Enterprise backup integration - Veeam, NetBackup, and similar

Enterprise backup tools (Veeam, NetBackup, Rubrik, Cohesity, Commvault) provide centralised backup management across heterogeneous environments. This lesson covers the integration model and the most common tools.

The agent model

Enterprise backup typically uses an agent on each host:

  +---------+       +-----------+       +----------+
  | Host A  |       | Backup    |       | Storage  |
  | (agent) |--->|  Server   |--->| target   |
  +---------+       +-----------+       +----------+
  +---------+             ^                ^
  | Host B  |             |                |
  | (agent) |-------------+                |
  +---------+                              |
  +---------+                              |
  | Host C  |------------------------------+
  | (agent) |
  +---------+

• Agent on each host reads data and ships to backup server.
• Backup server manages schedules, retention, deduplication.
• Storage target holds the actual backup data.

Veeam Agent for Linux

Veeam provides a free agent for Linux. The agent is application-aware (database, file) and integrates with Veeam Backup & Replication.

# Install (RHEL family)
sudo dnf install https://repository.veeam.com/backup/linux/agent/rpm/el/9/x86_64/veeam-6.0.0.456-1.el9.x86_64.rpm

# Or download from Veeam website
sudo rpm -i veeam-*.rpm

# Configure
sudo veeamconfig ui    # or veeamconfig --help

# Create a backup job
sudo veeamconfig job create --name DailyBackup --repos /backup

Veeam supports:

• File-level backup.
• Application-aware backup (PostgreSQL, MySQL, etc.).
• Image-level backup (for VM hosts).
• Cloud tier (S3, Azure Blob).

Veritas NetBackup

NetBackup is a long-standing enterprise backup tool. The Linux client is the agent:

# Substitute your own values before running:
MASTER_SERVER=master01.example.com
POLICY=targeted

# Install
sudo rpm -i NetBackup_8.x_CLIENTS_*.rpm

# Configure
sudo /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/bpclntcmd -hn "$MASTER_SERVER"

# Backup
sudo /usr/openv/netbackup/bin/backup -p "$POLICY"

NetBackup is comprehensive but complex. Used in large enterprises with mixed OS environments.

Rubrik, Cohesity, Commvault

Modern enterprise backup tools with cloud-native architectures:

• Rubrik: Polaris-based, snapshot-first, cloud-friendly.
• Cohesity: DataPlatform, similar to Rubrik.
• Commvault: long-standing, broad OS support.

All provide:

• Agent-based backup.
• Centralised management console.
• Cloud tier.
• Application-aware backup.
• Ransomware detection (immutability).

Choose the right tool

For most production:

• BorgBackup or Restic for self-managed.
• Veeam for mid-size with central management.
• NetBackup, Rubrik, Commvault for large enterprise.

Knowledge check