This week, Veeam made Generally Available Veeam Backup & Replication v12 (Build 12.0.0.1420) and with it comes over 500+ anticipated new features and enhancements. This release has gone through a slightly longer cycle compared to that of v10 to v11, however v12 is here, and with almost 4x more features and enhancements than the previous major release, it has been well worth the wait and represents a huge milestone release for Veeam.

A mentioned, this is another very significant release for us as we fully transition into the next phase of our journey targeting growth in the modern data platform world. We have ticked a lot of boxes with the v12 release and have set ourselves up with core architecture enhancements to allow the Veeam Data Platform to evolve with modern IT.

Together with Backup & Replication v12 we have also released:

  • Veeam ONE v12
  • Veeam Agent for Windows 6.0
  • Veeam Agent for Linux 6.0
  • Veeam Agent for Mac 2.0
  • Veeam Service Provider Console v7
  • Veeam Backup for RHV v3 via Plug-In
  • Veeam Backup for AHV v4 via Plug-in
  • Veeam Backup for GCP v3

With new versions of Backup for Microsoft 365, Backup for Azure, Backup for AWS and Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator to come.

This is my sixth major Backup & Replication platform release, and from where we started when I first joined back in 2016, it is incredible to see how the Veeam Data Platform has expanded to support workloads across a number of different platforms.

Major Features and Enhancements

The v12 release brings with it a staggering 585 (To Anton’s counting) new features and enhancements with the top new features in my eyes being:

  • Continuous Data Protection for Veeam Cloud Connect Replication and VMware Cloud Director to Cloud Director
  • Direct Backup to Object Storage
  • Immutability Platform Coverage and Enhancements
  • Key Security Enhancements
  • Cloud Integrated Agent Backups
  • PostgreSQL Support and default install option
  • VeeaMover backup Movement Engine

I did want to quickly highlight three new features that I think are significant.

Continuous Data Protection (CDP) is was a much requested feature that came in v11, but it lacked a couple of key features for our Cloud and Service Provider partners to truly bring DRaaS to the masses. We have made several improvements, including support for deploying CDP proxies on Linux servers, Veeam Cloud Connect support for on-premises Low RPO CDP replication including VMware Cloud Director support, enhanced security with TLS protocol communication, support for native VVOL snapshots, detection of sparse blocks, improved transaction log storage, and protection against proxy memory overflow. These updates will improve performance and reliability, and provide better data protection and recovery options for Service Providers and their tenants.

Direct to Object Storage has been a request since we first introduced the ability to move data into a Object Storage Repo via Scale Out Backup Repository policies. v12 allows for direct backup to object storage, leveraging the scalability and reliability of both on-premises and cloud object storage. This includes direct-to-object and direct-to-cloud backup, immutable backups, and spaceless full backups. We have also improved its storage format (which will get an upgrade if already in play from previous versions) and added a health check light feature for Agent based Object Storage targeted jobs. Wasabi integration and a Smart Object Storage API are also included. Overall, v12 provides a more efficient and integrated backup solution for object storage which have been saying will elevate it’s self for primary workload considering.

Finally, the new Cloud Agents are something that we can be very proud of in terms of the innovative way we have solved the problem of connecting a backup server through to Virtual Machines that live inside a public cloud. Think of method of connectivity as VIX for VMware without the need for a VPN. First to market benefits include network-less discovery and deployment, dynamic protection scope, in-cloud data flow, and full portability. This allows for cloud VM backups to be restored to any hyper-scaler or on-premises hypervisor VM, not leaving users locked into a specific public cloud

What Else is New?

The answer is a lot! Below are other features and enhancements included in v12 that I’ve picked out of the What’s New Document that I rate highly… It’s a long list!

  • Microsoft Azure Blob Storage immutability support
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Single-use credentials for Linux
  • Automatic console lockouts
  • Best practices analyzer
  • New backup chain metadata format
  • Background health check
  • New compression algorithm
  • Block clone awareness
  • Multiple gateway server support
  • SOBR rebalance
  • OAuth 2.0 support for email notifications
  • Linux backup proxy enhancements
  • Improved replication performance
  • PostgreSQL support Backup
  • Persistent guest agent enhancements
  • Veeam Explorer for PostgreSQL
  • Compare with production FLR for Windows
  • Plug-in for Microsoft SQL Server
  • Kasten K10 Backup for Kubernetes integration
  • NFS Writable SMB file shares
  • Instant Recovery as a Service
  • Stronger NEA encryption algorithm
  • Various New API Endpoints

I would encourage anyone using Veeam to study the What’s New document and there is seriously a lot more detail around the ones I’ve mentioned above, and the rest of the new features and enhancements. We have also done a lot of under the hood enhancements to streamline and make more efficient backup operations, reduce load on the server and increase the performance of the Backup & Replication Console.

With regards to the new features and enhancements for VCSPs I’ll be putting together a specific What’s In it For Service Provider Post over the next few days and I will be deep diving into a number of features over the upcoming weeks.

For a full list check out the release notes below and download Veeam Backup & Replication v12 here.

User Guides: Veeam Help Center

References and Resources: