Forum Discussion

DSAI's avatar
DSAI
Level 4
7 years ago

Are there any benefits to hosting BackUp Exec 16 on Server 2012 versus Server 2008 R2?

Hi,

We are Migrating our Backup Exec to new server hardware and we wondering if there is any advantages to installing Backup Exec on a newer OS on the new hardware. Currently Backup Exec is installed on Server 2008 R2 and we were thinking about installing Server 2012 on the new server.

I am aware that Veritas says they only support migrating to the same OS but they have provided a best-effort KB on how to migrate to a different OS, which indicates that it works well most of the time.

So I was wondering if there are any benefits specific to Backup Exec and thoughts on whether they outweigh the possible issues with migrating to the database, catalog etc.

thanks in advance

16
backupexec
Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Colin_Weaver's avatar
    Colin_Weaver
    Moderator
    7 years ago

    One obvious one is when Microsoft stop supporting/security patching etc the OS

    • DSAI's avatar
      DSAI
      Level 4
      7 years ago

      thanks

      I was aware of that consideration but I was thinking more in terms of benefits related specifically to BackupExec.

      We are so heavily invested in Server 2008 R2 that when MS support/patching becomes an issue, the backupExec server would a tiny fraction of bigger plan.

       

  • Stephen_Kent's avatar
    Stephen_Kent
    Level 4
    7 years ago

    As you assumed, the migration will work most of the time. To really say if there will be any befinits can you share what type of data/servers you are backing up and what device(s) you are backing up to?

    Also, if you have the hardware, you can alway keep the 2008 server up while you are working on the migration to make sure that everything goes smoothly.

    • DSAI's avatar
      DSAI
      Level 4
      7 years ago

      In terms of data/servers that we backup and devices that we are backing up to. We have physical DCs running 2K8 R2 using the AD agent, Hyper-v 2008 R2 VMs comprising of file servers, application servers (flat files), exchange 2010 running on 2K8 R2 using the exchange agent, MS SQL servers (flat files), Sharepoint Servers (flat files). We have a few Server 2012 VMs, We have also have a server 2012 physical server. 

      We have a dual drive LTO6 tape library and SAN storage. We dont have enough disk space to really perform Dedup. We typicaly are doing fulls and diffs and we are also doing disk-to-disk-tape backups.

      If there are no benefits to BackupExec (performance, features etc). I would probably stay on the same platform.

      • Stephen_Kent's avatar
        Stephen_Kent
        Level 4
        7 years ago

        Sorry for the delay.

        So I wouldn't say it's really a necessity that you upgrade the OS. There are a few restirctions with Backup Exec server OS that you can find in the Software Compatibility List, but I don't think any affect you in your current environment.  A couple things to note. Again not that it should matter for you now, but to keep in mind going forward....

         

        • To back up Microsoft Exchange Server 2016, you must install Backup Exec on a Microsoft Windows 2012 64-bit server or newer
        • To perform a GRT-enabled backup of an Active Directory Application Server on Windows 2012 R2 or later, the Backup Exec server must be the same version or a later version of Microsoft Windows.
    • DSAI's avatar
      DSAI
      Level 4
      7 years ago

      Hi Stephen,

      What would you suggest I do?