not recommended).

• Direct attached storage (DAS), such as USB, eSATA or Firewire external drives, and raw device mapping
(RDM) volumes.

• Network Attached Storage (NAS) able to represent itself as SMB (CIFS) share.

• Storage Area Network (SAN), such as iSCSI connected volumes.

• On-premises object storage.

• Veeam Backup & Replication 12 backup repository.

Cloud storage

• Cloud-based object storage.

• Veeam Cloud Connect 12 cloud repository.

Network
Consider the following:

• If you back up to a repository managed by a Veeam backup server, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
must be able to establish a direct IP connection to the Veeam Backup & Replication server. Veeam Agent
cannot work with Veeam Backup & Replication that is located behind a NAT gateway.

• Domain names of the Veeam Agent computer, Veeam Backup & Replication server and other servers in the
Veeam backup infrastructure must be resolvable into Ipv4 or Ipv6 addresses.

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Permissions
If you plan to back up data to object storage, make sure that the user account that you use to connect to the
object storage has the required permissions. The list of required permissions differs depending on the selected
object storage. To learn more, see the following subsections:

• Amazon S3 or S3 compatible

• Google Cloud

Amazon S3 or S3 compatible
If you plan to back up data to the Amazon S3 or S3 compatible storage, make sure the user account that you
plan to use have the following permissions:

TIP

If you plan to use Amazon S3 storage with immutability enabled, see permissions required for immutability
in the Using Object Storage Repositories section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

Identity-based permission:

{
“s3:ListAllMyBuckets”
}

Resource-based permissions:

{
“s3:PutObject”,
“s3:GetObject”,
“s3:ListBucket”,
“s3:DeleteObject”,
“s3:GetBucketLocation”
}

Google Cloud
If you plan to back up data to the Google Cloud storage, make sure the user account that you plan to use have
the following permissions:

{
“storage.buckets.get”,
“storage.buckets.list”,
“storage.objects.create”,
“storage.objects.delete”,
“storage.objects.get”,
“storage.objects.list”
}

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Ports
The following tables describe network ports that must be opened to ensure proper communication of Veeam
Agent operating in the standalone mode with other infrastructure components.

To learn about ports required to enable proper work of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows managed by Veeam
Backup & Replication, see the Ports section in the Veeam Agent Management Guide.

IMPORTANT

The list of ports required for computers booted from the Veeam Recovery Media is the same as the list of
ports required for Veeam Agent computers.

Communication Between Veeam Agent Components

The following table describes network ports that must be opened to enable proper communication between
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows components.

From To Protocol Port Notes

Veeam Veeam Agent TCP 9395+, Ports used locally on the Veeam Agent
Agent Computer 6183+ computer for communication between
Computer Veeam Agent components and Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows Service.

If the default port number is already in

use, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows Service will try to use the next
port number.

Veeam Update TCP 443 Default port used to download

Notification Server information about available updates
(autolk.veeam.com) from the Veeam Update Notification
Server over the Internet.

Communication with Veeam Backup & Replication

Repositories
The following table describes network ports that must be opened to ensure proper communication with Veeam
backup repositories.

From To Protocol Port Notes

Veeam Agent Veeam TCP 10001 Default port used by Veeam Agent for
Computer Backup Microsoft Windows operating in the
Server standalone mode for communication with
the Veeam Backup server.

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 From To Protocol Port Notes

Data between the Veeam Agent computer

and backup repositories is transferred
directly, bypassing Veeam backup servers.

Linux server TCP 2500 to Default range of ports used as data

performing 3300 transmission channels. For every TCP
the role of a connection that a job uses, one port from
backup this range is assigned.
repository

Microsoft TCP 49152-65535 Dynamic RPC port range. For more

Windows information, see this Microsoft article.
server
performing
the role of a TCP 2500 to Default range of ports used as data
backup 3300 transmission channels. For every TCP
repository connection that a job uses, one port from
this range is assigned.

Shared folder TCP 137 to 139, Ports used as a transmission channel from
CIFS (SMB) UDP 443, the Veeam Agent computer to the target
share 445 CIFS (SMB) share.

Ports 137 to 139 are used by backup

infrastructure components to
communicate using NetBIOS.

Port 443 is used to connect the target

CIFS (SMB) share over QUIC. For more
information, see this Microsoft article.

Gateway TCP 137 to 139, If a CIFS (SMB) share is used as a backup

Microsoft UDP 445 repository and a Microsoft Windows
Windows server is selected as a gateway server for
server this CIFS share, these ports must be
opened on the gateway Microsoft
Windows server.

Ports 137 to 139 are used by backup

infrastructure components to
communicate using NetBIOS.

TCP 49152-65535 Dynamic RPC port range. For more

information, see this Microsoft article.

TCP 2500 to Default range of ports used as data

3300 transmission channels. For every TCP
connection that a job uses, one port from
this range is assigned.

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Communication with Veeam Cloud Connect Repositories
The following table describes network ports that must be opened to ensure proper communication with Veeam
Cloud Connect repositories.

From To Protocol Port Notes

Veeam Agent Cloud TCP 6180 Port on the cloud gateway used to
Computer gateway transport Veeam Agent data to the
Veeam Cloud Connect repository.

Certificate TCP 80 or 443 Veeam Agent computer needs access to

Revocation (most CRLs (Certificate Revocation Lists) of the
Lists popular) CA (Certification Authority) who issued a
certificate to the Veeam Cloud Connect
service provider.

Generally, information about CRL

locations can be found on the CA website.

Communication with Object Storage

The following table describes network ports and endpoints that must be opened to ensure proper
communication with object storage.

From To Protocol Port/Endpoint Notes

Veeam Amazon S3 TCP 443 Port and endpoints

Agent object used for
Computer storage communication with
HTTPS AWS service endpoints: Amazon S3 object
• *.amazonaws.com (for both storage.
Global and Government regions)
• *.amazonaws.com.cn (for China
region)

A complete list of connection endpoints

can be found in AWS Documentation.

TCP 80 Port and endpoints

used to verify the
certificate status.
HTTP Certificate verification endpoints:
Keep in mind that
• *.amazontrust.com certificate verification
endpoints (CRL URLs
and OCSP servers) are
subject to change. The
actual list of addresses

126 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

 From To Protocol Port/Endpoint Notes

can be found in the

certificate itself.

Microsoft TCP 443 Port and endpoints

Azure used for
object communication with
storage HTTPS Cloud endpoints: Microsoft Azure object
• xxx.blob.core.windows.net (for storage.
Global region) Keep in mind that the
• xxx.blob.core.chinacloudapi.cn <xxx> part of the
(for China region) address must be
replaced with your
• xxx.blob.core.cloudapi.de (for
actual storage account
Germany region) URL, which can be
• xxx.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net found in the Azure
(for Government region) management portal.

TCP 80 Port and endpoints

used to verify the
certificate status.
HTTP Certificate verification endpoints:
Consider the following:
• ocsp.digicert.com
• ocsp.msocsp.com • Certificate
• *.d-trust.net verification
endpoints (CRL
URLs and OCSP
servers) are
subject to
change. The
actual list of
addresses can be
found in the
certificate itself.
• The *.d-trust.net
endpoint is used
for the Germany
region only.

Google TCP 443 Port and endpoints

Cloud used for
storage communication with
HTTPS Cloud endpoints: Google Cloud storage.
• storage.googleapis.com

A complete list of connection endpoints

can be found in this Google article.

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 From To Protocol Port/Endpoint Notes

TCP 80 Port and endpoints

used to verify the
certificate status.
HTTP Certificate verification endpoints:
Keep in mind that
• ocsp.pki.goog
certificate verification
• pki.goog endpoints (CRL URLs
• crl.pki.goog and OCSP servers) are
subject to change. The
actual list of addresses
can be found in the
certificate itself.

IBM Cloud TCP/HTTPS Customizable and depends on device Port and endpoints
object configuration used for
storage communication with
IBM Cloud object
storage.

S3 TCP/HTTPS Customizable and depends on device Port and endpoints

compatible configuration used for
object communication with S3
storage compatible object
storage.

Communication with Mail Servers

The following table describes network ports that must be opened to ensure proper communication with mail
servers.

From To Protocol Port Notes

Veeam SMTP server TCP 25 Default port used by the SMTP server.
Agent
Computer
TCP 587 Port used by the SMTP server if SSL is
enabled.

Gmail REST API TCP 443 Port used for communication with
(gmail.googleapis.com) Google Mail services.

Microsoft Graph REST API TCP 443 Port used for communication with
(graph.microsoft.com, Microsoft Exchange Online
login.microsoftonline.com) organizations.

128 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Installation and Configuration
You can install Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows on any computer whose data you plan to protect — server,
desktop, laptop or tablet.

129 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Before You Begin
Before you start the installation process, check the following prerequisites:

• The computer on which you plan to install Veeam Agent must satisfy system requirements specified in this
document. To learn more, see System Requirements.

• Make sure the operating system on the computer you want to protect is up-to-date. Otherwise, the
correct functioning of Veeam Agent is not guaranteed.

• If your computer runs Microsoft Windows 11 version 22H2, make sure that the Smart App Control feature is
disabled. Otherwise, it may cause installation issues.
For information about Smart App Control, see this Microsoft article.

• You must run the Veeam Agent setup file under the Administrator account or any user account that has
Administrator privileges on the computer where you plan to install the product.

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows requires the following components:

o SQLite database engine

o Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2 or later

o Windows Universal C Runtime Library

If these components are not pre-installed on the computer, the setup will install them during the product
installation process.

• The product program files are placed to the %ProgramFiles%\Veeam\Endpoint Backup folder on the
system volume. Make sure that you have enough free space on the system volume to install the product.
Veeam Agent requires at least 200 MB.

• [Recommended] If you want to configure a scheduled backup job with default settings after the
installation, you must prepare a USB storage device.

• [Recommended] If you want to create a recovery image of your computer on a USB storage device,
CD/DVD/BD or make an ISO image, prepare the necessary device/media or make sure that you have
enough free disk space in the target location. On average, the size of the created recovery image is 500
MB.
During the recovery image creation, Veeam Agent formats the removable storage device. If you have
important information on the device, create a copy of this data in some other location.

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Installing Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows
To install Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows:

1. Download the setup archive for Standalone Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows from this Veeam
webpage and save it on the computer where you plan to install the product.

2. Double-click the downloaded setup archive. In the open archive, double-click the setup file to launch the
installation wizard and click Next.

3. Click I Accept to accept license agreements and install Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

After the installation process is complete, you can instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to create a
recovery image for your computer. To learn more, see Creating Veeam Recovery Media.

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Installing Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows in Unattended Mode
You can install Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows in the unattended mode using the command line interface.
The unattended installation mode does not require user interaction — the installation runs automatically in the
background, and you do not have to respond to the installation wizard prompts. You can use the unattended
installation mode to automate the Veeam Agent installation process in large-scale environments.

Prerequisite Software
During the product installation, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows automatically sets up the following
required prerequisite components:

• SQLite database engine

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 6.0 uses SQLite database instead of Microsoft SQL Server 2012
Express LocalDB. If you install Veeam Agent version 6.0 on a computer with an existing SQL Server
database, migration to the new database will be performed during the upgrade of Veeam Agent. If
necessary, you can skip migration to the new database. To learn more, see Installation Without Database
Migration.

• Windows Universal C Runtime Library

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will also set up Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5.2 if it does not detect this
component on the computer during the product installation.

In some cases, installation of prerequisite software requires computer reboot. This can happen, for example, if
you have an earlier version of a prerequisite component installed on the computer and during the installation
process this component is used by third-party software.

In this situation, unattended setup will install Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows but will not start the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows service. After you reboot the computer, the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
service will be started and Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will be fully functioning.

Installation
To install Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows in the unattended mode, use a command with the following
syntax:

<path_to_exe> /silent /accepteula /acceptthirdpartylicenses

where <path_to_exe> — path to the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows installation file.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses the following codes to report about the installation results:

• 1000 — Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows has been successfully installed.

• 1001 — prerequisite components required for Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows have been installed on
the machine. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows has not been installed. The machine needs to be
rebooted.

• 1002 — Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows installation has failed.

• 1004 — migration to SQLite database has failed.

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 • 1101 — Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows has been installed. The machine needs to be rebooted.

Installation Without Database Migration

If you do not want to migrate the existing SQL database during the installation of Veeam Agent, you can skip
migration to the new database. In this case, you will need to create backup jobs from scratch.

To skip migration, use a command with the following syntax:

<path_to_exe> /silent /accepteula /acceptthirdpartylicenses /skipmigration

To learn more about database migration, see Upgrading Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

133 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Using Sysprep and Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows
You can pre-install Veeam Agent in a custom Microsoft Windows system image that will be used for deployment
on different computers. To do this, you should perform a set of configuration steps in the reference Microsoft
Windows system installation that will be included in a deployment image.

To configure a custom Microsoft Windows system image with Veeam Agent:

1. Install Veeam Agent in a Microsoft Windows system image. To learn more, see Installing Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows.

2. Configure the backup job in the way you want it to work on computers with pre-installed Veeam Agent. To
learn more, see Creating Backup Jobs.

NOTE

It is advised to configure the backup job for the entire computer backup. In case of volume-level backup, it
may be necessary to reconfigure the backup job after Microsoft Windows is deployed to the target
computer and include the necessary volumes in the backup once again. This may happen if volumes’ GUIDs
were changed at the stage of Microsoft Windows generalization with Sysprep.

3. Create a registry value: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Veeam\Veeam Endpoint

Backup\SysprepMode (DWORD)=1.

This registry value is used to regenerate the job ID when Veeam Agent starts for the first time on the new
computer. If you do not create the registry value, the backup job may fail as soon as it is started on the
new computer.

4. Run the Sysprep tool in the Generalize mode to remove any system-specific data. If you need to run the
Sysprep tool in the Audit mode, do not forget to re-create the registry value afterwards.

5. Deploy the image on the necessary computers in any convenient way. To learn more about deployment of
Microsoft Windows system to new computers, see this Microsoft article.

When you deploy the created image on the computer, Veeam Agent will re-generate internal IDs of the backup
jobs. As a result, the backup job will be fully functional.

NOTE

After Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows starts on the new computer for the first time, the registry value
is changed to 0 so that the job ID is not changed during subsequent starts of Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows.

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Upgrading Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows
For Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, upgrade to newer versions is supported. You can start the upgrade
process from the Veeam Agent control panel when the new version becomes available. To learn how to check
for product updates, see Checking for New Product Versions and Updates.

Before You Begin

Before you upgrade Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to version 6.0, check the following prerequisites:

• Make sure that you do not have backup jobs targeted at Microsoft OneDrive.
Starting from Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 6.0, backup to Microsoft OneDrive is deprecated. To
continue working with backups created with an earlier version of Veeam Agent and stored on a Microsoft
OneDrive storage, download these backups and move them to another storage. To learn more, see
Downloading Backups from Microsoft OneDrive.

• Make sure that your local Microsoft SQL Server instance and other SQL components that were installed
with the previous version of Veeam Agent work correctly.
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 6.0 uses SQLite database instead of Microsoft SQL Server 2012
Express LocalDB. Migration to the new database will be performed during the upgrade of Veeam Agent. If
any required SQL components are missing, migration will fail.

During the upgrade process, configuration and backup files that were created with the previous version of
Veeam Agent are not impacted in any way.

Upgrade Process
NOTE

Consider the following:

• In some cases, upgrade to the new version of Veeam Agent may require computer reboot.
• You can also download the Veeam Agent setup archive from this Veeam webpage. Save the
downloaded archive on the computer where you plan to install the new version of the product and
double-click the setup archive to start the upgrade.

To upgrade Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam Agent icon in the system
tray and select Control Panel.

2. Open the About tab.

3. If the new version of Veeam Agent is available, click Download.

4. When the download is complete, click Install to run the setup archive.

5. To upgrade Veeam Agent, you must accept the terms of the license agreements. Read the license
agreements and click Accept and Update.

6. To preserve settings from the previous product installation, click Yes in the opened window.

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 If the migration fails for any reason, the upgrade process will stop. In this case, you will be able to
continue using the earlier version of Veeam Agent as the existing Microsoft SQL Server database and
preinstalled SQL components are not deleted during the migration.

NOTE

Migration will not start if at least one of the following conditions is met:

• You use Veeam Agent version 3.0 or earlier. In this case, a new database will be created during
the upgrade.
• Migration to SQLite database was performed earlier.

7. After the installation is complete, click Finish.

Unattended Upgrade
You can upgrade Veeam Agent to a newer version in the unattended mode using the same command that is used
for unattended installation. To learn more, see Installing Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows in Unattended
Mode.

If necessary, you can skip the migration of the SQL database during the unattended upgrade. To learn more, see
Installation Without Database Migration.

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Configuring Advanced Settings
Connection Settings for Veeam Backup Server
If you want to connect Veeam Agent computer to Veeam backup server as a member of the protection group for
pre-installed Veeam Agents, you must apply connection settings from the configuration file. The configuration
file is one of the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows setup files that you must obtain from your System
Administrator. To learn more about protection group for pre-installed Veeam Agents, see the Protection Group
Types section in the Veeam Agent Management Guide.

To connect Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to Veeam backup server, use Veeam Agent Configurator. To
learn more, see the SetVBRSettings section in the Veeam Agent Configurator Reference.

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Uninstalling Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows
To uninstall Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows:

1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel > Programs and Features.

2. In the programs list, right-click Veeam Agent and select Uninstall. Wait for the process to complete.

The prerequisite components installed and used by Veeam Agent are not removed during the uninstall process.
To remove each of the remaining components, right-click it in the programs list and select Uninstall.

138 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

What You Do Next
After the product installation, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays its icon in the system tray. You can
use the system tray icon to perform main operations in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows:

• Configure the backup job and start ad-hoc backup operations

• Launch restore wizards

• Open the Veeam Agent control panel

• Monitor the state of backup tasks and so on

Depending on the current settings of your Microsoft Windows OS, the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon
may not be displayed in the system tray.

To bring the icon to the system tray:

1. In Microsoft Windows, open the Notification Area Settings window. To do this, do either of the following:

o Click the arrow in the system tray and click Taskbar Settings.

o From the Microsoft Windows main menu, select Control Panel and navigate to Taskbar and
Navigation. In the Taskbar section, select Notification Area.

2. In the Notification Area Settings window, select On for the Veeam Agent Tray.

3. In the Behaviors column, set the Show icon and notification setting for it.

139 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

Getting Started
To protect your computer from a disaster of any kind, you must perform the following operations in Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows:

5. Create a Veeam Recovery Media.

The Veeam Recovery Media provides an alternate way to boot the Microsoft Windows RE. If your
computer fails to start or the hard disk gets corrupted, you can boot the Windows RE from the Veeam
Recovery Media and restore your data.
To learn more, see Creating Veeam Recovery Media.

2. Define what data you want to back up and configure the backup job.
Before you configure a backup job, you should decide on the following backup details:

o Backup scope: entire computer image, individual computer volumes or specific computer folders.

o Backup destination: where you want to store created backups.

o Backup schedule: how often you want to back up your data.

After that, you can configure the backup job. The backup job runs automatically by the defined schedule,
captures the data that you have added to the backup scope and creates a chain of restore points in the
target location. If your data gets lost or corrupted, you can restore it from the required restore point.
To learn more, see Creating Backup Jobs.

3. Specify Veeam Agent settings.

You can define resource usage settings during backup, instruct Veeam Agent to automatically check for
new product versions and so on. To learn more, see Specifying Settings.

4. Monitor backup task performance.

You can use the Veeam Agent control panel to check how backup tasks are being performed, what errors
have occurred during backup job sessions and so on. To learn more, see Reporting.

5. In case of a disaster, you can restore the entire computer image or specific data on the computer. To learn
more, see Performing Restore.

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Licensing
You can use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows as a free product. In this case, you do not need to obtain and
install any license.

To work with a commercial version of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you must obtain a license and install
it on the protected computer. If you do not install a license, you will be able to use the Free edition of the
product only.

If you plan to use a commercial version of the product with Veeam Backup & Replication, you must install and
manage the license in the Veeam Backup & Replication console or in Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager. To
learn more, see Managing License.

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Product Editions
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows offers three product editions that define product functionality and
operation modes:

• Server — a commercial edition that provides access to all product functions. The Server edition is intended
for performing data protection tasks on servers that run the Microsoft Windows OS. To use the Server
edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you must obtain and install a license on the protected
computer. The license must have a number of instances that is enough to protect a machine with the
Server product edition.

• Workstation — a commercial edition that offers capabilities for performing data protection tasks on
desktop computers and laptops that run the Microsoft Windows OS. To use the Workstation edition of
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you must obtain and install a license on the protected computer.
The license must have a number of instances that is enough to protect a machine with the Workstation
product edition.

• Free — a free edition that offers limited capabilities sufficient for personal use of the product. In contrast
to the Workstation and Server editions, the Free edition does not require a license.

For more information about product editions, pricing and features available for them, see this Veeam webpage.

To learn more about instance licensing, see this Veeam webpage.

When you install a license on the protected computer, you can select the product edition of Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows: Workstation or Server (if both editions are supported by the license). To learn more, see
Selecting Product Edition.

If you use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows with Veeam Backup & Replication, you should manage product
licenses and editions from the Veeam Backup & Replication console. To learn more, see Managing License.

If the license has expired and you have used backup job options available for the Workstation and Server
editions, you must disable these options in the properties of the backup job. Otherwise, the backup job will fail.

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License Agreements
When you install Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you must accept the terms of license agreements.

To view the license agreements, click the corresponding links in the installation window.

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Installing License
When you launch the Veeam Agent control panel for the first time, Veeam Agent displays a notification window
offering to install a license. You can choose to install the license immediately or postpone this operation.

• If you choose to install the license, you can immediately browse for the license key on your computer and
complete the license installation process.

• If you choose to postpone the license installation process, you will be able to install a license later at any
time you need.

Until you install a license, you can use the Free edition of the product. To switch to a commercial version of
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you need to obtain and install a license.

NOTE

If you plan to use a Veeam Backup & Replication repository as a target location for Veeam Agent backups,
you must install a license in Veeam Backup & Replication. The license must have enough instances to
protect machines with Veeam Agents that back up data to the Veeam Backup & Replication repository. To
learn more, see Managing License.

To install a license:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select About.

3. In the Version section, click the following link:

a. Update license to get additional features — if the license is not installed yet, and you run the Free
edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

b. Manage license and edition — if the license is already installed on the Veeam Agent computer, and
you want to change the license or select the product edition.

4. In the dialog window, click Install and browse for the LIC file.
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will install the license and select the product edition that is allowed
by the license. If a license supports both the Workstation and Server editions, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will select the product edition based on the type of the Microsoft Windows OS installed on the
Veeam Agent computer.
You can change the product edition manually if needed. To learn more, see Selecting Product Edition.

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Selecting Product Edition
When you install a license, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows automatically selects the product edition that is
allowed by the license. If a license supports both the Workstation and Server editions, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will select the product edition based on the type of the Microsoft Windows OS installed on
the Veeam Agent computer.

You can change the product edition manually if needed. To select the product edition:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select About.

3. In the Version section, click Manage license and edition.

4. In the dialog window, in the Edition section, select the desired product edition. To learn more about
editions of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, see Product Editions.

NOTE

After you switch from the Server edition to the Workstation edition, or vice versa, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will disable the backup job. This operation is required, because backup retention
policies and available backup job options differ in Workstation and Server editions. To enable the job, you
must edit the backup job settings in accordance with the selected edition.

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Revoking License
You can revoke a license at any time if needed, for example, after the license is expired, and you want to
continue using the Free edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

To revoke a license:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select About.

3. In the Version section, click Manage license and edition.

4. In the dialog window, click Revoke.

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Performing Backup
To protect your computer and data, you can perform the following operations:

• Create a Veeam Recovery Media. You can use the Veeam Recovery Media to boot the Microsoft Windows
RE from the recovery media in case the OS on your computer fails to start. To learn more, see Creating
Veeam Recovery Media and Creating Veeam Recovery Media with Command Line Interface.

• Back up your data. You can back up your data to protect the entire computer image, individual volumes or
folders on your computer. Veeam Agent lets you configure a scheduled backup job with the default
settings right after the product installation, configure a backup job with custom settings or create ad-hoc
backups at any time you need. You can use data backup to restore necessary information if data on your
computer gets corrupted or you delete some files and folders by mistake. To learn more, see Creating
Backup Jobs.

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Creating Veeam Recovery Media
You can create a Veeam Recovery Media — a recovery media for your computer. The Veeam Recovery Media
contains all data that is required to run the Microsoft Windows RE. If your computer stops working or the hard
disk fails, you can boot from the Veeam Recovery Media, instead of booting from the hard drive. After booting,
you can use Veeam and Microsoft tools to fix errors, recover the system image of your computer and your data.

NOTE

In some cases, Windows Recovery Environment components may be missing on the system, and Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows will not find them during the Veeam Recovery Media creation. In such case
you will be prompted to do one of the following:

• Insert the Windows Installation Media so that Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows can load the
necessary components from it.
• Download and install Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (MS ADK).

Keep in mind that the Veeam Recovery Media created with MS ADK components will not contain the
following tools:

• Windows Recovery Environment

• Memory Diagnostic
• Startup Repair

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Before You Begin
Before you create a Veeam Recovery Media, check the following prerequisites:

Removable Storage Device Scenario (USB, SD Card and Other)

• The removable storage device must be inserted into a slot in the computer or connected to the computer.

• The removable storage device must have enough capacity to store the created recovery image. On
average, the size of the created recovery image without manually loaded drivers is 500 MB.

• During the recovery image creation, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows formats the removable storage
device. If you have important information on the device, create a copy of this data in some other location.

• If you want to include specific storage and network drivers into the recovery image, place them to a local
folder on your computer or in a network shared folder to which you have access and read permissions.
During the recovery image creation process, you will be able to define a path to this folder, and Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows will include the drivers into the recovery image.

• [For Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 and later] If you want your computer to detect a Wi-Fi network and
connect to it after you boot from the recovery image, enable the Wireless LAN Service feature on your
computer. In this case, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will add wireless networking support files to
the Veeam Recovery Media. To learn more about the Wireless LAN Service, see this Microsoft article.

CD/DVD/BD Scenario
• An empty or re-writable CD/DVD/BD must be inserted into a CD/DVD/BD drive on the computer.

• The CD/DVD/BD must have enough capacity to store the created recovery image. On average, the size of
the created recovery image without manually loaded drivers is 500 MB.

• If you want to include specific storage and network drivers into the recovery image, place them to a local
folder on your computer or in a network shared folder on which you have read permissions. During the
recovery image creation, you will be able to define a path to this folder, and Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will include the drivers into the recovery image.

• [For RW CD/DVD/BD] During the recovery image creation, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows erases
information on the CD/DVD/BD. If you have important information on the CD/DVD/BD, create a copy of
this data in some other location.

• [For Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 and later] If you want your computer to detect a Wi-Fi network and
connect to it after you boot from the recovery image, enable the Wireless LAN Service feature on your
computer. In this case, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will add wireless networking support files to
the Veeam Recovery Media. To learn more about the Wireless LAN Service, see this Microsoft article.

Local Target and Shared Folder Scenario (ISO)

• If you want to include specific storage and network drivers into the recovery image, place them to a local
folder on your computer or in a network shared folder on which you have read permissions. During the
recovery image creation, you will be able to define a path to this folder, and Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will include the drivers into the recovery image.

• [For shared folders] If you plan to save the created ISO file in a network shared folder, make sure that you
have access to this folder and write permissions on it.

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 • [For Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 and later] If you want your computer to detect a Wi-Fi network and
connect to it after you boot from the recovery image, enable the Wireless LAN Service feature on your
computer. In this case, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will add wireless networking support files to
the Veeam Recovery Media. To learn more about the Wireless LAN Service, see this Microsoft article.

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Step 1. Launch Create Recovery Media Wizard
You can launch the Create Recovery Media wizard right after the product installation process or at any time
later.

To launch the Create Recovery Media wizard after installation:

1. At the last step of the installation wizard, select the Run Veeam Recovery Media creation wizard check
box.

2. Click Finish. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will automatically launch the Create Recovery Media
wizard.

To launch the Create Recovery Media wizard at any time, from the Microsoft Windows Start menu, select All
Programs > Veeam > Tools > Create Recovery Media or use the Microsoft Windows search to find the Create
Recovery Media option on your computer.

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Step 2. Specify Recovery Media Options
At the Recovery Media step of the wizard, specify on which type of media you want to create a recovery image
and what drivers you want to include in the recovery image.

1. In the Available bootable media types list, select a media for the recovery image. You can create the
following types of recovery images:

o Recovery image on a removable storage device. You can create a recovery image on a USB drive, SD
card and so on. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays all removable storage devices currently
attached to your computer. Select the necessary one in the list.

o Recovery image on an optical disk. You can create a recovery image on a CD, DVD or BD. Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows displays all CD, DVD and BD drives available on your computer. Select the
necessary one in the list.

o ISO file with the recovery image. You can create a recovery image in the ISO file format and save the
resulting file locally on your computer or in a network shared folder.

2. If you have enabled data encryption options for the backup job and want to include the decryption key in
the recovery image, select the Include decryption key for seamless restore from encrypted backup check
box. In this case, when you use the created recovery image to perform bare metal recovery, you will not
have to enter the password used for encryption.

3. If you want to include in the recovery image current network settings, make sure that the Include network
connections settings from this computer check box is selected. When you use the created Veeam Recovery
Media to boot your computer, these settings will be automatically applied and will be used to connect to
the remote backup storage.

4. If you want to include in the recovery image storage and network drivers that are currently installed on
your computer, make sure that the Include hardware drivers from this computer check box is selected.
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will detect hard disk controller drivers, network adapter drivers and
USB controller drivers and include them into the recovery image. When you use the created Veeam
Recovery Media to boot your computer, these drivers will be automatically injected into Windows RE.

5. If you want to include in the recovery image additional storage and network drivers that you may need
when booting from the recovery image, select the Include the following additional storage and network
hardware drivers check box, click Add and select a folder containing necessary drivers. The folder that you
select must contain all files of the driver package (files in CAT, INF and SYS formats).
We strongly recommend that you enable this option if you use drivers that are not included into the
Microsoft Windows installation DVD. For example, you can include drivers for a discrete network card,
third party USB 3.0 controllers and non-standard hard disk controllers.

IMPORTANT

Consider the following:

• When you boot your computer from the Veeam Recovery Media, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows does not automatically install additional drivers included in the recovery image. You need
to install such drivers manually using the Load Driver tool. To learn more, see Using Veeam Agent
and Microsoft Windows Tools.
• We do not recommend to include large amount of additional drivers (1 GB and more) in the Veeam
Recovery Media. When you boot your computer from the Veeam Recovery Media, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows loads all additional drivers stored in the Veeam Recovery Media into your
computer RAM. If the total size of the recovery environment is approximately equal to or greater
than the amount of RAM, Windows RE will fail to load.

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Step 3. Specify Path to ISO
The Image Path step of the wizard is available if you have selected to create an ISO file with the recovery image.

Select a location where you want to save the ISO file.

1. In the ISO file name and location field, specify a real path to the folder where you want to save the
created recovery image and the ISO file name. You can save the ISO file in the following locations:

o Local folder: select the necessary folder on your computer.

o Network shared folder: specify a UNC path to a network shared folder. Keep in mind that a UNC path
always starts with two back slashes (\\).
We strongly recommend that you store the recovery image in a location other than a local computer drive.
If you choose to save the recovery image in a local folder on your computer, you can copy it to an external
location afterwards. In this case, the recovery image will always be available should computer volumes get
corrupted or the computer fail to start.

2. If you chose to save the ISO file in a network shared folder and this folder requires authentication, select
the This share requires access credentials check box and enter the user name and password in the
Username and Password fields. The user name must be specified in the DOMAIN\UserName format.
To view the entered password, click and hold the eye icon on the right of the Password field.

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Step 4. Review Recovery Image Settings
At the Ready to Apply step of the wizard, review settings of the recovery image that you plan to create and click
Create.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will collect files necessary for recovery image creation and write the
resulting recovery image to the specified target or burn it to CD/DVD/BD.

The process of recovery image creation may take some time. Wait for the process to complete and click Finish to
exit the wizard.

If you want to interrupt the process of recovery image creation, click Cancel or close the wizard window.

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What You Do Next
[For ISO] After the recovery image is created, you can burn the created ISO to a CD/DVD/BD. To do this, you can
use native Microsoft Windows tools or third-party software.

