VMCA2022 Veeam Certified Architect 2022 Questions and Answers

According to the Veeam Backup & Replication Best Practice Guide1, some of the reasons why it is recommended to have a Veeam backup server at each of the three sites are:

•Each site has production data. This reason is based on the principle of locality, which states that backup data should be stored as close as possible to the source data, to reduce network traffic and latency, and to improve backup and restore speed and efficiency. Having a Veeam backup server at each site allows you to perform local backups of the production data at each site, without having tocross the WAN or VPN connections between sites.

Based on the requirements, one of the factors that should be considered in the physical design when implementing the virtual machine replication between sites is to ensure that the proper firewall ports are open between the proxies at each site. This is because Veeam Backup & Replication uses network ports to communicate with backup infrastructure components and transfer data during replication. You need to make sure that the required ports are not blocked by firewalls or other network devices. For a list of ports used by Veeam Backup & Replication, see this article2

To design a solution that meets the SureBackup job design requirements for Veeam University Hospital, you need to consider some of the environmental parameters that may affect the possible SureBackup job design. This will help you to ensure the functionality and reliability of the SureBackup feature, which allows you to verify the recoverability of your backups in an isolated environment.

According to the Veeam Backup & Replication Best Practice Guide, some of the environmental parameters that may affect the possible SureBackup job design are:

•Virtual machines are stored on VMware encrypted datastores. This parameter may affect the possible SureBackup job design because VMware encrypted datastores require special handling and configuration for backup and restore operations. You need to enable encryption support in the backup infrastructure settings, as well as provide the necessary credentials and permissions for accessing the encrypted datastores. You also need to ensure that the virtual lab where the SureBackup jobs run supports encrypted datastores, which may require additional resources and licenses.

•Each site has 20 vLANs in use, with 16 being used for VMware workloads. This parameter may affect the possible SureBackup job design because vLANs require network mapping and routing for backup and restore operations. You need to configure the network settings and rules for the virtual lab where the SureBackup jobs run, as well as for the application group and backup job that are included in the SureBackup job. You also need to ensure that the network isolation and connectivity are maintained and tested for the virtual machines that are verified by the SureBackup job.

To design a solution that meets the requirements for off-site immutable backups for Veeam University Hospital, you need to consider some of the options and features that Veeam products and features offer. This will help you to ensure the security and integrity of your backup data, as well as the compatibility and supportability of the cloud provider that does not currently support immutability.

According to the Veeam Backup & Replication Best Practice Guide, immutability is a feature that prevents backup files from being deleted or modified by anyone until the specified retention period expires. Immutability can be achieved by using S3 Object Lock or Hardened Repository, which are two different solutions that Veeam Backup & Replication supports.

Based on this definition, the best option to still satisfy the requirements for off-site immutable backups is A. Backup copy to a hardened repository.

This option means that:

•The backup copy is a type of job that allows you to create and maintain copies of your backup data on a secondary backup repository. You can use backup copy jobs to send your backup data off-site, as well as to apply different retention settings and policies.

•The hardened repository is a solution that allows you to add a hardened repository based on a Linux server to your backup infrastructure. You can use hardened repository with Veeam Backup & Replication to make your backups immutable on-premises or off-site.

•The backup copy to a hardened repository can be configured and managed by Veeam Backup & Replication, regardless of the cloud provider that does not currently support immutability. You only need to deploy and connect a Linux server with a hardened repository in the cloud environment, and then use it as a target for your backup copy jobs.

To design a solution that meets the backup and replication requirements for Veeam University Hospital, you need to consider some of the components that are needed for the on-premises design. This will help you to ensure the performance and reliability of the backup and replication operations, as well as the scalability and manageability of the backup infrastructure.

According to the Veeam Backup & Replication Best Practice Guide1, some of the components that are needed for the on-premises design are:

•Backup server. This is the core component of Veeam Backup & Replication that controls and coordinates backups, replication, recovery verification, and restore tasks. It also manages backup infrastructure components, such as proxy servers, repository servers, WAN accelerators, etc. You need to have a backup server at each site, as recommended by the best practice guide2.

•Backup proxy. This is a component that retrieves data from the source host, processes it and transfers to the backup repository. It also performs data compression, deduplication, encryption, etc. You need to have at least one backup proxy at each site, as recommended by the best practice guide3.

