Summary

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.
  • When you configure the backup job with the Backup Job wizard, Veeam Agent for Linux creates the job with default advanced settings: compression level and data block size. To specify these parameters explicitly, you should create a backup job with the command line interface.

Backup has the following limitations:

  • You cannot save the backup of entire computer on the local computer disk. You must target an external repository, such as the one provided by EvolveIP.
  • Veeam Agent for Linux 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.

Navigating Backup Job Wizard

The Backup Job wizard window comprises the following areas:

  • The navigation pane, located on the left of the window, displays the list of wizard steps and currently selected step of the wizard
  • The working area displays controls relating to a specific step of the wizard.
  • The buttons area, located at the bottom of the window, displays buttons that you can use to switch between steps of the wizard (Previous and Next) and close the wizard (Cancel and Finish).

In the Backup Job wizard, the use of a mouse is not supported. To navigate the Backup Job wizard and associated dialog windows, you can use the following keys:

  • Tab — to switch between displayed controls in the working area and buttons in the buttons area. The currently selected control or button is highlighted with a green color.
  • Up and Down — to switch between items in a scrollable list.
  • Space — to select the necessary item in a list. The selected item's mark may vary in different steps of the wizard.
  • Enter — to proceed to the next step of the wizard or to open a directory.
  • Backspace — to return to the previous step of a wizard.
  • Escape — to cancel the backup job configuration and exit the wizard.
ProcedureExample

Creating and Running a Backup Job

  1. Launch the Veeam Agent for Linux control panel with the veeam or veeamconfig ui command.
    1. If you have not configured any backup jobs yet, Veeam Agent for Linux will display a welcome screen. Press the 'c' key to proceed to the Backup Job wizard and configure the backup job.
    2. If you have already configured and performed a backup job, Veeam Agent for Linux will display the list of backup job sessions. When you press 'c' to launch the Backup Job wizard, Veeam Agent for Linux will display a list of configured backup jobs. To configure a new backup job, select the Configure new job option and press Enter.
    3. To edit settings of a backup job that you have already configured, select the job in the list and press Enter.
  2. At the Name step of the wizard, in the Job name field, type the name for the backup job and press Enter.
  3. Select the Backup Mode
    1. Entire machine — 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.
    2. Volume level backup — select this option if you want to create a backup of specific computer volumes, for example, the system volume. 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.
    3. File level backup — select this option if you want to create a backup of individual directories on your computer. With this option selected, you will pass to the Files step of the wizard.
      Most backup jobs will capture the Entire Machine

      1. [For file-level backup] If you want to perform backup in the snapshot-less mode, select Disable snapshot. With this option selected, Veeam Agent for Linux will not create a snapshot of the backed-up volume(s) during backup. This allows Veeam Agent to back up data residing in file systems that are not supported for snapshot-based backup with Veeam Agent for Linux.

        Important

        Consider the following:

        • [For entire machine backup] Certain limitations for EMC PowerPath configuration apply. To learn more, see this Veeam KB article.
        • [For volume-level backup] Volume-level backup job relies on a device name in the /dev directory. Device names in the /dev directory (e.g. /dev/md-127, /dev/dm-1) must stay persistent for backed-up volumes. Otherwise, the job will back up the wrong volume.
        • [For file-level backup] If the backed-up file system has a complex folder structure with many hierarchy levels, 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 from the target backup location even if few files are changed since the previous job session.

        Tip

        File-level backup is typically slower than volume-level backup. If you plan to back up all folders with files on a specific volume, it is recommended that you configure volume-level backup instead of file-level backup.

  4. Specify Backup Scope Settings
    1. If you opted to backup Volume level backup or File level backup you will need to select which volumes or files to backup.
    2. EvolveIP recommends backing up the Entire machine so that all volumes and files are backed up, and you can restore the entire machine if needed.
  5. Select a Backup Destination
    1. Select Veeam Cloud Connect Repository to send your data to EvolveIP.
  6. Specify Provider information.
    1. Enter the Address provided by EvolveIP
    2. Enter the default port 6180 and press Enter
      1. The SSL certificate information will be validated
    3. Enter the Username and Password provided by EvolveIP and press Enter.
      1. The provider resources will be queried and may take a moment.
    4. Select the desired target repository and enter the amount of restore points desired then press Enter.
  7. Select any applicable Advanced job settings. These are typically available only if specific requirements are met, such as initially requesting backup encryption from EvolveIP.
  8. Choose a backup Schedule
    1. Enable the job to run automatically.
    2. Set which days the job should run and select a time for the job to start.
    3. Press Enter.
  9. Review the Summary.
    1. Choose whether to run the job now or allow to run when scheduled, and press Enter to finish job completion.
  10. Once back at the menu, press 'c' to enter the menu to configure a secondary job if desired.

Monitoring Veeam Backup Agent Jobs

  1. Launch the Veeam Agent for Linux control panel with the veeam or veeamconfig ui command.
  2. Select an active or previously run backup job from the list and press 'Enter' to show the job Summary.
    1. Use the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard to check different job summaries.
    2. Press 'Esc' to exit out of the job summary.

Stopping Backup Job

  1. Launch the Veeam Agent for Linux control panel with the veeam or veeamconfig ui command.
  2. Select an active backup job from the list and press 'Enter' to show the job Summary.
  3. Press 'S' to stop the job and select Yes and press 'Enter'.