This is the beginning of a series of blogs that will give you an in-depth how-to of the many new capabilities that are available in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 2.0.
If this is the first time you are hearing about our new product, I recommend you first review the following announcement blog post where I have previously provided an overview of the three editions of Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows and some of the new functionalities. In this blog post, we will take a deeper look at some of the top features this release brings.
Direct backup to Veeam Cloud Connect
With the release of Veeam Backup & Replication v8 in 2014, Veeam introduced a new way in which businesses could extend their data protection strategy to include a cloud repository hosted by a trusted service provider. This technology is called Veeam Cloud Connect and it allows businesses to easily set up offsite backups and replication to a Veeam Cloud & Service Provider (VCSP) with just a few clicks, directly in their Backup & Replication console.
This functionality had an incredible success within our customer base and we received many requests to enable the same functionality from Veeam Endpoint Backup users. So, we did. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 2.0 now supports direct backup to Veeam Cloud Connect repositories. This allows our users to easily make secure offsite backups of servers and workstations located outside of the network perimeter (for example, a server in the remote office, or a laptop of a mobile user).
Plus, our VCSPs can now further enhance their backup as a service (BaaS) offering as in addition to VMs, they are now able to protect their customers’ virtual, physical and cloud-based Windows instances.
Backup to a cloud repository
Encryption with password loss protection
Security is extremely important, especially when we’re talking about cloud backups. But, maintaining the integrity of your data within today’s modern world is paramount. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows provides the option to encrypt backup files at the source — before the data leaves the protected computer, allowing users to protect their sensitive information from unauthorized access and also prevent unwanted manipulations of the backup files. Because this functionality is so important, we have made it available in ALL editions, including FREE!
More importantly, because all Veeam technologies are tightly integrated, backup encryption does not impact the data reduction ratios of built-in compression and WAN Acceleration, as is the case when using third-party bandwidth reduction solutions.
Source-side encryption settings
Additionally, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 2.0 can optionally include the decryption key in your custom recovery media to ensure seamless bare metal recovery from an encrypted backup. This enables IT managers to maintain the ability to restore a backup even if the password set by the user is lost or unknown. Of course, if you chose this option, you should keep your recovery disk in a secure location!
Option to include the decryption key within the recovery media
Direct backup to ReFS v3.1 repository
There’s no doubt that our advanced ReFS integration was the biggest innovation of our latest Veeam Backup & Replication release, version 9.5. We’re consistently hearing our customers saying the same thing — please add more game changing functionality like this! So, of course we had no choice but to add the same ReFS integration to Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 2.0 as well, for it to benefit from all the coolness this integration provides when using our agent to perform local backups on Windows Server 2016 or Windows 10 Creators Update.
Scheduling synthetic full backups in the Advanced Settings of the Configure Backup wizard.
With this integration, the agent will use fast cloning of the block in the existing backup files to make the synthetic backup creation much faster while consuming no additional space — which is why we’re calling such backups “spaceless.” By the way, we’re often asked how to make sure of that fast cloning — you should look for a [fast clone] tag in the synthetic full backup action log line.
Synthetic backup utilizing Block Clone API
Please note that synthetic full backups are available in paid editions only — however, we still recommend using ReFS even in FREE edition for improved reliability, thanks to built-in data integrity streams.
Summary
This is just the beginning, so do keep your eye out for the rest of the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 2.0 how-to series. Meanwhile, head over to our website and download your copy of our product to begin ensuring Availability of all your physical and cloud instances! To familiarize yourself with our product, you can either use a free edition or get a FREE six-month subscription for unlimited workstations and servers!
For a complete run-down of everything that’s new in Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 2.0, check out the official What’s New document.
Share your comments below and tell us how you’re planning to use the brand new Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows!
The post Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 2.0: What’s New? appeared first on Veeam Software Official Blog.
Source: Veeam
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