•Backup repository. This is a server where Veeam Backup & Replication keeps backup files, backup copies and metadata of replicated VMs. It can be a Windows or Linux server, a NAS device, a deduplication appliance, etc. You need to have at least one backup repository at each site, as recommended by the best practice guide4.

•Mount server. This is a component that mounts backup files from the backup repository to the backup proxy during restore operations. It also performs data decompression, deduplication, decryption, etc. You need to have a mount server at each site where you plan to perform restores, as recommended by the best practice guide5.

•Gateway server. This is a component that acts as a data mover between the backup proxy and the backup repository when they are located in different sites or networks. It also performs data encryption and decryption for secure data transfer. You need to have a gateway server at each site where you have a backup repository that is accessed by a remote backup proxy, as recommended by the best practice guide.

Therefore, based on these components, the answer that describes which components are needed for the on-premises design is D. Backup server, backup proxy, backup repository, mount server, gateway server.

Option C uses replica seeding to reduce the network traffic during the initial replication. By creating a backup job of the source VM at the primary site and pointing the replica job to that backup repository at the secondary site, Veeam Backup & Replication can restore the VM from the backup and synchronize it with the latest state of the source VM. Then it can use the restored VM as a replica2

To design a solution that meets the needs and requirements of Veeam University Hospital, you need to collect some critical information during the discovery phase. This information will help you to understand the current state of the environment, the goals and expectations of the stakeholders, and the constraints and challenges of the project.

According to the case study, some of the critical information that was missing from discovery are:

•Size of current data sets. This information is critical because it helps you to estimate the backup storage requirements, as well as the backup performance and efficiency, based on the size and type of data. You need to know how much data is stored on each workload, such as virtual machines, physical servers, NAS systems, etc., as well as how much data is changed or added on a daily or weekly basis.

•Backup retention policy. This information is critical because it helps you to define the backup retention settings and policies, such as the number and frequency of backup copies, the backup storage tiers, the backup deletion rules, etc. You need to know how long the backup data should be kept for compliance or historical purposes, as well as how much backup storage capacity is available or needed.

•MFA is a security method that requires users to provide two or more pieces of evidence to verify their identity, such as a password, a code, a token, or a biometric factor3.

•MFA adds an extra layer of protection against ransomware attacks, as it prevents attackers from accessing the Veeam components even if they manage to steal or guess the passwords of the administrative accounts12.

•MFA also helps to prevent unauthorized changes or deletions of backup data, as well as unauthorized restores or failovers of VMs or applications12.

The other options are not as effective or feasible, as they either do not provide enough security, limit the functionality, or disrupt the integration of the Veeam infrastructure.

References: 1: 6 Best Practices For Ransomware Protection | Veeam 2: Ransomware Prevention Best Practices - Veeam 3: Multi-factor authentication - Wikipedia

The assumption that can be made for the conceptual design is that Veeam Agent backups of sale staff laptops should be managed by the backup server. This assumption is based on the best practice and recommendation for using Veeam Backup & Replication. Veeam Agent backups of sale staff laptops should be managed by the backup server to enable centralized management, monitoring, and reporting of all agent-based backups. This can also simplify the backup configuration, scheduling, and retention for the laptop agents.

The recommended step that Veeam Life and Indemnity can take to improve the latency encountered during backup of the virtualized MSSQL Server database running on vSAN is to implement Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows on the virtualized MSSQL Server database servers. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is a data protection solution that allows you to back up physical or virtual Windows machines at the guest OS level. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows can provide application-aware processing and transaction log backup for MSSQL servers, as well as support for vSAN storage snapshots. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows can also reduce the latency by performing backups without using VMware snapshots, which can cause stun issues on vSAN.

The transport modes that could be used during the redesign for gold tier virtual machines with a one-hour RPO are Virtual Appliance (HotAdd) and Backup from Storage Snapshots. A transport mode is a method of retrieving VM data from the source storage during backup or replication. Virtual Appliance (HotAdd) is a transport mode that allows a proxy server running on a VM to attach disks of another VM to itself via hot-add SCSI commands and read data directly from these disks. Backup from Storage Snapshots is a transport mode that allows a proxy server to retrieve data from storage snapshots created by supported storage systems without affecting the production VMs or hosts. Both transport modes can improve backup performance, reduce backup window, and minimize impact on the production environment.

The method that can be used to validate that the design meets target SLAs and does not exceed repository growth projections is to ensure job throughput matches extensions and cross-compare with available network throughput, disk speed and initial sizing calculations. Job throughput is the measure of how much data is processed and transferred by a backup job per unit of time. Job throughput can be affected by various factors such as network bandwidth, disk performance, compression, deduplication, encryption, etc. By ensuring job throughput matches extensions, you can verify that your backup jobs are running as expected and meeting the SLAs. By cross-comparing job throughput with available network throughput, disk speed and initial sizing calculations, you can identify any bottlenecks or discrepancies that might affect your backup performance or storage consumption.

The recommended storage option for the backups kept on-premises is a physical server with Veeam Hardened Repository. A Veeam Hardened Repository is a type of backup repository that provides immutability and ransomware protection for backup files by using Linux XFS file system features and Linux access control mechanisms. A physical server is preferred over a virtual server for better performance, security, and scalability. A Veeam Hardened Repository meets the customer’s requirements for compliance, security, and retention, as well as supports all backup types and features.

The methods that should be used to scope virtual machine backups based on customer requirements are to create backups based on tags and to create backup jobs with same retention requirements. Creating backups based on tags allows dynamic scoping of backups based on VMware tags assignedto virtual machines. This can simplify backup management, as new or modified virtual machines will be automatically included or excluded from backup jobs based on their tags. Creating backup jobs with same retention requirements allows consistent application of backup policies based on the backup tiers defined by the customer. This can ensure compliance with regulatory and business needs, as different tiers of virtual machines will have different retention periods and restore points.

The best option for the primary backup repository design that fits the requirements in the case study is a Linux Repository using XFS integration, single-use credentials, and immutability. A Linux Repository is a type of backup repository that uses a Linux server as a backup target. A LinuxRepository can leverage XFS integration to enable fast creation and transformation of synthetic full backups by using XFS file system features such as reflink and copy-on-write. A Linux Repository can also use single-use credentials to enhance security by generating unique credentials for each backup job session. A Linux Repository can also provide immutability and ransomware protection for backup files by using Linux access control mechanisms such as immutable flag or chattr command.

The direct risk of having Veeam Backup & Replication on the production domain is that a compromised Domain Admin could gain access to the backup server and its data. This could pose a serious security threat to the backup infrastructure and the customer data, as a malicious Domain Admin could delete, modify, or encrypt the backups, or restore them to a compromised environment. Therefore, it is recommended to isolate the backup server from the production domain and use a separate local administrator account for managing it.

The recovery point objective (RPO) requirement of periodic backups every hour for gold tier virtual machines directly conflicts with the technical requirement of all backups must complete within the hours of 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. local time. This is because these two requirements are mutually exclusive, as hourly backups would need to run during the daytime as well as the nighttime, while the backup window only allows backups to run during the nighttime. Therefore, you need to get clarification from the customer on which requirement has priority and how to adjust the other one accordingly.

The gold tier backup jobs have the most stringent recovery point objective (RPO) of one hour for image backup and 15 minutes for transaction log backup. This means that they need to run more frequently than the other backup jobs and create more restore points per day. Therefore, to properly plan the backup copy job settings, you will need more information on the gold tier backup jobs, such as the number of VMs, the size of backups, the change rate, the retention policy, and the bandwidth available for copying backups to the offsite location.

References: [Backup Copy], [Backup Methods], [Continuous Data Protection]

The best way to configure backups for a group of MSSQL systems running in an Always-On cluster and sensitive to virtual machine stun is to deploy Veeam agents configured for failover clustering. Veeam agents can provide application-aware processing and transaction log backup for MSSQL servers, as well as support for failover clustering and cluster shared volumes. Veeam agents can also reduce the impact of virtual machine stun by performing backups at the guest OS level, without using VMware snapshots.

Reducing the recovery point objective (RPO) for silver tier workloads means that the backup frequency will increase, resulting in more backup data being generated and transferred. This will affect the sizing requirements of the Veeam components that are responsible for storing and processing the backup data, namely the Veeam repository and proxy roles1.

