Migrating Veeam for Microsoft 365 Repository to a New Object Storage Bucket

Veeam does not support moving data between object storage buckets. Veeam has guides for:

1. Moving Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 server to a new server: KB2649: How to move Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 to a new server
2. Migrating backup data between repositories: KB3067: How to migrate backup data between repositories for Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365
   • This article states that the Move-VBOEntityData cmdlet supports:
     • Migration from one local backup repository to another local repository
     • Migration from a local backup repository to an object storage repository
   • The cmdlet does not support:
     • Migration from an object storage repository to a local repository.
     • Migration from an object storage repository to another object storage repository.

For the scenario where data needs to be moved from one object storage provider to another Veeam support will suggest performing a new full backup to the new repository. However, this will cause a loss of retention if the old bucket is not retained.

Note: While we have tested the following method up to VB365 v7 and confirmed it has worked for our data, please be aware that this is an unsupported method for migrating Veeam for Microsoft 365 data.

The following method will allow data to be transferred between object storage buckets. We will be essentially following the steps outlined in the first KB article noted above, KB2649, but instead of migrating to a new server the server will not change.

1. Stop the Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365 jobs targeting the repository.
2. Using a tool like rclone copy the data from the original bucket to a new bucket and retain the same folder structure.
3. Add a new object storage repository to the backup server. Be sure to point to the same folder that the previous object storage repository used, but on the new bucket.
4. Add a new backup repository and select the option to offload and select the new object storage repository.
5. If you used encryption on the original backup repository, be sure to select the same encryption key for the new repository.

You may get an error when trying to add the repository that the repository already belongs to another backup server. In that case, navigate to the RepositoryLock folder in the new bucket and delete the lock file located there.

Finally, you can edit the backup job and point it to the new repository. The initial backup pointing to the new repository will take a while to complete depending on the size of your data. This first backup will be marked as a full, because it will be synchronizing the new repository with the production data, however it will still only transfer the changed data.