Today, Veeam Backup & Replication protects all of the following workloads with Veeam Universal License (VUL):

• Virtual: VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper‑V, Nutanix AHV and Red Hat Virtualization
• Cloud: Workloads run in AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud
• Physical: Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac, IBM AIX and Oracle Solaris
• Enterprise applications: Microsoft SQL, Exchange, SharePoint, Active Directory, SAP HANA, Oracle RMAN, MySQL and PostgreSQL
• NAS file shares

The above features may have been licensed separately in the past but now with VUL, all of these capabilities are included with Veeam Backup & Replication at no additional cost, including the following installable items:

• Veeam Backup for AWS and for Microsoft Azure
• Veeam Backup for Nutanix AHV
• Veeam Agents for Microsoft Windows, for Linux, for Mac, for IBM AIX and for Oracle Solaris

When searching for the right backup solution for your business, you need to understand the three core types of protection seen in today’s backup solutions:

• A “full” backup will copy entire blocks of your selected data and will be the most time- and storage‑consuming backup.
• An “incremental backup” will copy only the data that’s changed since the last incremental backup, so this is the least time- and storage‑consuming backup. After a full backup recovery, each incremental restore since then will need to be performed in succession to recover to the latest point-in-time.
• A “differential” backup resembles an incremental backup in operation, except that it  copies all changes since the last full backup. This results in a backup thatI’s smaller than the full backup but still larger than an incremental backup. After a full backup recovery, you just need to restore from the latest differential to recover to the latest point-in-time. 

In modern data backup solutions, you have the flexibility you need to choose the backup strategy that will maximize your storage and network while minimizing the time it takes to recover your data.

For any backup strategy, you must consider:

• What is being protected?
• What backup frequency do I need to enable my recovery objectives?
• How do you ensure things are ready for recovery?

Nearly everyone considers items one and two when choosing backup solutions for their business but often we forget the most important item: Can data really be restored when needed? When choosing data backup solutions, always make sure that your backup solution has an automated way to test and secure backup data for recoverability before it goes into storage.

Security is especially important when choosing backup solutions for businesses, since the data stored in your backups is a goldmine to your business. Unfortunately, it’s a goldmine to any malicious attackers as well. To keep things safe and secure, your backup solution should offer the methodology to:

• Maintain three copies of your backups on two storage types, one of which is off site, plus  ideally one air‑gapped or immutable copy. 
• Prioritize sending and storing data in a secure and encrypted manner.
• Provide the tools to test the security of your backup data post-backup and pre‑recovery.
• Facilitate automated and regular backup testing.