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Creating Veeam Recovery Media with
Command Line Interface
In addition to creating the Veeam Recovery Media with the Create Recovery Media wizard, you can also use the
command line interface to create the recovery image and save it as an ISO file. To create the Veeam Recovery
Media, use a command with the following syntax:

“C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe” /createreco

verymediaiso /f:<location>\<name>.iso

where:

• <location> — path to the folder in which the recovery image ISO file will be created. All folders that are
mentioned in the path must be created in advance. Names of folders in the path must not contain spaces.
• <name> — name of the resulted ISO file. The file name must not contain spaces.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• When you create the Veeam Recovery Media using the command line interface, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows includes in the recovery image storage and network drivers that are currently
installed on the Veeam Agent computer, and current network settings of this computer. If you want
to include additional drivers or data decryption key in the recovery image, you must create the
Veeam Recovery Media using the Create Recovery Media wizard. To learn more, see Creating Veeam
Recovery Media.
• If you do not use the /f: option to specify a path to the folder in which to save the resulting ISO
file, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will save the ISO file to the
C:\Users\%UserProfile%\Documents folder with the
VeeamRecoveryMedia_<machine>.iso name, where <machine> — name of your Veeam Agent
computer.
• You cannot save the ISO file to a network shared folder using the command line interface.

You can use the last exit code to verify if the backup job has completed successfully. To check the last exit code,
use the %ERRORLEVEL% variable in cmd.exe. Veeam Agent can provide the following exit codes:

• 0 — recovery image successfully created

• 1 — the create recovery image operation failed

Example of Use
The example below creates an ISO file with the VeeamRE name in the E:\Veeam\RecoveryImage folder.

“C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe” /createreco

verymediaiso /f:E:\Veeam\RecoveryImage\VeeamRE.iso

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Creating Backup Jobs
To back up your data, you must configure a backup job. The backup job defines how, where and when to back up
data. You can choose one of the following backup types:

• Backup of an entire computer image

• Backup of specific computer volumes, for example, a system volume or secondary volume

• Backup of individual folders, for example, documents folder or folder with music

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Before You Begin
Before you configure the backup job, check the following prerequisites:

• The target location where you plan to store backup files must have enough free space. The required space
depends on the size of backed-up data and backup job settings.

• Available backup job options depend on the edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows. Make sure
that you have obtained and installed a license that has the desired number of instances. To learn more,
see Licensing.

• [For Veeam Backup & Replication repository targets] You can store created backups in a backup repository
only if the backup server runs Veeam Backup & Replication 12. If you plan to use a commercial version of
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows with Veeam Backup & Replication, you must install a license in
Veeam Backup & Replication that has a sufficient number of instances to protect machines with Veeam
Agent. To learn more, see Managing License.

• [For Veeam Backup & Replication repository targets] If you plan to use a Veeam Backup & Replication
repository as a target for backups, you must preconfigure user access permissions on this backup
repository. To learn more, see Setting Up User Permissions on Backup Repositories.

• [For Veeam Cloud Connect repository targets] If you plan to use a cloud repository as a target for backups,
make sure that the service provider has communicated to you the necessary data: cloud gateway settings,
user account settings and certificate thumbprint.

• A user account under which you launch the New Backup Job wizard must have administrative privileges on
the Veeam Agent computer. If the account under which you are currently logged on to Microsoft Windows
does not have administrative privileges, you will be prompted to enter administrator credentials.

Backup has the following limitations:

• You cannot save the backup of entire computer on the local computer disk. Use an external hard drive or
USB drive, network shared folder or backup repository as a target location.

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not back up data to which symbolic links are targeted. It only
backs up the path information that the symbolic links contain. After restore, identical symbolic links are
created in the restore destination.

• Keep in mind that Veeam Agent stops running the backup job after 3 weeks.

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Step 1. Launch New Backup Job Wizard
To launch the New Backup Job wizard, do either of the following:

• [If no backup jobs are configured] Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the
system tray.

• Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Backup > Configure
backup.

NOTE

The Backup option is not available in the system tray menu if multiple backup jobs are configured in Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows.

• Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.
Then, from the main menu, select Add New Job.

• From the Microsoft Windows Start menu, select All Programs > Veeam > Tools > Configure Backup or use
the Microsoft Windows search to find the Configure Backup option on your computer.

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Step 2. Specify Job Name and Description
At the Name step of the wizard, specify a name and description for the backup job.

1. In the Name field, enter a name for the backup job.

2. In the Description field, provide a description for future reference. The default description contains
information about the user who created the job, date and time when the job was created.

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Step 3. Select Backup Mode
At the Backup Mode step of the wizard, select the mode in which you want to create a backup:

1. In the Backup mode section, select the backup mode. You can select one of the following options:

o Entire computer — select this option if you want to create a backup of the entire computer image.
When you restore data from such backup, you will be able to recover the entire computer image as
well as data on specific computer volumes: files, folders, application data and so on. With this option
selected, you will pass to the Destination step of the wizard.

o Volume level backup — select this option if you want to create a backup of specific computer volumes,
for example, all volumes except the system one. When you restore data from such backup, you will be
able to recover data on these volumes only: files, folders, application data and so on. With this option
selected, you will pass to the Volumes step of the wizard.

o File level backup — select this option if you want to create a backup of individual folders on your
computer. When you backup data in this mode, you can configure additional rules to include/exclude
files of the specific type in/from your backup. When you restore data from such backup, you will be
able to recover backed-up files and folders. With this option selected, you will pass to the Files step
of the wizard.

2. [For entire computer backup] If you want to include in the backup one or more external USB drives, select
the Include external USB drives check box. With this option selected, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
will include in the backup all supported external drives that are connected to the Veeam Agent computer
at the time when the backup job starts. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports backup of external
drives that support Microsoft VSS: HDD, SSD, and so on. USB flash drives (USB sticks) are not supported.
To learn more, see Backup of External Drives.

TIP

File-level backup is typically slower and requires more network traffic than volume-level backup.
Depending on the performance capabilities of your computer and backup environment, the difference
between file-level and volume-level backup job performance may increase significantly. If you plan to back
up all folders with files on a specific volume or back up large amount of data, we recommend that you
configure volume-level backup instead of file-level backup.

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Step 4. Specify Backup Scope Settings
Specify backup scope for the backup job:

• Select volumes to back up — if you have selected the Volume level backup option at the Backup Mode
step of the wizard.

• Select folders to back up — if you have selected the File level backup option at the Backup Mode step of
the wizard.

Selecting Volumes to Back Up

The Volumes step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to create a volume-level backup.

At this step of the wizard, you must specify the backup scope — define what volumes you want to include in the
backup.

To specify the backup scope, choose volumes and objects that you want to include in the backup. You can
include the following data in the backup:

• Computer volumes (located on local drives or external USB drives). To include individual volumes of your
computer to the backup scope, select check boxes next to necessary volumes.
If you select all volumes at this step of the wizard, Veeam Agent will create a backup of the entire
computer image. However, if a new volume appears on a Veeam Agent computer, Veeam Agent will not
include this volume in the backup scope automatically. Veeam Agent will back up only those volumes that
are explicitly selected for backup.

NOTE

You cannot include in the backup volumes located on virtual hard disks (VHD or VHDX).

• Mount points. To include individual volumes mounted on your computer to the backup scope, select check
boxes next to necessary mount points.
In the list of objects to back up, Veeam Agent displays available mount points after volumes.

• System state data. To include system state data into the backup, do one of the following:

o In the Choose directories to backup list, select the Operating system check box.

o In the The following file system objects list, select the check box next to the system volume.
Typically, the system volume is the Local Disk (C😊 volume.

o Select the Show system and hidden volumes check box at the bottom of the window. In the The
following file system objects list, select the System Reserved check box and the check box next to the
system volume. Typically, the system volume is the Local Disk (C😊 volume.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will include in the backup scope the Microsoft Windows system
partition and boot partition of your computer. For GPT disks on Microsoft Windows 8.1, 10, 11, 2012, 2012
R2, 2016, 2019 and 2022, Veeam Agent will additionally back up the recovery partition. To learn more,
see System State Data Backup.

When you include a system volume in the backup, Veeam Agent automatically includes the System
Reserved/UEFI or other system partitions in the backup too. If you do not want to back up the system state
data, you can clear the System Reserved/EFI System Partition check box. However, in this case Veeam Agent
does not guarantee that the OS will boot properly when you attempt to recover from such backup. To learn
more, see System State Data Backup.

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 NOTE

Veeam Agent automatically adds to the list of exclusions the following Microsoft Windows objects for all
computer users: temporary files folder, Recycle Bin, Microsoft Windows pagefile, hibernate file and VSS
snapshot files from the System Volume Information folder.

Selecting Folders to Back Up

The Files step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to create a file-level backup.

In the file-level backup mode, you can create two types of backups:

• File-level backup that includes individual folders on your computer.

• Hybrid backup that contains individual folders and specific volumes of your computer.

At this step of the wizard, you must specify the backup scope — define what folders with files or entire volumes
you want to include in the backup.

To specify the backup scope, select check boxes next to necessary objects. You can include the following data in
the backup:

• Operating system data — data related to the OS installed on your computer.

• Personal files — data related to user profiles. With this option enabled, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will include in the backup scope settings and data related to Veeam Agent computer user
profiles.
You can specify what personal data to include in the backup and choose whether to exclude roaming
profiles from the backup. To do this, click Choose next to the Personal files field and select the necessary
options in the Personal Folders window. To learn more, see Personal Data Backup.

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 • System reserved data — system data required to boot the OS installed on your computer. With this option
enabled, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will include in the backup scope Microsoft Windows system
partition and boot partition of your computer. For GPT disks on Microsoft Windows 8.1, 10, 11, 2012, 2012
R2, 2016, 2019 and 2022, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will additionally back up the recovery
partition. To learn more, see System State Data Backup.

• Individual folders. To learn more, see Selecting Folders.

• Individual computer volumes and mount points (located on local drives or external USB drives). To learn
more, see Selecting Volumes.

IMPORTANT

Consider the following:

• Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not include the following Microsoft Windows objects in
the backup: temporary files folder, Recycle Bin, Microsoft Windows pagefile, hibernate file and VSS
snapshot files from the System Volume Information folder.
Also, Veeam Agent does not include in the file-level backup files encrypted with Windows Encrypting
File System (EFS).
• If you have a file-level backup job configured and need to extend the volume where backed-up files
reside, we strongly recommend to create an active full backup after the volume is extended.
Otherwise, Veeam Agent may skip files during the job run even if these files are added to the backup
scope. To learn more, see Creating Active Full Backups.

Selecting Folders
To include a folder in the file-level backup:

5. In the The following file system objects list, browse to the folder that you want to back up and select the
check box next to this folder.
After you select a folder, Veeam Agent will display the file level backup mark next to the volume that
contains this folder.

2. If you want to include or exclude files of a specific type in/from the backup, click Advanced. To learn more,
see Configuring Filters.

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Alternatively, if you want to quickly include a large number of folders in the backup, you can select folders in
the following way:

5. Select the check box next to the volume that contains folders you want to back up.
Veeam Agent will display the volume level backup mark next to the selected volume.

2. Expand the volume and clear the check boxes next to one or more folders that you want to exclude from
the backup.

3. Select the check box next to the volume once again.

Veeam Agent will display the file level backup mark next to the volume. You can include or exclude files
that reside on this volume in/from the backup. To learn more, see Configuring Filters.

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Selecting Volumes
You can include individual volumes in the backup at the Files step of the wizard. This may be useful if you want
to have a volume-level backup of the volume with specific folders excluded. Volume-level backup also offers
better performance in case you back up a complex folder structure with many files.

You can also include individual mount points in the backup at the Files step of the wizard, but you cannot
exclude folders from mount points.

To include a volume or a mount point in the file-level backup:

1. In the The following file system objects list, select the check box next to the item that you want to back
up.

2. If you want to exclude a folder on the selected volume from the backup, expand the volume and clear the
check box next to the necessary folder.

IMPORTANT

Consider the following:

• If you select a volume for backup, you cannot use filters to include or exclude files of a specific type
in/from the backup. You can only exclude specific folders that reside on the volume. If you want to
include or exclude files, you must select individual folders for backup. To learn more, see Selecting
Folders.
• If you select a deduplicated volume for backup, make sure that you do not exclude any folders from
the backup. Otherwise, the backup files may get corrupted.

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Configuring Filters
To include or exclude files of a specific type in/from the file-level backup, you can configure filters.

NOTE

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows applies filters to files in specific folders that you include in the
backup. Filters are not applied to computer volumes and mount points selected for backup. If you plan to
create a hybrid backup that will contain volumes, mount points, and folders, filters will be applied to files
in folders only.

To configure a filter:

1. At the Files step of the wizard, click Advanced.

2. Specify what files you want to back up:

o In the Include masks field, specify file names and masks for file types that you want to back up, for
example, MyMovie.avi, *filename*, *.docx, *.mp3. Veeam Agent will create a backup only for
selected files. Other files will not be backed up.

o In the Exclude masks field, specify file names and masks for file types that you do not want to back
up, for example, OldPhotos.rar, *.temp, *.tmp, *.back. Veeam Agent will back up all files
except files of the specified type.

3. Click Add.

4. Repeat steps 2–3 for each mask that you want to add.

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You can use a combination of include and exclude masks. Keep in mind that exclude masks have a higher priority
than include masks. For example, you can specify masks in the following way:

• Include mask: *.avi

• Exclude mask: *movie*

Veeam Agent will include in the backup all files of the AVI format that do not contain movie in their names.

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Step 5. Select Backup Destination
At the Destination step of the wizard, select a target location for the created backup.

You can store backup files in one of the following locations:

• Local storage — select this option if you want to save the backup on a removable storage device attached
to the computer or on a local computer drive. With this option selected, you will pass to the Local Storage
step of the wizard.

• Object storage — select this option if you want to save the backup in an object storage. With this option
selected, you will pass to the Object storage step of the wizard.

• Shared folder — select this option if you want to save the backup in a network shared folder. With this
option selected, you will pass to the Shared folder step of the wizard.

• Veeam backup repository — select this option if you want to save the backup in a backup repository
managed by the Veeam backup server. With this option selected, you will pass to the Backup Server step
of the wizard.

• Veeam Cloud Connect repository — select this option if you want to save the backup in a cloud repository
exposed to you by the Veeam Cloud Connect service provider. With this option selected, you will pass to
the Service Provider step of the wizard.

IMPORTANT

Consider the following:

• We strongly recommend that you store backups in the external location like USB storage device or
shared network folder. You can also keep your backup files on the separate non-system local drive.
• If you select to store the backup on a local folder included in the backup scope, Veeam Agent will
automatically exclude this folder from the backup.
• For the Free product edition, the Object storage and the Veeam Cloud Connect repository options
are not available.

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Step 6. Specify Backup Storage Settings
Specify backup storage settings for the backup job:

• Local storage settings — if you have selected the Local storage option at the Destination step of the
wizard.

• Object storage settings — if you have selected the Object storage option at the Destination step of the
wizard.

• Shared folder settings — if you have selected the Shared folder option at the Destination step of the
wizard.

• Veeam backup repository settings — if you have selected the Veeam backup repository option at the
Destination step of the wizard.

• Veeam Cloud Connect repository settings — if you have selected the Veeam Cloud Connect repository
option at the Destination step of the wizard.

Local Storage Settings

The Local Storage step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save the backup on a local drive of your
computer.

Specify local storage settings:

1. In the Local drives list, select a drive where you want to store the backup.

2. In the Folder field, specify a path to the folder where backup files must be saved. By default, Veeam
Agent saves files in the VeeamBackup folder.

3. If you want to map the job to a specific backup that was previously created on the same Veeam Agent
computer, click the Map Backup link and select the backup.
To learn more, see Mapping Backup Job.

4. Specify short-term backup retention policy settings:

o [For Free and Workstation product editions] In the Keep backups for <N> days (excluding days with
no backup) field, specify the number of days for which you want to store backup files in the target
location. By default, Veeam Agent keeps backup files for 7 days. After this period is over, Veeam
Agent will remove the earliest restore points from the backup chain.
To learn more, see Backup Retention Policy in Free and Workstation Editions.

[For Server product edition] In the Retention policy field, specify the number of restore points or days for
which you want to store backup files in the target location. By default, Veeam Agent keeps backup files
for 7 days.

▪ Select the restore points option if you want Veeam Agent to remove restore points from the
backup chain when the number of restore points exceeds the specified limit.

▪ Select the days option if you want Veeam Agent to remove the earliest restore points from the
backup chain when the specified period is over.
To learn more, see Backup Retention Policy in Server Edition.

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 5. [For Workstation and Server product editions] To use the GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) retention scheme,
select the Keep some periodic full backups longer for archival purposes check box and click Configure. In
the Configure GFS window, specify how weekly, monthly and yearly full backups must be retained. To
learn more, see the GFS Retention Policy section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

6. Click Advanced to specify advanced settings for the backup job. To learn more, see Specify Advanced
Backup Settings.

IMPORTANT

USB storage devices formatted as FAT32 do not allow storing files larger than 4 GB in size. For this reason,
we recommend that you do not use such USB storage devices as a backup target.

Mapping Backup Job

If you have selected to map the job to the already created backup that is stored on a local drive, perform the
following steps:

1. In the Folder field, specify the same path as was specified in the Folder field for the job that was used to
create the backup.

2. Click Map backup and select the desired backup. To find the backup, you can use the search field at the
bottom of the Select Backup window.
Keep in mind that Veeam Agent displays backups stored in the folder that is specified in the Folder field
and its first-level subfolders.

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 3. If you map the job to an encrypted backup, and encryption keys are not available in the Veeam Agent
database, you must provide the password specified for encryption. In the displayed window, enter the
password and click OK.

Object Storage Settings

The Object Storage step of the wizard is available if you have selected the Object storage option at the
Destination step of the wizard.

At the Object Storage step of the wizard, select the object storage. You can select one of the following options:

• S3 compatible — select this option if you want to create a backup in the S3 compatible storage. With this
option selected, you will pass to the Account step of the wizard.

NOTE

If you plan to store backups in an IBM or Wasabi cloud storage, use the S3 compatible option.

• Amazon S3 — select this option if you want to create a backup in the Amazon S3 storage. With this option
selected, you will pass to the Account step of the wizard.

• Google Cloud Storage — select this option if you want to create a backup in the Google Cloud storage.
With this option selected, you will pass to the Account step of the wizard.

• Microsoft Azure Blob Storage — select this option if you want to create a backup in the Microsoft Azure
storage. With this option selected, you will pass to the Account step of the wizard.

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S3 Compatible Storage Settings
If you have selected to store backup files in the S3 compatible storage, specify the following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in object storage.

To connect to the S3 compatible storage, specify the following:

5. In the Service point field, specify the address of your S3 compatible storage.

NOTE

If you want to connect to the repository using an Ipv6 address and port number, you must use the
following format: Ipv6:port, where:

• Ipv6 is the ipv6-literal.net notation of the Ipv6 address.

• port is the number of the port that Veeam Agent will use to connect to the cloud storage.

For example: https://2001-db8-1—bb8-c0b8-112.ipv6-literal.net:9000

2. In the Region field, specify the storage region based on your regulatory and compliance requirements.

3. In the Access key field, enter the access key ID.

4. In the Secret key field, enter the secret access key.

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Specifying Bucket Settings
The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in object storage and specified
account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

2. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

NOTE

You cannot select a folder that is managed by the Veeam Backup & Replication server.

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 If necessary, you can create a new folder. To do this, click the New Folder option in the Select
Folder window.

3. In the Retention policy field, specify the number of restore points or days for which you want to store
backup files in the target location. By default, Veeam Agent keeps backup files for 7 days.
To use the GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) retention scheme, select the Keep certain full backups for
archival purposes check box and click Configure. In the Configure GFS window, specify how weekly,
monthly and yearly full backups must be retained. To learn more, see Long-Term Retention Policy.

4. To protect recent backups from modifications, select the Make recent backups immutable for <N> days
check box and specify the number of days for which you want to keep your backups immutable. By
default, Veeam Agent keeps backups immutable for 30 days. To learn more, see Backup Immutability.

NOTE

If you use the GFS retention scheme and enable immutability for a backup, the restore points with
GFS flags become immutable for the whole GFS retention period. You will not be able to delete such
restore points till the end of the GFS retention period.

6. Click Advanced to specify advanced settings for the backup job. To learn more, see Specify Advanced
Backup Settings.

After that, Veeam Agent will create a new repository in the cloud storage where you can store backups.

Amazon S3 Settings
If you have selected to store backup files in the Amazon S3 storage, specify the following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

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Specifying Account Settings
The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in object storage.

To connect to the Amazon S3 storage, specify the following:

1. In the Access key field, enter the access key ID.

2. In the Secret key field, enter the secret access key.

3. From the AWS region drop-down list, select the AWS region based on your regulatory and compliance
requirements. By default, Veeam Agent uses the Global region.

Specifying Bucket Settings

The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in object storage and specified
account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. From the Data center drop-down list, select the geographic region where Veeam Agent will store backups.

2. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

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 3. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

NOTE

You cannot select a folder that is managed by the Veeam Backup & Replication server.

If necessary, you can create a new folder. To do this, click the New Folder option in the Select
Folder window.

4. In the Retention policy field, specify the number of restore points or days for which you want to store
backup files in the target location. By default, Veeam Agent keeps backup files for 7 days.
To use the GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) retention scheme, select the Keep certain full backups for
archival purposes check box and click Configure. In the Configure GFS window, specify how weekly,
monthly and yearly full backups must be retained. To learn more, see Long-Term Retention Policy.

5. To protect recent backups from modifications, select the Make recent backups immutable for <N> days
check box and specify the number of days for which you want to keep your backups immutable. By
default, Veeam Agent keeps backups immutable for 30 days. To learn more, see Backup Immutability.

NOTE

If you use the GFS retention scheme and enable immutability for a backup, the restore points with
GFS flags become immutable for the whole GFS retention period. You will not be able to delete such
restore points till the end of the GFS retention period.

6. Click Advanced to specify advanced settings for the backup job. To learn more, see Specify Advanced
Backup Settings.

After that, Veeam Agent will create a new repository in the cloud storage where you can store backups.

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Google Cloud Storage Settings
If you have selected to store backup files in the Google Cloud storage repository, specify the following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in object storage.

To connect to the Google Cloud storage, in the Access key and Secret key fields, specify the Hash-based
Message Authentication Code (HMAC) keys associated with the Google Cloud account. Veeam Agent will use the
HMAC keys to authenticate requests to the Google Cloud storage. For more information on Google Cloud
accounts, see the Google Cloud documentation.

If you have not created the HMAC keys beforehand, you can create the keys in the Google Cloud console, as
described in the Google Cloud documentation.

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Specifying Bucket Settings
The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in object storage and specified
account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. From the Data center region drop-down list, select the geographic region where Veeam Agent will store
backups.

2. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

3. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

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 NOTE

You cannot select a folder that is managed by the Veeam Backup & Replication server.

If necessary, you can create a new folder. To do this, click the New Folder option in the Select
Folder window.

4. In the Retention policy field, specify the number of restore points or days for which you want to store
backup files in the target location. By default, Veeam Agent keeps backup files for 7 days.
To use the GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) retention scheme, select the Keep certain full backups for
archival purposes check box and click Configure. In the Configure GFS window, specify how weekly,
monthly and yearly full backups must be retained. To learn more, see Long-Term Retention Policy.

5. Click Advanced to specify advanced settings for the backup job. To learn more, see Specify Advanced
Backup Settings.

After that, Veeam Agent will create a new repository in the cloud storage where you can store backups.

Microsoft Azure Blob Storage Settings

If you have selected to store backup files in the Microsoft Azure Blob storage, specify the following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify container settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in object storage.

1. In the Account field, enter the storage account name.

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 2. In the Shared key field, enter the storage account shared key.

3. From the Region drop-down list, select the Microsoft Azure region based on your regulatory and
compliance requirements. By default, Veeam Agent uses the Azure Global (Standard) region.

NOTE

The Allow storage account key access option for Shared Key authorization must be enabled in the storage
account. For information on how to find this option, see Microsoft Docs.

Specifying Container Settings

The Container step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in the Microsoft Azure
storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the container in the storage:

1. From the Container drop-down list, select a container in the storage.

2. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the container:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

NOTE

You cannot select a folder that is managed by the Veeam Backup & Replication server.

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 If necessary, you can create a new folder. To do this, click the New Folder option in the Select
Folder window.

3. In the Retention policy field, specify the number of restore points or days for which you want to store
backup files in the target location. By default, Veeam Agent keeps backup files for 7 days.
To use the GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) retention scheme, select the Keep certain full backups for
archival purposes check box and click Configure. In the Configure GFS window, specify how weekly,
monthly and yearly full backups must be retained. To learn more, see Long-Term Retention Policy.

4. To protect recent backups from modifications, select the Make recent backups immutable for <N> days
check box and specify the number of days for which you want to keep your backups immutable. By
default, Veeam Agent keeps backups immutable for 30 days. To learn more, see Backup Immutability.

NOTE

If you use the GFS retention scheme and enable immutability for a backup, the restore points with
GFS flags become immutable for the whole GFS retention period. You will not be able to delete such
restore points till the end of the GFS retention period.

5. Click Advanced to specify advanced settings for the backup job. To learn more, see Specify Advanced
Backup Settings.

After that, Veeam Agent will create a new repository in the cloud storage where you can store backups.

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Shared Folder Settings
The Shared Folder step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save the backup in a network shared
folder.

Specify shared folder settings:

1. In the Shared folder field, type a UNC name of the network shared folder in which you want to store
backup files. Keep in mind that the UNC name always starts with two back slashes (\\).

2. If you want to map the job to a specific backup that was previously created on the same Veeam Agent
computer, click the Map Backup link and select the backup.
To learn more, see Mapping Backup Job.

3. If the network shared folder requires authentication, select the This share requires access credentials
check box and specify a user name and password of the account that has Full Control access permissions
on this shared folder. The user name must be specified in the down-level logon name format. For
example, DOMAIN\UserName or HOSTNAME\UserName.
To view the specified password, click and hold the eye icon on the right of the Password field.
If you do not select the This share requires access credentials check box, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will connect to the shared folder using the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account of the computer
where the product is installed. You can use this scenario if the Veeam Agent computer is joined to the
Active Directory domain. In this case, you can grant Full Control access permissions on the shared folder
and underlying file system to the computer account (DOMAIN\COMPUTERNAME$).

4. To view how much free space is available in the selected shared folder, click Populate.

5. Specify short-term backup retention policy settings:

o [For Free and Workstation product editions] In the Keep backups for <N> days (excluding days with
no backup) field, specify the number of days for which you want to store backup files in the target
location. By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows keeps backup files for 7 days. After this
period is over, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will remove the earliest restore points from the
backup chain.
To learn more, see Backup Retention Policy in Free and Workstation Editions.

o [For Server product edition] In the Retention policy field, specify the number of restore points or days
for which you want to store backup files in the target location. By default, Veeam Agent keeps backup
files for 7 days.

▪ Select the restore points option if you want Veeam Agent to remove restore points from the
backup chain when the number of restore points exceeds the specified limit.

▪ Select the days option if you want Veeam Agent to remove the earliest restore points from the
backup chain when the specified period is over.
To learn more, see Backup Retention Policy in Server Edition.

6. [For Workstation and Server product editions] To use the GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) retention scheme,
select the Keep some periodic full backups longer for archival purposes check box and click Configure. In
the Configure GFS window, specify how weekly, monthly and yearly full backups must be retained. To
learn more, see the GFS Retention Policy section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

7. Click Advanced to specify advanced settings for the backup job. To learn more, see Specify Advanced
Backup Settings.

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Mapping Backup Job
If you have selected to map the job to the already created backup that is stored on a network shared folder,
perform the following steps:

1. In the Shared folder field, specify the same path as was specified in the Shared folder field for the job that
was used to create the backup.

2. Click Map backup and select the desired backup. To find the backup, you can use the search field at the
bottom of the Select Backup window.
Keep in mind that Veeam Agent displays backups stored in the folder that is specified in the Shared folder
field and its first-level subfolders.

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 3. If you map the job to an encrypted backup, and encryption keys are not available in the Veeam Agent
database, you must provide the password specified for encryption. In the displayed window, enter the
password and click OK.

Veeam Backup Repository Settings

If you have selected to store backup files in a Veeam backup repository, specify settings to connect to the
backup repository:

1. At the Backup Server step of the wizard, specify backup server settings.

2. At the Backup Repository step of the wizard, select the Veeam backup repository.

Specifying Backup Server Settings

The Backup Server step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to store backup files in a Veeam backup
repository.

Specify settings for the Veeam backup server that manages the target backup repository:

1. In the Veeam backup server name or IP address field, specify a DNS name or IP address of the Veeam
backup server.

2. In the Port field, specify a number of the port over which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows must
communicate with the backup server. By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses port 10001.

3. Select the Specify your personal credentials check box. In the Username and Password fields, specify a
user name and password of the account that has access to this backup repository. Permissions on the
backup repository managed by the target Veeam backup server must be granted beforehand. To learn
more, see Setting Up User Permissions on Backup Repositories.

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 If you do not select the Specify your personal credentials check box, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
will connect to the backup repository using the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account of the computer where
the product is installed. You can use this scenario if the Veeam Agent computer is joined to the Active
Directory domain. In this case, you can add the computer account ( DOMAIN\COMPUTERNAME$) to an AD
group and grant access rights on the backup repository to this group.
Setting access permissions on the backup repository to Everyone is equal to granting access rights to the
Everyone Microsoft Windows group (Anonymous users are excluded). If you have set such permissions on
the backup repository, you can omit specifying credentials. However, we recommend this scenario for
demo environments only.

IMPORTANT

Consider the following:

• If you plan to use a commercial version of Veeam Agent with Veeam Backup & Replication, you must
install a license in Veeam Backup & Replication in advance, before connecting to the backup server.
• If you change an account to connect to the Veeam backup server and then start a backup job
targeted at the backup repository managed by this backup server, Veeam Agent will start a new
backup chain in the backup repository.

Selecting Backup Repository

The Backup Repository step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in a Veeam backup
repository.

Specify settings for the target backup repository:

1. From the Backup repository list, select a backup repository where you want to store created backups. The
Backup repository list displays only those backup repositories on which you have permissions to store
data.

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 To store Veeam Agent backups, you can use a simple backup repository or a scale-out backup repository.
To refresh the list of backup repositories, click the Refresh button at the top right corner of the Backup
repository field. Backup repositories list refresh may be required if you change permission settings for a
specific backup repository on the Veeam backup server and want to display this backup repository in the
New Backup Job wizard. To learn more, see Setting Up User Permissions on Backup Repositories.

2. If you want to map the job to a specific backup that was previously created on the same Veeam Agent
computer, click the Map Backup link and select the backup.
To learn more, see Mapping Backup Job.

3. Specify short-term backup retention policy settings:

o [For Free and Workstation product editions] In the Keep backups for <N> days (excluding days with
no backup) field, specify the number of days for which you want to store backup files in the target
location. By default, Veeam Agent keeps backup files for 7 days. After this period is over, Veeam
Agent will remove the earliest restore points from the backup chain.
To learn more, see Backup Retention Policy in Free and Workstation Editions.

o [For Server product edition] In the Retention policy field, specify the number of restore points or days
for which you want to store backup files in the target location. By default, Veeam Agent keeps backup
files for 7 days.

▪ Select the restore points option if you want Veeam Agent to remove restore points from the
backup chain when the number of restore points exceeds the specified limit.

▪ Select the days option if you want Veeam Agent to remove the earliest restore points from the
backup chain when the specified period is over.
To learn more, see Backup Retention Policy in Server Edition.

4. [For Workstation and Server product editions] To use the GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) retention scheme,
select the Keep some periodic full backups longer for archival purposes check box and click Configure. In
the Configure GFS window, specify how weekly, monthly and yearly full backups must be retained. To
learn more, see the GFS Retention Policy section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

5. Click Advanced to specify advanced settings for the backup job. To learn more, see Specify Advanced
Backup Settings.

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Mapping Backup Job
If you have selected to map the job to the already created backup that is stored in a Veeam backup repository,
perform the following steps:

1. If you map the job to an encrypted backup, you must decrypt the backup on the Veeam Backup &
Replication side before mapping. To learn more, see the Restoring Data from Encrypted Backups section in
the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

2. Click the Map backup link and select the desired backup. To find the backup, you can use the search field
at the bottom of the Select Backup window. Keep in mind that Veeam Agent displays only those backups
that were created on the same Veeam Agent computer with the same account used to connect to the
repository.

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The backup job mapping can be helpful in case of the backup seeding. If you want to seed backup files, you must
place these files in a specific folder on the target location. In the Veeam backup repository, Veeam Agent stores
backups in the folders with paths of the following format:
<path_to_folder>\<domain_name>_<user_name>\<backup_job_name>

where:

• <path_to_folder> — path to the folder in the Veeam backup repository.

• <domain_name> — domain name specified to connect to the repository.

• <user_name> — user name specified to connect to the repository.

• <backup_job_name> — name of the backup job.

For example:
C:\Backup\TECH_Administrator\System Backup

To learn more about backup seeding scenarios for Veeam backup repositories, see this Veeam KB article.

Veeam Cloud Connect Repository Settings

If you have selected to store backup files in a Veeam Cloud Connect repository, specify settings to connect to
the cloud repository:

1. Specify service provider settings.

2. Verify the TLS certificate and specify user account settings.

3. Select the cloud repository.

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Specifying Service Provider Settings
The Service Provider step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in a Veeam Cloud
Connect repository.

