I'm currently using Veeam Backup and Recovery for my VMware setup, and I back up to Wasabi for a third-site storage option. I also have a second data center set up with Live Site Recovery, allowing for quick failovers in just a couple of minutes across about ten protection groups. Tier 1 VMs can be up in around 15 minutes once the process starts.
We're considering a shift for our data center to gain more geographical diversity, and I'm leaning towards Azure since we eventually plan to transition both of our data centers there. While Veeam offers the functionality we need, I'm curious how it stacks up against Azure Backup in terms of features and costs. If we continue with Veeam, our cloud storage would switch from Wasabi to Azure, so the storage costs will be similar either way. The ultimate goal is to shift more services to Azure and reduce our dependency on our on-premises data center, which is just a backup site at this point.
3 Answers
I'd recommend sticking with Veeam for now and just changing your offsite backup from Wasabi to Azure Blob storage, like the Cool or Archive tier. This way, you can keep your current workflow while testing Azure with Veeam's "Direct Restore to Azure" feature. You could gradually shift new workloads over to Azure and utilize their Backup/Site Recovery services for those. Once you’re comfortable, consider decommissioning one of your on-prem DCs and expand in Azure instead.
Sticking with Veeam makes sense for the time being; it offers more flexibility and familiarity. Transitioning to Azure Blob for backups keeps your costs stable while also giving you access to Azure's scalability. Gradually moving to Azure-native solutions will help you integrate fully without interrupting your current setup.
The choice really hinges on your backup needs. With Azure's snapshot-based backups, you're limited to 200 snapshots. That translates to less than a year's worth of daily backups if you follow a standard routine. They do have vaulted backups in preview, offering retention for up to 99 years—which could be a game-changer for long-term storage. Just a thought if you're considering your backup strategy.
Thanks for the heads up! I hadn’t realized there were limits like that. I generally thought it would work like a typical GFS backup setup. My Tier 1 servers are currently backed up every four hours, so I need to consider how that fits.