Compatibility for agentless Sangfor HCI 6.10 and Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3

We are evaluating Sangfor HCI 6.10 for a new hyper-converged infrastructure to migrate our current infrastructure (which is VMware 7.0.3) managed with 6 hosts and 2 SANs, plus 2 servers running Hyper-V, into a single solution based on hyper-converged infrastructure. We are interested in understanding whether Veeam 12.3 is fully compatible with a solution called Sangfor HCI 6.10. We have come across a couple of articles from Sangfor claiming that their product, starting from version 6.10, is compatible with Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3, but the feature we are particularly interested in is the ability to use Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SQL and leverage its granular restore feature to restore a specific SQL table. Our goal is to use some disaster recovery (DR) and backup features from Sangfor, while simultaneously utilizing Veeam's backup and restore capabilities. We would like to achieve direct integration with Sangfor HCI, and thus take advantage of agentless backup and recovery features for virtual machines. 
Could you clarify if Sangfor HCI 6.10 is really compatible with Veeam 12.3 and if yes what kind of features are available?

It's great you're looking into Sangfor HCI and Veeam for your infrastructure modernization!  Based on my information, Sangfor HCI 6.10 indeed supports Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3 with agentless backup. This is a significant feature added in 6.10, leveraging Sangfor's OpenAPI interface and their data disk access SDK (SFVDDK).

**Here's what that means for you:**

* **Agentless Backups:** You won't need to install Veeam agents on each VM within Sangfor HCI. This simplifies management, reduces overhead, and improves backup efficiency.
* **Direct Integration:** Veeam 12.3 can directly communicate with Sangfor HCI for backup and restore operations.
* **Granular Restores:** While Sangfor's articles may not explicitly mention Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SQL, the agentless backup and integration likely enable this functionality. Veeam can interact with the VM's disks and data, allowing for application-aware processing and granular restores, including restoring individual SQL tables.

**To confirm Veeam Explorer for SQL functionality:**

* **Sangfor Documentation:** Check the official Sangfor HCI 6.10 documentation or release notes for explicit mention of Veeam Explorer support.
* **Sangfor Support:** Reach out to Sangfor support and confirm if Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SQL with granular restore is fully supported in version 6.10.
* **Veeam Documentation:** Review Veeam's documentation for any specific requirements or considerations when using Veeam Explorer with Sangfor HCI.

**Features you can expect with Veeam 12.3 and Sangfor HCI 6.10:**

* **Agentless VM backups and restores**
* **Likely support for Veeam Explorer for Microsoft SQL (including granular restores)**
* **Integration with Veeam's other features, such as replication and backup to different storage targets**
* **Potential for leveraging Sangfor's DR features in conjunction with Veeam's capabilities**

**Important Considerations:**

* **Testing:** Before migrating your entire infrastructure, thoroughly test the integration of Veeam 12.3 and Sangfor HCI 6.10 in a non-production environment. This includes validating granular SQL restores and any other critical backup and recovery scenarios.
* **Performance:** Evaluate the performance of Veeam backups and restores in your Sangfor HCI environment to ensure it meets your requirements.
* **Licensing:** Ensure you have the appropriate licensing for both Sangfor HCI and Veeam Backup & Replication.

By combining Sangfor HCI's hyper-converged platform with Veeam's robust backup and recovery features, you can create a comprehensive data protection solution for your modernized infrastructure. Remember to perform due diligence and testing to ensure a smooth transition and optimal functionality.

Can somebody share any links on this documentation? so far i haven't found any mention of veeam in the release notes for 6.10 R2. Maybe this is some IA bias?

For anyone looking to HCI+Veeam, i guess the veeam agent is the way to go for advanced integration, and you can leverage the backup policy included in HCI (with support for S3 copy) for a cost effective solution.

Hi,

As far as I know, compatibility with Veeam's agentless backup hasn't been released yet. About three weeks ago, I had a product update session with the Sangfor Malaysia team, and they mentioned that agentless Veeam support is expected sometime this year, but there's no confirmed date yet.

I've gone through similar migrations from VMware several times before, and for now, we're using the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows for our backups.