Virtual work environments are practical and can be used effectively, but they are also characterized by complexity due to their separate and distinct systems as a whole, i.e. on one and the same hardware. VMware and Hyper-V offer excellent setup and management capabilities. In addition, suitable backup software is important in order to be able to restore the virtual environment seamlessly and smoothly if necessary. This is possible with Veeam Backup - available in different editions, tailored to the scope of requirements.
Veeam Backup Free Edition
If you have set up virtual work environments with VMware or Hyper-V on a smaller scale, have a limited budget or would like to convince yourself of the range of functions and reliability before using a more extensive full version, the Veeam Free Edition is suitable. The free tool is designed for the management of virtual machines, is characterised by clear configuration options, can be used for an unlimited time and is unlimited in terms of the number of environments.
With Veeam Backup Free Edition you can clone, export, copy and archive your entire virtual machines or selectively backup and restore individual files and objects. Back-ups are possible with the integrated tool VeeamZIP during operation, compression included. Further tools allow the management of Microsoft Exchange, Active Directory, Share Point, SQL and other environments, especially NT backup tapes. In case of a hardware failure or update, complete migration to another host is possible. The option of cloud backup is also not missing. Despite the versatile range of functions, the operation is uncomplicated thanks to an Explorer-like working environment. One advantage of the Free Edition is that it can be used free of charge, but an update to a full version is possible at any time.
Further Editions
Veeam Backup & Replication is the more extensive, paid full version for backing up virtual work environments under VMware or Hyper-V, available as standard, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus. A license key must be purchased for use. Another variant is Veeam Backup Essentials. This is suitable if you are responsible for the data center in a small to medium-sized company. The software is focused on modern technologies and simplifies the entire management and administration of the infrastructure in terms of virtualization, backup and replication, among other things. The goal is that you only need to use one software to ensure reliable availability. As a rule, no external support is required for installation and configuration.
The Essentials version is based on Backup & Replication and Veeam One, so it includes their range of functions. In addition, automation processes simplify availability protection, integrating numerous environments, databases and other complex components. The targeted management of individual elements is possible. Of course, the cloud connection is not missing here either.
The integration of Veeam One enables not only back-up and management through monitoring and reporting tools, but also seamless monitoring and evaluation of all processes and resources in the virtual environment. In the event of a performance degradation or back-up failure, you will be notified immediately so that you can intervene before ongoing operations are affected or major damage occurs. In addition, freely configurable reports allow you to detect weak points early on, which can be used as a basis for reliable capacity and resource planning.
Veeam Backup Essentials is limited to up to six sockets. As your infrastructure grows, Veeam Ability Suite provides you with an update option.
Veeam Backup Software for every need
Choosing Veeam gives you the advantage of always being able to choose the appropriate feature set for your individual needs and ensures both transparency and security of your virtual environments. It doesn't matter whether you run them with VMware or Hyper-V - parallel management is possible as well as switching from one system to another.