Specify settings for the cloud gateway that the SP or your backup administrator has provided to you:

1. In the DNS name or IP address field, enter a full DNS name or IP address of the cloud gateway.

2. In the Port field, specify the port over which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will communicate with
the cloud gateway. By default, port 6180 is used.

TIP

You can look for service providers who offer Repository as a Service using Veeam Backup & Replication.
The list of service providers is published on the Veeam website and constantly updated. You can select the
necessary service provider from the list and contact this service provider to get the cloud repository
service.

To find a service provider, click the Click here to open the directory link. Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will open a webpage on the Veeam website. Use the filter on the webpage to find the necessary
service provider by the type of provided cloud services, service provider datacenter location or service area.

Specifying User Account Settings

The Credentials step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in a cloud repository and
specified settings for the cloud gateway.

Verify TLS certificate settings and specify settings for the tenant account or subtenant account that you want to
use to connect to the cloud repository.

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 1. At the top of the wizard window, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays information about the TLS
certificate obtained from the SP side. You can view the certificate settings and verify the TLS certificate.
TLS certificate verification is optional. You can use this option to verify self-signed TLS certificates. TLS
certificates signed by the CA do not require additional verification.

o To view the TLS certificate, click the certificate link.

o To verify the TLS certificate with a thumbprint, copy the thumbprint you obtained from the SP to the
Clipboard and enter it to the Thumbprint for certificate verification field. Click Verify. Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows will check if the thumbprint you enter matches the thumbprint of the obtained
TLS certificate.

2. In the Username field, enter the user name of the tenant or subtenant account that the SP or your backup
administrator has provided to you. The user name of the subtenant account must be specified in the
TENANT\SUBTENANT format.

3. In the Password field, provide a password for the tenant or subtenant account.

Selecting Cloud Repository

The Backup Resources step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in a cloud
repository and specified settings to connect to the SP.

Specify settings for the cloud repository:

1. From the Available cloud repositories list, select a cloud repository where you want to store created
backups. The Available cloud repositories list displays only those backup repositories on which you have
permissions to store data.
To refresh the list of cloud repositories, click the Refresh button at the top right corner of the Available
cloud repositories field. Cloud repositories list refresh may be required if you change permission settings
for a specific cloud repository and want to display this cloud repository in the New Backup Job wizard.

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 2. If you want to map the job to a specific backup that was previously created on the same Veeam Agent
computer, click the Map Backup link and select the backup.
To learn more, see Mapping Backup Job.

3. Specify short-term backup retention policy settings:

o [For Free and Workstation product editions] In the Keep restore points for the last <N> days when
computer was used field, specify the number of days for which you want to store backup files in the
target location. By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows keeps backup files for 7 days. After
this period is over, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will remove the earliest restore points from
the backup chain.
To learn more, see Backup Retention Policy in Free and Workstation Editions.

o [For Server product edition] In the Retention policy field, specify the number of restore points or days
for which you want to store backup files in the target location. By default, Veeam Agent keeps backup
files for 7 days.

▪ Select the restore points option if you want Veeam Agent to remove restore points from the
backup chain when the number of restore points exceeds the specified limit.

▪ Select the days option if you want Veeam Agent to remove the earliest restore points from the
backup chain when the specified period is over.
To learn more, see Backup Retention Policy in Server Mode.

4. [For Workstation and Server product editions] To use the GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) retention scheme,
select the Keep some periodic full backups longer for archival purposes check box and click Configure. In
the Configure GFS window, specify how weekly, monthly and yearly full backups must be retained. To
learn more, see the GFS Retention Policy section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

5. Click Advanced to specify advanced settings for the backup job. To learn more, see Specify Advanced
Backup Settings.

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Mapping Backup Job
If you have selected to map the job to the already created backup, perform the following steps:

1. Click Map backup and select the desired backup. To find the backup, you can use the search field at the
bottom of the Select Backup window. Keep in mind that Veeam Agent displays only those backups that
were created on the same Veeam Agent computer with the same tenant or subtenant account used to
connect to the repository.

2. If you map the job to an encrypted backup, and encryption keys in the cloud repository database do not
coincide with the encryption keys in the Veeam Agent database, you must provide the password specified
for encryption after the job start. In the dialog window, enter the password and click OK. To learn more,
see Resuming Encrypted Backup Chain.

The backup job mapping can also be helpful in case of the backup seeding. If you want to seed backup files, you
must place these files in a specific folder on the target location. On the cloud repository, Veeam Agent stores
backups in the folders with paths of the following format:

• If a tenant account is specified in the Username field at the Credentials step of the wizard:
<path_to_repository>\<tenant_name>\<backup_job_name>

• If a subtentant account is specified in the Username field at the Credentials step of the wizard:
<path_to_repository>\<tenant_name>\Users\<subtenant_name>\<backup_job_name>

where:

• <path_to_repository> — path to the folder on the cloud repository.

• <tenant_name> — name of the tenant account.

• <subtenant_name> — name of the subtenant account.

• <backup_job_name> — name of the backup job.

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For example:

• C:\Backup\TechCompany\System Backup

or

• C:\Backup\TechCompany\Users\User01\System Backup

To learn more about backup seeding scenarios for cloud repositories, see this Veeam KB article.

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Step 7. Specify GFS Retention Policy
This step of the wizard is available if you use the Workstation or Server edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows.

NOTE

If you want to store your backups in object storage, and you do not configure Veeam Agent to perform
active full backups periodically, Veeam Agent still requires a full backup to assign a GFS flag to a full
restore point. In this case, Veeam Agent creates a full backup based on the last incremental backup. If
some data blocks required to create the full backup reside in the object storage, the full backup will
contain links that point at such data blocks. Veeam Agent does not retrieve actual data blocks from the
object storage to avoid extra costs.

To configure GFS retention policy settings for the backup job:

1. Click the Configure button at one of the following steps of the wizard:

o Local Storage — if you have selected the Local storage option at the Destination step of the wizard.

o Shared Folder — if you have selected the Shared folder option at the Destination step of the wizard.

o Bucket/Container — if you have selected the Object storage option at the Destination step of the
wizard.

o Backup Repository — if you have selected the Veeam backup repository option at the Destination step
of the wizard.

o Backup Resources — if you have selected the Veeam Cloud Connect repository option at the
Destination step of the wizard.

2. In the Configure GFS window, do the following:

a. If you want to create weekly restore points for archival purposes, select the Keep weekly full backups
for check box. Then specify the number of weeks during which you want to prevent restore points
from being modified and deleted.

▪ In the If multiple full backups exist, use the one from list, select a week day when Veeam Agent
must assign the weekly GFS flag to a full restore point.

▪ [For object storage target if active full backup schedule is not enabled] In the Create weekly full
on this day list, select a week day when Veeam Agent must create a full backup and assign the
weekly GFS flag to a full restore point.

b. If you want to create monthly restore points for archival purposes, select the Keep monthly full
backups for check box. Then specify the number of months during which you want to prevent restore
points from being modified and deleted.
In the Use weekly full backup for the following week of a month list, select a week when Veeam
Agent must assign the monthly GFS flag to a full restore point. A week equals to 7 calendar days; for
example, the first week of May is days 1–7, and the last week of May is days 25–31.

c. If you want to create yearly restore points for archival purposes, select the Keep yearly full backups
for check box. Then specify the number of years during which you want to prevent restore points from
being modified and deleted.
In the Use monthly full backup for the following month list, select a month when Veeam Agent must
assign the yearly GFS flag to a full restore point.

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 NOTE

If you select to assign multiple types of GFS flags, the flags begin to depend on each other. For more
information on this dependency, see Assignment of GFS Flags section in the Veeam Backup & Replication
User Guide.

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Step 8. Specify Advanced Backup Settings
In the Advanced Settings window, specify advanced settings for the backup job:

• Backup settings

• Maintenance settings

• Storage settings

Backup Settings
To specify settings for a backup chain created with the backup job:

1. Click Advanced at one of the following steps of the wizard:

o Local Storage — if you have selected the Local storage option at the Destination step of the wizard.

o Bucket/Container — if you have selected the Object storage option at the Destination step of the
wizard.

o Shared Folder — if you have selected the Shared folder option at the Destination step of the wizard.

o Backup Repository — if you have selected the Veeam backup repository option at the Destination step
of the wizard.

o Backup Resources — if you have selected the Veeam Cloud Connect repository option at the
Destination step of the wizard.

2. If you want to periodically create synthetic full backups, on the Backup tab, select the Create synthetic
full backups periodically check box and click Days to schedule synthetic full backups on the necessary
week days.

3. If you want to periodically create active full backups, select the Create active full backups periodically
check box. Use the Monthly on or Weekly on selected days options to define scheduling settings.

Keep in mind that to create active and synthetic full backups on selected days, Veeam Agent must run the
backup job on these days. For details about backup job schedule, see Scheduling Settings.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• Synthetic full backup is available only in the Workstation and Server editions of Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows.
• Synthetic full backup is not available for backup jobs targeted at object storage.
• Before scheduling periodic full backups, you must make sure that you have scheduled the backup
job to run on the enough free space on the target location. As an alternative, you can create active
full backups manually when needed. For more information, see Creating Active Full Backups.
• If you schedule the active full backup and synthetic full backup on the same day, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will perform only active full backup. Synthetic full backup will be skipped.

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Maintenance Settings
To specify maintenance settings for the backup chain created with the backup job:

1. Click Advanced at one of the following steps of the wizard:

o Local Storage — if you have selected the Local storage option at the Destination step of the wizard.

o Bucket/Container — if you have selected the Object storage option at the Destination step of the
wizard.

o Shared Folder — if you have selected the Shared folder option at the Destination step of the wizard.

o Backup Repository — if you have selected the Veeam backup repository option at the Destination step
of the wizard.

o Backup Resources — if you have selected the Veeam Cloud Connect repository option at the
Destination step of the wizard.

2. Click the Maintenance tab.

3. To periodically perform a health check for the latest restore point in the backup chain, enable the Perform
backup files health check option in the Storage-level corruption guard section and specify the health
check schedule. For more information, see Health Check for Backup Files.

4. [For object storage target] Veeam Agent offers a special health check mechanism for object storage
targets. To run the health check for object storage, enable the Perform backup files health check option in
the Storage-level corruption guard section and specify the health check schedule. For more information
about the health check for object storage, see Enabling Health Check for Object Storage Target.

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 5. [For Veeam backup repository and cloud repository targets] Select the Remove deleted items data after
check box and specify the number of days for which you want to keep the backup created with the backup
job in the target location. If Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not create new restore points for
the backup, the backup will remain in the target location for the period that you have specified. When this
period is over, the backup will be removed from the target location.
By default, the retention period for outdated backups is 30 days. Do not set this retention period to 1 day
or a similar short interval. In the opposite case, the backup job may work not as expected and remove data
that you still require. For more information, see Retention Policy for Outdated Backups.

NOTE

The Remove deleted items data after option is available only if you have selected the Veeam backup
repository or Veeam Cloud Connect repository option at the Destination step of the wizard.

6. To periodically compact a full backup, select the Defragment and compact full backup file check box and
specify the schedule for the compact operation.
During the compact operation, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates a new empty file and copies
to this file data blocks from the full backup file. As a result, the full backup file gets defragmented, and
the speed of reading from and writing to the backup file increases.
If the full backup file contains data blocks for deleted drives, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will
remove these data blocks. For more information, see Compact of Full Backup File.

NOTE

The Defragment and compact full backup file option is not available for backup jobs targeted at
object storage.

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Enabling Health Check for Object Storage Target
To periodically perform a health check for backups that reside in object storage, enable the Perform backup files
health check option in the Storage-level corruption guard section and specify the health check schedule.

Veeam Agent offers a special health check mechanism for object storage targets as default. Unlike the standard
health check, the health check for object storage verifies metadata for the whole backup, not just the latest
restore point, and does not read data from data blocks. For more information, see Health Check for Object
Storage.

If necessary, you can switch from the health check for object storage to the standard health check. To do so,
select the Verify content of each object in backup check box in the backup job settings. Keep in mind that
enabling this setting may result in additional charges from your object storage provider. For information on how
the standard health check works, see Standard Health Check.

Storage Settings
To specify storage settings for the backup job:

1. Click Advanced at one of the following steps of the wizard:

o Local Storage — if you have selected the Local storage option at the Destination step of the wizard.

o Bucket/Container — if you have selected the Object storage option at the Destination step of the
wizard.

o Shared Folder — if you have selected the Shared folder option at the Destination step of the wizard.

o Backup Repository — if you have selected the Veeam backup repository option at the Destination step
of the wizard.

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 o Backup Resources — if you have selected the Veeam Cloud Connect repository option at the
Destination step of the wizard.

2. Click the Storage tab.

3. From the Compression level list, select a compression level for the backup: None, Dedupe-friendly,
Optimal, High or Extreme.

4. In the Storage optimization section, select what size of data blocks you plan to use: 4 MB, 1 MB, 512 KB,
256 KB. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will use data blocks of the chosen size to optimize the size of
backup files and job performance.

5. If you want to encrypt the content of backup files, in the Encryption section, specify encryption settings
for the backup job:

a. Select the Enable backup file encryption check box.

b. In the Password field, type a password that you want to use for encryption.

c. In the Hint field, type a hint for the password. In case you lose the password, the specified hint will
help you to remember the lost password.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• You cannot specify encryption options for the backup job if you have chosen to save backup files in a
Veeam backup repository. Encryption of Veeam Agent backups stored in the backup repository are
managed per repository by a backup administrator working with Veeam Backup & Replication. To
learn more, see the Data Encryption and Access Permissions sections in the Veeam Backup &
Replication User Guide.
• If you lose a password that was specified for encryption, you can change the password in the
encryption settings. After the backup job creates a new restore point encrypted with the new
password, you will be able to use this password to restore data from all restore points in the backup
chain, including those restore points that were encrypted with an old password.
• If you enable encryption for the existing backup job that has already created one or more restore
points, during the next job session, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will create active full
backup. The created full backup file and subsequent incremental backup files in the backup chain
will be encrypted with the specified password.
• Encryption is not retroactive. If you enable encryption for the existing backup job, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows does not encrypt the previous backup chain created with this job.

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Step 9. Specify Backup Cache Settings
The Backup Cache step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to save backup files in a remote storage: in
object storage, in a network shared folder, in a Veeam backup repository or in a Veeam Cloud Connect
repository.

Specify backup cache settings:

1. Select the Enable backup cache check box.

2. In the Location field, specify a path to the folder on your computer in which backup files must be stored.

3. In the Maximum size field, specify the size for the backup cache.
When defining the size of the backup cache, assume the following:

o Each full backup file may consume about 50% of the backed-up data size.

o Each incremental backup file may consume about 10% of the backed-up data size.

TIP

For the backup cache, you can use a dedicated removable storage device, for example, a USB key or an SD
card. In this case, the backup cache will not consume disk space on the local drive of the Veeam Agent
computer.

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Step 10. Specify Guest Processing Settings
The Guest Processing step of the wizard is available in the Server edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows.

You can enable the following settings for guest OS processing:

• Application-aware processing

• Transaction log handling for Microsoft SQL Server

• Archived log handling for Oracle databases

• SharePoint account settings

• Use of pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts

• File indexing

Application-Aware Processing
If your computer runs VSS-aware applications, you can enable application-aware processing to create a
transactionally consistent backup. The transactionally consistent backup guarantees proper recovery of
applications without data loss.

To enable application-aware processing:

1. At the Guest Processing step of the wizard, make sure that the Enable application-aware processing check
box is selected.

2. Click Applications.

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 3. In the Processing Settings window, on the General tab, specify if Veeam Agent must process transaction
logs [For Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL and Oracle] or copy-only backups must be created.

a. Select Process transaction logs with this job if you want Veeam Agent to process transaction logs.

▪ [For Microsoft Exchange] With this option selected, Veeam Agent will wait for backup to
complete successfully and then trigger truncation of transaction logs. If the backup job fails, the
logs will remain untouched until the next backup job session.

▪ [For Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle] You will have to specify settings for transaction log
handling on the SQL and Oracle tabs of the Processing Settings window. For more information,
see Microsoft SQL Server Transaction Log Settings and Oracle Archived Log Settings.

b. Select Perform copy only if you use another tool to maintain consistency of the database state. Veeam
Agent will create a copy-only backup. The copy only backup preserves the chain of full/differential
backup files and transaction logs. After a copy-only backup, Veeam Agent does not trigger truncation
of transaction logs. For more information, see this Microsoft article.

IMPORTANT

Consider the following:

• [For Microsoft Exchange] Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs truncation of Microsoft
Exchange transaction logs only if all disks that contain Microsoft Exchange databases and logs are
included in a volume-level backup job.
• [For Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle] If both Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Server are installed
on one guest OS, you can enable log backup settings for one application only: either Microsoft SQL
Server or Oracle.

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Microsoft SQL Server Transaction Log Settings
If you back up Microsoft SQL Server, you can specify how Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows must process
database transaction logs:

1. At the Guest Processing step of the wizard, make sure that the Enable application-aware processing check
box is selected.

2. Click Applications.

3. In the Processing Settings window, on the General tab, select Process transaction logs with this job.

4. In the Processing Settings window, click the SQL tab.

5. To specify a user account that Veeam Agent will use to connect to the Microsoft SQL Server, select the
Specify Windows account with sysadmin role on SQL Server check box and enter a user name and
password for the Microsoft Windows user account. This account must have the roles and permissions as
specified in the Performing Guest Processing section of the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

NOTE

You cannot use Microsoft SQL Server accounts (for example, the SA account) to connect to the
database.

6. Specify how transaction logs must be processed. You can select one of the following options:

o Select Truncate logs to truncate transaction logs after successful backup. Veeam Agent will wait for
the backup to complete successfully and then truncate transaction logs. If the backup job fails, the
logs will remain untouched until the next backup job session.

o Select Do not truncate logs to preserve transaction logs. When the backup job completes, Veeam
Agent will not truncate transaction logs.
We recommend that you enable this option for databases that use the Simple recovery model. If you
enable this option for databases that use the Full or Bulk-logged recovery model, transaction logs
may grow large and consume all disk space. In this case, the database administrator must take care of
transaction logs him-/herself.

o Select Backup logs periodically to back up transaction logs with Veeam Agent. Veeam Agent will
periodically copy transaction logs to the backup location and store them together with the image-
level backup. During the backup job session, transaction logs will be truncated.
For more information, see Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle Logs Backup and Restore.

NOTE

You can enable transaction log backup in one backup job only. If you have already configured a
job that is set up to back up transaction logs, you will not be able to select the Backup logs
periodically option in the properties of another backup job.

If you have selected to back up transaction logs with Veeam Agent, you must specify settings for transaction log
backup:

1. In the Backup logs every <N> minutes field, specify the frequency for transaction log backup. By default,
transaction logs are backed up every 15 minutes. The maximum log backup interval is 480 minutes.

2. In the Retain log backups section, specify retention policy for transaction logs stored in the backup
location.

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 o Select Until the corresponding image-level backup is deleted to apply the same retention policy for
image-level backups and transaction log backups.

o Select Keep only last <N> days of log backups to keep transaction logs for a specific number of days.
By default, transaction logs are kept for 15 days. If you select this option, you must make sure that
retention for transaction logs is not greater than retention for the image-level backup. For more
information, see Retention for Transaction Log Backups.

IMPORTANT

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows automatically excludes its configuration database from application-
aware processing during backup. Transaction logs for the configuration database are not backed up.

Oracle Archived Log Settings

If you back up an Oracle database, you can specify how Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows must process
archived logs:

1. At the Guest Processing step of the wizard, make sure that the Enable application-aware processing check
box is selected.

2. Click Applications.

3. In the Processing Settings window, on the General tab, select Process transaction logs with this job.

4. In the Processing Settings window, click the Oracle tab.

5. Specify a user account that Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will use to connect to the Oracle
database:

a. Select the Specify Oracle database account with SYSDBA privileges check box.

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 b. In the Account field, select what type of user account you plan to use: Oracle account or Windows
account.

c. In the Username and Password fields, enter a username and password for the account.
The specified account must have SYSDBA rights on the Oracle database.

6. In the Archived logs section, specify if Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows must delete archived logs on
the Oracle database:

o Select Do not delete archived logs if you want Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to preserve
archived logs. When the backup job completes, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will not delete
archived logs.
We recommend that you select this option for databases for which the ARCHIVELOG mode is turned
off. If the ARCHIVELOG mode is turned on, archived logs may grow large and consume all disk space.
In this case, the database administrator must take care of archived logs him-/herself.

o Select Delete logs older than <N> hours or Delete logs over <N> GB if you want Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows to delete archived logs that are older than <N> hours or larger than <N> GB.
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will wait for the backup to complete successfully and then
trigger archived logs truncation through Oracle Call Interface (OCI). If the backup job fails, the logs
will remain untouched until the next backup job session.

7. To back up Oracle archived logs with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, select the Backup log every
<N> minutes check box and specify the frequency for archived log backup. By default, archived logs are
backed up every 15 minutes. The maximum log backup interval is 480 minutes.

NOTE

You can enable archived log backup in one backup job only. If you have already configured a job that
is set up to back up archived logs, you will not be able to select the Backup logs every <N> minutes
option in the properties of another backup job.

8. In the Retain log backups section, specify retention policy for archived logs stored in the backup location:

o Select Until the corresponding image-level backup is deleted to apply the same retention policy for
Veeam Agent backups and archived log backups.

o Select Keep only last <n> days to keep archived logs for a specific number of days. By default,
archived logs are kept for 15 days. If you select this option, you must make sure that retention for
archived logs is not greater than retention for the Veeam Agent backups. For more information, see
Retention for Archived Log Backups.

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Microsoft SharePoint Account Settings
If you back up Microsoft SharePoint, you must specify a user account that has enough permissions on the
application:

1. At the Guest Processing step of the wizard, make sure that the Enable application-aware processing check
box is selected.

2. Click Applications.

3. In the Processing Settings window, click the SharePoint tab.

4. Select the Specify Microsoft SharePoint admin account check box and enter a user name and password for
the user account.

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Pre-Freeze and Post-Thaw Scripts
If you plan to back up data of applications that do not support VSS, you can specify what scripts Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows must use to quiesce the OS on your computer. The pre-freeze script quiesces the file
system and application data to bring the OS to a consistent state before Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
creates a VSS snapshot. After the VSS snapshot is created, the post-thaw script brings the file system and
applications to their initial state.

To specify pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts for the job:

1. At the Guest Processing step, click Applications.

2. In the Processing Settings window, click the Scripts tab.

3. In the Script processing mode section, specify the scenario for scripts execution:

o Select Require successful script execution if you want Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to stop
the backup process if the script fails.

o Select Ignore script execution failures if you want to continue the backup process even if script errors
occur.

o Select Disable script execution if you do not want to run scripts.

4. In the Scripts section, specify paths to pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts. Scripts must reside on a local
drive of the Veeam Agent computer.
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows supports the following types of scripts:

o Program files in the EXE, BAT and CMD format

o Windows script files in the JS, VBS and WSF format

o PowerShell script files in the PS1 format

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 You can use scripts of other formats as well, but we cannot guarantee correct processing of such scripts.

5. By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs guest processing activities under the Local
System account. To specify a user account that Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will use to run pre-
freeze and post-thaw scripts, select the Specify admin account for script execution check box and enter a
user name and password for the user account.

File Indexing
To specify file indexing options:

1. At the Guest Processing step of the wizard, click Indexing.

2. In the Indexing Settings window, specify the indexing scope:

o Select Index everything if you want to index all files within the backup scope that you have specified
at the Backup mode step of the wizard. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will index all files that
reside:

▪ on your computer OS (for entire computer backup)

▪ on the volumes that you have selected for backup (for volume-level backup)

▪ in the directories that you have selected for backup (for file-level backup)

o Select Index everything except if you want to index all files on your computer OS except those
defined in the list. By default, system folders are excluded from indexing. You can add or delete
folders using the Add and Remove buttons on the right. You can also use system environment
variables to form the list, for example: %windir%, %ProgramFiles% and %Temp%.
To reset the list of folders to its initial state, click Default.

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 o Select Index only following folders to define folders that you want to index. You can add or delete
folders to index using the Add and Remove buttons on the right. You can also use system
environment variables to form the list, for example: %windir%, %ProgramFiles% and %Temp%.

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Step 11. Specify Backup Schedule
At the Schedule step of the wizard, specify the schedule according to which you want to perform backup.
Backup job scheduling options differ depending on the edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows:

• Scheduling Settings in Free and Workstation Editions

• Scheduling Settings in Server Edition

Scheduling Settings in Free and Workstation Editions

At the Schedule step of the wizard, set up Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to run the backup job
periodically at specific time or after specific computer events:

• Select the time to launch the backup job.

• Select events that trigger the backup job launch.

IMPORTANT

If the power scheme on your computer does not allow using wake up timers, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will ask you to change the power scheme settings. Click Yes to allow Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows to wake your computer from sleep for backup.

You can manually change the power scheme settings on your computer. To do this, navigate to Control
Panel > All Control Panel Items > Power Options > Edit Plan Settings.

Selecting Time to Launch Backup Job

In the Periodically section, specify time to launch the backup job:

1. Select the Daily at check box and use the fields on the right to specify time and days when the backup job
must start:

o Everyday — select this option to start the job at specific time daily.

o On week-days — select this option to start the job at specific time on week-days.

o On these days — select this option to start the job at specific time on selected days.

You can leave the Daily at check box unchecked to configure the backup job without daily schedule. In this
case, you will be able to use the configured backup job to perform backup automatically at specific events.
You can also use the configured backup job to create ad-hoc incremental and standalone full backups. To
learn more, see Performing Ad-Hoc Backups.

2. If you have selected the On these days option, click the Days button and clear check boxes for the days
when the job must not start.

3. Select the action that Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows must perform in case your computer is
powered off at the time when the scheduled backup job must start.

o Backup once powered on — select this option if you want Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to start
the scheduled backup job when you power on the computer.

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 o Skip backup — select this option if you want Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows not to start the
scheduled backup job when the computer is powered on. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will
perform backup at the next scheduled time.

4. If you want Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to perform a finalizing action after the backup job
completes successfully, select the necessary action:

o Keep running — select this option if the computer must keep on working.

o Sleep — select this option if you want Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to bring your computer to
the standby mode.

o Shutdown — select this option if you want Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to shut down your
computer.

o Hibernate — select this option if you want Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to bring your
computer to the hibernate mode. This option is available if the hibernate mode is enabled on your
computer. To learn more, see this Microsoft article.
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows applies this setting only to scheduled backups. If you start
standalone full backup or incremental backup manually, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will ignore
this setting, and the computer will not be shut down or brought to the standby mode when the backup job
completes.
When the backup job completes, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will prompt a dialog with a
countdown to the selected post-job action. You can select to proceed to the action immediately or to
cancel the action. To learn more, see Controlling Backup Post-Job Action.

Selecting Events that Trigger Backup Job Launch

In the At the following events section, specify computer events that trigger the backup job launch:

• Select the Lock check box if you want to start the scheduled backup job when the user locks the
computer.

• Select the Log off check box if you want to start the scheduled backup job when the user working with the
computer performs a logout operation.

• Select the When backup target is connected check box if you want to start the scheduled backup job when
the backup storage becomes available. With this option selected, Veeam Agent will detect state changes
for networks and drives. When such change is detected, Veeam Agent will check if the target backup
repository is accessible. If so, it will start the backup job.

• Select the Eject removable storage once backup is completed check box if you want Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows to unmount the storage device after the backup job completes successfully. With this
option selected, backup files on the removable storage will be protected from encrypting ransomware,
such as CryptoLocker.
Veeam Agent applies this setting only to backup jobs triggered by computer events. In case of backup jobs
scheduled to run at specific time, Veeam Agent will ignore this setting, and the storage device will not be
unmounted after the backup job completes successfully.

IMPORTANT

The Eject removable storage once backup is completed option does not guarantee a bulletproof
protection against ransomware. To ensure your backups are safe, keep the OS up to date and
regularly scan your backup repository for virus threats using modern antivirus software.

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 • Use the Back up no more often than every <N> <time units> field to restrict the frequency of backup job
sessions. Specify a minutely, hourly or daily interval between the backup job sessions.
The Back up no more often than every <N> <time units> option is applied only to job sessions started at
specific events. Daily backups are performed according to defined schedule regardless of the time interval
specified for this setting.

Scheduling Settings in Server Edition

At the Schedule step of the wizard, select to run the backup job manually or schedule the job to run on a regular
basis.

IMPORTANT

If the power scheme on your computer does not allow using wake up timers, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will ask you to change the power scheme settings. Click Yes to allow Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows to wake your computer from sleep for backup.

You can manually change the power scheme settings on your computer. To do this, navigate to Control
Panel > All Control Panel Items > Power Options > Edit Plan Settings.

To specify the job schedule:

1. Select the Run the job automatically check box. If this check box is not selected, you will have to start the
backup job manually to create backup.

2. Define scheduling settings for the job:

o To run the job at specific time daily, on defined week days or with specific periodicity, select Daily at
this time. Use the fields on the right to configure the necessary schedule.

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 o To run the job once a month on specific days, select Monthly at this time. Use the fields on the right
to configure the necessary schedule.

o To run the job repeatedly throughout a day with a specific time interval, select Periodically every. In
the field on the right, select the necessary time unit: Hours or Minutes. Click Schedule and use the
time table to define the permitted time window for the job. In the Start time within an hour field,
specify the exact time when the job must start.
A repeatedly run job is started by the following rules:

▪ Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows always starts counting defined intervals from 12:00 AM.
For example, if you configure to run a job with a 4-hour interval, the job will start at 12:00 AM,
4:00 AM, 8:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 4:00 PM and so on.

▪ If you define permitted hours for the job, after the denied interval is over, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will immediately start the job and then run the job by the defined schedule.
For example, you have configured a job to run with a 2-hour interval and defined permitted hours
from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. According to the rules above, the job will first run at 9:00 AM, when the
denied period is over. After that, the job will run at 10:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM.

o To run the job continuously, select the Periodically every option and choose Continuously from the
list on the right. A new backup job session will start as soon as the previous backup job session
finishes.

3. In the Automatic retry section, define whether Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows must attempt to run
the backup job again if the job fails for some reason. Enter the number of attempts to run the job and
define time intervals between them. If you select continuous backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
will retry the job for the defined number of times without any time intervals between the job runs.

4. In the Backup window section, define the time interval within which the backup job must complete. The
backup window prevents the job from overlapping with production hours and ensures that the job does
not impact performance of your server. To set up a backup window for the job:

a. Select the Terminate job if it exceeds allowed backup window check box and click Window.

b. In the Time Periods window, define the allowed hours and prohibited hours for backup. If the job
exceeds the allowed window, it will be automatically terminated.

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Step 12. Review Backup Job Settings
At the Summary step of the wizard, complete the backup job configuration process.

1. Review settings of the configured backup job.

In addition to backup job settings, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays a command to start the
job using the command-line interface.

2. To start the job after you close the wizard, select the Run the job when I click Finish check box.

3. Click Finish.

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What You Do Next
After you configure the scheduled backup job, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays a clock over its icon
in the system tray. The clock identifies that your computer is protected with the scheduled backup job. Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows will periodically start the scheduled backup job to back up selected data and add a
new restore point to the backup chain in the target location.

If necessary, you can also perform the following backup operations when you need it:

• Create a standalone full backup

• Create an incremental backup

• Create an active full backup

If some of your data gets lost or corrupted, you can do the following:

• Recover all computer volumes or specific volumes from the backup

• Recover individual files and folders from the backup

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Managing Backup Jobs
After you configure the scheduled backup job, you can perform the following actions with it:

• Edit the backup job settings

• Disable and enable the backup job

• Remove the backup job

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Editing Backup Job Settings
If you want to change settings of a backup job, you can edit it at any time. For example, you may want to edit
the backup job to add a new folder to the backup scope, change the target location or job scheduling settings.

To access backup job settings, do one of the following:

• Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click it and select
Control Panel. Then hover over the name of the backup job whose settings you want to change, and select
Edit job.

• Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Backup > Configure
backup.

NOTE

The Backup option is not available in the system tray menu if multiple backup jobs are configured in Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows.

Then edit the job settings as required. To learn more about available job settings, see Creating Backup Jobs.

If you change the target location for the backup job, during the next backup job session Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will perform full data backup. All subsequent backup sessions will produce incremental
backups — Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will copy only changed data to the target location and add a
new incremental backup file to the backup chain.

If you change the backup scope for the backup job, during the next backup job session Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will create a new incremental backup. The backup will contain the following data:

• All data blocks pertaining to new data added to the backup scope.

• Changed data blocks pertaining to original data in the backup scope (data that was processed by the job at
the time before you changed the backup scope).

TIP

Full backup takes much more time than incremental backup. If you change the target location, you can
copy an existing backup chain to the new location manually. In this case, the new backup job session will
produce an incremental backup file and add it to the backup chain.