The Veeam repository is a storage location where the backup files are stored. The repository size depends on the amount of data to be backed up, the backup method, the retention policy, and the compression and deduplication settings2. Reducing the RPO will increase the amount of data to be backed up, and may require more frequent synthetic full backups or active full backups to maintain the retention policy. This will increase the repository size and the disk space consumption.

The Veeam proxy is a data mover that performs backup, replication, and restore tasks. The proxy size depends on the number of concurrent tasks, the transport mode, the backup method, and the compression and deduplication settings3. Reducing the RPO will increase the number of concurrent tasks and the amount of data to be processed by the proxy. This will increase the proxy size and the CPU and memory consumption.

You can find more information about the sizing requirements and best practices for the Veeam repository and proxy roles in the following resources:

• Veeam Backup & Replication Best Practices
• Veeam Backup Repository Sizing Calculator
• Veeam Proxy Sizing Calculator

The additional condition of the offsite backup that is presumed by the immutability requirement is that a copy of backup data must reside in a public cloud local to each region. Immutability means that the backup data cannot be modified, deleted, or overwritten by anyone, including the backup administrator, the cloud provider, or malicious actors1. Veeam Backup & Replication v11 supports immutability for backups stored in Amazon S3 and Microsoft Azure Blob Storage, using the Object Lock feature2. Therefore, the offsite backup must use one of these cloud providers, and must be located in the same region as the source data, to comply with the data locality and privacy laws. The other options are not related to the immutability requirement, as they are either already stated in the business requirements (option A), technical requirements (option B), or not relevant for the Veeam solution (option C). References: Immutability, Object StorageImmutability.

The additional information that is necessary for sizing the backup solution and must be gathered during further discovery are the amount of virtual machines to be protected and the total amount of production storage provisioned space. These metrics are used to calculate the backup storage requirements, the backup proxy and transporter resources, and the backup job configuration. The other options are either not relevant for sizing the backup solution (repository storage file system, replication schedule) or already provided in the scenario (the available bandwidth per site). References: Veeam Certified Architect 2022 Exam Guide, page 10; Veeam Backup & Replication v11: Architecture and Designcourse, module 3.

Backup from storage snapshot is a feature of Veeam Backup & Replication that leverages the native snapshot capabilities of the storage system to create a consistent point-in-time copy of the VM data. Veeam Backup & Replication then reads data directly from the storage snapshot, bypassing the ESXi host and reducing the impact on the production environment1. Backup from storage snapshot is supported for VSAN datastores on NetApp, Nimble, Dell EMC, HPE, and Pure Storage systems2.

Using backup from storage snapshot for the virtualized stock trading application servers can improve the backup performance and reduce the latency, as it minimizes the time that the VM is running on a snapshot and avoids the network overhead of other transport modes3.

The other options are not recommended because:

• B) Implementing Veeam Agent on the virtualized stock trading application servers is not necessary, as Veeam Backup & Replication can protect VMware VMs without agents. Veeam Agent is mainly used for physical servers, workstations, or cloud instances4.
• C) Using Veeam Replication to create replicas of the virtualized stock trading application servers at the remote site, then back up the replicas is not optimal, as it adds more complexity and cost to the backup process. Veeam Replication is mainly used for disaster recovery purposes, not for backup5.
• D) Turning off application-aware processing for the virtualized stock trading application servers is not advisable, as it may compromise the consistency and recoverability of the application data. Application-aware processing is a feature of Veeam Backup & Replication that ensures that the application data is in a consistent state before the backup or replication job starts.

You can find more information about backup from storage snapshot and other backup options for VSAN in the following resources:

• Backup from Storage Snapshots
• Storage Systems Supported for Backup from Storage Snapshots
• Optimizing Veeam Backup & Replication Configuration for VMware VSAN
• Veeam Agent Management
• Veeam Replication
• [Application-Aware Processing]

Changing the backup window from 12 hours to 14 hours means that the backup jobs will have more time to complete, and therefore less concurrency will be required. This will reduce the load on the proxies, which are the data movers that perform backup, replication, and restore tasks1. The proxies will need fewer resources, such as CPU and memory, to handle the same amount of data.

