Pure Storage has been working with Veeam since 2017 to provide storage snapshot integration
leveraging Veeam’s Universal Storage Application Programming Interface (USAPI).
With the release of Veeam Data Platform and Veeam Backup & Replication v12, Veeam has
advanced the functionality of this API with USAPI v2. USAPI v2 includes the orchestration
of replicated snapshots and the ability to offload/archive storage snapshots in their native
snapshot format to secondary storage for longer term retention. Pure Storage has been
Veeam’s development partner through the USAPI v2 development effort and is the first storage
vendor with a software plugin able to take advantage of this new USAPI v2 functionality.
The Benefits of Pure Storage Integration with Veeam
Veeam coordinates the execution of API calls to the hypervisor and guest OS, like VADP and VSS, eliminating the need for agents to be installed on a VM. The preparation prior to the creation of snapshots on the FlashArray. This process ensures applications are preserved in a consistent state and allow for greater recovery options with database applications.
Veeam KB 4129 provides more details on the requirements and supported versions.
Before installing Pure Storage Plug-In v2.0.47, ensure that you are running Veeam Backup & Replication 12.0.0.1402 or later. To check the version, open the main menu of the Veeam Backup & Replication console and select Help > About.
Pure Storage Plug-In v2.0.47 supports integration with the following storage systems:
- Purity 6.1 or later
The plugin can been downloaded from the same KB… remember that it’s not included in the Veeam Backup & Replication ISO… you need to download it and install manually on the Veeam Server.
Then the configuration is quite easy:
If the plugin is has been installed you will found the Pure Storage option:
You need connectivity to the management interface of the storage and you can add the management IP or the FQDN:
Storage snapshots at the beginning were supported only on Veeam for vSphere environment, but now can be used also on Windows Server (with Agent). For more information see the official documentation.
In order to authenticate with the management interface of the storage, you need an account (that can be added and managed like every Veeam account):
Be sure to the create a different Pure account and not use the administrative account.
Now you can configure which SAN protocol you whant to use, on which volumes you want to enable storage snapshot integration, which will be the Veeam Proxy (for FC physical proxy with SAN mode are suggested) and which Veeam Mount Server.