Editing Encryption Settings

If you change encryption settings for the backup job, during the next backup job session Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will create active full backup — encrypted (if encryption was enabled) or unencrypted (if
encryption was disabled). All subsequent backup sessions will produce incremental backups.

Enabling or disabling encryption does not affect backup files that were created before you have changed
encryption settings.

If the backup chain contains encrypted and unencrypted backup files, you need to provide a password to restore
data from any restore point in this chain. After all encrypted backup files are removed from the backup chain
according to retention policy, you will be able to restore data from remaining unencrypted restore points
without providing a password.

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Disabling and Enabling Scheduled Backups
You can disable scheduled backups if you do not want to run automatic backups for some period of time. For
example, you may want to put backup activities on hold if you plan to perform resource consuming operations
on your computer at the time when the backup job is scheduled. After the operations are completed, you can
enable scheduled backups again.

The disabling option is applicable to backup job sessions started upon schedule. You can create standalone full
backups and perform ad-hoc incremental backup even if the scheduled backups are disabled.

The disabling option is applicable to all backup jobs configured in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows. If you
enable this option, all jobs that you configured will not start automatically upon the defined schedule. If you
want to prevent a specific job from starting automatically, disable scheduling options in the properties of this
job.

If you configured a backup job that is set up to create database log backups, after you disable scheduled
backups, the database log backup job will be disabled, too.

The disabling option does not put on hold the backup cache synchronization process. If Veeam Agent has
created one or more backup files in the backup cache, and then the backup target becomes available, Veeam
Agent will immediately upload backup files to the target location.

To disable scheduled backups:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click it and select
Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. Select the Disable scheduled backups check box.

To enable scheduled backups:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click it and select
Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. Clear the Disable scheduled backups check box.

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Removing Backup Job
You can remove a backup job configured in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows. When you remove a backup
job, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows also removes information about backup job sessions from the Veeam
Agent database. After you remove the job, information about sessions of this job is not displayed in the Status
view of the control panel any longer.

NOTE

You cannot remove a backup job that is currently running. You must stop the job first.

Backup files created by the deleted backup job remain intact in the target location.

To remove a backup job:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. In the main menu, hover over the name of the backup job that you want to remove, and select Remove
job.

3. In the displayed window, click Yes.

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Controlling Backup Post-Job Action
In the Free and Workstation product editions, you can set up Veeam Agent to perform a finalizing action after
the backup job completes successfully:

• Sleep — bring your computer to the standby mode.

• Hibernate — bring your computer to the hibernate mode.

• Shutdown — shut down your computer.

To learn more, see Specify Backup Schedule.

When the backup job completes, Veeam Agent opens control panel and prompts a dialog with a countdown to
the specified action. Timeout between the backup job completion and the backup post-job action is 60 seconds.

• To proceed to the backup post-job action immediately, click Sleep/Hibernate/Shutdown Now.

• To cancel the action (for example, if you want to continue working or to save your data before turning off
the computer), click Cancel.

If you do not select any option, Veeam Agent will perform the specified action when timeout expires.

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Performing Ad-Hoc Backups
In addition to running scheduled backups, you can create ad-hoc backups of your data at any time you need.
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows lets you perform the following types of ad-hoc backups:

• Incremental ad-hoc backup

• Active full backup

• Standalone full backup

• Backup to another location

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Creating Incremental Backups
You can create an ad-hoc incremental backup of your data in addition to the scheduled backup. Ad-hoc
incremental backup may be necessary if you want to capture your data at a specific point in time, for example,
before you install new software on your computer. Ad-hoc incremental backup lets you produce an additional
restore point in the backup chain at any time and does not require you to reconfigure the scheduling settings in
the backup job.

Before you perform ad-hoc incremental backup, check the following prerequisites:

• The backup job that you want to use to perform ad-hoc incremental backup must be configured and
successfully run at least once.

• You cannot perform ad-hoc incremental backup if a backup task of any type is currently running. These
include a scheduled backup, standalone full backup, active full backup or ad-hoc incremental backup.

To perform ad-hoc incremental backup:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click it and select
Control Panel.

2. Do either of the following:

o If the Veeam Agent control panel currently displays statistics of the job that you want to use to
perform ad-hoc incremental backup, in the job statistics window, click Backup Now.

o If you want to perform ad-hoc incremental backup using another backup job configured in Veeam
Agent, in the main menu, hover over the name of the necessary job and select Backup now.

If only one job is configured in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you can also start the ad-hoc incremental
backup task from the system tray menu:

1. Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray.

2. Select Backup > Backup now.

NOTE

The Backup option is not available in the system tray menu if multiple backup jobs are configured in
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will perform incremental backup using settings of the scheduled backup
job and add a new restore point to the backup chain in the target location.

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Creating Active Full Backups
You can create an ad-hoc full backup — active full backup, and add it to the backup chain on the target storage.
The active full backup resets the backup chain. All subsequent incremental backups use the active full backup as
a starting point. The previously used full backup will remain on the target storage until it is removed from the
backup chain according to the retention policy.

IMPORTANT

If you have a file-level backup job configured in Veeam Agent and you need to extend the volume where
backed-up files reside, we strongly recommend to create an active full backup after the volume is
extended. Otherwise, Veeam Agent may skip files during the job run even if these files are added to the
backup scope.

Before you create an active full backup, check the following prerequisites:

• The backup job must be configured.

• You cannot create an active full backup if a backup task of any type is currently running. This includes a
scheduled backup, standalone full backup, active full backup or ad-hoc incremental backup.

• A user account under which you start the Active full backup operation must have administrative privileges
on the Veeam Agent computer. If the account under which you are currently logged on to Microsoft
Windows does not have administrative privileges, you will be prompted to enter administrator credentials.

To perform active full backup:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click it and select
Control Panel.

2. In the main menu, hover over the name of the backup job that you want to use to create an active full
backup, and select Active full backup. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will create a full backup file
using settings of the backup job and add this backup file to the backup chain.

If only one job is configured in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you can also start the active full backup
task from the system tray menu:

1. Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray.

2. Select Backup > Active full backup.

NOTE

The Backup option is not available in the system tray menu if multiple backup jobs are configured in
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

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Creating Standalone Full Backups
If you want to back up your data at a specific point in time, you can create a standalone full backup. The
standalone full backup is independent: it is not followed by subsequent incremental backups and is not removed
by retention. You can use the standalone full backup to create an additional restore point from which you can
recover your data.

Before you create a standalone full backup, check the following prerequisites and limitations:

• The backup job must be configured.

• A user account under which you start the Standalone full backup operation must have administrative
privileges on the Veeam Agent computer. If the account under which you are currently logged on to
Microsoft Windows does not have administrative privileges, you will be prompted to enter administrator
credentials.

• You cannot create a standalone full backup if a backup task of any type is currently running. This includes
a scheduled backup, standalone full backup, active full backup or ad-hoc incremental backup.

• You cannot create a standalone full backup if you have chosen to store backup files in one of the following
locations:

o Veeam backup repository

o Veeam Cloud Connect repository

o Object storage

If you want to create a full backup file not associated with the backup chain, you can perform standalone
full backup to another location. To learn more, see Performing Backup to Another Location.

To create a standalone full backup:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click it and select
Control Panel.

2. In the main menu, hover over the name of the backup job that you want to use to create a standalone full
backup, and select Standalone full backup. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will create a full backup
file using settings of the backup job. The resulting full backup file will be saved in the target location
specified in the job settings, and placed to a separate folder. The folder is named in the following way:
<BackupJobName>.adhoc.<DateandTime>.

If only one job is configured in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you can also start the standalone full
backup task from the system tray menu:

1. Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray.

2. Select Backup > Standalone full backup.

NOTE

The Backup option is not available in the system tray menu if multiple backup jobs are configured in
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

You can also create a standalone full backup in a location that is not specified in the backup job settings. To
learn more, see Performing Backup to Another Location.

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Performing Backup to Another Location
You can create a standalone full backup in a separate location that is not specified as a target location in the
backup job settings. Performing backup to another location is similar to creating regular standalone full
backups. The main difference is that you must manually select a target location in which Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will save the backup file.

Before you perform backup to another location, check the following prerequisites:

• The backup job must be configured.

• You cannot perform backup to another location if a backup task of any type is currently running. This
includes a scheduled backup, standalone full backup, active full backup or ad-hoc incremental backup.

• A user account under which you start the Backup to another location operation must have administrative
privileges on the Veeam Agent computer. If the account under which you are currently logged on to
Microsoft Windows does not have administrative privileges, you will be prompted to enter administrator
credentials.

To perform backup to another location:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click it and select
Control Panel.

2. In the main menu, hover over the name of the backup job that you want to use to perform backup, and
select Backup to another location.

NOTE

If only one job is configured in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you can also start the standalone full
backup task from the system tray menu:

1. Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray.
2. Select Backup > Backup to another location.

Note that the Backup option is not available in the system tray menu if multiple backup jobs are configured
in Veeam Agent.

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 3. In the standalone full backup dialog window, specify the target location for the backup file:

o If you want to save the backup file in a folder on a local drive or a removable storage device, click
Browse and select the necessary folder or type a path to the folder where backup file must be saved.

o If you want to save the backup file in a network shared folder, type a UNC name of the network
shared folder. Keep in mind that the UNC name always starts with two back slashes (\\). If the
network shared folder requires authentication, specify a user name and password of the account that
has access permissions on this shared folder. The user name must be specified in the
DOMAIN\UserName format.

4. Click Backup.
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will create a full backup file using settings of the selected backup
job. The resulting full backup file will be saved in a separate folder in the specified location. The folder is
named in the following way: <BackupJobName>.adhoc.<DateandTime>.

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Performing Backup with Command Line
Interface
In addition to running scheduled backup jobs and performing ad-hoc backups from the Veeam Agent tray agent
or control panel, you can create backups with the command line interface. For example, you can use commands
for running a backup job in custom scripts to set up more detailed backup schedule than the daily schedule
configured with the control panel.

You can run a backup job from the command line interface to create the following types of backups:

• Full or incremental backup (regular restore point in the backup chain)

• Active full backup

• Standalone full backup

• Backup to another location

IMPORTANT

If you create backups with the command line interface, Veeam Agent will ignore the following network
connection restrictions:

• Disabled backup over metered connections

• Disabled backup over VPN connections
• Backup over selected wireless networks

To learn more about network usage settings, see Restricting Network Connections Usage.

Before you create a backup from the command line interface, check the following prerequisites:

• The backup job must be configured.

• You cannot run a backup job from the command line interface if a backup task for this job is currently
running. This includes a scheduled backup, standalone full backup or ad-hoc incremental backup.
If more than one backup job is configured, you can run multiple backup jobs at the same time.

• To create a standalone full backup or backup to another location, you must run the command line
interface with administrative privileges.

• If more than one backup job is configured, you must specify the job ID in the "00000000-0000-0000-
0000-000000000000" format. You can find the job ID at the Summary step of the backup job wizard.

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Creating Backups
To perform backup, use a command with the following syntax:

• If one backup job is configured:

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" /backu

p

• If more than one backup job is configured:

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" /backu

p "<ID>"

where <ID> — unique job ID generated by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

Creating Active Full Backups

To create an active full backup, use a command with the following syntax:

• If one backup job is configured:

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" /activ

efull

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 • If more than one backup job is configured:

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" /activ

efull "<ID>"

where <ID> — unique job ID generated by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

Creating Standalone Full Backups

To create a standalone full backup, use a command with the following syntax:

• If one backup job is configured:

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" /stand

alone

• If more than one backup job is configured:

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" /stand

alone "<ID>"

where <ID> — unique job ID generated by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

Performing Backup to Another Location

To create a standalone full backup to a different location than a location that is specified in the backup job
settings, use a command with the following syntax:

• If one backup job is configured:

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" /stand

alone <location>

• If more than one backup job is configured:

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" /stand

alone <location> "<ID>"

where:

• <location> — path to a folder in which the backup should be created.

• <ID> — unique job ID generated by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

IMPORTANT

You can specify a network shared folder as a target location for standalone full backup only if read and
write permissions on this folder are granted to Everyone or to the LocalSystem account of the Veeam
Agent computer. You cannot specify credentials to access the network shared folder in the command.

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Monitoring Backup Job Status
When you start a backup job from the command line interface, it runs automatically in the background. You can
view information about the backup job session or the created restore point in the control panel. To learn more,
see Viewing Statistics in Control Panel.

You can also use the last exit code to verify if the backup job has completed successfully. To check the last exit
code, use the %ERRORLEVEL% variable in cmd.exe.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows can provide the following exit codes:

• 0 — backup successfully created

• -1 — backup job failed to start or completed with error

• 5 — backup job is currently running and cannot be started from the command line interface

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Deleting Backups
Backup files created with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows are removed automatically according to the
retention policy settings. If necessary, you can remove a backup file manually with a file manager, for example,
Microsoft Windows Explorer.

Always delete the whole backup chain from the target location. If you delete a full backup file or individual
incremental backup file from the backup chain, the chain will be broken, and Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will fail to perform the scheduled backup next time.

If you remove the whole backup chain from the target location, during the next backup job session, Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows will produce a new full backup. All subsequent backups will be incremental.

Deleting Backups with Command Line Interface

You can use the command line interface to delete Veeam Agent backups from a Veeam Cloud Connect
repository or object storage.

When you delete a backup from a Veeam Cloud Connect repository, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
deletes actual backup files from the repository and removes records about the backup from the Veeam Backup &
Replication database on the SP backup server. After information about the backup is removed from the SP
backup server, Veeam Backup & Replication removes this information from its database and console on the
tenant backup server, too.

Before you delete a backup, check the following prerequisites:

• To perform the delete backup operation, you must run the command line interface with administrative
privileges.

• The delete backup operation cannot be performed if a backup or a restore task is currently running.

• Check the following backup job settings:

o The target location from which you want to delete a backup must be specified as a target location for
backup files in the backup job settings.

o Credentials of the user account whose backup you want to delete must be specified in the backup job
settings.
To learn more, see Veeam Cloud Connect Repository Settings and Object Storage Settings.

To delete a Veeam Agent backup, use a command with the following syntax:

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" /deleteback

up

TIP

If more than one backup job is configured, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will provide a list of backup
jobs. To delete a backup, type the number that is displayed next to the backup job whose backup you want
to delete.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows can provide the following exit codes:

• 0 — backup job was successfully deleted

• -1 — the delete backup job operation failed

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Managing Backup Cache
You can perform the following operations with the backup cache:

• Monitor backup cache activity

• Pause backup cache synchronization

• Delete restore points from the backup cache

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Monitoring Backup Cache Activity
You can use the Veeam Agent control panel to view information about backup cache activity. In the Backup
Cache view, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays a list of restore points that were created in the
backup cache, their status and size of the resulting backup file. For restore points that are being uploaded or
have been already uploaded to the target location, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows also displays the
upload speed.

Viewing Restore Points in Backup Cache

To view information about backup cache activity, open the Backup Cache view in one of the following ways:

• If one backup job is configured:

Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select View cache. The
Veeam Agent control panel will open, and you will pass immediately to the Backup Cache view.

NOTE

The View cache option is not available in the system tray menu if more than one backup job is
configured in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

• If more than one backup job is configured:

Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon, or right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel. In the main menu, hover over the name of the
job that created restore points in the backup cache and select Open backup cache.

Viewing Backup Cache History

By default, the Backup Cache view contains a list of restore points that are waiting for upload or currently being
uploaded to the target location. Restore points that have already been uploaded to the target location are not
displayed in the list. To view such restore points, in the Backup Cache view, select the Show sync history check
box.

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Viewing Upload Details for Restore Points
For every restore point that is being uploaded or has been uploaded to the target location, you can also view
detailed information on the upload process:

1. Open the Backup Cache view in one of the following ways:

o [If the backup cache is enabled in the properties of one job] Right-click the Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select View cache.

o [If the backup cache is enabled in the properties of multiple jobs] Double-click the Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows icon, or right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system
tray and select Control Panel. In the main menu, hover over the name of the job that created restore
points in the backup cache and select Open backup cache.

2. In the Backup Cache view, click one of the following links next to the necessary restore point:

o Uploading — for a restore point that is currently being uploaded to the target location.

o Uploaded — for a restore point that has been already uploaded to the target location.

In the Upload details view, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will provide detailed information about
operations performed as part of the restore point upload process.

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Pausing Backup Cache Synchronization
After at least one restore point is created in the backup cache, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows starts
monitoring availability of the target location. To perform this operation, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
starts the backup cache synchronization job that runs in the background.

The backup cache synchronization job can be paused automatically by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows or
manually.

Veeam Agent pauses the backup cache synchronization job automatically in case Veeam Agent computer is put
into sleep or hibernate mode during the job session, and the backup job is targeted at one of the following
locations:

• Local computer drive

• Network shared folder

If the connection was lost during data transfer, Veeam Agent does not transfer all the data again. Instead,
Veeam Agent continues data transfer that was started before the connection loss. After the connection is
restored, Veeam Agent transfers only those data blocks that were not transferred before.

You can pause the backup cache synchronization job manually, for example, if you know that the target location
will not become available for a while and want to reduce impact of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows on your
OS performance.

To pause backup cache synchronization manually:

• Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray.

• Select one of the following options:

o Pause sync > 10 minutes — to pause backup cache synchronization for 10 minutes.

o Pause sync > 1 hour — to pause backup cache synchronization for 1 hour.

o Pause sync > Until network change — to pause backup cache synchronization until new network
settings are applied to the network adapter of the Veeam Agent computer.

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Deleting Restore Points from Backup Cache
You can delete restore points from the backup cache manually if needed. For example, it is required to delete
restore points after Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows creates one or more restore points at the backup
cache, and then you change the target location for backup files in the backup job settings.

To delete restore points from the backup cache:

1. Open the Backup Cache view in one of the following ways:

o [If the backup cache is enabled in the properties of one job] Right-click the Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select View cache.

NOTE

The View cache option is not available in the system tray menu if the backup cache is enabled
for more than one backup job configured in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

o [If the backup cache is enabled in the properties of multiple jobs] Double-click the Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows icon, or right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system
tray and select Control Panel. In the main menu, hover over the name of the job that created restore
points in the backup cache and select Open backup cache.

2. In the Backup Cache view, click Delete Cache.

3. In the window notifying that restore points will be deleted from the backup cache, click Yes.

NOTE

The first backup job session following the deletion of restore points from the backup cache must complete
successfully and create backup files on the target location. During this session, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will create a new map of target location data blocks in the backup cache. If you delete restore
points from the backup cache, and then run the backup job when the target location is unavailable, the
backup job will fail.

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Performing Restore
If you experience a problem with your computer, your data gets lost or corrupted, you can use one of the
following options to recover your data or bring the computer back to work:

• Restoring from Veeam Recovery Media

• Using Veeam Agent and Microsoft Windows Tools

• Using Microsoft Windows Recovery Environment

• Restoring Volumes

• Restoring Files and Folders

• Restoring Data from Encrypted Backups

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Restoring from Veeam Recovery Media
If the OS on your computer fails to start, you can use the Veeam Recovery Media to recover your computer. The
Veeam Recovery Media will help you boot the computer in the limited mode. After booting, you can use Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows or standard Microsoft Windows tools to diagnose problems and fix errors. You can
also use a backup created with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to restore the whole system image of your
computer or specific volumes on your computer.

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Before You Begin
Before you boot from the recovery image and recover your data, check the following prerequisites:

• You must have a successfully created recovery image on any type of media: CD/DVD/BD or removable
storage device.

• To recover data on your computer, you must have both the Veeam Recovery Media and data backup. For
data recovery, you can use a volume-level backup created with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows or
system image created with Microsoft Windows. Make sure that the backup or system image is available on
the computer drive (local or external), in object storage, in a network shared folder, in the backup
repository managed by a Veeam backup server or in the cloud repository.

• The media type on which you have created the recovery image must be set as a primary boot source on
your computer.

• Recovery images for Microsoft Windows 32-bit OSes can be booted in the BIOS system only. Recovery
images for Microsoft Windows 64-bit OSes can be booted in the BIOS and UEFI systems.

Consider the following:

• When you create a Veeam Recovery Media, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows stores settings for
languages added to the list of input languages on your computer. If necessary, you can switch between
languages using a hotkey combination when working with the Veeam Recovery Media wizard. The default
key combination is typically [Shift] + [Alt].

• NIC Teaming is not supported by Veeam Recovery Media due to Windows Recovery Environment
limitations. To avoid network connection issues in Veeam Recovery Media, we recommend to disable NIC
Teaming in the network switch configuration.

• You can open the Command Prompt at any moment. To do this, press [Shift] + [F10] on the keyboard.

• If you perform restore on a tablet, you can use a virtual keyboard to enter necessary restore settings in the
Veeam Recovery Media wizard.

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Step 1. Boot from Veeam Recovery Media
To boot from the Veeam Recovery Media:

1. [For CD/DVD/BD] Power on your computer. Insert the media with the recovery image to the drive and
power off the computer.
[For removable storage device] Attach the removable storage device with the recovery image to your
computer.

2. Start your computer.

3. You will be offered to boot the OS from the CD/DVD/BD or attached removable storage. Press any key on
the keyboard to continue.

4. Wait for Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to load files from the Veeam Recovery Media. Loading the
OS from the Veeam Recovery Media usually takes more time than loading the OS from the local computer
drive.

5. After the OS has loaded, make sure network settings are specified correctly and configure network if
necessary. To learn more, see Select Network Adapter or Wireless Network.

6. Choose the necessary recovery tool to use. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows offers the following
tools:

o Bare Metal Recovery — the Veeam Recovery Media wizard to recover data on the original computer or
perform bare metal recovery.

o Windows Recovery Environment — built-in Microsoft Windows tools to recover the computer system
image.

o Tools — Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Windows utilities for advanced computer
administration.

TIP

Consider the following:

• To shut down or restart your computer, click the Power Options button at the bottom right corner of
the Veeam Recovery Media screen and select the necessary option: Shut down or Restart.
• You can use the Veeam Recovery Media to start the Microsoft Windows OS in the safe mode. To do
this, click the Power Options button at the bottom right corner of the Veeam Recovery Media screen
and select Boot in safe mode. In the displayed window, select the necessary safe boot mode
(Minimal, Network or Repair), and click OK.

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Step 2. Select Network Adapter or Wireless
Network
To open the Network settings window, click the Network Settings button at the bottom right corner of the
Veeam Recovery Media screen.

TIP

The Network Settings button appearance may vary depending on the detected network connection:
Ethernet or wireless. If your computer is connected to a wireless network, the Network Settings button will
indicate Wi-Fi signal strength.

Select a network adapter or wireless network that you want to use to connect to the network shared folder or
Veeam backup repository where the backup resides.

• If network connection settings are included in the Veeam Recovery Media, or if there is a DHCP server in
your network, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will configure the network settings automatically and
display available network adapters in the list.

• If you want to access the network shared folder or Veeam backup repository using a wireless network,
select the necessary network in the list and click Next. If the wireless network is password protected, you
will be prompted to specify a password for this network.

• You can manually configure TPC/IP v4 settings for adapters if necessary. To do this, select an adapter in
the list and click Properties.

NOTE

You will be prompted to configure network settings manually if Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does
not detect available networks and there are no network settings included in the Veeam Recovery Media.

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Installing Network Adapter Drivers
The list of networks can be empty. This can happen in two situations:

• The driver for the network adapter is included in the Veeam Recovery Media but failed to be installed
automatically for some reason.

• The driver for the network adapter is not included in the Veeam Recovery Media.

To install drivers that were included in the Veeam Recovery Media:

1. At the Network settings window, click Load network adapter driver.

2. In the Hardware Drivers window, select the necessary device.

If you want to include in the restored operating system all the drivers that were saved to the Veeam
Recovery Media, select the Inject these drivers into operating system while performing bare metal
recovery option. In case the option is not selected, the restored operating system will include only default
Windows hardware drivers.

3. Click the Install link next to the selected device.

To install drivers that were not included in the Veeam Recovery Media:

1. At the Network settings window, click Load network adapter driver.

2. At the bottom of the Hardware Drivers window, click the Load Driver button and select the INF file in the
driver package folder. You can also click the Show unknown devices link to see a list of all existing devices
without drivers. This information may help you to identify the exact device for which you need to install
the driver.

3. Click Install.

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Step 3. Launch Veeam Recovery Media Wizard
To launch the Veeam Recovery Media wizard, on the Veeam Recovery Media screen, click Bare Metal Recovery.

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Step 4. Specify Backup File Location
At the Backup Location step of the wizard, specify where the backup file that you want to use for data recovery
is located.

By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows automatically locates the latest backup on the computer drive
and you pass immediately to the Restore Point step of the wizard. If Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows fails
to locate the backup on the local computer drive for some reason, or the backup file is located in object storage,
in a network shared folder, in a backup repository or cloud repository, select where the backup file resides:

• Local storage — select this option if the backup file resides on the local computer drive, external drive or
removable storage device that is currently connected to your computer. Click Browse and select a backup
metadata file (VBM).

• Network storage — select this option if the backup file resides in an object storage, in a network shared
folder, in a backup repository managed by a Veeam backup server or in a cloud repository exposed to you
by a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider. In this case, the Veeam Recovery Media wizard will include
additional steps for specifying the backup file location settings.

Installing Drivers for Remote Storage Devices

A removable storage device with the backup file may not be displayed in the list of devices. This can happen in
two situations:

• The driver for the remote storage device is included in the Veeam Recovery Media but failed to be
installed automatically for some reason.

• The driver for the remote storage device is not included in the Veeam Recovery Media.

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To install drivers that were included in the Veeam Recovery Media:

1. At the Backup Location step of the wizard, click Load driver.

2. In the Hardware Drivers window, select the necessary device.

If you want to include in the restored operating system all the drivers that were saved to the Veeam
Recovery Media, select the Inject these drivers into operating system while performing bare metal
recovery option. In case the option is not selected, the restored operating system will include only default
Windows hardware drivers.

3. Click the Install link next to the selected device.

To install drivers that were not included in the Veeam Recovery Media:

1. At the Backup Location step of the wizard, click Load driver.

2. At the bottom of the Hardware Drivers window, click the Load Driver button and select the INF file in the
driver package folder. You can also click the Show unknown devices link to see a list of all existing devices
without drivers. This information may help you to identify the exact device for which you need to install
the driver.

3. Click Install.

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Step 5. Select Network Storage Type
The Network Storage step of the wizard is available if you have selected to restore data from a backup file that
resides in a remote location — in object storage, in a network shared folder, in a backup repository or in a cloud
repository.

Select where the backup file resides:

• Object storage — select this option if the backup file resides in object storage. With this option selected,
you will pass to the Object Storage step of the wizard.

• Shared folder — select this option if the backup file resides in a network shared folder. With this option
selected, you will pass to the Shared Folder step of the wizard.

• Veeam backup repository — select this option if the backup file resides in a backup repository managed by
a Veeam backup server. With this option selected, you will pass to the Backup Server step of the wizard.

• Veeam Cloud Connect repository — select this option if the backup file resides in a cloud repository
exposed to you by a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider. With this option selected, you will pass to the
Service Provider step of the wizard.

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Step 6. Specify Network Storage Settings
Specify settings for the network storage that contains a backup file from which you plan to restore data:

• Object storage settings — if you have selected the Object storage option at the Network Storage step of
the wizard.

• Shared folder settings — if you have selected the Shared folder option at the Network Storage step of the
wizard.

• Veeam backup repository settings — if you have selected the Veeam backup repository option at the
Network Storage step of the wizard.

• Veeam Cloud Connect repository settings — if you have selected the Veeam Cloud Connect repository
option at the Network Storage step of the wizard.

Object Storage Settings

The Object Storage step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located
in object storage.

Specify settings for the object storage:

• Specify S3 compatible storage settings.

• Specify Amazon S3 storage settings.

• Specify Google Cloud storage settings.

• Specify Microsoft Azure Blob storage settings.

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S3 Compatible Storage Settings
If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the S3 compatible storage, specify the
following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the S3 compatible storage, specify the following:

1. In the Service point field, specify the address of your S3 compatible storage.

2. In the Region field, specify the storage region.

3. In the Access key field, enter the access key ID.

4. In the Secret key field, enter the secret access key.

Specifying Bucket Settings

The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in object
storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

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Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

2. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

Amazon S3 Storage Settings

If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the Amazon S3 storage, specify the following
settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

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Specifying Account Settings
The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the Amazon S3 storage, specify the following:

1. In the Access key field, enter the access key ID.

2. In the Secret key field, enter the secret access key.

3. From the AWS region drop-down list, select the AWS region. By default, Veeam Agent uses the Global
region.

Specifying Bucket Settings

The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in object
storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. From the Data center drop-down list, select the geographic region where the backup file is stored.

2. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

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 3. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

Google Cloud Storage Settings

If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the Google Cloud storage, specify the
following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the Google Cloud storage, in the Access key and Secret key fields, specify the Hash-based
Message Authentication Code (HMAC) keys associated with the Google Cloud account. Veeam Agent will use the
HMAC keys to authenticate requests to the Google Cloud storage. For more information on Google Cloud
accounts, see the Google Cloud documentation.

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Specifying Bucket Settings
The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in object
storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. From the Data center region drop-down list, select the geographic region where the backup file is stored.

2. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

3. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

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Microsoft Azure Blob Settings
If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the Microsoft Azure Blob storage, specify the
following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify container settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the Microsoft Azure Blob storage, specify the following:

1. In the Account field, enter the storage account name.

2. In the Shared key field, enter the storage account shared key.

3. From the Region drop-down list, select the Microsoft Azure region. By default, Veeam Agent uses the
Azure Global (Standard) region.

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Specifying Container Settings
The Container step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in the
Microsoft Azure Blob storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the container in the storage:

1. From the Container drop-down list, select a container in the storage.

2. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the container:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

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Shared Folder Settings
The Shared Folder step of the wizard is available if you have selected to restore data from a backup file located
in a network shared folder.

Specify settings for the network shared folder:

1. In the Shared folder field, enter a UNC name of the network shared folder with a backup file. Keep in mind
that the UNC name always starts with two back slashes (\\).

2. If the network shared folder requires authentication, select the This share requires access credentials
check box and specify a user name and password of the account that has Full Control access permissions
on this shared folder. The user name must be specified in the down-level logon name format. For
example, DOMAIN\UserName or HOSTNAME\UserName.
To view the specified password, click and hold the eye icon on the right of the Password field.

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Backup Server Settings
The Backup Server step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
a backup repository.

Specify settings for the Veeam backup server that manages the backup repository:

1. In the Veeam backup server name or IP address field, specify a DNS name or IP address of the Veeam
backup server.

2. In the Port field, specify a number of the port over which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows must
communicate with the backup server. By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses port 10001.

3. Select one of the following authentication methods to access the Veeam backup repository:

o Credentials — in the Username and Password fields, enter a user name and password of the account
that has access to this backup repository.
Permissions on the backup repository managed by the target Veeam backup server must be granted
beforehand. To learn more, see Setting Up User Permissions on Backup Repositories.

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 o Recovery token — in the Token field, enter the recovery token created on the Veeam Backup &
Replication side.
The recovery token must be created beforehand. To learn more, see the Creating Recovery Token
section in the Veeam Agent Management Guide.

After you click Next, you will be prompted to check the Veeam backup server certificate. Click View
Certificate to check the certificate. Click Continue to connect to the Veeam backup server.

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 After you click Next, you will be prompted to check the Veeam backup server certificate. Click View
Certificate to check the certificate. Click Continue to connect to the Veeam backup server.

Service Provider Settings

If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in a Veeam Cloud Connect repository, specify
settings to connect to the cloud repository:

1. Specify service provider settings.

2. Verify the TLS certificate and specify user account settings.

Specifying Service Provider Settings

The Service provider step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a cloud repository
exposed to you by a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider.

Specify service provider settings that the SP or your backup administrator has provided to you:

1. In the DNS name or IP address field, enter a full DNS name or IP address of the cloud gateway.

2. In the Port field, specify the port over which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will communicate with
the cloud gateway. By default, port 6180 is used.

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Specifying User Account Settings
The Credentials step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a cloud repository and
specified settings for the cloud gateway.

Verify TLS certificate settings and specify settings for the tenant account or subtenant account that you want to
use to connect to the service provider.

3. At the top of the wizard window, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays information about the TLS
certificate obtained from the SP side. You can view the certificate settings and verify the TLS certificate.
TLS certificate verification is optional. You can use this option to verify self-signed TLS certificates. TLS
certificates signed by the CA do not require additional verification.

o To view the TLS certificate, click the certificate link.

o To verify if the TLS certificate with a thumbprint, copy the thumbprint you obtained from the SP to
the Clipboard and enter it to the Fingerprint for certificate verification field. Click Verify. Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows will check if the thumbprint you enter matches the thumbprint of the
obtained TLS certificate.

2. In the Username field, enter the user name of the tenant or subtenant account that the SP or your backup
administrator has provided to you. The user name of the subtenant account must be specified in the
TENANT\SUBTENANT format.

