10 Veeam Data Domain Best Practices

Veeam Data Domain is a deduplication storage system designed for backup and archival data. It offers high deduplication ratios, which can reduce storage requirements by up to 95%. Data Domain systems can be deployed as physical or virtual appliances, or as software-defined storage.

In this article, we will discuss 10 best practices for using Veeam Data Domain. These best practices will help you get the most out of your Data Domain system and ensure that your data is protected.

1. Use Data Domain Boost

Data Domain Boost is a feature that allows you to move data from your Data Domain system to an on-premises backup server more efficiently. By using Data Domain Boost, you can reduce the amount of time it takes to move data by up to 50%.

Not only does this save you time, but it also reduces the load on your network and Data Domain system, which can improve overall performance.

2. Enable DD Boost over TCP

When you enable DD Boost over TCP, you’re essentially telling Veeam to use a more reliable and robust network protocol for data transfers. This results in fewer failed backups, less corruption, and faster restores.

Not only that, but DD Boost over TCP also offers better compression and deduplication rates. So not only will your backups be more reliable, but they’ll also be smaller and take up less space on your Data Domain appliance.

To enable DD Boost over TCP, simply go to the Backup Infrastructure tab in the Veeam console and click on Backup Repositories. Then, edit the properties of your Data Domain repository and select the Enable DD Boost over TCP option.

3. Configure a dedicated network for the backup traffic

When you have a lot of backup jobs running at the same time, the network can become congested and impact the performance of your backups. By configuring a dedicated network for the backup traffic, you can ensure that the backups are not impacted by other traffic on the network.

Additionally, it is important to configure the network so that the Data Domain system has its own IP address range. This will help to prevent any potential conflicts with other systems on the network.

4. Consider using multiple NICs on your Veeam server

If you’re using a single NIC for your Veeam server to communicate with Data Domain, then you’re likely bottlenecking your backup traffic. By using multiple NICs, you can increase the bandwidth and improve performance.

Additionally, if you have multiple NICs on your Veeam server, you can bond them together for even more bandwidth and redundancy. This is especially important if you’re backing up large amounts of data or if you have a lot of virtual machines (VMs) to back up.

5. Dedicate one or more physical NICs to the iSCSI connection

The iSCSI connection is used to send data from the backup server to the Data Domain appliance. This connection should be as fast and reliable as possible to avoid any bottlenecks or disruptions in the backup process.

By dedicating one or more physical NICs to the iSCSI connection, you can ensure that this connection has the bandwidth and reliability it needs. This is especially important if you are backing up large amounts of data or if you have a high-traffic network.

6. Disable SMB signing in Windows

SMB signing is a security feature that was introduced in Windows 2000 and is designed to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. However, this security feature can cause problems with Data Domain systems because it can result in data being corrupted when it’s written to the Data Domain system.

To disable SMB signing in Windows, you need to edit the registry. The steps to do this are as follows:

1. Start the Registry Editor (regedit.exe).
2. Navigate to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanManServer\Parameters
3. Double-click on the DisableStrictNameChecking entry.
4. Change the value from 0 to 1.
5. Click OK.
6. Close the Registry Editor.
7. Reboot the server for the changes to take effect.

7. Adjust the size of the staging area

The staging area is used by Veeam to store data that is being deduplicated. The size of the staging area will impact both performance and storage efficiency, so it’s important to get it right.

If the staging area is too small, then Veeam will have to process data more frequently, which will impact performance. If the staging area is too large, then you’ll be wasting storage space.

The best way to adjust the size of the staging area is to start with a small size and gradually increase it until you find the sweet spot.

8. Set up parallel processing

When you have a lot of data to back up, it can take a long time. And if you’re only backing up to one Data Domain system, that’s all the time it will take. But if you set up parallel processing, you can back up to multiple Data Domain systems at the same time.

Parallel processing is a great way to speed up your backups, and it’s also a good way to improve reliability. If one Data Domain system goes down, you can still back up to the others.

To set up parallel processing, you’ll need to create a backup job for each Data Domain system. Then, in the Backup Job Settings dialog box, select the Enable Parallel Processing check box.

9. Take advantage of deduplication and compression

Deduplication and compression can save you a lot of storage space, which means you can keep more backups on hand without having to invest in additional storage. This is especially important if you’re backing up large amounts of data, such as virtual machines or databases.

Additionally, deduplication and compression can help reduce the time it takes to perform backups, since there’s less data to back up. This can be a big help if you’re running short on time or if you have limited bandwidth.

Finally, deduplication and compression can help improve the performance of restores, since there’s less data to restore. This can be a lifesaver if you need to restore a large amount of data quickly.

10. Check the performance of your storage repository

If you’re not monitoring the performance of your storage repository, you could be missing out on critical information about the health of your backups. For example, if your backup window is getting shorter and shorter, it’s likely that your storage repository is becoming overloaded. By checking the performance of your storage repository, you can identify issues early and take steps to resolve them before they cause problems with your backups.

Additionally, by monitoring the performance of your storage repository, you can ensure that your backups are running as efficiently as possible. For example, if you notice that your backups are taking longer than usual to complete, you can investigate the cause and make changes to improve performance.