Veeam Backup & Replication receives web UI and Linux appliance

The manufacturer Veeam has presented version 13 of its central product Veeam Backup & Replication (VBR) at its in-house exhibition VeeamON. With the new release, Veeam is delivering a Linux-based software appliance for the first time in addition to new features. The new version is expected to be generally available from Q4 2025.

VBR 13 gives the product a new, web-based user interface. At the same time, the classic backup console has been refreshed – as a transitional solution until all functions have been transferred to the web UI. With the new release, administrators can now integrate SAML identity providers for single sign-on and also create granular user-defined roles, for example for restore operators per client or repository.

According to the manufacturer, optimized scheduling and new data engines increase backup performance by up to 50 percent in the new release. With very small virtual machines, a doubling of speed has even been achieved in internal tests. A high-availability mode for the backup server has also been added: If a node fails, a remaining node automatically takes over its tasks.

New Linux appliance

In addition to the usual Windows application, VBR 13 is also available for the first time as a preconfigured Linux appliance. The appliance comes as a "Just-Enough OS" in the form of an ISO image or OVA template and includes all Veeam Backup & Replication components. The pre-installed SELinux in strict mode, deactivated SSH access and generic deactivation of all unnecessary services, such as VMware tools, are intended to minimize the attack surface.

The entire appliance contains automated, centrally controlled security updates. Optional feature patches can also be installed on request without manual intervention. The new Linux software appliance is already available for testing as a beta and is also expected to be generally available in Q4.

With "Instant Cloud Recovery", every Veeam backup as a native Azure VM should now boot in under five minutes – Linux VMs even in under four minutes. This is possible because Veeam streams directly from the object storage. In the future, the feature will also support other hyperscalers such as AWS and Google Cloud. CTO Niraj Tolia pointed out that the biggest challenge here is not so much the technical feasibility as the planning of the cloud resources. The storage must be kept in the target region and reserved accordingly.

(kbe)