3. In the Password field, provide a password for the tenant or subtenant account.

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Step 7. Select Backup
The Backup step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file that resides in a
remote location — in object storage, in a network shared folder, in a Veeam backup repository or Veeam Cloud
Connect repository.

From the list of backups, select a backup from which you want to recover data. To quickly find the necessary
backup, use the search field at the bottom of the window: enter a backup name or a part of it in the search field
and click the Start search button on the right or press [ENTER].

In the list of backups, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays only those backups that meet the following
criteria:

1. Backups created at the volume level. File-level backups are not displayed.

2. [For backup repository target] Backups accessible by the user whose credentials are specified at the
Backup Server step of the wizard:

o If you specify credentials for the user who has access to the backup repository, the list of backups will
include only backups created by this user.

o If you specify credentials for the Backup Administrator on the backup server, the list of backups will
include all Veeam Agent backups stored in the backup repository.

3. [For cloud repository target] Backups accessible by the user whose credentials are specified at the
Credentials step of the wizard:

o If you specify credentials for the tenant account, the list of backups will include backups created by
all users who create backups under this tenant account and its subtenant accounts.

o If you specify credentials for the subtenant account, the list of backups will include only those Veeam
Agent backups that were created under this subtenant account.

NOTE

If you want to restore data from an encrypted backup, and the Veeam Recovery Media from which you
booted your computer does not contain encryption keys required to unlock the backup file, you need to
provide a password to unlock the encrypted file. To learn more, see Restoring Data from Encrypted
Backups.

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Step 8. Select Restore Point
At the Restore Point step of the wizard, select a restore point from which you want to recover data.

By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses the latest restore point. However, you can select any valid
restore point to recover files and folders to a specific point in time.

Veeam Agent displays only restore points of volume-level backups. For example, if you have run 2 job sessions
to create a backup of all computer volumes and then changed the backup scope to file-level backup, Veeam
Agent will display only 2 restore points in the list.

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Step 9. Select Data Restore Mode
At the Restore Mode step of the wizard, select the data restore mode:

• Entire computer — select this option if you want to restore the whole system image of your computer. In
this case, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will attempt to map volumes from the backup to existing
computer volumes and will overwrite existing data with data restored from the backup.

• System volumes only — select this option if you want to restore only system state data and the system
volume (volume on which the Microsoft OS is installed). In this case, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
will restore the Microsoft Windows system partition and boot partition from the backup to your computer.
For GPT disks on Microsoft Windows 8.1, 10, 11, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019 and 2022 Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will additionally restore the recovery partition.

• Manual restore — select this option if you want to choose what computer volumes you want to restore and
manually allocate disk space on restored volumes. This option is recommended for users who have
experience in working with Microsoft Windows disks and partitions.

To view the current disk allocations settings on your computer, at the bottom of the wizard click View
automatically detected disk mapping.

IMPORTANT

You will not be able to restore data in the Entire computer or System volumes only mode, if disks on a
computer have not enough space to embed volume data from the backup. In this situation, you will be
prompted to use the Manual restore mode.

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Step 10. Map Restored Disks
The Disk Mapping step of the wizard is available if at the Restore Mode step of the wizard you have chosen to
restore data in the Manual mode.

You can map volumes that you want to restore from the backup to disks on the target computer.

IMPORTANT

We strongly recommend that you change disk mapping settings only if you have experience in working
with Microsoft Windows disks and partitions. If you make a mistake, your computer data may get
corrupted.

To map volumes:

1. Select check boxes next to volumes that you want to restore from the backup.

2. [For restore to a new location] By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows restores all volumes to
their initial location. If the initial location is unavailable, a volume is restored to a disk of the same or
larger size. To map the restored volume to another computer disk, at the bottom of the wizard click
Customize disk mapping. In the Disk Mapping window, specify how volumes must be restored:

o Right-click the target disk on the left and select the necessary disk layout:

▪ Apply Backup Layout — select this option if you want to apply to disk the settings that were
used on your computer at the moment when you performed backup.

▪ Apply Disk Layout — select this option if you want to apply to the current disk settings of
another disk.

▪ Erase — select this option if you want to discard the current disk settings.

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 Right-click unallocated disk space in the disk area on the right and select what volume from the backup
you want to place on this computer disk.
If you restore to a dynamic disk, after you select the volume to place on the disk, you will pass to the
Allocate Volume window. To close the window, click OK.

NOTE

When you use the Veeam Recovery Media, you can recover volumes from dynamic disks only as
simple volumes. If you want to restore such volumes as spanned, striped, mirrored, or parity
volumes, you need to perform the following operations:

1. Using the Veeam Recovery Media, restore the system volume from any disk and data
volumes from basic disks.
2. Using Veeam Agent, restore volumes from dynamic disks. For details, see Restoring
Volumes.

To learn more about volume types that you can create on dynamic disks, see this Microsoft
article.

If you want to change disk layout configured by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, right-click an
automatically mapped volume and select Remove. You will be able to use the released space for
mapping volumes in your own order.

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 3. [For restore with volume resize] You can resize a volume mapped by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
to a target computer disk. To resize a volume, right-click it in the Disk Mapping window and select Resize.
With this option selected, you will pass to the Volume Resize window.

NOTE

If you map a backup volume that is larger than the amount of available space on the target disk, Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows will prompt you to shrink the restored volume. After you agree and click OK,
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will prepare to shrink the volume to the size of available disk space.

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Installing Storage Adapter Drivers
A computer disk may not be available in the list of disks. This can happen in two situations:

• The driver for the storage adapter is included in the Veeam Recovery Media but failed to be installed
automatically for some reason.

• The driver for the storage adapter is not included in the Veeam Recovery Media.

To install drivers that were included in the Veeam Recovery Media:

1. At the Disk Mapping step of the wizard, click Load driver.

2. In the Hardware Drivers window, select the necessary device.

If you do not want to save drivers for listed devices to the restored operating system, clear the Inject
these drivers into operating system while performing bare metal recovery check box.

3. Click the Install link next to the selected device.

To install drivers that were not included in the Veeam Recovery Media:

1. At the Disk Mapping step of the wizard, click Load driver.

2. At the bottom of the Hardware Drivers window, click the Load Driver button and select the INF file in the
driver package folder. You can also click the Show unknown devices link to see a list of all existing devices
without drivers. This information may help you to identify the exact device for which you need to install
the driver.

3. Click Install.

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Step 11. Resize Restored Volumes
At the Disk Mapping step of the wizard you can set the necessary size for the restored volumes. You can resize a
volume if you have chosen to restore data in the Manual mode and customize disk layout. A volume will be
shrunk or extended to the specified size during the process of data restore.

NOTE

By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays volume size in megabytes (MB). This allows you
to specify the desired size for the volume precisely. You can also choose to display volume size in
gigabytes (GB). This may be helpful when you need to resize volumes on larger computer disks and want to
simplify disk size calculations.

When you use GB as a volume size unit, you can specify volume size with integral numbers, for example, 1
GB, 60 GB or 200 GB, but not 0,8 GB, 60,5 GB or 200,7 GB. However, if the maximum volume size is in
fact greater than the displayed value for less than 1 GB, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will
automatically add the exceeding amount of disk space to the extended volume. For example, if the
maximum volume size is 60,2 GB, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will display this size as 60 GB.
When you specify 60 GB as a desired volume size, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will extend the
volume to 60,2 GB.

To resize a volume:

1. Specify a volume you want to resize:

a. Right-click a restored volume mapped to a target disk and select Resize.

b. [For volume shrink] Right-click unallocated disk space and select what volume from the backup you
want to place on the computer disk. If the selected volume is larger than the amount of unallocated
disk space, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will prompt you to shrink the restored volume.

2. In the Volume Resize window, select the volume size unit and specify the desired size for the restored
volume.

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Step 12. Start Restore Process
At the Summary step of the wizard, finalize the recovery process.

1. Review the specified recovery settings.

2. Click Restore to start the recovery process. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will perform partition re-
allocation operations if necessary, restore the necessary data from the backup and overwrite data on your
computer with it.

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Using Veeam Agent and Microsoft
Windows Tools
When you boot from the Veeam Recovery Media, you can use a set of tools to repair typical causes of
unbootable OS, diagnose your computer and perform advanced administration tasks. Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows offers its native tools and standard Microsoft Windows recovery tools.

IMPORTANT

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows includes Microsoft Windows Tools in the Veeam Recovery Media. If
some of Microsoft Windows Tools components are missing on the computer, some of Microsoft Windows
Tools may not be available when you boot from the Veeam Recovery Media.

To open the tools view, on the Veeam Recovery Media screen, click Tools. Then choose the necessary tool from
the list:

• Command Prompt — use this option to start the Microsoft Windows command prompt (cmd.exe).

• Reset Password — use this option to reset a password for the built-in Administrator account to none. The
next time you boot your computer from the hard disk under the Administrator account, you will not have
to specify any password. Consider the following:

o The password reset option does not function on domain controller machines.

o If the built-in Administrator account is disabled, this account will be enabled by the password reset
option.

• Load Driver — use this option to load from external sources drivers that are not available on the Veeam
Recovery Media. Drivers can be loaded from the computer drive or from a network shared folder.

• Memory Diagnostic (Microsoft utility) — use this option to check the system memory of your computer and
detect potential problems. The utility can be started during the current work session or when you boot
your computer the next time. To learn more, see this Microsoft article.

• Startup Repair (Microsoft utility) — use this option to fix system problems that may prevent Microsoft
Windows from starting, for example, missing and damaged system files or the corrupted boot sector. To
learn more, see this Microsoft article.

• Export Logs — use this option to export the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows debug logs to a ZIP file
and save this file on a removable storage appliance attached to your computer.

NOTE

Do not save the archive file with debug logs on the local disk X: of the recovery image OS. This local disk is
a temporary storage that will be automatically deleted after you finish working with the Veeam Recovery
Media.

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Using Microsoft Windows Recovery
Environment
If you have a Microsoft system image on the computer drive or a DVD archive with Microsoft system images, you
can recover your computer using the Microsoft Windows System Image Recovery tool.

To access the Microsoft Windows System Image Recovery tool, on the Veeam Recovery Media screen, click
Windows Recovery Environment.

The process of recovery does not differ from the process performed in Microsoft Windows. To learn more, see
this Microsoft article.

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Restoring Volumes
You can restore a specific computer volume or all volumes from the volume-level backup.

Volumes can be restored to their original location or to a new location.

• If you restore a volume to its original location, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will overwrite the
data on the original volume with the data restored from the backup.

• If you restore volume data to a new location, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will restore data from
the backup and write it to the selected destination. If necessary, you can specify new disk mapping
settings for the restored volume.

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Before You Begin
Before you begin the volume-level restore process, check the following prerequisites and limitations.

General
• The volume-level backup from which you plan to restore data must be successfully created at least once.

• [For backups stored in network shared folders and in backup repositories] You must have access to the
target location where the backup file resides.

• [For backup repository targets] If you plan to restore data from a backup stored in a backup repository,
you must have access permissions on this backup repository. To learn more, see Setting Up User
Permissions on Backup Repositories.

• A user account under which you start the restore operation must have administrative privileges on the
Veeam Agent computer. If the account under which you are currently logged on to Microsoft Windows
does not have administrative privileges, you will be prompted to enter administrator credentials.

ReFS Restore
If you restore a ReFS volume from a backup that was made on another machine, the Veeam Agent computer
where you perform restore must run the OS that supports the specific ReFS version. For example, you can
restore a ReFS 3.x volume only to a computer that runs one of the following OSes:

• Microsoft Windows 10 version 1803 or later

• Microsoft Windows Server 2016 or later

NTFS Restore
• If you restore an NTFS volume from a backup that was made on another machine, and Data Deduplication
was enabled for the volume, the Veeam Agent computer where you perform restore must run the same OS
version or later as the backed-up machine OS.

• If you restore an NTFS volume from a backup that was made on another machine, and the allocation unit
size of the volume was set to 128K or greater, the Veeam Agent computer where you perform restore
must run one of the following OSes:

o Microsoft Windows 10 version 1803 or later

o Microsoft Windows Server 2019 or later

Volume-Level Restore Limitations

Volume-level restore has the following limitations:

• You cannot restore the system volume to its original location.

• You cannot restore a volume to the volume on which the Microsoft Windows swap file is hosted.

• You cannot restore a volume to the volume where the backup file that you use for restore is located.

To overcome the first two limitations, you can boot from the recovery image and use the Volume Level Restore
wizard for volume-level restore. To learn more, see Restoring from Veeam Recovery Media.

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Step 1. Launch Volume Level Restore Wizard
To launch the Volume Level Restore wizard, do either of the following:

• Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Restore > Entire
volumes.

• Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click the icon and
select Control Panel. In the control panel, click a bar of the necessary backup job session. Click Restore
Volumes at the bottom of the window.

• Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click the icon and
select Control Panel. In the main menu, hover over the name of the job that that created the backup from
which you want to restore data, and select Restore volume.

• From the Microsoft Windows Start menu, select All Programs > Veeam > Tools > Volume Restore.

If Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows automatically detects backups of your computer in the target location,
you will pass immediately to the Restore Point step of the wizard.

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Step 2. Specify Backup File Location
At the Backup Location step of the wizard, specify where the backup file that you plan to use for restore resides.

If you configured only one backup job, Veeam Agent automatically locates the latest backup of this backup job
on the target storage, and you pass immediately to the Restore Point step of the wizard. If there are several
backup jobs configured or Veeam Agent fails to locate the backup for some reason, specify where the backup
file resides:

• Local storage — select this option if the backup file resides on the computer drive, external drive or
removable storage device that is currently connected to your computer. Click Browse and select a backup
metadata file (VBM).

• Network storage — select this option if the backup file resides in object storage, in a network shared
folder, in a backup repository managed by a Veeam backup server or in a cloud repository exposed to you
by a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider. In this case, the Volume Level Restore wizard will include
additional steps for specifying file location settings.

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Step 3. Select Network Storage Type
The Network Storage step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file that
resides in a remote location — in object storage, in a network shared folder, in a backup repository or in a cloud
repository.

Select where the backup file is located:

• Object storage — select this option if the backup file resides in object storage. With this option selected,
you will pass to the Object Storage step of the wizard.

• Shared folder — select this option if the backup file resides in a network shared folder. With this option
selected, you will pass to the Shared Folder step of the wizard.

• Veeam backup repository — select this option if the backup file resides in a backup repository managed by
a Veeam backup server. With this option selected, you will pass to the Backup Server step of the wizard.

• Veeam Cloud Connect repository — select this option if the backup file resides in a cloud repository
exposed to you by a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider. With this option selected, you will pass to the
Service Provider step of the wizard.

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Step 4. Specify Network Storage Settings
Specify settings for the network storage that contains a backup file from which you plan to restore data:

• Object storage settings — if you have selected the Object storage option at the Network Storage step of
the wizard.

• Shared folder settings — if you have selected the Shared folder option at the Network Storage step of the
wizard.

• Veeam backup repository settings — if you have selected the Veeam backup repository option at the
Network Storage step of the wizard.

• Veeam Cloud Connect repository settings — if you have selected the Veeam Cloud Connect repository
option at the Network Storage step of the wizard.

Object Storage Settings

The Object Storage step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located
in object storage.

Specify settings for the object storage:

• Specify S3 compatible storage settings.

• Specify Amazon S3 storage settings.

• Specify Google Cloud storage settings.

• Specify Microsoft Azure Blob storage settings.

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S3 Compatible Storage Settings
If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the S3 compatible storage, specify the
following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the S3 compatible storage, specify the following:

1. In the Service point field, specify the address of your S3 compatible storage.

2. In the Region field, specify the storage region.

3. In the Access key field, enter the access key ID.

4. In the Secret key field, enter the secret access key.

Specifying Bucket Settings

The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in object
storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

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Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

2. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

Amazon S3 Storage Settings

If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the Amazon S3 storage, specify the following
settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

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Specifying Account Settings
The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the Amazon S3 storage, specify the following:

1. In the Access key field, enter the access key ID.

2. In the Secret key field, enter the secret access key.

3. From the AWS region drop-down list, select the AWS region. By default, Veeam Agent uses the Global
region.

Specifying Bucket Settings

The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in object
storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. From the Data center drop-down list, select the geographic region where the backup file is stored.

2. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

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 3. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

Google Cloud Storage Settings

If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the Google Cloud storage, specify the
following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the Google Cloud storage, in the Access key and Secret key fields, specify the Hash-based
Message Authentication Code (HMAC) keys associated with the Google Cloud account. Veeam Agent will use the
HMAC keys to authenticate requests to the Google Cloud storage. For more information on Google Cloud
accounts, see the Google Cloud documentation.

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Specifying Bucket Settings
The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in object
storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. From the Data center region drop-down list, select the geographic region where the backup file is stored.

2. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

3. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

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Microsoft Azure Blob Storage Settings
If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the Microsoft Azure Blob storage, specify the
following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify container settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the Microsoft Azure Blob storage, specify the following:

1. In the Account field, enter the storage account name.

2. In the Shared key field, enter the storage account shared key.

3. From the Region drop-down list, select the Microsoft Azure region. By default, Veeam Agent uses the
Azure Global (Standard) region.

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Specifying Container Settings
The Container step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in the
Microsoft Azure Blob storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the container in the storage:

1. From the Container drop-down list, select a container in the storage.

2. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the container:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

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Shared Folder Settings
The Shared Folder step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
a network shared folder.

Specify settings for the network shared folder:

1. In the Shared folder field, enter a UNC name of the network shared folder with the backup file. Keep in
mind that the UNC name always starts with two back slashes (\\).

2. If the network shared folder requires authentication, select the This share requires access credentials
check box and specify a user name and password of the account that has Full Control access permissions
on this shared folder. The user name must be specified in the down-level logon name format. For
example, DOMAIN\UserName or HOSTNAME\UserName.
If you do not select the This share requires access credentials check box, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will connect to the shared folder using the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account of the computer
where the product is installed.

3. To view the entered password, click and hold the eye icon on the right of the Password field.

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Backup Server Settings
The Backup Server step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
a backup repository.

Specify settings for the Veeam backup server that manages the backup repository:

1. In the Veeam backup server name or IP address field, specify a DNS name or IP address of the Veeam
backup server.

2. In the Port field, specify a number of the port over which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows must
communicate with the backup server. By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses port 10001.

3. Select the Specify your personal credentials check box. In the Username and Password fields, enter a user
name and password of the account that has access to this backup repository. Permissions on the backup
repository managed by the target Veeam backup server must be granted beforehand. To learn more, see
Setting Up User Permissions on Backup Repositories.
If you do not select the Specify your personal credentials check box, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
will connect to the backup repository using the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account of the computer where
the product is installed. You can use this scenario if the Veeam Agent computer is joined to the Active
Directory domain. In this case, you can add the computer account ( DOMAIN\COMPUTERNAME$) to an AD
group and grant access rights on the backup repository to this group.
Setting access permissions on the backup repository to Everyone is equal to granting access rights to the
Everyone Microsoft Windows group (Anonymous users are excluded). If you have set such permissions on
the backup repository, you can omit specifying credentials. However, we recommend this scenario for
demo environments only.

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Service Provider Settings
If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located on a Veeam Cloud Connect repository, specify
settings to connect to the cloud repository:

1. Specify service provider settings.

2. Verify the TLS certificate and specify user account settings.

Specifying Service Provider Settings

The Service provider step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a cloud repository
exposed to you by a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider.

Specify service provider settings that the SP or your backup administrator has provided to you:

1. In the DNS name or IP address field, enter a full DNS name or IP address of the cloud gateway.

2. In the Port field, specify the port over which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will communicate with
the cloud gateway. By default, port 6180 is used.

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Specifying User Account Settings
The Credentials step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a cloud repository and
specified settings for the cloud gateway.

Verify TLS certificate settings and specify settings for the tenant account or subtenant account that you want to
use to connect to the service provider.

1. At the top of the wizard window, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays information about the TLS
certificate obtained from the SP side. You can view the certificate settings and verify the TLS certificate.
TLS certificate verification is optional. You can use this option to verify self-signed TLS certificates. TLS
certificates signed by the CA do not require additional verification.

o To view the TLS certificate, click the certificate link.

o To verify if the TLS certificate with a thumbprint, copy the thumbprint you obtained from the SP to
the Clipboard and enter it to the Fingerprint for certificate verification field. Click Verify. Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows will check if the thumbprint you enter matches the thumbprint of the
obtained TLS certificate.

2. In the Username field, enter the user name of the tenant or subtenant account that the SP or your backup
administrator has provided to you. The user name of the subtenant account must be specified in the
TENANT\SUBTENANT format.

3. In the Password field, provide a password for the tenant or subtenant account.

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Step 5. Select Backup
The Backup step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in object
storage, in a network shared folder or in a backup repository.

From the list of backups, select a backup from which you want to recover data. To quickly find the necessary
backup, use the search field at the bottom of the window: enter a backup name or a part of it in the search field
and click the Start search button on the right or press [ENTER].

In the list of backups, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays only those backups that meet the following
criteria:

1. Backups created at the volume level. File-level backups are not displayed.

2. [For backup repository target] Backups accessible by the user whose credentials are specified at the
Backup Server step of the wizard:

o If you specify credentials for the user who has access to the backup repository, the list of backups will
include only backups created by this user.

o If you specify credentials for the user who is assigned the Backup Administrator or Restore Operator
role on the backup server, the list of backups will include all Veeam Agent backups stored in the
backup repository.

3. [For cloud repository target] Backups accessible by the user whose credentials are specified at the
Credentials step of the wizard:

o If you specify credentials for the tenant account, the list of backups will include backups created by
all users who create backups under this account.

o If you specify credentials for the subtenant account, the list of backups will include only those Veeam
Agent backups that were created under this subtenant account.

NOTE

If you restore data from an encrypted backup that was created on another Veeam Agent computer, you
need to provide a password to unlock the encrypted file. To learn more, see Restoring Data from Encrypted
Backups.

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Step 6. Select Restore Point
At the Restore Point step of the wizard, select a restore point from which you want to recover data.

By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses the latest restore point. However, you can select any valid
restore point to recover volumes to a specific point in time.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays restore points for volume-level backups only. For example, if you
have run 3 job sessions to create a backup of all computer volumes and then changed the backup scope to file-
level backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will display only 3 restore points in the list.

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Step 7. Map Restored Disks
At the Disk Mapping step of the wizard, select what volumes you want to restore and map volumes from the
backup to volumes on your computer.

IMPORTANT

We strongly recommend that you change disk mapping settings only if you have experience in working
with Microsoft Windows disks and partitions. If you make a mistake, your computer data may get
corrupted.

To select volumes to restore:

1. Select check boxes next to volumes that you want to restore from the backup.

2. [For restore to a new location] By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows restores volumes to their
initial location. If the initial location is unavailable, a volume is restored to a disk of the same or larger size.
To map the restored volume to another computer disk, at the bottom of the wizard click Customize disk
mapping. In the Disk Mapping window, specify how volumes must be restored:

o Right-click the target disk on the left and select the necessary disk layout:

▪ Apply Backup Layout — select this option if you want to apply to disk the settings that were
used on your computer at the moment when you performed backup.

▪ Apply Disk Layout — select this option if you want to apply to the current disk settings of
another disk.

▪ Erase — select this option if you want to discard the current disk settings.

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 o Right-click unallocated disk space in the disk area on the right and select what volume from the
backup you want to place on this computer disk.
If you restore to a dynamic disk, you can specify the type and size of the target volume before
mapping. After you select the volume to place on the disk, you will pass to the Allocate Volume
window.
If you want to change disk layout configured by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, right-click an
automatically mapped volume and select Remove. You will be able to use the released space for
mapping volumes in your own order.

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 3. [For restore with volume resize] You can resize a volume mapped by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
to a target computer disk. To resize a volume, right-click it in the Disk Mapping window and select Resize.
With this option selected, you will pass to the Volume Resize window.

NOTE

If you map a backup volume that is larger than the amount of available space on the target disk, Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows will prompt you to shrink the restored volume. After you agree and click OK,
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will prepare to shrink the volume to the size of available disk space.

Allocating Restored Volumes to Dynamic Disks

At the Disk Mapping step of the wizard, you can set the necessary type and size for the restored volumes. A
volume will get the specified type and size during the process of data restore.

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You can do this only if all the following conditions are met:

• You restore data to a dynamic disk. To learn more about dynamic volume types, see this Microsoft article.

• At the Restore Mode step of the wizard, you have selected the Manual restore option.

• At the Disk Mapping step of the wizard, you have clicked the Customize disk mapping link.

To set volume type and size:

1. Right-click unallocated space of a dynamic disk and select what volume from the backup you want to
place on this disk. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will prompt you to set the restored volume type
and size.

2. In the Allocate window, specify the restored volume type:

o If you want to restore the volume as a simple volume, from the Restore as drop-down list, select the
Simple volume option and click OK.

o If you want to restore the volume as a spanned, striped, mirrored, or parity volume, from the Restore
as drop-down list, select the desired option and specify the following settings:

i. In the Available disks list, select volume extents you want to restore. You can add or delete
volume extents using the Add, Remove, and Remove All buttons.

ii. In the Specify the amount of disk space to allocate field, specify the total size of restored
extents.

iii. Click OK.

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Step 8. Resize Restored Volumes
At the Disk Mapping step of the wizard you can set the necessary size for the restored volumes. You can resize a
volume if you have chosen to restore data in the Manual mode and customize disk layout. A volume will be
shrunk or extended to the specified size during the process of data restore.

NOTE

By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays volume size in megabytes (MB). This allows you
to specify the desired size for the volume precisely. You can also choose to display volume size in
gigabytes (GB). This may be helpful when you need to resize volumes on larger computer disks and want to
simplify disk size calculations.

When you use GB as a volume size unit, you can specify volume size with integral numbers, for example, 1
GB, 60 GB or 200 GB, but not 0,8 GB, 60,5 GB or 200,7 GB. However, if the maximum volume size is in
fact greater than the displayed value for less than 1 GB, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will
automatically add the exceeding amount of disk space to the extended volume. For example, if the
maximum volume size is 60,2 GB, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will display this size as 60 GB.
When you specify 60 GB as a desired volume size, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will extend the
volume to 60,2 GB.

To resize a volume:

1. Specify a volume you want to resize:

a. Right-click a restored volume mapped to a target disk and select Resize.

b. [For volume shrink] Right-click unallocated disk space and select what volume from the backup you
want to place on the computer disk. If the selected volume is larger than the amount of unallocated
disk space, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will prompt you to shrink the restored volume.

2. In the Volume Resize window, select the volume size unit and specify the desired size for the restored
volume.

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Step 9. Complete Restore Process
At the Summary step of the wizard, complete the procedure of volume-level restore.

1. Review settings of the restore process.

2. Click Restore to start the recovery process. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will perform partition re-
allocation operations if necessary, restore the necessary volume data from the backup and overwrite
volume data on your computer with the restored data.

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Restoring Files and Folders
If some files and folders on your computer get lost or corrupted, you can restore them from backups. For file-
level restore, you can use backups of any type:

• Volume-level backups (backups of the entire computer or specific volumes)

• File-level backups

When you perform file-level restore, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows publishes the backup content directly
into the computer file system and displays it in the Veeam Backup browser. You can restore files and folders to
their initial location, copy files and folders to a new location or target applications to restored files and work
with them as usual.

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Before You Begin
Before you begin the file-level restore process, check the following prerequisites.

General
• The backup from which you plan to restore data must be successfully created at least once.

• [For backups stored in network shared folders and in backup repositories] You must have access to the
target location where the backup file resides.

• [For backup repository targets] If you plan to restore data from a backup stored in a backup repository,
you must have access permissions on this backup repository. To learn more, see Setting Up User
Permissions on Backup Repositories.

• A user account under which you start the restore operation must have administrative privileges on the
Veeam Agent computer. If the account under which you are currently logged on to Microsoft Windows
does not have administrative privileges, you will be prompted to enter administrator credentials.

NOTE

When you restore files or folders, target EFS settings are applied to the restored objects. For example, if
you restore files or folders to a folder encrypted with EFS, the restored objects are encrypted.

ReFS Restore
If you restore files or folders from a ReFS volume-level backup that was made on another machine, the Veeam
Agent computer where you perform restore must run the OS that supports the specific ReFS version. For
example, you can restore files from a ReFS 3.x volume only to a computer that runs one of the following OSes:

• Microsoft Windows 10 version 1803 or later

• Microsoft Windows Server 2016 or later

NTFS Restore
• If you restore files or folders from an NTFS volume-level backup that was made on another machine, and
Data Deduplication is enabled for some volumes of the backup, the Veeam Agent computer where you
perform restore must run the same OS version or later as the backed-up machine OS.

• If you restore files or folders from an NTFS volume-level backup that was made on another machine, and
the allocation unit size of volumes is set to 128K or greater, the Veeam Agent computer where you
perform restore must run one of the following OSes:

o Microsoft Windows 10 version 1803 or later

o Microsoft Windows Server 2019 or later

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Step 1. Launch File Level Restore Wizard
To launch the File Level Restore wizard, do either of the following:

• Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Restore > Individual
files.

• Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click the icon and
select Control Panel. In the control panel, click a bar of the necessary backup job session. Click Restore
Files at the bottom of the window. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will automatically publish the
backup content into the computer file system and open the Veeam Backup browser.

• Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click the icon and
select Control Panel. In the main menu, hover over the name of the job that that created the backup from
which you want to restore data, and select Restore file.

• From the Microsoft Windows Start menu, select All Programs > Veeam > File Level Restore.

• In Microsoft Windows Explorer, double-click the necessary VBK or VBM file or right-click the file and
select Extract. In the displayed window, select the restore point from which you want to recover files and
click Open. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will automatically publish the backup content into the
computer file system and open the Veeam Backup browser.

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Step 2. Specify Backup File Location
At the Backup Location step of the wizard, specify where the backup file that you plan to use for restore resides.

If you configured only one backup job, Veeam Agent automatically locates the latest backup of this backup job
on the target storage, and you pass immediately to the Restore Point step of the wizard. If there are several
backup jobs configured or Veeam Agent fails to locate the backup for some reason, specify where the backup
file resides:

• Local storage — select this option if the backup file resides on the computer drive, external drive or
removable storage device that is currently connected to your computer. Click Browse and select a backup
metadata file (VBM).

• Network storage — select this option if the backup file resides in an object storage, in a network shared
folder, in a backup repository managed by a Veeam backup server or in a cloud repository exposed to you
by a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider. In this case, the Veeam Recovery Media wizard will include
additional steps for specifying the backup file location settings.

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Step 3. Select Remote Storage Type
The Remote Storage step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file that
resides in a remote location — in an object storage, in a network shared folder, in a backup repository or in a
cloud repository.

Specify where the backup file resides:

• Object storage — select this option if the backup file is located in object storage. With this option selected,
you will pass to the Object Storage step of the wizard.

• Shared folder — select this option if the backup file is located in a network shared folder. With this option
selected, you will pass to the Shared Folder step of the wizard.

• Veeam backup repository — select this option if the backup file resides in a backup repository managed by
the Veeam backup server. With this option selected, you will pass to the Backup Server step of the wizard.

• Veeam Cloud Connect repository — select this option if the backup file resides in a cloud repository
exposed to you by a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider. With this option selected, you will pass to the
Service Provider step of the wizard.

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Step 4. Specify Remote Storage Settings
Specify settings for the remote storage that contains a backup file from which you plan to restore data:

• Object storage settings — if you have selected the Object storage option at the Remote Storage step of
the wizard.

• Shared folder settings — if you have selected the Shared folder option at the Remote Storage step of the
wizard.

• Veeam backup repository settings — if you have selected the Veeam backup repository option at the
Remote Storage step of the wizard.

• Veeam Cloud Connect repository settings — if you have selected the Veeam Cloud Connect repository
option at the Remote Storage step of the wizard.

Object Storage Settings

The Object Storage step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located
in object storage.

Specify settings for the object storage:

• Specify S3 compatible storage settings.

• Specify Amazon S3 storage settings.

• Specify Google Cloud storage settings.

• Specify Microsoft Azure Blob storage settings.

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S3 Compatible Storage Settings
If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the S3 compatible storage, specify the
following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the S3 compatible storage, specify the following:

1. In the Service point field, specify the address of your S3 compatible storage.

2. In the Region field, specify the storage region.

3. In the Access key field, enter the access key ID.

4. In the Secret key field, enter the secret access key.

Specifying Bucket Settings

The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in object
storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

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 b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

2. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

Amazon S3 Storage Settings

If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the Amazon S3 storage, specify the following
settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the Amazon S3 storage, specify the following:

1. In the Access key field, enter the access key ID.

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 2. In the Secret key field, enter the secret access key.

3. From the AWS region drop-down list, select the AWS region. By default, Veeam Agent uses the Global
region.

Specifying Bucket Settings

The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in object
storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. From the Data center drop-down list, select the geographic region where the backup file is stored.

2. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

3. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

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Google Cloud Storage Settings
If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the Google Cloud storage, specify the
following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify bucket settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the Google Cloud storage, in the Access key and Secret key fields, specify the Hash-based
Message Authentication Code (HMAC) keys associated with the Google Cloud account. Veeam Agent will use the
HMAC keys to authenticate requests to the Google Cloud storage. For more information on Google Cloud
accounts, see the Google Cloud documentation.

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Specifying Bucket Settings
The Bucket step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in object
storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the bucket in the storage:

1. From the Data center region drop-down list, select the geographic region where the backup file is stored.

2. In the Bucket field, specify a bucket in the storage:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Bucket window, do the following:

i. Double-click the region name or click the arrow to the left of the region name to view the list of
available buckets.

ii. Select the necessary bucket and click OK.

3. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the bucket:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

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Microsoft Azure Blob Storage Settings
If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located in the Microsoft Azure Blob storage, specify the
following settings:

1. Specify account settings.

2. Specify container settings.

Specifying Account Settings

The Account step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
object storage.

To connect to the Microsoft Azure Blob storage, specify the following:

1. In the Account field, enter the storage account name.

2. In the Shared key field, enter the storage account shared key.

3. From the Region drop-down list, select the Microsoft Azure region. By default, Veeam Agent uses the
Azure Global (Standard) region.

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Specifying Container Settings
The Container step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in the
Microsoft Azure Blob storage and specified account settings to connect to the storage.

Specify settings for the container in the storage:

1. From the Container drop-down list, select a container in the storage.

2. In the Folder field, specify a folder in the container:

a. Select the Browse option.

b. In the Select Folder window, do the following:

i. Double-click the bucket name or click the arrow to the left of the bucket name to view the list of
available folders.

ii. Select the necessary folder and click OK.

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Shared Folder Settings
The Shared Folder step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
a network shared folder.

Specify settings for the network shared folder:

1. In the Shared folder field, type in a UNC name of the network shared folder with the backup file. Keep in
mind that the UNC name always starts with two back slashes (\\).

2. If the network shared folder requires authentication, select the This share requires access credentials
check box and specify a user name and password of the account that has Full Control access permissions
on this shared folder. The user name must be specified in the down-level logon name format. For
example, DOMAIN\UserName or HOSTNAME\UserName.
If you do not select the This share requires access credentials check box, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will connect to the shared folder using the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account of the computer
where the product is installed.

3. To view the entered password, click and hold the eye icon on the right of the Password field.

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Backup Server Settings
The Backup Server step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file located in
a backup repository.

Specify settings for the Veeam backup server that manages the backup repository:

1. In the Veeam backup server name or IP address field, specify a DNS name or IP address of the Veeam
backup server.

2. In the Port field, specify a number of the port over which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows must
communicate with the backup server. By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses port 10001.

3. Select the Specify your personal credentials check box. In the Username and Password fields, enter a user
name and password of the account that has access to this backup repository. Permissions on the backup
repository managed by the target Veeam backup server must be granted beforehand. To learn more, see
Setting Up User Permissions on Backup Repositories.
If you do not select the Specify your personal credentials check box, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
will connect to the backup repository using the NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM account of the computer where
the product is installed. You can use this scenario if the Veeam Agent computer is joined to the Active
Directory domain. In this case, you can add the computer account (DOMAIN\COMPUTERNAME$) to an AD
group and grant access rights on the backup repository to this group.
Setting access permissions on the backup repository to Everyone is equal to granting access rights to the
Everyone Microsoft Windows group (Anonymous users are excluded). If you have set such permissions on
the backup repository, you can omit specifying credentials. However, we recommend this scenario for
demo environments only.

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Service Provider Settings
If you have selected to restore data from a backup file located on a Veeam Cloud Connect repository, specify
settings to connect to the cloud repository:

1. Specify service provider settings.

2. Verify the TLS certificate and specify user account settings.

Specifying Service Provider Settings

The Service provider step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a cloud repository
exposed to you by a Veeam Cloud Connect service provider.

Specify service provider settings that the SP or your backup administrator has provided to you:

1. In the DNS name or IP address field, enter a full DNS name or IP address of the cloud gateway.

2. In the Port field, specify the port over which Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will communicate with
the cloud gateway. By default, port 6180 is used.

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Specifying User Account Settings
The Credentials step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a cloud repository and
specified settings for the cloud gateway.

Verify TLS certificate settings and specify settings for the tenant account or subtenant account that you want to
use to connect to the service provider.

1. At the top of the wizard window, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays information about the TLS
certificate obtained from the SP side. You can view the certificate settings and verify the TLS certificate.
TLS certificate verification is optional. You can use this option to verify self-signed TLS certificates. TLS
certificates signed by the CA do not require additional verification.

o To view the TLS certificate, click the certificate link.

o To verify if the TLS certificate with a thumbprint, copy the thumbprint you obtained from the SP to
the Clipboard and enter it to the Fingerprint for certificate verification field. Click Verify. Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows will check if the thumbprint you enter matches the thumbprint of the
obtained TLS certificate.

2. In the Username field, enter the user name of the tenant or subtenant account that the SP or your backup
administrator has provided to you. The user name of the subtenant account must be specified in the
TENANT\SUBTENANT format.

3. In the Password field, provide a password for the tenant or subtenant account.

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Step 5. Select Backup
The Backup step of the wizard is available if you have chosen to restore data from a backup file that resides in a
remote location — in object storage, in a network shared folder, in a backup repository or in a cloud repository.

From the list of backups, select a backup from which you want to recover data. To quickly find the necessary
backup, use the search field at the bottom of the window: enter a backup name or a part of it in the search field
and click the Start search button on the right or press [ENTER].

If you restore data from a backup stored in the backup repository, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays
only those backups that are accessible by the user whose credentials are specified at the Backup Server step of
the wizard:

• If you specify credentials for the user who has access to the backup repository, the list of backups will
include only backups created by this user.

• If you specify credentials for the user who is assigned the Backup Administrator or Restore Operator role
on the backup server, the list of backups will include all Veeam Agent backups stored in the backup
repository.

If you restore data from a backup stored on the cloud repository, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays
only those backups that are accessible by the user whose credentials are specified at the Credentials step of the
wizard:

• If you specify credentials for the tenant account, the list of backups will include backups created by all
users who create backups under this account.

• If you specify credentials for the subtenant account, the list of backups will include only those Veeam
Agent backups that were created under this subtenant account.

NOTE

If you restore data from an encrypted backup that was created on another Veeam Agent computer, you
need to provide a password to unlock the encrypted file. To learn more, see Restoring Data from Encrypted
Backups.

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Step 6. Select Restore Point
At the Restore Point step of the wizard, select a restore point from which you want to recover data.

By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses the latest restore point. However, you can select any valid
restore point to recover files and folders to a specific point in time.

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Step 7. Complete Restore Process
At the Summary step of the wizard, complete the procedure of file-level restore.

1. Review settings of the restore process.

2. Click Open. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will retrieve the content of the backup file, publish it
directly into the file system of your computer and display it in the Veeam Backup browser.

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Step 8. Save Restored Files
When the restore process is complete, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows opens the Veeam Backup browser
displaying the content of the backup file.

You can perform the following operations with restored files and folders:

• Save files and folders to their initial location

• Save files and folders to a new location

• Open files in Microsoft Windows Explorer

After you finish working with files and folders, close the Veeam Backup browser.

Saving Files to Initial Location

To save restored files or folders to their initial location, right–click the necessary item in the file system tree or
in the details pane on the right and select one of the following commands:

• To overwrite the original item on your computer with the item restored from the backup, select Restore >
Overwrite.

• To save the item restored from the backup next to the original item on your computer, select Restore >
Keep. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will add the RESTORED- prefix to the restored file or folder
name and save it in the same location where the original file resides.

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Saving Files to New Location
To save restored files or folders on your computer or to a network shared folder, right-click the necessary item
in the file system tree or in the details pane on the right and select Copy To.

When restoring file objects, you can choose to preserve their original NTFS permissions:

• Select the Preserve permissions and ownership check box to keep the original ownership and security
permissions for restored items. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will copy selected files or folders
with associated Access Control Lists, preserving granular access settings.
Please note that if access settings of a file or folder that you want to restore are inherited from a parent
folder, when you restore this file or folder without the parent folder, its access settings will not be
preserved.

• Leave the Preserve permissions and ownership check box not selected if you do not want to preserve the
original ownership and access settings for restored items. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will
change security settings: the user who launched the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will be set as
the owner of the restored items. Access permissions will be inherited from the folder to which the
restored items are copied.

Working with Windows Explorer

You can use Microsoft Windows Explorer to work with restored files and folders. To do this, do either of the
following:

• In Veeam Backup browser, select the necessary file or folder and click Open in Explorer on the toolbar.
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will open the selected folder or file in Microsoft Windows Explorer.

• Open Microsoft Windows Explorer and browse for restored files and folders. The backup content is
mounted under the C:\VeeamFLR\ServerName folder.

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We recommend that you use the Veeam Backup browser instead of Microsoft Windows Explorer for file-level
restore. Use of the Veeam Backup browser has the following advantages:

1. You can browse the guest OS file system ignoring the file system ACL settings.

2. You can preserve permissions and ownership during file-level restore.

If you open the file system through the Microsoft Windows Explorer, these capabilities will not be available.

To learn more, see SeBackupPrivilege and SeRestorePrivilege in this Microsoft article.

Elevating Access Rights

You can switch to another system user with the Veeam Backup browser. This may be helpful when you work
under an account that does not have Administrator privileges and do not have the access rights to restore the
file you need.

To switch the user, do the following:

1. Open the File Level Restore wizard from the Veeam Agent control panel.

2. In Veeam Backup browser, click Elevate Access on the toolbar.

Keep in mind that Veeam Agent displays the Elevate Access button only if you work under an account
without Administrator privileges. To allow users without Administrator privileges to open the Veeam
Backup browser and restore from the file-level backup, do one of the following:

o If Veeam Agent operates in the standalone mode, use a registry value. For more information, contact
Veeam Customer Support.

o If Veeam Agent operates in the managed mode, use the Veeam Backup & Replication console. For
more information, see the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Settings section in the Veeam Agent
Management Guide.

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 3. In the dialog window, provide credentials of the system user you need.

After that, Veeam Agent restarts the Veeam Backup browser with the updated access rights.

Closing Veeam Backup Browser

You can browse restored files and folders only while the Veeam Backup browser is open. After the Veeam
Backup browser is closed, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows unmounts the backup content from your
computer.

We recommend that you close the Veeam Backup browser after you finish restoring files and folders. Every 5
minutes, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows checks if there is any activity in the Veeam Backup browser. If the
user or product components and services have not performed any actions for 30 minutes, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows displays a warning that the Veeam Backup browser is to be closed within 5 minutes.

After the warning is displayed, you can perform one of the following actions:

• You can close the Veeam Backup browser manually.

• You can click Cancel to postpone the close operation. In this case, the Veeam Backup browser will remain
open for 30 minutes. After this period expires, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will display the
warning again.

• You can perform no action at all. In this case, the Veeam backup browser will be automatically closed in 5
minutes.

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Restoring Data from Encrypted Backups
When you restore data from an encrypted backup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows performs data
decryption automatically in the background or requires you to specify a password.

• If encryption keys required to unlock the backup file are available in the Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows database, you do not need to specify the password. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows uses
keys from the database to unlock the backup file. Data decryption is performed in the background, and
data restore from the encrypted backup does not differ from that from an unencrypted one.
Automatic data decryption can be performed in one of the following situations:

o You encrypt and decrypt the backup file on the same Veeam Agent computer using the same Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows database.

o You have included encryption keys into the Veeam Recovery Media and perform bare metal recovery
after booting from this Veeam Recovery Media. To learn more, see Specify Recovery Media Options.

• If encryption keys are not available in the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows database, you need to
provide a password to unlock the encrypted file. The password must be the same as the password that
was used to encrypt the backup file. If the password has changed once or several times, you need to
specify the latest password. In Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you can use the latest password to
restore data form all restore points in the backup chain, including restore points that were encrypted with
an old password and restore points that were created before you have enabled the encryption option for
the job.

To decrypt a backup file:

1. Launch the necessary data restore wizard:

o If you want to perform file-level or volume-level restore from an encrypted backup that was created
on another Veeam Agent computer, right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the
system tray and select Restore > Individual files or Restore > Entire volumes. To learn more, see
Restoring Files and Folders and Restoring Volumes.

o If you want to perform bare metal recovery from an encrypted backup, boot from the Veeam
Recovery Media and launch the Veeam Recovery Media wizard. To learn more, see Restoring from
Veeam Recovery Media.

2. At the Backup Location step of the wizard, specify where the encrypted backup file that you plan to use
for restore resides. If the backup file resides in a remote location, at subsequent steps of the wizards,
select the backup location type and specify settings to connect to the backup location.

3. At the Backup step of the wizard, select the encrypted backup.

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 4. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will display the Specify Password window. In the Hint field of the
Specify Password window, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays a hint for the password that was
used to encrypt the backup file. Use the hint to recall the password.

5. In the Password field, enter the password for the backup file.
If you changed the password one or several times while the backup chain was created, you need to specify
the latest password. In Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, you can use the latest password to restore
data form all restore points in the backup chain, including those restore points that were encrypted with
an old password.
If you enter correct password, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will decrypt the backup metadata. You
will be able to pass to the Restore Point step of the wizard and continue the restore operation in a regular
manner.

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Reporting
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows provides several ways to get information about performed backups:

• You can view information about performed backups in the Control Panel.

• You can get information about the backup state using the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows tray agent.

• You can get information about the backup progress using the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows taskbar
button.

• You can get information about Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows events using the events bar in the
Control Panel.

• You can get information about Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows events using Windows Notification
Center.

• You can get information about performed backups in email reports.

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Viewing Statistics in Control Panel
You can use the Veeam Agent control panel to view statistics about performed backups. To open the Control
Panel, do either of the following:

• Double-click the Veeam Agent icon in the system tray.

• Right-click the Veeam Agent icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

For every configured backup job, Veeam Agent displays statistics in a separate view in the control panel. To
identify the job whose statistics is currently displayed in the Control Panel, check the name of the job at the top
of the Control Panel window.

If you configured multiple backup jobs in Veeam Agent, after you open the Control Panel, the Control Panel
displays statistics for the first job that you configured. To switch to another job, in the main menu, hover over
the name of the necessary job and select Open.

The Control Panel displays information about backup job sessions that ran previously and a backup job session
that is currently running. Every bar represents a separate backup job session. To view general information about
a specific job session, hover the mouse over the necessary bar in the chart. Veeam Agent will provide the
following details: backup status, backup time and size of the resulting backup file.

The bar color identifies the status of the backup job session. The backup job session can complete with one of
the following statuses:

• Success (green color) — the backup job is currently running or has completed successfully.

• Warning (yellow color) — the backup job has completed with a warning. Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows has managed to create the resulting backup file but you need to pay your attention to some
alerts, for example: the target location is running low on disk space.

• Error (red color) — the backup job has completed with an error. The resulting backup file has not been
created.

• Canceled (gray color) — the user has canceled the backup job session. The resulting backup file has not
been created.

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By default, Veeam Agent displays the size of created backup files. To display the duration of backup job
sessions:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent icon in the system tray or right-click the icon and select Control Panel.

2. In the backup statistics view, right-click the backup job sessions chart.

3. In the Backup history menu, select the Duration option.

If the backup cache is enabled for the job, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows also displays status of the
restore point created within the job session. To learn more, see Viewing Status of Restore Points in Backup
Cache.

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Viewing Statistics for Separate Restore Points
You can view the following information about separate restore points in the backup chain:

• View general statistics — for any separate restore point.

• View transaction log backup statistics — for restore points created by the backup job with transaction log
backup enabled.

General Statistics
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows provides the following information about separate restore points in the
backup chain:

• Backed-up items: items that you have chosen to back up.

• Backup duration: duration of the backup job session.

• Restore point size: size of the resulting backup file.

• Total backup size: total size of all backup files created by the backup job in the target location.
Keep in mind that if you store your backups in a scale-out backup repository with a performance tier
located in an object storage, the total backup size may differ from the size of all restore points in the
backup chain. In this case, Veeam Agent displays only the size of the restore points stored in the
performance tier.
For more information about the scale-out backup repository, see the Scale-Out Backup Repository section
in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

• Average backup time: average time of all successful backup job sessions displayed in the chart.

• Free disk space: amount of free disk space remaining in the target location.

• Details on operations performed during the backup job session.

To view the restore point statistics:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent icon in the system tray or right-click the icon and select Control Panel.

2. At the top of the control panel window, check the name of the backup job.
If multiple backup jobs are configured in Veeam Agent, and you want to view statistics of another job, in
the main menu, hover over the name of the necessary job and select Open.

3. Click the necessary bar in the chart.

4. Veeam Agent will display detailed statistics on the selected backup job session. To get back to a chart
view, click the arrow icon at the top left corner of the window.

If transaction log backup is enabled for the job, you can also view transaction log backup statistics. To learn
more, see Transaction Log Backup Statistics.

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Transaction Log Backup Statistics
If transaction log backup is enabled for the job, you can use the Veeam Agent control panel to view transaction
log backup statistics.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows provides the following information about transaction log processing:

• Protected databases: number of databases that were backed up at least once during the last session.

• Unprotected databases: number of databases that failed to be backed up during the last session.

• Excluded databases: databases excluded from processing. Databases may be excluded for the following
reasons: database status is Offline, database recovery model is set to Simple, database is read-only,
database was deleted after the latest full backup, database is added to the list of exclusions.

• Average log size: average amount of data read from the OS through all intervals.

• Max log size: maximal amount of data read from the OS over all 15-min intervals.

• Total log size: total amount of data written to the target location.

• SLA: how many log backup intervals completed in time with successful log backup (calculated as
percentage of total number of intervals).

• Misses: how many intervals were missed (number of intervals).

• Max delay: difference between the configured log backup interval and time actually required for log
backup. If exceeded, a warning is issued.

• Details on operations performed during the transaction log backup job session.

To view statistics on the transaction log backup processing:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray or right-click the icon and
select Control Panel.

2. At the top of the control panel window, check the name of the backup job.

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 If multiple backup jobs are configured in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, and you want to view
statistics of another job, in the main menu, hover over the name of the necessary job and select Open.

3. Click the necessary bar in the chart.

4. In the Restore point details window, click the Change to database view link at the bottom right corner of
the window. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will display detailed statistics on the transaction log
backup. To get back to the general statistics for the selected restore point, click the Change to backup
view link.
To get back to a chart view, click the arrow icon at the top left corner of the window.

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Viewing Information About Job Retries
If the backup job started by schedule has failed for some reason, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows retries
the job. All backup job retries are performed within one backup job session. For this reason, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows displays them as one bar in the chart.

NOTE

For portable devices, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not automatically retry the backup job if a
device is working on battery and the battery level is below 20%.

To view detailed information about the backup job retries:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. At the top of the control panel window, check the name of the backup job.
If multiple backup jobs are configured in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, and you want to view
statistics of another job, in the main menu, hover over the name of the necessary job and select Open.

3. Click the necessary bar in the chart.

4. At the bottom right corner of the window, click the Show retries link.

5. After you view details, you can hide them. To do this, at the bottom right corner of the window, click the
Hide retries link.

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Viewing Status of Restore Points in Backup
Cache
If the backup cache is enabled for the job, you can monitor status of restore points in the backup cache. Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows displays the restore point status through the icon on a bar in the chart.

The icon can be in one of the following states:

Icon Description Backup state

Check mark over the icon. The backup file created within the backup session is
saved on the target storage.

— No icon. The backup file created within the backup session is

saved in the backup cache.

Sync sign over the icon. The backup file is being uploaded from the backup
cache to the target storage.

Error sign over the icon. The backup file was not uploaded to the target
storage or has been deleted from the backup cache.

TIP

You can also monitor the backup cache activity and view detailed statistics on the restore point upload
process. To learn more, see Monitoring Backup Cache Activity.

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Monitoring Backup State with Tray Agent
The Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon displayed in the system tray lets you monitor the state of your
backups and get informed about the computer protection status.

The icon can be in one of the following states:

Icon Description Backup state

Question mark over the icon The backup job is not configured.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft The backup job is set up but scheduling settings for
Windows icon the job are not configured.

Animated icon The backup task is being performed. To view the

backup task progress, hover the mouse over the icon.

• The backup job has been scheduled; waiting for

Clock over the icon
the first backup job session.
• The latest session of the scheduled backup job
has completed successfully; waiting for the
next backup job session.

Sync sign over the icon Veeam Agent is uploading backup files from the
backup cache to the target storage.

Cancel sign over the icon The latest session of the scheduled backup job has
been canceled.

Error sign over the icon An error occurred during the latest backup job
session, and the session was terminated.

Minus sign over the icon The scheduled backup job is disabled.

Grey icon The tray agent is not connected to the Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows service.

• The backup job has completed with a warning,

Warning sign over the icon
for example, the target location is running low
on space.
• [If you have selected a removable storage
device as a target destination in the backup job
settings] The target removable storage device
is not connected to the computer. In this case,
Veeam Agent also displays a warning on the
notifications bar in the control panel. You can

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 Icon Description Backup state

attach the target removable storage device to

the computer within 10 minutes, and Veeam
Agent will automatically start the scheduled
backup job.

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Monitoring Backup Process in Taskbar
Button
You can monitor the backup process with the Veeam Agent taskbar button. Veeam Agent displays on the
taskbar button a green progress bar that reflects the bar for the currently running job session in the control
panel. As a result, you can track the process of the backup file creation while working with another application
without having to switch to the control panel.

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Viewing and Dismissing Veeam Agent
Events
If a warning event occurs, Veeam Agent displays a notification bar with the event description in the control
panel window. You can get detailed information about events and dismiss events not to get alerted of them in
future. For the full list of notifications, see Control Panel Notifications.

Veeam Agent displays only the latest event in the notification bar. To view detailed information about all
events:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam Agent icon in the system
tray and select Control Panel.

2. Click Details on the notification bar at the top of the control panel window.

To dismiss events:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. Click Details on the notification bar at the top of the control panel window.

3. Click Dismiss next to the necessary event. To dismiss all events at once, click Ignore All at the bottom left
corner of the window.

TIP

You can disable notifications at all. To learn more, see Disabling Control Panel Notifications.

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Control Panel Notifications
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows can inform you about the following events using the notification bar:

Notification Description

New software update is available A newer version of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is
available for download.

Veeam Recovery Media must be You must recreate the Veeam Recovery Media after you have
recreated due to a recent Veeam Agent upgraded Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to the newer
for Microsoft Windows upgrade version.

Recovery media OS version is different You must recreate the Veeam Recovery Media after you have
from the current OS version updated the Microsoft Windows OS.

Recovery media has not been created You have not created the Veeam Recovery Media yet. If the OS
on the computer fails to boot, you will not be able to boot the OS
using the Veeam Recovery Media to diagnose and fix problems,
or restore data from the backup.

Backup target is not available, backup is Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is unable to detect the
postponed backup target at the time when the scheduled backup job must
start (for example, the backup target is a removable storage
device that is not currently connected to the Veeam Agent
computer). Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays this
notification during the job retry sessions.

Backup target is not available Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is unable to detect the
backup target by the moment when the scheduled backup job

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 Notification Description

must start (for example, backup target is a removable storage

device that is not currently connected to the Veeam Agent
computer). Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays this
notification after the job has failed.

Backup target has not been seen for N The backup target has not been seen for N days. This notification
days is displayed if scheduled backups have not been created for 2
days or more.

Backup target is getting low on free disk Free space on the target storage disk is below 10%. If Veeam
space Agent for Microsoft Windows does not have enough disk space
for backup operation, the job session will fail.

Skipping scheduled backup, because [For laptops and tablets] The battery level is below 20%. Veeam
battery level is too low Agent for Microsoft Windows does not start a new backup
session in this case.

This application is managed by your This notification is displayed if Veeam Agent for Microsoft
system administrator Windows is operating in the read-only mode. Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows operates in the read-only mode if backup
operations are managed by Veeam Backup & Replication or
Veeam Availability Console.

Your license will expire in N days The Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows license will expire, and
the grace period will start in N days.

Your license has expired and needs to be The Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows license has expired, and
renewed the grace period has started. During the grace period, you can
perform all types of backup and restore operations. You must
obtain a new license before the end of the grace period.

Your license has expired, and your grace The Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows license has expired, and
period is over the grace period is over. In this case, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows does not perform backup operations. However, you are
able to restore data from existing backups. To use Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows in the full functionality mode, you must
obtain a new license.

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Viewing Events with Windows Notification
Center
In addition to displaying notifications about Veeam Agent events in the control panel window, Veeam Agent can
inform you about its events using the Windows Notification Center. Once an event occurs, a message notifying
about this event will appear on the Microsoft Windows desktop. This lets you view the notification without the
need to open the Veeam Agent Control Panel and take the necessary actions immediately. For the full list of
notifications that appears on the Microsoft Windows desktop, see Windows Desktop Notifications.

The notification closes automatically in a few seconds. To close the notification manually, click the message.

To disable desktop notifications, right-click the message and select Turn off notifications for Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows.

Windows Desktop Notifications

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows can inform you about the following events using the Windows Notification
Center:

Notification Description

New software update is available A newer version of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is
available for download.

Veeam Recovery Media must be You must recreate the Veeam Recovery Media after you have
recreated due to a recent Veeam Agent upgraded Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to the newer
for Microsoft Windows upgrade version.

Recovery media OS version is different You must recreate the Veeam Recovery Media after you have
from the current OS version updated the Microsoft Windows OS.

Recovery media has not been created You have not created the Veeam Recovery Media yet. If the OS on
the computer fails to boot, you will not be able to boot the OS
using the Veeam Recovery Media to diagnose and fix problems, or
restore data from the backup.

Backup target is not available Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is unable to detect the
backup target by the moment when the scheduled backup job
must start (for example, backup target is a removable storage
device that is not currently connected to the Veeam Agent
computer). Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays this
notification after the job has failed.

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 Notification Description

Your license will expire in N days The Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows license will expire, and
the grace period will start in N days.

Your license has expired and needs to be The Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows license has expired, and
renewed the grace period has started. During the grace period, you can
perform all types of backup and restore operations. You must
obtain a new license before the end of the grace period.

Your license has expired, and your grace The Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows license has expired, and
period is over the grace period is over. In this case, Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows does not perform backup operations. However, you are
able to restore data from existing backups. To use Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows in the full functionality mode, you must
obtain a new license.

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Viewing Job Session Results in Email
Reports
You can receive email notifications with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows job results. When the backup job
session completes, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will send a report containing data on the job session to
the specified email address.

The report contains the following data:

• Cumulative job session statistics: session duration details, details of the session performance, amount of
read, processed and transferred data, backup size, compression and deduplication ratios.

• Detailed statistics for the computer processed within the session: processing duration details, backup data
size, amount of read and transferred data, list of warnings and errors (if any).

• If the backup job is set up to create database log backups, the report contains statistics for the database
log backup job: a list of databases that were backed up at least once during the last session and
information for the latest log processing intervals.

• If you use the backup cache, the report also contains statistics on the backup cache activity: a list of
restore points created in the backup cache, their status and upload details. To learn more about the
backup cache, see Backup Cache.

To receive email reports, you must enable and configure email notifications in the Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows Control Panel. To learn more, see Enabling Email Notifications. Once email notifications are
configured, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will send email report for every backup job session that is
started by schedule, manually or when you perform standalone full or incremental ad-hoc backup.

If the scheduled backup job fails, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows does not send a report after every job
retry. Instead, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows sends one report on the first error within the job session and
another report on the last job session result — success or error.

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Specifying Settings
You can use global settings of Veeam Agent to accomplish the following tasks:

• Throttle backup activities.

• Restrict network connections usage.

• Manage backup storage devices.

• Disable Control Panel notifications.

• Enable email notifications.

• Check for new product versions and updates.

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Throttling Backup Activities
You can instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to throttle its activities during backup. The throttling
option can help you avoid situations when backup tasks consume all available hard disk resources and hinder
work of other applications and services.

With throttling enabled, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows sets low priority for Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows components engaged in the backup process (in particular, the VeeamAgent.exe process). If this option
is not enabled, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows components have normal priority.

To enable the throttling option for backup activities:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. Select the Throttle backup activity when system is busy check box.

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Restricting Network Connections Usage
You can instruct Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to throttle network traffic for backup jobs and disable
backup over Internet connections of certain types. This helps limit the impact of Veeam Agent operations on
network performance and avoid extra costs.

Network usage settings apply to all types of backups: scheduled and ad-hoc. To restrict network connections
usage for Veeam Agent, you can perform the following tasks:

• Limit bandwidth consumption for Veeam Agent.

• Disable backup over metered connections.

• Disable backup over VPN connections.

• Allow Veeam Agent to use specific Wi-Fi networks only.

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Limiting Bandwidth Consumption
To reduce the impact of Veeam Agent operations on network performance, you can limit bandwidth
consumption for Veeam Agent backup jobs. Limiting bandwidth consumption prevents jobs from utilizing the
entire bandwidth available in your environment to ensure that enough traffic is provided for other network
operations. We strongly recommend to limit bandwidth consumption if you perform backup to a remote location
over a slow network connection.

NOTE

Bandwidth consumption limit does not apply to restore operations.

By default, Veeam Agent is set up to use the entire bandwidth available in your environment. To limit bandwidth
consumption for Veeam Agent backup jobs:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. Click the Manage networks link.

4. In the Throttling section, select the Limit bandwidth consumption to check box and specify the maximum
speed for transferring backed-up data from the Veeam Agent computer to the target location.

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Disabling Backup over Metered Connections
Veeam Agent can disable backup over metered Internet connections to help you avoid extra costs. If you use a
metered Internet connection, your service provider charges you by the amount of data sent and received by your
computer. Veeam Agent automatically detects metered connections and will not perform backup when your
computer is on such connection.

Consider the following limitations and requirements:

• Veeam Agent disables backup over metered Internet connections only on computers that run Microsoft
Windows 8.1 and later. If the computer runs an earlier version of Microsoft Windows, this option is not
applicable.

• You must specify which connections are metered in Microsoft Windows. To learn more, see this Microsoft
article.

By default, backup over metered connections is disabled. To enable backup over metered connections:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. Click the Manage networks link.

4. In the Networks section, clear the Restrict metered connections usage check box.

NOTE

For the cases when backup over metered connections is disabled, consider the following:

• If you start the backup job manually when only a metered connection is available, Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows will display a warning and ask you to confirm that you want to use this
connection for backup.
• If you start the backup job with the command line interface, Veeam Agent will ignore the setting
and will use metered connections for backup.
• If you enable the backup cache for the backup job, and this backup job starts upon schedule when
only a metered connection is available, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will save the backup
file to the backup cache. If the backup cache is not enabled, the backup job will fail.

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Disabling Backup over VPN Connections
Veeam Agent can disable backup over VPN connections. This helps you avoid extra costs if your VPN service
provider charges you by the amount of data sent and received by your computer. Veeam Agent automatically
detects VPN connections and will not perform backup when your computer is on such connection.

By default, backup over VPN connections is enabled. To disable backup over VPN connections:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. Click the Manage networks link.

4. In the Networks section, select the Restrict VPN connections usage check box.

Keep in mind that Veeam Agent detects VPN connections created with Microsoft Windows in-built tools and the
following 3rd party VPN providers:

• Cisco AnyConnect

• Fortinet SSL VPN

• Open VPN

NOTE

For the cases when backup over VPN connections is disabled, consider the following:

• If you start the backup job manually when only a VPN connection is available, Veeam Agent will
display a warning and ask you to confirm that you want to use this connection for backup.
• If you start the backup job with the command line interface, Veeam Agent will ignore the setting
and will use VPN connections for backup.
• If you enable the backup cache for the backup job, and this backup job starts upon schedule when
only a VPN connection is available, Veeam Agent will save the backup file to the backup cache. If the
backup cache is not enabled, the backup job will fail.

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Selecting Wireless Networks for Backup
You can restrict usage of Wi-Fi networks for Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows. This may be useful, for
example, to avoid transmission of backed-up data over insecure or slow wireless network connections.

By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is set up to back up data over any Wi-Fi network to which the
Veeam Agent computer is connected. You can select one or more specific Wi-Fi networks and instruct Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows to perform backup over these networks only. Backup over other wireless networks
will be disabled.

To restrict usage of wireless networks:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. Click the Manage networks link.

4. Select the Restrict Wi-Fi usage to these networks only check box and click Add.

5. Select one or more Wi-Fi networks in the list and click Save.
If you want to allow Veeam Agent to back up data over a hidden wireless network, click the Add hidden
Wi-Fi network link. In the displayed window, specify the SSID of the necessary network and click Save.
If you want to restrict usage over any wireless networks, select the Restrict Wi-Fi usage to these networks
only check box and do not add any networks to the list.