The other options are incorrect because:

• A) Proxies will not require more resources, as explained above.
• B) Mount servers will not require fewer resources, as they are not affected by the backup window. Mount servers are used to mount backup files and restore data from them2. Their resource consumption depends on the restore frequency and performance, not the backup window.
• D) Repositories will not require more storage space, as the backup window does not affect the backup size. Repositories are storage locations where the backup files are stored3. Their storage space consumption depends on the amount of data to be backed up, the backup method, the retention policy, and the compression and deduplication settings, not the backup window.

You can find more information about the backup window and the Veeam components in the following resources:

• Backup Window
• Mount Server
• Backup Repository

Snapshot stun is a phenomenon that occurs when a VMware snapshot is removed and the virtual machine (VM) experiences a temporary freeze or performance degradation1. This can affect the availability and consistency of mission critical applications running on the VM.

To avoid snapshot stun, Veeam Backup & Replication offers several options for backing up Linux VMs, such as backup from storage snapshots, direct SAN access, or hot-add2. However, based on the business requirements, the best option is to run pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts before backing up the workload.

Pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts are custom scripts that you can configure to run on the Linux VM before and after the snapshot is taken. The pre-freeze script can be used to quiesce the application and flush its data to disk, ensuring a consistent backup. The post-thaw script can be used to resume the application and perform any necessary cleanup actions3.

By using pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts, you can achieve application consistency and minimize the impact of snapshot stun on the Linux VM. You can use the Veeam Backup & Replication user interface or the Veeam PowerShell snap-in to configure the scripts for the backup job3.

You can find more information about pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts and how to use them in the following resources:

• Pre-Freeze and Post-Thaw Scripts
• Best Practice for Backing Up Linux VMs
• Snapshot Stun Issue

The component sizing that should be adjusted is the physical storage in the repositories. The repositories are the backup storage locations where Veeam Backup & Replication stores backup files, VM copies and metadata for replicated VMs1. Increasing the retention period from four to five years means that more backup files will be kept on the repositories, and thus more storage space will be required. The other options are not affected by the retention period change, as they are either related to off-site backups (option A), Veeam Backup & Replication server performance (option C), or backup proxy performance (option D). References: Backup Repositories.

The requirement C will act as a constraint on the decision of whether to use a local repository or not for the remote sites. Data locality and privacy laws may vary by country or region, and may impose restrictions on where the backup data can be stored or transferred. For example, some countries may prohibit the export of personal data outside their borders, or require encryption or anonymization of sensitive data. Therefore, the Veeam solution must comply with these laws and regulations, and may need to use a local repository for each remote site, or use a cloud provider that has a local presence in each region. The other requirements are not constraints, as they can be met with either a local or a central repository, using the features and options of the Veeam solution. References: Veeam Certified Architect 2022 Exam Guide, page 11; Veeam Backup & Replication v11: Architecture and Design course, module 5.

The tiers of Veeam Financial Services’ backups that will require SureBackup jobs are the silver and gold tiers. SureBackup jobs are used to verify the recoverability of backup files by running virtual machines from backups in an isolated environment and performing tests against live applications1. This feature is suitable for the silver and gold tiers, which have recovery time objectives of six hours and 30 minutes, respectively, and require backups to be verified. The bronze tier, which consists of development machines and field portables, has a recovery point target of seven days, with no recovery time target set, and does not require backup verification. Therefore, SureBackup jobs are not necessary for the bronze tier. Laptop backups are performed by Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows, which does not support SureBackup jobs2. References: SureBackup, Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows.

The Veeam backup method that should be used for the virtualized stock trading application is to separate the virtual machine into its own job and enable application aware processing. This method allows Veeam Backup & Replication to create transactionally consistent backups of the application, by quiescing the application and creating a snapshot of its data1. This ensures that the application can be restored to a working state, without data loss or corruption. The other options are either not suitable for the application (option A, as Veeam agent is designed for physical machines or cloud instances2), not sufficient for the application (option C, as pre-freeze and post-thaw scripts do not guarantee transactional consistency3), or not related to the backup method (option D, as replication is a different process from backup). References: Application-Aware Processing, Veeam Agent Management, Pre-Freeze and Post-Thaw Scripts, [Replication].