Instant VM Recovery in Veeam Backup & Replication
Instant VM Recovery lets you run a virtual machine directly from a backup file, bringing critical VMs online in minutes. Veeam mounts the backup as a temporary “spare” VM in your environment. During recovery, Veeam runs the workload straight from the compressed backup, improving your RTO and minimising downtime:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}. Once the VM is online, you can migrate it back to production storage (for example, using Storage vMotion or the built-in migration wizard).
Steps for Instant VM Recovery
- In the Veeam console, go to Home > Restore and select Instant VM Recovery.
- Choose the backup containing the VM you want to recover, then select the specific restore point (snapshot).
- Specify the destination (host or cluster) where the recovered VM will run. Veeam will mount the VM disks from the backup repository.
- Review settings and start the wizard. The VM will boot in minutes, running from the backup file.
- Once running, migrate the VM to production storage (for example, via Storage vMotion) to achieve full performance.
Veeam’s hardened (immutable) repositories are write-once and safe from tampering. This means even if a ransomware attack hit your systems, the immutable snapshot remains intact and can be instantly booted. In fact, Veeam notes that having an immutable copy dramatically increases your chance of successful recovery.
Your data is always recoverable.
For backups in a Veeam Cloud Connect repository (hosted by a service provider), Instant Recovery is typically performed by the provider. If you use Rismor’s cloud backup, our team can manage the recovery: we’ll mount your VM from the offsite backup and bring it online quickly. The process is seamless to you, and your backups stay protected by the immutable copy in our cloud.
Q: Is the recovery modifying the backup file?
A: No. Veeam uses its vPower engine to mount the backup image read-only.
All writes go to separate redo-logs, so the original backup remains unchanged. Your live VM and backup data stay untouched during the recovery process.
File-Level Restores (Windows, Linux, NAS, Agents)
Veeam makes it easy to recover individual files or folders from any backup. Whether your data is on a Windows VM, a Linux VM, a NAS file-share, or a physical server protected by a Veeam Agent, you can mount the restore point and browse the file system. In the Veeam console, go to Home > Restore and choose the appropriate file-level restore option (Windows or Linux) to start. For example, to restore Windows files, use Restore > Agent > Guest Files (Windows) and pick the machine and restore point.
Windows File-Level Restore
- In Veeam Backup console, select Home > Restore > Agent > Guest Files (Windows). Choose the Windows VM or agent backup and the desired restore point.
- Once the wizard mounts the image, the Windows file system will open in a browser window. Navigate to the files or folders you need.
- Select the items and click Restore to copy them back to their original location, or Copy to extract them to another target path of your choice.
Linux File-Level Restore
- Select Home > Restore > Agent > Guest Files (Linux). Choose the Linux VM or agent backup and the restore point.
- The Linux filesystem is then mounted. You may need to provide Linux admin credentials if prompted.
- Browse to the files/folders you need. Select them and use Restore or Copy as above.
NAS File-Level Restore
For NAS/file-share backups, use the File-Level Recovery wizard under the NAS backup. Select the NAS backup job in the console, click Restore, and pick the file-share or volume. Veeam will mount the snapshot of the share or volume, allowing you to browse the files. Then select files or folders and restore/copy them to the needed destination.
Veeam Agent File Restore
If you use Veeam Agent for Windows or Linux (for physical servers or laptops), file-level restore is the same process. Open the Agent interface or use Backup & Replication, choose Restore > Guest Files for Windows/Linux, and mount the backup. Browse and recover files as above. Only the requested files are transferred, so the rest of your data and the running system are unaffected.
Q: Do file-level restores require extra licenses?
A: No. Granular file restore is built into Veeam Backup & Replication. You only need the base Veeam solution. The restore wizards are included and require no additional modules.
Application Item Recovery (Exchange, SQL, AD)
Veeam provides powerful explorers for application-item recovery. This means you can restore individual mail items, database records, or directory objects without full server restores. To start, right-click the backup and select Restore application items, then choose the type (Exchange, SQL, AD, etc.). Veeam will launch the appropriate Explorer by mounting the backup database. The live servers remain online while the recovery happens entirely from the backup copy.
Exchange Item Recovery
- Right-click the Exchange VM or server backup and choose Restore > Microsoft Exchange > Mailbox restore.
- Veeam Explorer for Exchange will launch. Open the mailbox database and find the user/mailbox.
- Browse folders to locate the email or object you need. Select the item and click Restore to to send it back to the Exchange server, or Export to to save it to a PST or folder.
SQL Server RecoveryRight-click the SQL Server backup and select Restore > Microsoft SQL Server.
- Launch Veeam Explorer for SQL. It will attach the backed-up database.
- Browse the database tables or objects. Right-click a table or row and choose Export to SQL Server or Export to File as needed.
Active Directory Recovery
- For Active Directory, right-click the Domain Controller backup and choose Restore > Active Directory objects.
- Veeam Explorer for Active Directory will open. Navigate the directory tree to the OU or object (user, computer, etc.) you want.
- Select the object and click Restore to return it into AD, or Export to save its data.
A: Absolutely. The Veeam Explorers allow fully granular recovery. You can pick one email (even with attachments) in Exchange, one row in SQL, or one user object in AD. Only the selected item is extracted from the backup. Since this happens from the backup copy, your production servers are never taken offline.
Backup Verification and SureBackup
Regular testing of your backups is crucial. Veeam’s SureBackup feature automates this by booting VMs from backups in an isolated lab and running validation tests. This applies to VM backups and also to agent backups (via the recovery verification job). By scheduling SureBackup jobs, you verify that your backups are actually recoverable before an incident occurs.
VMware (VM) Backup Verification
- Create a Virtual Lab in Veeam (configure a VMware host, networking, and any needed appliances for testing).
- Create a SureBackup job: select the VM backups to test, specify the Virtual Lab as the environment, and define simple tests (like ping or script).
- Run the job. Veeam will power on each VM backup in the lab and run the checks.
- Check the job report. Green checkmarks mean each VM booted successfully and passed its test, confirming recoverability.
Agent Backup Verification
For physical servers or workstations, use Veeam’s recovery verification. In the Backup & Replication console, go to Home > Restore > SureBackup > Recovery Verification. Select the agent backup(s) to test. Veeam will boot the backup image in the lab and verify it much like the VM process.
Q: How often should I verify backups?
A: Best practice is at least monthly, or after any major backup job. Veeam allows scheduling these verification jobs and will email results. Frequent testing ensures you catch any backup issues (corruption, misconfiguration) before you need a restore.
By following these steps, even IT administrators with limited experience can confidently recover VMs, files, or application items in Veeam v12. Remember to leverage immutable backups and SureBackup tests for ransomware resilience. For added peace of mind, consider Rismor’s managed Cloud Backup service.
Our solution runs Veeam in the cloud with off-site immutable storage, so that when disaster strikes, your Instant Recovery and granular restores work flawlessly - giving you true data security.