NOTE

For the cases when backup over Wi-Fi networks is restricted, consider the following:

• If you start the backup job manually when selected Wi-Fi networks are not available, Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows will display a warning and ask you to confirm that you want to use this
connection for backup.
• If you start the backup job with the command line interface, Veeam Agent will ignore the setting
and will use all available Wi-Fi networks for backup.
• If you enable the backup cache for the backup job, and this backup job starts upon schedule when
selected Wi-Fi networks are not available, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will save the backup
file to the backup cache. If the backup cache is not enabled, the backup job will fail.

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Managing Rotated Drives
You can use a rotated drives scheme for storing backups. To do this, you can create backups on several external
drives (for example, USB or FireWire) and swap these drives when needed.

The drive on which you plan to store a backup must be registered in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows. If the
drive is not registered, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will not be able to detect the drive and store a
backup on it.

Consider the following limitations:

• You can register and unregister drives if you have selected to store backups on an external drive
connected to the computer. If you have selected to store backups on a local computer drive, in a network
shared folder or in a backup repository, registering options will be disabled.

• You cannot unregister all drives at once. At least one drive will remain registered in Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows.

To register and unregister a drive in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. Click the Manage registered storage devices link.

4. In the list of devices, click Register/Unregister next to the necessary backup storage device.

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Disabling Control Panel Notifications
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays warning and information messages on the notification bar in the
Control Panel. If necessary, you can disable Veeam Agent notifications.

To disable notifications:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. In the Notifications section, clear the Enable Control Panel notifications check box.

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Enabling Email Notifications
You can enable Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows email notifications to receive reports containing data on
the latest backup job session statistics and result.

To enable email notifications:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. In the Notifications section, select the Enable email notifications check box and click the Configure and
test link.

4. In the Configure and test email notifications window, select one of the Mail Server options and specify the
required settings:

o Custom SMTP server settings.

o Gmail server settings.

o Microsoft 365 server settings.

Disabling Email Notifications

To disable email notifications, clear the Enable email notifications check box in the Settings tab of the Control
Panel. Current email notifications configuration will remain saved in the Veeam Agent database.

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Custom SMTP Server Settings
To connect to the SMTP server, specify the following settings in the Configure and test email notifications
window:

1. In the Mail server section, specify the following:

a. Select the Custom SMTP Server (Basic authentication) option from the drop-down list.

b. In the SMTP Server DNS Name or IP address field, enter a full DNS name or IP address of the SMTP
server that will be used for sending email notifications.

c. In the Port field, specify the port number for the SMTP server.

d. In the Username field, specify a user name for the account that has rights to access the SMTP server.

e. In the Password field, enter a password for the account that has rights to access the SMTP server.

f. To use a secure SSL/TLS connection for email operations, select the Use secure connection (SSL/TLS)
check box.

2. In the Email settings section specify the following:

a. Specify the sender email address in the From email address field. You can specify your account email
address or its alias.

b. Specify the recipient email address in the To email address field. You can specify several recipient
email addresses separated with a comma or semicolon.

c. In the Email subject filed, specify a subject for the message. You can use the following variables in the
subject:

i. %JobResult%

ii. %ComputerName%

iii. %JobName%

iv. %CompletionTime%

3. In the Notify on section, select the Success, Warning or Error check boxes to receive email notification if a
job is run successfully, not successfully or with a warning.

4. [Optional] Click Test now to validate the SMTP server settings and send a test email.

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Gmail Server Settings
To connect to the Gmail server, specify the following settings in the Configure and test email notifications
window:

1. In the Mail server section, specify the following:

a. Select the Google Gmail (Modern authentication) option from the drop-down list.

b. Click the Sign in with Google button, enter your Google account credentials and complete Google
authorization process.

IMPORTANT

When you are prompted to allow Veeam Agent sending emails on behalf of your Google
account, grant the permission and click Continue.

2. In the Email settings section, specify the following:

a. If necessary, change the email address in the From email address field to its alias.

b. If necessary, change the recipient email address in the To email address field. You can specify several
recipient email addresses separated with a comma or semicolon.

c. In the Email subject filed, specify a subject for the message. You can use the following variables in the
subject:

i. %JobResult%

ii. %ComputerName%

iii. %JobName%

iv. %CompletionTime%

3. In the Notify on section, select the Success, Warning or Error check boxes to receive email notification if a
job is run successfully, not successfully or with a warning.

4. [Optional] Click Test now to validate the Gmail server settings and send a test email.

To specify custom authentication options, do the following:

1. Click the Server settings button.

2. Select the Use custom settings check box.

3. Specify the application client ID and the client secret.

For information on how to register your custom application, see Registering Application in Google Cloud
Console.

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Registering Application in Google Cloud Console
If you want to use your own web application for email notifications, you need to configure it in the Google Cloud
console. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to the Google Cloud console under a Google account that has permissions to create applications.

2. Create a new project and enable Gmail API for the project. To do this, open APIs and services > Library >
Gmail API > Manage and click Enable API.

3. Create OAuth credentials. To do this, perform the following steps:

a. Open APIs and services > Credentials. Click Create credentials and select OAuth client ID.

b. In the Application type field, select Desktop app.

c. In the Name field, specify the name of your OAuth 2.0 client.

d. Click Create to generate the application client ID and the client secret. In the opened window, you can
copy credentials or download them in the JSON format. You can also find them later in the APIs and
services > Credentials section when editing your OAuth 2.0 client ID.

4. Open APIs and services > OAuth consent screen and click Edit App. Specify your application name and the
user support email and click Save and continue.

5. If your application is in the Testing status, you must specify test users. To do this, at the Test users step of
the Edit App wizard, click Add users. To apply changes, click Save and continue. Keep in mind that only
test users will have access to the app.

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After you finish the registration, specify custom application registration settings when configuring the mail
server for Google Gmail OAuth 2.0 authentication. For more information, see Gmail Server Settings.

NOTE

You can leave your application in the Testing status and do not publish it. In that case, you will receive a
warning message Google hasn't verified this app when connecting to your application. If you want to verify
it, see this Google article.

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Microsoft 365 Server Settings
NOTE

Before connecting to the the Microsoft 365 server, check the version of Microsoft .NET Framework
installed on your computer. Microsoft 365 server modern authentication requires Microsoft .NET
Framework 4.6.2 or later.

If an older version of Microsoft .NET Framework is installed, perform the upgrade before proceeding to
authorization.

To connect to the Microsoft 365 server, specify the following settings in the Configure and test email
notifications window:

1. In the Mail server section, specify the following:

a. Select the Microsoft 365 (Modern authentication) option from the drop-down list.

b. Click the Authorize now button and enter your Microsoft 365 account credentials or choose an
account from the suggested list.

IMPORTANT

When you are prompted to grant Veeam Agent access to your Microsoft 365 profile, accept the
permissions listed in the opened window.

2. In the Email settings section, specify the following:

a. If necessary, change the email address in the From email address field to its alias.

b. If necessary, change the recipient email address in the To email address field. You can specify several
recipient email addresses separated with a comma or semicolon.

c. In the Email subject filed, specify a subject for the message. You can use the following variables in the
subject:

i. %JobResult%

ii. %ComputerName%

iii. %JobName%

iv. %CompletionTime%

3. In the Notify on section, select the Success, Warning or Error check boxes to receive email notification if a
job is run successfully, not successfully or with a warning.

4. [Optional] Click Test now to validate the Microsoft 365 server settings and send a test email.

To specify custom authentication options, do the following:

1. Click the Server settings button.

2. Select the Use custom settings check box.

3. Specify the application client ID and the tenant ID.

For information on how to register your custom application, see Registering Application in Microsoft Azure
Portal.

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Registering Application in Microsoft Azure Portal
If you want to use your own web application for email notifications, you need to configure it in the Microsoft
Azure portal. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to the Microsoft Azure portal under Exchange Online credentials that has permissions to register
Azure AD applications.

2. Register the application. To do this, open Azure Active Directory > App registrations and click New
registration:

a. In the Name field, specify the name of your application.

b. In the Supported account types section, select the Accounts in this organizational directory only
option.

c. Click Register.

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 After registration, you can copy application (client) ID and directory (tenant) ID. You can also find these
credentials later in the Overview section of you application properties.

3. Add a platform configuration for your application. To do this, open Authentication > Platform
configurations and click Add a platform:

a. Select Mobile and desktop applications.

b. Select the MSAL redirect URI generated in the following format: msal<applicationid>://auth.

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 c. Click Configure.

4. Grant the application the Mail.Send permission of Microsoft Graph. This will allow Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows to call the Microsoft Graph API for sending email notifications. To do this, open API
permissions and click Add a permission:

a. Select Microsoft Graph > Application Permissions.

b. Select the Mail.Send permission from the list and click Add permissions.

5. Click Grant admin consent for <Your Directory Name>. In the displayed window, click Yes to confirm the
operation.

After you finish the registration, specify custom application registration settings when configuring the mail
server for Microsoft 365 OAuth 2.0 authentication. For more information, see Microsoft 365 Server Settings.

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Checking for New Product Versions and
Updates
You can set up Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to automatically notify you about new product versions and
updates. When a new version or patch becomes available, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays a
notification in the notification bar. You can download the setup file and update Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows. To learn more, see Upgrading Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

By default, automatic notifications are enabled. To disable notifications:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select About.

3. In the Update section, clear the Automatically check and notify me on available updates check box.

To manually check if product updates are available, click Check Now.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• To get information about available product updates, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows sends
request to the Veeam Update Notification Server (autolk.veeam.com).
• For downloading setup files, Veeam Agent uses the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS).
If this service is disabled on the Veeam Agent computer, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will
not be able to download a setup file.

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Managing Veeam CBT Driver
You can set up Veeam Agent to use the Veeam CBT driver instead of the default CBT mechanism. The Veeam
CBT driver offers more efficient changed block tracking mechanism that will be useful for machines running
applications with large database files. To learn more about how the Veeam CBT driver works, see Veeam
Changed Block Tracking Driver.

You can perform the following operations with the Veeam CBT driver in Veeam Agent:

• Install the Veeam CBT driver.

• Remove the Veeam CBT driver.

• Remove the Veeam CBT driver with Veeam Recovery Media.

• Reset the Veeam CBT driver.

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Installing Veeam CBT Driver
You can install the Veeam CBT driver at any time you need. To use the Veeam CBT driver, the Veeam Agent
computer must meet the following requirements:

• Run a 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows OS.

• Run one of the following OSes:

o Microsoft Windows 11 (versions 21H2, 22H2).

o Microsoft Windows 10 (from version 1803 to version 22H2).

o Microsoft Windows Server OS that is supported by Veeam Agent. For more information, see System
Requirements.

• Run the Workstation or Server edition of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

IMPORTANT

Consider the following:

• Prior to installing the Veeam CBT driver on a computer running Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
SP1, make sure that update KB3033929 is installed in the OS.
The update adds the SHA-2 code signing support that is required for verification of the Veeam CBT
driver signature. Without this update installed, the OS running on a protected computer will fail to
boot after you install the Veeam CBT driver. To learn more, see this Microsoft KB article.
• Do not install the Veeam CBT driver on a computer running Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1,
2012 or 2012 R2 if one or more volumes on this computer are encrypted with Microsoft BitLocker (or
other encryption tool), or if you plan to use Microsoft BitLocker to encrypt volumes on this
computer. Concurrent operation of Microsoft BitLocker and Veeam CBT driver may result in driver
failures and may prevent the OS from starting.

To install the Veeam CBT driver:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. Click Install CBT driver.

4. To complete the installation process, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows needs to reboot the computer.
To reboot the computer immediately, in the displayed window, click Yes. After Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows reboots the computer, the driver will start tracking blocks that are changing on the volumes
whose data you chose to back up in the backup job settings.
If you choose not to reboot the computer immediately, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will continue
to use the default CBT mechanism until the next computer reboot.

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Removing Veeam CBT Driver
You can quickly remove the Veeam CBT driver, for example, if your Veeam Agent computer does not run
applications with large database files any more, and you do not need to perform advanced change block
tracking on this computer.

To remove the Veeam CBT driver:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Settings.

3. Click Uninstall.

4. To complete the uninstallation process, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows needs to reboot the
computer. To reboot the computer immediately, in the displayed window, click Yes. After computer
reboot, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will use the default CBT mechanism to get the list of
changed data blocks.

TIP

You can also uninstall the Veeam CBT driver in the Microsoft Windows control panel:

1. From the Start menu, select Control Panel > Programs and Features.
2. In the programs list, right-click Veeam CBT Driver and select Uninstall.
3. In the displayed window, click Yes.

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Removing CBT Driver with Veeam
Recovery Media
You can use the Veeam Recovery Media to remove the Veeam CBT driver from your Veeam Agent computer. This
operation may be required, for example, if the OS on your computer fails to start after you have installed the
Veeam CBT driver in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

To remove the Veeam CBT driver:

1. Boot from the Veeam Recovery Media.

2. On the Veeam Recovery Media screen, click Tools > Command Prompt or press [Shift] + [F10].

3. Use a command with the following syntax:

X:\VeeamRecovery\Veeam.Endpoint.Recovery.exe -RemoveVeeamCBTDriver

4. Reboot the Veeam Agent computer.

NOTE

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will remove the Veeam CBT Driver from the Veeam Agent computer.
However, a record about the driver will remain in the Microsoft Windows control panel. To remove the
record, from the Start menu, select Control Panel > Programs and Features. Then right-click Veeam CBT
Driver in the programs list and select Uninstall.

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Resetting CBT
In some cases, it may be required to reset CBT data collected by the Veeam CBT driver. For example, this may be
necessary if you want to avoid performing active full backup after a volume was changed in a non-Windows OS.

To reset CBT, run the command line interface with administrative privileges and use one of the following
commands:

• To reset CBT for all volumes of the Veeam Agent computer, use a command with the following syntax:

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" RESETC

BT all

• To reset CBT for a specific volume, use a command with the following syntax:

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" RESETC

BT %volumeMountPoint%

or

"C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup\Veeam.EndPoint.Manager.exe" RESETC

BT %volumeUUID%

where:

o %volumeMountPoint% — mount point of the volume, for example: C:\.

o %volumeUUID% — ID of the volume, for example: \\?\Volume{1214be80-1165-41e5-8244-

8fbf79d85c31}.

After CBT reset, during the next backup job session, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will create
incremental backup. The backup job session will require greater time, because Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows will need to read all data from the backed-up volumes.

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Getting Support
If you have any questions or want to share your feedback about Veeam Agent, you can use one of the following
options:

• You can search for the information on the necessary subject in the current Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows User Guide.

• You can visit Veeam R&D Forums and share your opinion or ask a question.

• You can submit a support case to the Veeam Customer Support directly from the product. To learn more,
see Reporting Issues.

To access help and support options in Veeam Agent:

1. Right-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Support.

3. Click one of available options to get support on the product.

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Reporting Issues
You can submit a support case in the Control Panel. To submit a support case:

1. Double-click the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray, or right-click the Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray and select Control Panel.

2. From the main menu, select Support.

3. Click Technical Support.

4. In the email field of the Report an issue window, enter a valid email address.
If the email address that you have entered in not registered at the Veeam Customer Support Portal, click
Register on the right of the email field. Veeam Software will register your email address and send you a
verification email to the specified address. When you receive a verification email, open it and click a link
provided in the email to complete the verification procedure. After the verification procedure is complete,
you will be able to submit a support case.

5. In the description fields, enter a short and detailed description of your problem.

6. Select the I agree that debug logs will be uploaded to Veeam servers automatically check box and click
Submit Case.

Veeam Agent will automatically collect logs from your computer (without additional warnings) and open a
support case at the Veeam Customer Support Portal.

IMPORTANT

Consider the following:

• If you have any questions about the product functionality, do not submit a support case through the
Veeam Customer Support Portal and do not send an email to the Veeam Customer Support directly.
To submit a support case, use the Control Panel in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.
• You can submit a support case only in the Control Panel of the current version of Veeam Agent. If
you use an older version of Veeam Agent, upgrade Veeam Agent and check whether the problem
still exists in the current version. If the problem exists, use the Control Panel to submit a support
case.

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Using with Veeam Backup & Replication
If you have the Veeam backup infrastructure deployed in the production environment, you can use Veeam Agent
together with Veeam Backup & Replication.

IMPORTANT

If you plan to use Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 6.0 with Veeam Backup & Replication, you must
install Veeam Backup & Replication 12 on the Veeam backup server.

NOTE

This and subsequent sections describe tasks with Veeam Backup & Replication available for Veeam Agent
operating in the standalone mode. For information about tasks available in Veeam Backup & Replication
within the Veeam Agent management scenario, see Veeam Agent Management Guide.

Tasks with Veeam Backup & Replication

Veeam Backup & Replication lets you perform a number of additional data protection and disaster recovery
tasks, as well as administrative actions with Veeam Agent backups. You can:

• Grant access permissions on backup repositories.

• Manage Veeam Agent licenses.

Data protection tasks

• Create Veeam Agent backups on backup repositories.

• Create Veeam Agent backups on Veeam Cloud Connect repositories.

• Copy Veeam Agent backups to secondary backup repositories.

• Archive Veeam Agent backups to tape.

Restore tasks

• Restore Veeam Agent backups to Hyper-V VMs.

• Restore Veeam Agent backups to VMware vSphere VMs.

• Restore volumes from Veeam Agent backups.

• Restore files and folders from Veeam Agent backups.

• Restore application items from Veeam Agent backups.

• Restore disks from Veeam Agent backups.

• Restore data from Veeam Agent backups to Amazon EC2.

• Restore data from Veeam Agent backups to Microsoft Azure.

• Export restore points of Veeam Agent backups to standalone full backup files.

Administrative tasks

• Import Veeam Agent backups.

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 • Enable and disable Veeam Agent backup jobs.

• Delete Veeam Agent backup jobs.

• View Veeam Agent backup job statistics.

• View Veeam Agent backup properties.

• Configure global settings.

• Assign roles to users.

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Setting Up User Permissions on Backup
Repositories
To be able to store backups in a backup repository managed by a Veeam backup server, the user must have
access permissions on this backup repository.

Access permissions are granted to security principals such as users and AD groups by the backup administrator
working with Veeam Backup & Replication. Users with granted access permissions can target Veeam Agent
backup jobs at this backup repository and perform restore from backups located in this backup repository.

NOTE

If you plan to create backups in a Veeam backup repository with Veeam Agent backup jobs configured in
Veeam Backup & Replication, you do not need to grant access permissions on the backup repository to
users. In the Veeam Agent management scenario, to establish a connection between the backup server and
protected computers, Veeam Backup & Replication uses a TLS certificate. To learn more, see the
Configuring Security Settings section in the Veeam Agent Management Guide.

Right after installation, access permissions on the default backup repository are set to Allow to everyone for
testing and evaluation purposes. If necessary, you can change these settings.

After you create a new backup repository, access permissions on this repository are set to Deny to everyone. To
allow users to store backups in the backup repository, you must grant users with access permissions to this
repository.

To grant access permissions to a security principal:

1. In Veeam Backup & Replication, open the Backup Infrastructure view.

2. In the inventory pane, click one of the following nodes:

o The Backup Repositories node — if you want to grant access permissions on a regular backup
repository to Veeam Agent users.

o The Scale-out Repositories node — if you want to grant access permissions on a scale-out backup
repository to Veeam Agent users.

3. In the working area, select the necessary backup repository and click Set Access Permissions on the ribbon,
or right-click the backup repository and select Access permissions. If you do not see the Set Access
Permissions button on the ribbon or the Access permissions command is not available in the shortcut
menu, press and hold the [CTRL] key, right-click the backup repository and select Access permissions.

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 4. In the Access Permissions window, in the Standalone applications tab, specify to whom you want to grant
access permissions on this backup repository:

o Allow to everyone — select this option if you want all users to be able to store backups on this backup
repository. Setting access permissions to Everyone is equal to granting access rights to the Everyone
Microsoft Windows group (Anonymous users are excluded). However, we recommend this scenario for
demo environments only.

o Allow to the following accounts or groups only — select this option if you want only specific users to
be able to store backups on this backup repository. Click Add to add the necessary users and groups
to the list.

5. If you want to encrypt Veeam Agent backup files stored in the backup repository, select the Encrypt
backups stored in this repository check box and choose the necessary password from the field below. If
you have not specified a password beforehand, click Add on the right or the Manage passwords link to add
a new password. Veeam Backup & Replication will encrypt files at the backup repository side using its
built-in encryption mechanism. To learn more, see Veeam Backup & Replication Documentation.

IMPORTANT

If Veeam Agent is set up to use the backup cache, and the backup cache contains one or more restore
points, Veeam Agent will automatically remove these restore points from the backup cache after you
enable or disable the encryption option for the backup repository.

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Managing License
If you plan to use Veeam Agent with Veeam Backup & Replication, you must install a license in Veeam Backup &
Replication or Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager. The license must have a total number of instances that is
sufficient to protect machines (servers and workstations) on which you plan to install Veeam Agent. For more
information, see Veeam Licensing Policy.

After Veeam Agent connects to Veeam Backup & Replication, Veeam Agent automatically starts consuming
instances in the license. The product edition for Veeam Agent is selected depending on the type of the Microsoft
Windows OS running on the Veeam Agent computer. You can switch to another commercial edition of Veeam
Agent manually if needed. If you do not want Veeam Agents to consume instances, you can restrict instance
consumption. For details, see Managing Instance Consumption by Veeam Agents.

The number of backup jobs configured in Veeam Agent does not impact instance consumption. For example, if 2
backup jobs are configured in Veeam Agent that operates in the Server edition, this Veeam Agent will consume
instances required for 1 server.

Veeam Agent obtains information about the license from Veeam Backup & Replication and keeps it locally on
the Veeam Agent computer. Information about the license is valid for 32 days. If Veeam Agent does not connect
to Veeam Backup & Replication during this period, Veeam Backup & Replication will revoke its license.

NOTE

In addition to managing Veeam Agent licenses, you can use the Veeam Backup & Replication console to
manage Veeam Agent backup jobs and perform operations with backups created by these jobs.

If your backup server is connected to Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager, you can use Veeam Backup
Enterprise Manager to manage licenses and perform restore tasks with Veeam Agent backups. You cannot
manage Veeam Agent backup jobs with Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager.

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Managing Instance Consumption by Veeam
Agents
By default, Veeam Backup & Replication allows Veeam Agents to connect to the Veeam backup server and
consume instances in the license. If you do not want Veeam Agents to consume instances, you can restrict
instance consumption.

If you restrict instance consumption, Veeam Backup & Replication will switch all Veeam Agents connected to
this Veeam backup server to the free edition that offers limited capabilities. For information about Veeam Agent
editions, see Product Editions .

To restrict instance consumption by Veeam Agents:

1. In Veeam Backup & Replication, from the main menu, select License.

2. In the License Information window, click the Instances tab.

3. On the Instances tab, clear the Allow unlicensed agents to consume instances check box.

4. Click Close.

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Assigning License to Veeam Agent
After Veeam Agent connects to Veeam Backup & Replication, Veeam Agent automatically starts consuming the
license. The product edition for Veeam Agent is selected depending on the type of the OS running on the
protected computer.

You can also assign a license to Veeam Agent manually if needed. When you assign a license, you can select the
product edition, too.

To assign a license:

1. In Veeam Backup & Replication, from the main menu, select License.

2. In the License Information window, select the Instances tab and click Manage.

3. In the Licensed Instances window, select the Veeam Agent to which you want to assign the license, click
Assign and select the desired product edition: Workstation or Server.

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Viewing Licensed Veeam Agents and Revoking
License
When Veeam Agent connects to the backup server, Veeam Backup & Replication applies a license to the Veeam
Agent. You can view to which Veeam Agents the license is currently applied.

To view a list of licensed Veeam Agents:

1. In Veeam Backup & Replication, from the main menu, select License.

2. In the License Information window, select the Instances tab and click Manage.

In the list of licensed instances, Veeam Backup & Replication displays Veeam Agents that have established a
connection with the backup server when you created the backup job.

Revoking License from Veeam Agents

You can revoke the license from some Veeam Agents and re-apply it to other protected workloads. License
revoking can be helpful, for example, if you do not want to use some Veeam Agents with Veeam Backup &
Replication anymore.

To revoke a license from the Veeam Agent:

1. In Veeam Backup & Replication, from the main menu, select License.

2. In the License Information window, select the Instances tab and click Manage.

3. In the Licensed Instances window, select a Veeam Agent and click Revoke. Veeam Backup & Replication
will revoke the license from the Veeam Agent, and the license will be freed for other workloads that you
want to protect with Veeam products.

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 The Veeam Agent from which you have revoked the license will become unable to connect to the Veeam
backup server but will remain in the Licensed Instances list. To allow this Veeam Agent to create backups
in the Veeam backup repository, select the Veeam Agent and click Remove. During the next backup job
session, the Veeam Agent will connect to the Veeam backup server and start consuming the license.

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Performing Data Protection Tasks
You can perform the following data protection tasks:

• Back up your data and store the resulting backup files in one of the following types of Veeam backup
repositories:

o In a backup repository managed by a Veeam backup server

o In a Veeam Cloud Connect repository

o Copy Veeam Agent backups from the backup repository to a secondary backup repository with backup
copy jobs

o Archive Veeam Agent backups to tapes with backup to tape jobs

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Backing Up to Backup Repositories
You can store backups created with Veeam Agent on backup repositories connected to Veeam backup servers.
To do this, you must perform the following actions:

1. Set up user permissions at the backup repository side.

2. Point the Veeam Agent backup job to the backup repository.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• A Veeam Agent backup job can be started automatically upon the defined schedule or manually
from the Veeam Agent computer. You cannot start, stop, retry or edit Veeam Agent backup jobs in
the Veeam Backup & Replication console.
• If the user is granted restore permissions on the Veeam backup server, the user will be able to see
all backups in the backup repository.
• The user who creates a Veeam Agent backup in the backup repository is set as the owner of the
backup file. The backup file owner can access this file and restore data from it. If the user who is not
the backup file owner needs to perform operations with the backup file, the user must have the
Veeam Backup & Replication role that allows to perform these operations. To learn more about
roles, see the Roles and Users section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

Backup jobs targeted at the backup repository become visible in Veeam Backup & Replication under the Jobs >
Backup node in the Home view. Backups created with Veeam Agent are available under the Backups > Disk node
in the Home view.

The Veeam Backup Administrator working with Veeam Backup & Replication can manage Veeam Agent backup
jobs and restore data from Veeam Agent backups. To learn more, see Performing Restore Tasks and Performing
Administration Tasks.

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Backing Up to Cloud Repositories
You can store backups created with Veeam Agent on cloud repositories provided to you by a Veeam Cloud
Connect service provider. To do this, you must connect to the service provider and point the backup job to the
cloud repository. To learn more, see Specify Service Provider Settings.

Veeam Agent Backups on Tenant Side

Backups created with Veeam Agent are available under the Cloud node in the Home view of the Veeam Backup
& Replication console deployed on the tenant side.

The backup administrator working with Veeam Backup & Replication on the tenant side can manage Veeam
Agent backups created in the cloud repository and restore data from such backups. To recover data from a
Veeam Agent backup, you can perform the following operations:

• Export computer disks as virtual disks

• Restore guest OS files

• Export restore points to standalone full backup files.

Veeam Agent Backups on Service Provider Side

The service provider can view information about backup and restore sessions performed by Veeam Agent users.
The full list of sessions is available in the History view of the Veeam backup console deployed on the service
provider side. The list of sessions performed within the last 24 hours is available under the Last 24 hours node in
the Cloud Connect view of the Veeam backup console on the service provider side. The service provider cannot
view detailed statistics about individual sessions in the list.

The service provider cannot perform restore tasks with Veeam Agent backups that are stored in the cloud
repository.

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Performing Backup Copy for Veeam Agent
Backups
You can configure backup copy jobs that will copy backups created with Veeam Agent to a secondary backup
repository.

Backup copy jobs treat Veeam Agent backups as usual backup files. The backup copy job setup and processing
procedures practically do not differ from the same procedures for a backup copy job that processes VM backups.
To learn more about backup copy jobs, see the Backup Copy section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User
Guide.

When mapping a backup copy job to a Veeam Agent backup, consider the limitations listed in the Backup File
Mapping section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

Restoring Data from Copies of Veeam Agent Backups

Backups copied to the secondary backup repository do not preserve user access permissions. At the same time,
users who created backups do not have access permissions on these secondary repositories. For this reason,
users cannot restore data from their backups residing in the secondary site.

To overcome this limitation, you can delegate the restore task to backup administrators who work with Veeam
Backup & Replication. Backup administrators can use Veeam Backup & Replication options to recover data from
such backups: for example, perform file-level restore or retrieve necessary application items with Veeam
Explorers.

You can also restore data from the copied backup stored on the target repository using Veeam Agent.

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To do this:

1. In Veeam Agent, launch the Volume Level Restore wizard to restore volumes or File Level Restore wizard
to restore files and folders. You can also boot from the Veeam Recovery Media and launch the Veeam
Recovery Media wizard for data restore.

2. At the Backup Location step of the wizard, select Network storage.

3. At the Network Storage step of the wizard, select to restore data from the backup repository.

4. At the Backup Server wizard, specify settings for the Veeam backup server that manages the target
backup repository where the copied backup is located.

5. Select the Specify your personal credentials check box and provide credentials for the user who has the
Veeam Backup Administrator or Veeam Restore Operator role on the Veeam backup server.

6. Pass through the next steps of the wizard and select a backup and restore point from which you want to
restore data.

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Archiving Veeam Agent Backups to Tape
You can configure backup to tape jobs to archive Veeam Agent backups to tape.

Backup to tape jobs treat Veeam Agent backups as usual backup files. The archiving job setup and processing
procedures practically do not differ from the regular ones. To learn more about backup to tape jobs, see Veeam
Backup & Replication Documentation.

NOTE

Note that in backup to tape job schedule, you cannot select the After this job option for a Veeam Agent job
that was configured directly on a Veeam Agent computer.

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Restoring Data from Veeam Agent Backups
You can perform the following restore operations:

• Restore Veeam Agent backups to VMware vSphere VMs

• Restore Veeam Agent backups to Hyper-V VMs

• Restore Veeam Agent backups to Nutanix AHV VMs

• Restore data from Veeam Agent backups to Microsoft Azure

• Restore data from Veeam Agent backups to Amazon EC2

• Restore data from Veeam Agent backups to Google Cloud Platform

• Restore computer volumes from Veeam Agent backups

• Restore individual files and folders from Veeam Agent backups

• Restore application items from Veeam Agent backups with Veeam Explorers

• Export computer disks as VMDK, VHD or VHDX disks

• Export restore points of Veeam Agent backups to standalone full backup files

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Restoring Veeam Agent Backup to vSphere VM
You can use the Veeam Backup & Replication console to restore a Veeam Agent computer as a VMware vSphere
VM in your virtualization environment. For Instant Recovery to a vSphere VM, you can use backups of Microsoft
Windows computers created on the Veeam backup repository. You cannot perform this operation with Veeam
Agent backups created on the Veeam Cloud Connect repository.

A restored VMware vSphere VM has the same settings as a backed-up Veeam Agent computer. During the
restore process, Veeam Backup & Replication retrieves settings of the Veeam Agent computer from the backup
and applies them to the target VM. These settings include:

• Amount of RAM

• Number of CPU cores

• Number of network adapters

• Network adapter settings

• BIOS UUID
If you do not want to preserve the backed-up machine UUID for a VMware vSphere VM, you can create a
new UUID during the Instant Recovery configuration process.

• Number of disks and volumes

• Size of volumes

If you restore a Veeam Agent computer to a VMware vSphere VM, consider the following:

• Make sure that the target host has enough resources for a new VM. Otherwise, your VM will reduce the
target host performance.

• If you restore a workload to the production network, make sure that the original workload is powered off.

The procedure of Instant Recovery for a Veeam Agent computer practically does not differ from the same
procedure for a VM. The main difference from Instant Recovery is that you do not need to select the recovery
mode, because Veeam Agent computers are always restored to a new location. To learn more, see the
Performing Instant Recovery of Workloads to VMware vSphere VMs section in the Veeam Backup & Replication
User Guide.

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Restoring Veeam Agent Backup to Hyper-V VM
You can use the Veeam Backup & Replication console to restore a Veeam Agent computer as a Hyper-V VM in
your virtualization environment. For Instant Recovery to a Hyper-V VM, you can use backups of Microsoft
Windows computers created on the Veeam backup repository. You cannot use backups created on the Veeam
Cloud Connect repository for this operation.

A restored Hyper-V VM has the same settings as a backed-up Veeam Agent computer. During the restore
process, Veeam Backup & Replication retrieves settings of the Veeam Agent computer from the backup and
applies them to the target VM.

If you restore a Veeam Agent computer to a Hyper-V VM, consider the following:

• You cannot recover an EFI-based Veeam Agent computer that runs Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 or
Windows Server 2008 R2 to a Hyper-V VM. These OSes can be restored only to a Generation 1 VM that
does not support EFI. To learn more, see this Microsoft article.

• Make sure that the target host has enough resources for a new VM. Otherwise, your VM will reduce the
target host performance.

• Veeam Agent computer disks are recovered as dynamically expanding virtual disks.

• By default, Veeam Backup & Replication automatically powers on a VM after restore. If you do not want to
power on a VM after restore, you can change this setting during the Instant Recovery configuration
process.

The procedure of Instant Recovery for a Veeam Agent computer practically does not differ from the same
procedure for a VM. The main difference from Instant Recovery is that you do not need to select the recovery
mode, because Veeam Agent computers are always restored to a new location. To learn more, see the
Performing Instant Recovery of Workloads to Hyper-V VMs section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User
Guide.

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Restoring Veeam Agent Backup to Nutanix VM
You can use the Veeam Backup & Replication console to restore a Veeam Agent computer as a Nutanix AHV VM
in your virtualization environment. For restore to Nutanix AHV, you can use backups of Microsoft Windows
computers created on the Veeam backup repository. You cannot perform this operation with Veeam Agent
backups created on the Veeam Cloud Connect repository.

Mind that to restore to Nutanix AHV, you must install Nutanix AHV Plug-in on the Veeam Backup & Replication
server. To learn more, see the Installation section in the Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV User Guide.

The procedure of restore to Nutanix AHV for a Veeam Agent computer practically does not differ from the same
procedure for a VM. To learn more about restore to Nutanix AHV, see the Restoring VMs Using Veeam Backup &
Replication Console section in the Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV User Guide.

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Restoring to Microsoft Azure
You can restore computers from Veeam Agent backups to Microsoft Azure. For restore to Microsoft Azure, you
can use backups of Microsoft Windows computers created on the Veeam backup repository. You cannot perform
this operation with Veeam Agent backups created on the Veeam Cloud Connect repository. Backups must be
created at the entire machine level or volume level.

If you restore a Veeam Agent machine to Microsoft Azure, consider the following:

• If you recover a EFI-based system to Microsoft Azure, Veeam Agent will restore a BIOS-based Generation 1
VM.

• Veeam Backup & Replication offers experimental support for generation 2 VMs within restore to Microsoft
Azure feature. To learn more, see the Generation 2 VM Support section in the Veeam Backup & Replication
User Guide.

The procedure of restore to Microsoft Azure from a Veeam Agent backup practically does not differ from the
same procedure for a VM backup. To learn more about restore to Microsoft Azure, see the Restore to Microsoft
Azure section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

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Restoring to Amazon EC2
You can restore computers from Veeam Agent backups to Amazon EC2. For restore to Amazon EC2, you can use
backups of Microsoft Windows computers created on the Veeam backup repository. You cannot perform this
operation with Veeam Agent backups created on the Veeam Cloud Connect repository. Backups must be created
at the entire machine level or volume level.

The procedure of restore to Amazon EC2 from a Veeam Agent backup practically does not differ from the same
procedure for a VM backup. To learn more about restore to Amazon EC2, see the Restore to Amazon EC2 section
in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

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Restoring to Google Compute Engine
You can restore computers from Veeam Agent backups to Google Compute Engine. For restore to Google
Compute Engine, you can use backups of Microsoft Windows computers created on the Veeam backup
repository. You cannot perform this operation with Veeam Agent backups created on the Veeam Cloud Connect
repository. Backups must be created at the entire computer level or volume level.

The procedure of restore to Google Compute Engine from a Veeam Agent backup practically does not differ
from the same procedure for a VM backup. To learn more about restore to Google Compute Engine, see the
Restore to Google Compute Engine section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

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Restoring Volumes
You can use Veeam Backup & Replication to restore a specific computer volume or all volumes from a volume-
level backup created with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

If data on a computer volume gets corrupted, you can restore this volume from the backup. For volume-level
restore, you can use backups that were created at the volume level. File-level backups cannot be used for
volume restore.

When you perform volume-level restore, Veeam Backup & Replication restores the entire content of the
volume. It retrieves from the backup data blocks pertaining to a specific volume and copies them to the
necessary location. Keep in mind that you cannot browse the volume in the backup and select individual
application items, files and folders for restore. For granular file-level restore, you can use the Restore guest files
option.

A volume can be restored to its original location or a new location. If you restore the volume to its original
location, Veeam Backup & Replication overwrites data on the original volume. If you restore the volume to a
new location, and the target disk contains any data, Veeam Backup & Replication overwrites data in the target
location with data retrieved from the backup.

A volume can be restored to a new location that has greater or less space than the size of the volume in the
backup. Depending on the amount of free disk space on target location, you can select either to shrink or to
extend the volume during restore. To learn more, see the Volume Resize section.

Before You Begin

Before you begin the volume-level restore process, check the following prerequisites:

• The volume-level backup from which you plan to restore data must be successfully created at least once.

• A computer on which you want to restore a volume must be added to the Veeam Backup & Replication
inventory and run Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows operating in the managed mode.

Volume-level restore has the following limitations:

• You cannot restore a system volume to a system volume of the original Veeam Agent computer or another
computer with the running OS. To perform such restore, you need to boot the OS from the recovery
image. For details, see Restoring Data with Veeam Recovery Media. You can also restore a system volume
to a non-system volume that has enough free space.

• You cannot restore a volume to a volume on which the Microsoft Windows swap file is hosted.

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Step 1. Launch Volume Level Restore Wizard
To launch the Volume Level Restore wizard, do either of the following:

• Open the Home tab and click Restore > Agent > Disk restore > Volume restore. In this case, you will be
able to select a backup of the necessary Veeam Agent computer at the Backup step of the wizard.

• Open the Home view. In the inventory pane, click the Backups node. In the working area, expand the
necessary Veeam Agent backup, select the necessary computer in the backup and click Restore Volumes
on the ribbon or right-click the computer and select Volume restore.
In this case, you will proceed immediately to the Restore Point step of the wizard.

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Step 2. Select Backup
At the Backup step of the wizard, select a backup from which you want to recover data.

To quickly find the necessary backup, use the search field at the bottom of the window: enter a backup name or
a part of it in the search field and click the Start search button on the right or press [ENTER].

In the list of backups, Veeam Backup & Replication displays only volume-level backups created with Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows. File-level backups are not displayed.

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Step 3. Select Restore Point
At the Restore Point step of the wizard, select a restore point from which you want to recover data.

By default, Veeam Backup & Replication uses the latest restore point. However, you can select any valid restore
point to recover volumes to a specific point in time.

Veeam Backup & Replication displays restore points for volume-level backups only. For example, if you have run
3 job sessions to create a backup of all computer volumes and then changed the backup scope to file-level
backup, Veeam Backup & Replication will display only 3 restore points in the list.

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Step 4. Map Restored Disks
At the Disk Mapping step of the wizard, select what volumes you want to restore and map volumes from the
backup to volumes on the target computer.

IMPORTANT

It is strongly recommended that you change disk mapping settings only if you have experience in working
with Microsoft Windows disks and partitions. If you make a mistake, your computer data may get
corrupted.

To select volumes for restore:

1. In the Destination host field, specify the target computer where you want to restore volumes. By default,
Veeam Backup & Replication restores volumes to their original location. If you want to restore volumes
from the backup to another computer, click Choose and select the necessary computer. You can restore
volumes only to computers that are added to the Veeam Backup & Replication inventory and run Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows.
If you select a computer included in a protection group for pre-installed Veeam Agents, you must provide
credentials of the account that has administrator permissions on the target computer. Keep in mind that
Veeam Backup & Replication will keep these credentials only during the restore process and delete them
after the restore process completion. To learn more about protection groups for pre-installed Veeam
Agents, see Protection Group Types.

2. In the Disk mapping section, select check boxes next to volumes that you want to restore from the
backup. By default, Veeam Backup & Replication restores volumes to their initial location and maps the
restored volumes automatically. If the initial location is unavailable, a volume is restored to a disk of the
same or larger size. If you want to map the restored volume to another computer disk, at the bottom of
the wizard click Customize disk mapping.

NOTE

If Veeam Backup & Replication cannot map a volume automatically, Veeam Backup & Replication will
prompt you to perform disk mapping manually. To proceed to the Disk Mapping window, click Yes.

3. In the Disk Mapping window, specify how volumes must be restored:

o Right-click the target disk on the left and select the necessary disk layout:

▪ Apply Backup Layout — select this option if you want to apply to disk the settings that were
used on your computer at the moment when you performed backup.

▪ Apply Disk Layout — select this option if you want to apply to the current disk settings of
another disk.

▪ Erase — select this option if you want to discard the current disk settings.

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 o Right-click unallocated disk space in the disk area on the right and select what volume from the
backup you want to place on this computer disk.
If you want to change disk layout configured by Veeam Backup & Replication, right-click an
automatically mapped volume and select Remove. You will be able to use the released space for
mapping volumes in your own order.

4. [For restore with volume resize] You can resize a volume mapped by Veeam Backup & Replication to a
target computer disk. To resize a volume, right-click it in the Disk Mapping window and select Resize. With
this option selected, you will pass to the Volume Resize window.

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 NOTE

If you map a backup volume that is larger than the amount of available space on the target disk,
Veeam Backup & Replication will prompt you to shrink the restored volume. After you agree and click
OK, Veeam Backup & Replication will prepare to shrink the volume to the size of available disk space.

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Step 5. Resize Restored Volumes
At the Disk Mapping step of the wizard you can set the necessary size for the restored volumes. A volume will
be shrunk or extended to the specified size during the process of data restore.

NOTE

By default, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows displays volume size in megabytes (MB). This allows you
to specify the desired size for the volume precisely. You can also choose to display volume size in
gigabytes (GB). This may be helpful when you need to resize volumes on larger computer disks and want to
simplify disk size calculations.

When you use GB as a volume size unit, you can specify volume size with integral numbers, for example, 1
GB, 60 GB or 200 GB, but not 0,8 GB, 60,5 GB or 200,7 GB. However, if the maximum volume size is in
fact greater than the displayed value for less than 1 GB, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will
automatically add the exceeding amount of disk space to the extended volume. For example, if the
maximum volume size is 60,2 GB, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will display this size as 60 GB.
When you specify 60 GB as a desired volume size, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows will extend the
volume to 60,2 GB.

To resize a volume:

1. Specify а volume you want to resize:

a. Right-click a restored volume mapped to a target disk and select Resize.

b. [For volume shrink] Right-click unallocated disk space and select what volume from the backup you
want to place on the computer disk. If the selected volume is larger than the amount of unallocated
disk space, Veeam Backup & Replication will prompt you to shrink the restored volume.

2. In the Volume Resize window, select the volume size unit and specify the desired size for the restored
volume.

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Step 6. Specify Secure Restore Settings
At the Secure Restore step of the wizard, you can instruct Veeam Backup & Replication to perform secure
restore — scan restored volume data with antivirus software before restoring the volume. To learn more about
secure restore, see the Secure Restore section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

To specify secure restore settings:

1. At the Secure Restore step of the wizard, select the Scan the restored disk for malware prior to
performing the recovery check box.

2. Select the Scan the entire image check box if you want the antivirus software to continue volume scan
after the first malware threat is found. For information on how to view results of the antivirus scan, see
the Viewing Antivirus Scan Results section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

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Step 7. Specify Restore Reason
At the Reason step of the wizard, enter a reason for restoring the computer volume.

TIP

If you do not want to display the Restore Reason step of the wizard in future, select the Do not show me
this page again check box.

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Step 8. Complete Restore Process
At the Summary step of the wizard, complete the procedure of volume-level restore.

1. Review settings of the restore process.

2. Click Finish to start the recovery process. Veeam Backup & Replication will perform partition re-allocation
operations if necessary, restore the necessary volume data from the backup and overwrite volume data on
the target computer with the restored data.

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Restoring Files and Folders
You can use the Veeam Backup & Replication console to restore individual files and folders from Veeam Agent
backups.

For file-level restore, you can use Veeam Agent backups created in the Veeam backup repository or Veeam
Cloud Connect repository. For Veeam Agent backups created in the cloud repository, you can perform restore
tasks in Veeam Backup & Replication deployed on the tenant backup server. The service provider cannot
perform restore tasks with Veeam Agent backups.

NOTE

Before you start file-level restore from a backup of a failover cluster, make sure that the cluster is added to
a protection group in the Veeam Backup & Replication inventory. The failover cluster may be not present in
the inventory, for example, in the following cases:

• The original protection group that contained the cluster was removed from Veeam Backup &
Replication.
• You want to restore cluster data from a backup created on another backup server and imported in
the Veeam backup console.

In this case, add the failover cluster whose data you want to restore to a protection group.

The procedure of file-level restore from a Veeam Agent backup practically does not differ from the same
procedure for a VM backup. The difference is that you select a Veeam Agent backup instead of a VM backup in
the File Level Restore wizard. To learn more, see the Restore from Microsoft Windows File Systems (FAT, NTFS
or ReFS) section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

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Restoring Application Items
You can use Veeam Explorers to restore application items from backups created using Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows. Veeam Backup & Replication lets you restore items and objects from the following
applications:

• Microsoft Active Directory

• Microsoft Exchange

• Microsoft SharePoint

• Microsoft SQL Server

• Oracle

The procedure of application-item restore from a Veeam Agent backup does not differ from the same procedure
for a VM backup. To learn more, see the Restoring Application Items section in the Veeam Backup & Replication
User Guide.

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Exporting Disks
You can restore computer disks from Veeam Agent backups created using Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows
and convert them to disks of the VMDK, VHD or VHDX format.

During disks restore, Veeam Backup & Replication creates standard virtual disks that can be used by VMware
vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V VMs.

• When you restore a disk in the VMDK format, Veeam Backup & Replication creates a pair of files that make
up the VM virtual disk: a descriptor file and file with the virtual disk content.

• When you restore a disk in the VHD/VHDX format, Veeam Backup & Replication creates a file of the VHD
or VHDX format.

You can save converted disks locally on any server added to the backup infrastructure or place disks on a
datastore connected to an ESXi host (for VMDK disk format only). VMDK disks can be restored as thin provision
and thick disks:

• Disks restored to a datastore are saved in the thin provisioned format.

• Disks restored to a server are saved in the thick provisioned format.

Veeam Backup & Replication supports batch disk restore. For example, if you choose to restore 2 computer
disks, Veeam Backup & Replication will convert them to 2 virtual disks and store these disks in the specified
location.

To restore disks and convert them to the VMDK, VHD or VHDX format, use the Export Disk wizard.

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Step 1. Launch Export Disk Wizard
To launch the Export Disk wizard, do either of the following:

• Open the Home tab and click Restore > Agent > Disk restore > Export disk. In this case, you will be able to
select a backup of the necessary Veeam Agent computer at the Backup step of the wizard.

• Open the Home view. In the inventory pane, click the Backups node. In the working area, expand the
necessary Veeam Agent backup, select the necessary computer in the backup and click Export Disks on the
ribbon or right-click a computer in the backup and select Export content as virtual disks.
In this case, you will pass immediately to the Restore Point step of the wizard.

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Step 2. Select Backup
At the Backup step of the wizard, select a backup from which you want to restore disks. In the list of backups,
Veeam Backup & Replication displays all backups that are currently hosted on the Veeam backup repository and
Veeam Cloud Connect repository.

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Step 3. Select Restore Point
At the Restore Point step of the wizard, select the necessary restore point from which you want to restore disks.
In the list of points, Veeam Backup & Replication displays all restore points that have been created. Make sure
that you select a restore point that relates to the selected backup.

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Step 4. Select Disks
At the Disks step of the wizard, select check boxes next to those disks that you want to export.

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Step 5. Select Destination and Disk Format
At the Target step of the wizard, select the destination for disk export and format in which you want to save the
resulting virtual disk.

1. From the Server list, select a server on which the resulting virtual disks must be saved. If you plan to save
the disks in the VMDK format on a datastore, select an ESXi host to which this datastore is connected.

2. In the Path to folder field, specify a folder on the server or datastore where the virtual disks must be
placed.

3. Select the export format for disks:

o VMDK — select this option if you want to save the resulting virtual disk in the VMware VMDK format.

o VHD — select this option if you want to save resulting virtual disk in the Microsoft Hyper-V VHD
format.

o VHDX — select this option if you want to save resulting virtual disk in the Microsoft Hyper-V VHDX
format (supported by Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and later).

4. Click Disk type to specify how the resulting disk must be saved:

o [For VMDK disk format] in the thin provisioned, lazy zeroed thick provisioned, or eagerly zeroed thick
provisioned format

o [For VHD and VMDX disk formats] in the dynamic or fixed format

5. [For export of a VMDK disk to an ESXi host] Click the Pick proxy to use link to select backup proxies over
which backup data must be transported to the target datastore.

NOTE

Consider the following:

• If you have selected to store the resulting virtual disk to a datastore, you will be able to save the
virtual disk in the VMDK format only. Other options will be disabled.
• If you have selected to store the resulting virtual disk on the server running Microsoft Windows
Server OS and in the VMDK format, you will be able to save the virtual disk in the lazy zeroed thick
provisioned format only.

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440 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide
Step 6. Specify Secure Restore Settings
IMPORTANT

The Secure Restore step of the wizard is available if you export disks from a Veeam Agent backup of a
Microsoft Windows computer.

At this step of the wizard, you can instruct Veeam Backup & Replication to perform secure restore — scan
restored disk data with antivirus software before restoring the disk. To learn more about secure restore, see the
Secure Restore section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

To specify secure restore settings:

1. At the Secure Restore step of the wizard, select the Scan the restored disk for malware prior to
performing the recovery check box.

2. Instruct Veeam Backup & Replication what to perform in case malware is found:

o Select Proceed with recovery if you want to continue the recover process, despite the found malware
threat.

o Select Abort disk recovery if you want to stop the recovery process after the first malware threat is
found.

3. Select the Scan the entire image check box if you want the antivirus software to continue disk scan after
the first malware threat is found. For information on how to view results of the antivirus scan, see the
Viewing Antivirus Scan Results section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

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Step 7. Specify Restore Reason
At the Reason step of the wizard, enter a reason for restoring the computer volume.

TIP

If you do not want to display the Restore Reason step of the wizard in future, select the Do not show me
this page again check box.

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Step 8. Complete Restore Process
At the Summary step of the wizard, complete the disk restore procedure.

1. Review details for the disk to be restored.

2. Click Finish to start the restore procedure and exit the wizard.

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Exporting Restore Point to Full Backup File
You can restore data from a specific restore point in a Veeam Agent backup and export this data to a standalone
full backup file. The procedure of Veeam Agent backup export does not differ from the same procedure for a
VM. To learn more, see the Exporting Backups section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

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Performing Administration Tasks
You can manage Veeam Agent backup jobs and backups created with these jobs. Veeam Backup & Replication
allows you to perform the following administration tasks:

• Import Veeam Agent backups

• Enable and disable Veeam Agent backup jobs

• View Veeam Agent backup job statistics

• Delete Veeam Agent backup jobs

• View Veeam Agent backup properties

• Configure global settings

• Assign roles to users

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Importing Veeam Agent Backups
You may need to import a Veeam Agent backup in the Veeam Backup & Replication console in the following
situations:

• The Veeam Agent backup is stored on a drive managed by another computer (not the Veeam backup
server).

• The Veeam Agent backup is stored in a backup repository managed by another Veeam backup server.

• The Veeam Agent backup has been removed in the Veeam Backup & Replication console.

After importing, the Veeam Agent backup becomes available in the Veeam Backup & Replication console. You
can restore data from such backup in a regular manner.

Before importing a backup, check the following prerequisites:

• The computer or server from which you plan to import the backup must be added to Veeam Backup &
Replication. Otherwise you will not be able to access backup files.

• To be able to restore data from previous backup restore points, make sure that you have all incremental
restore points in the same folder where the full backup file resides.

To import a Veeam Agent backup:

1. In Veeam Backup & Replication, click Import Backup on the Home tab.

2. From the Computer list, select the computer or server on which the backup you want to import is stored.

3. Click Browse and select the necessary VBM or VBK file. If you select the VBM file, the import process will
be notably faster. We recommend that you use the VBK files for import only if a corresponding VBM file is
not available.

4. Click OK. The imported backup will become available in the Home view, under the Backups > Disk
(imported) node in the inventory pane.

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Importing Encrypted Backups
You can import Veeam Agent backups that were encrypted by Veeam Backup & Replication or Veeam Agent for
Microsoft Windows.

To import an encrypted backup file:

1. On the Home tab, click Import Backup.

2. From the Computer list, select the host on which the backup you want to import is stored.

3. Click Browse and select the VBM or VBK file.

4. Click OK. The encrypted backup will appear under the Backups > Disk (encrypted) node in the inventory
pane.

5. In the working area, select the imported backup and click Specify Password on the ribbon, or right-click
the backup and select Specify password.

6. In the Password field, enter the password for the backup file. If you changed the password one or several
times while the backup chain was created, you need to specify the latest password. For Veeam Agent
backups, you can use the latest password to restore data form all restore points in the backup chain,
including those restore points that were encrypted with an old password.

If you enter correct password, Veeam Backup & Replication will decrypt the backup file. The backup will be
moved under the Backups > Disk (imported) node in the inventory pane.

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Enabling and Disabling Veeam Agent Backup
Jobs
You can disable and enable Veeam Agent jobs in Veeam Backup & Replication.

When you disable the job, you prohibit the user to store the resulting backup to the backup repository. If the
user starts a disabled job manually or the job starts by schedule, the job session will fail and report the " The job
has been disabled by the Veeam Backup & Replication administrator" error. To let Veeam Agent store backups to
the backup repository again, you must enable the disabled job.

To disable or enable the scheduled backup job in Veeam Backup & Replication:

1. In Veeam Backup & Replication, open the Home view.

2. In the inventory pane, click the Jobs node.

3. Select the necessary job in the working area and click Disable on the ribbon, or right-click the necessary
job in the working area and select Disable. To enable the disabled job, click Disable on the toolbar, or
right-click the job and select Disable once again.

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Viewing Veeam Agent Backup Job Statistics
You can view statistics about Veeam Agent backup jobs in the Veeam Backup & Replication console. Veeam
Backup & Replication displays statistics for Veeam Agent backup jobs in the similar way as for regular backup
jobs. The difference is that the list of objects included in the job contains a Veeam Agent machine instead of one
or several VMs.

To view Veeam Agent backup job statistics:

1. In Veeam Backup & Replication, open the Home view.

2. In the inventory pane, click the Jobs node.

3. In the working area, select the necessary Veeam Agent backup job and click Statistics on the ribbon, or
right-click the job and select Statistics.

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Deleting Veeam Agent Backup Jobs
You can delete Veeam Agent backup jobs.

When you delete a Veeam Agent backup job, Veeam Backup & Replication removes all records about the job
from its database and console. When the user starts a new Veeam Agent backup job session manually or the job
starts automatically by schedule, the job will appear in the Veeam Backup & Replication console again, and
records about a new job session will be stored to the Veeam Backup & Replication database.

NOTE

When you delete a Veeam Agent backup job, the backup files become orphaned and can be deleted by the
background retention. For more information about the background retention, see the Background
Retention section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

To prevent the job from starting permanently, you must delete the job and unassign access rights permissions
for this user from the backup repository. To completely delete the job, you must perform this operation in
Veeam Agent on the Veeam Agent computer.

To remove a job:

1. In Veeam Backup & Replication, open the Home view.

2. In the inventory pane, click the Jobs node.

3. Select the necessary job in the working area and click Delete on the ribbon, or right-click the necessary job
in the working area and select Delete.

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Viewing Veeam Agent Backup Properties
You can view statistics about Veeam Agent backups.

To view Veeam Agent backup statistics:

1. In Veeam Backup & Replication, open the Home view.

2. In the inventory pane, click Disk under the Backups node.

3. In the working area, expand the Agents node, select the necessary backup and click Properties on the
ribbon, or right-click the backup and select Properties.

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Removing Veeam Agent Backups
If you want to remove records about Veeam Agent backups from the Veeam Backup & Replication console and
configuration database, you can use the Remove from configuration operation. When you remove a Veeam
Agent backup from configuration, the actual backup files remain in the backup repository. You can import the
backup to the Veeam Backup & Replication at any time later and restore data from it.

To remove a Veeam Agent backup from configuration:

1. Open the Home view.

2. In the inventory pane, click Backups.

3. Press and hold the [CTRL] key, select the backup, right-click the backup and select Remove from
configuration.

IMPORTANT

You should not remove a Veeam Agent backup from configuration if Veeam Agent is set up to use the
backup cache and the backup cache contains one or several restore points that are not uploaded to the
target location yet. If you remove such backup and then import it in the Veeam Backup & Replication
console, the backup will receive the new ID in the configuration database. As a result, Veeam Agent will
become unable to upload restore points from the backup cache to the target location and to create new
restore points in the backup cache. To continue creating backups in the Veeam backup repository, you will
need to delete restore points from the backup cache and run the backup job to create a new restore point
in the backup repository.

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Configuring Global Settings
Global settings configured on the Veeam backup server apply to Veeam Agent backup jobs as well. You can:

• Configure network throttling settings so that Veeam Agent backup job does not consume all network
resources. To learn more, see the Specifying I/O Settings topic in the Veeam Backup & Replication User
Guide.

• Configure the following global notification settings to get alerted about the Veeam Agent backup job
results:

o Email notifications. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows sends email notifications on every type of
backup tasks, such as backup job sessions started automatically by schedule, backup job sessions
started from the command line and ad-hoc backup tasks. To learn more, see the Specifying Email
Settings section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

o SNMP notifications. To learn more, see the Specifying SNMP Settings section in the Veeam Backup &
Replication User Guide.

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Assigning Roles to Users
User roles configured on the Veeam backup server apply to Veeam Agent backup jobs as well.

To learn more, see the Roles and Users section in the Veeam Backup & Replication User Guide.

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Copying Veeam Agent Backups
Veeam Backup & Replication offers the copying backup functionality that can be helpful if you want to copy
backups of a backup job to another repository, local or shared folder.

When Veeam Backup & Replication performs the copy operation, it disables the job, copies files to the target
location and then enables the job. After the copy operation finishes, the copied backups are shown in a node
with the (Exported) postfix in the inventory pane.

To copy a backup, do the following:

1. Open the Home view.

2. In the inventory pane, click Backups.

3. In the working area, right-click the backup and select Copy backup.

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Creating Recovery Token
If you want to recover volumes or an entire computer protected with Veeam Agent, you can use the Create
recovery token operation.

You can generate the recovery token on the Veeam Backup & Replication side. Then, on the computer side, with
this recovery token get access to the backup and recover data that are stored in the backup.

TIP

Alternatively, you can get access to the backup using user credentials. To learn more, see Backup Server
Settings.

Before creating a recovery token, consider the following prerequisites and limitations:

• Recovery tokens stay valid for 24 hours.

• You can recover files and folders from the selected backup only.

• During recovery, Veeam Backup & Replication does not stop backup operations.

Generating Recovery Token

To create a recovery token on the Veeam Backup & Replication side:

1. Open the Home view.

2. In the inventory pane, click Backups.

3. In the working area, right-click the backup and select Create recovery token.

You can modify the existing recovery token using the PowerShell console. To learn more, see the Working with
Tokens section in Veeam PowerShell Reference.

To learn how to access the backup with the recovery token on the Veeam Agent computer side, see Accessing
Backup.

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Accessing Backup
To access the backup using recovery token on the Veeam Agent computer side:

1. Use the Veeam Recovery Media to recover your computer.

2. Select to restore data from a backup file located in a Veeam backup repository.

3. Specify recovery token to gain access to the backup file.

To learn more, see Backup Server Settings.

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Deleting Agent Backups from Disk
If you want to delete records about backups from the Veeam Backup & Replication console and configuration
database and, additionally, delete backup files from the backup repository, you can use the Delete from disk
operation.

To remove a Veeam Agent backup from the backup repository:

1. Open the Home view.

2. In the inventory pane, click Backups.

3. Select the necessary computer and click Delete from > Disk on the ribbon or right-click the computer and
select Delete from disk.

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Automating Veeam Agent for Windows
Operations
You can automate Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows operations with Veeam Agent Configurator.

Veeam Agent Configurator is a tool that provides a command-line interface for Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows. With Veeam Agent Configurator, you can perform data protection and administrative operations for
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows from the command line, create custom scripts or integrate Veeam Agent
for Microsoft Windows with third-party applications.

Veeam Agent Configurator is available in the Workstation and Server editions of Veeam Agent for Microsoft
Windows.

Veeam Agent Configurator comes with Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows. The
Veeam.Agent.Configurator.exe file is placed in the product folder on the computer protected with Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows, by default, C:\Program Files\Veeam\Endpoint Backup.

For more information, see Veeam Agent Configurator Reference.

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Appendix A. Veeam Agent Events
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows logs its events to event logs on the computer where the product is
installed. Events can be used for monitoring the backup job activity and alerting about the backup status.

The table below lists all events logged by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

Event Name Description Event Log Source Severity

ID

110 Backup Job Veeam Agent <jobname> has been Veeam Veeam Information
Started started [by user <username>]. Agent Agent

115 Backup Job Backup Job <jobname> has been Veeam Veeam Information
Resumed resumed. Agent Agent

190 Backup Job Veeam Agent <jobname> finished Veeam Veeam Information
Finished with <job status>. Agent Agent
Job details: <additional information Warning
about the job results>1.
Error

191 Backup Job Veeam Agent <jobname> finished Veeam Veeam Warning
Retry with Error and will be retried. Agent Agent
Job details: <additional information
about the job results>1.

195 Synchronization Synchronization for cached restore Veeam Veeam Information

Finished points finished with <job status>. Agent Agent
<Additional information about Warning
synchronized restore points>.
Error

196 Destination Backup job destination has been Veeam Veeam Information
Changed switched from <target> to Backup Agent Agent
Cache.

197 Backup Cache Backup cache has been deleted by Veeam Veeam Information
Deleted <username>. Agent Agent

1074 Computer shut The process System User32 Information

down2 C:\Windows\system32\Shutdown.exe
(<jobname>) has initiated the
shutdown of computer <jobname>
on behalf of user NT
AUTHORITY\SYSTEM for the

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 Event Name Description Event Log Source Severity
ID

following reason: No title for this

reason could be found
Reason Code: 0x800000ff
Shutdown Type: shutdown
Comment: Computer was shut down
after successful backup by Veeam
Agent for Microsoft Windows.

4010 License License key for Veeam Agent for Veeam Veeam Information
Installed Windows has been installed. Agent Agent

4020 License License key for Veeam Agent is about Veeam Veeam Warning
Expiring to expire in <number of days> of Agent Agent
Days.

4030 License Expired License key for Veeam Agent has Veeam Veeam Error
expired. Agent Agent

4025 License in Your license has expired and needs to Veeam Veeam Error
Grace Period be renewed. Veeam Agent will Agent Agent
continue to operate for the duration
of the grace period.

4040 License Support Support contract for Veeam Agent is Veeam Veeam Warning
Expiring about to expire in <number of days> Agent Agent
of Days.

4050 License Support Support contract for Veeam Agent Veeam Veeam Error
Expired has expired. Contact Veeam sales Agent Agent
representative to renew your support
contract.

4060 Product Edition Veeam Agent for Windows edition Veeam Veeam Information
Changed has been changed from Agent Agent
<previousedition> to
<currentedition>.

10010 Restore Point '<computername>' restore point has Veeam Veeam Information
Created been created. Agent Agent

10050 Restore Point Restore point for '<computername>' Veeam Veeam Information
Removed has been removed according to the Agent Agent
configured retention policy.

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 Event Name Description Event Log Source Severity
ID

23010 Backup Job The <jobname> backup job has been Veeam Veeam Information
Created created. Agent Agent

23050 Backup Job The <jobname> backup job has been Veeam Veeam Information
Modified modified. Agent Agent

23090 Backup Job EndpointBackup <jobname> has been Veeam Veeam Information
Deleted deleted. Agent Agent

23051 Agent Modified Veeam Agent option <optionname> Veeam Veeam Information
has been changed.3 Agent Agent

Veeam Agent has been successfully Information

updated. Veeam Veeam
23501 Agent Updated
Agent Agent
Failed to update Veeam Agent. Error

23110 Backup Mode The <jobname> backup mode has Veeam Veeam Information
Changed been changed from <previousmode> Agent Agent
to <currentmode>.

23120 Backup Source The <jobname> backup job source Veeam Veeam Information
Updated objects have been updated. Agent Agent

26010 USB Device Target USB device has been Veeam Veeam Information
Ejected successfully ejected. Agent Agent

178 Managed mode Veeam Agent has been switched to Veeam Veeam Information
Enabled managed mode.4 Agent Agent

179 Managed mode Veeam Agent has been switched to Veeam Veeam Information
Disabled free mode.4 Agent Agent

201 Read-only Read only UI access has been Veeam Veeam Information
mode Enabled enabled.4 Agent Agent

202 Read-only Read only UI access has been Veeam Veeam Information
mode Disabled disabled.4 Agent Agent

1
Job details contain information about the reason for completing the job with the Warning or Error status.
2
The event is triggered if the user has instructed Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows to shut down the
computer on successful backup.

462 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide

3
The event is triggered if the user has changed any Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows setting other than
backup job settings.
4
The event can be triggered if Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is managed by a Remote Monitoring and
Management platform, for example, LabTech.

463 | Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows | User Guide