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Introduction
Veeam Backup & Replication is a data protection and disaster recovery solution designed to back up, restore, and replicate virtual, physical, and cloud workloads. It is one of the most widely adopted enterprise backup solutions in the virtualization world. With version 12.3, Veeam continues to deliver powerful data protection, disaster recovery, and replication capabilities for both physical and virtual environments.
In this step-by-step guide, we will walk through the complete installation of Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3 on a Windows Server 2025 machine. Our environment details are as follows:
| Role | Veeam Backup & Replication Server |
| Operating System | Windows Server 2025 (Standard/Datacenter) |
| Domain Controller | vmorecloud.com |
| Server IP Address | 192.168.91.129 |
| Veeam Version | 12.3 (Build 12.3.0.310) |
Prerequisites & System Requirements
Before starting the installation, ensure your environment meets the following hardware and software requirements:
Hardware Requirements
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
| CPU | 4 Cores | 8+ Cores |
| RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB or more |
| System Disk (C:) | 100 GB | 200 GB SSD |
Software Requirements
- Windows Server 2025 (Standard or Datacenter Edition) — fully updated
- Microsoft SQL Server 2019/2022 — or let Veeam install SQL Express automatically
- .NET Framework 4.7.2 or later
- PowerShell 5.1 or later
- Domain membership (vmorecloud.com) with Administrator privileges
- Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3 ISO or installer downloaded from veeam.com
- Active license key or NFR/trial license
💡 Pro Tip: It is strongly recommended to join the server to your Active Directory domain (vmorecloud.com) before installation, so Veeam can properly leverage domain credentials for managed servers and backup jobs.
Pre-Installation Steps
Step 1 — Verify Domain Join
Confirm that your Windows Server 2025 machine is joined to the vmorecloud.com domain. Open a PowerShell window and run:
(Get-WmiObject Win32_ComputerSystem).Domain
The output should display:
vmorecloud.com
If the server is not yet domain-joined, navigate to System Properties > Change settings > Change, and join the domain using an administrator account from vmorecloud.com.
Step 2 — Verify Network Connectivity
Ensure the server has a static IP address configured. Our server uses IP address 192.168.91.129. Verify this with:
Get-NetIPAddress -AddressFamily IPv4 | Select-Object IPAddress, InterfaceAlias
Also confirm DNS resolution is working properly:
Resolve-DnsName vmorecloud.com
Step 3 — Disable Windows Firewall Temporarily (Optional)
During installation, you may temporarily disable Windows Firewall. Re-enable it afterward and configure the necessary Veeam firewall rules.
Set-NetFirewallProfile -Profile Domain,Public,Private -Enabled False
⚠️ Warning: Remember to re-enable Windows Firewall after installation and add the necessary Veeam port rules (TCP 9392, 9401, 2500-3300, etc.).
Step 4 — Install Windows Updates
Make sure Windows Server 2025 is fully patched before proceeding. Open Server Manager > Local Server > Windows Update, or run:
Install-WindowsUpdate -AcceptAll -AutoReboot
Installing Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3
Step 5 — Mount the ISO / Launch the Installer
Download the Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3 ISO from the official Veeam website. Right-click the ISO file in Windows Explorer and select Mount, or use PowerShell:
Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath ‘C:\Downloads\VeeamBackup&Replication_12.3.0.310.iso’
Navigate to the mounted drive (e.g., D:\) and double-click Setup.exe to launch the installer splash screen.
Step 6 — Launch Veeam Setup
The Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3 splash screen will appear. Click Install under the Veeam Backup & Replication section.
📌 Note: The splash screen also offers installation of Veeam Backup Catalog, Veeam Backup Enterprise Manager, and redistribution packages. For most standalone installations, only Veeam Backup & Replication is needed.
Step 7 — License Agreement
On the License Agreement page, review the End User License Agreement (EULA). Check the box to accept the terms of the Veeam license agreement and the third-party components license agreements, then click Next to continue.
Step 8 — Provide License File
On the Provide License page, you have two options:
- Browse and select your purchased .lic license file from Veeam
- Click Next without a license to install a free Community Edition with limited features (10 workloads)
For production use, click Browse, locate your license file (e.g., C:\Licenses\veeam.lic), and click Open, then click Next.
Step 9 — Select Components to Install
The Components page allows you to choose which Veeam components to install. The following are selected by default:
- Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3 — Core backup server component
- Veeam Backup Catalog — Required for VM guest file-level restore
- Veeam Backup & Replication Console — Management GUI
Review the installation paths. By default, Veeam installs to:
C:\Program Files\Veeam\Backup and Replication\
You may change the path if needed. Click Next to continue.
Step 10 — Configure SQL Server Instance
This step is critical. Veeam requires a Microsoft SQL Server database to store its configuration and job metadata. You have three options:
- Use an existing SQL Server instance — Select this if you have SQL Server 2019/2022 already running on this server or a remote server.
- Install SQL Server Express 2016 — Veeam can automatically install SQL Express for small deployments (databases under 10 GB).
- Use a remote SQL Server — For enterprise environments, specify the SQL server FQDN (e.g., sqlserver.vmorecloud.com\VEEAMSQL).
For our lab environment at 192.168.91.129, we will allow Veeam to install SQL Server Express automatically. Select Install SQL Server Express 2016 and note the instance name:
192.168.91.129\VEEAMSQL2016
💡 For production environments with more than 10 managed servers or heavy job schedules, use a full SQL Server (Standard or Enterprise) instead of SQL Express.
Step 11 — Configure Service Account
Veeam services require an account with appropriate privileges. On the Service Account page, specify the domain account that will run Veeam services:
Username: vmorecloud\veeam-svc Password: ************
Ensure the account has local Administrator privileges on this server. Veeam will automatically grant the required SQL Server permissions. Click Next.
Step 12 — Configure Veeam Catalog Service
The Veeam Guest Catalog Service is responsible for indexing VM guest file systems for quick searches and file-level restores. Configure the catalog folder path (default is acceptable for most environments):
C:\VBRCatalog
Click Next to proceed.
Step 13 — Review & Install
The Ready to Install page presents a summary of all selected components and configurations. Review the settings carefully:
- Installation path confirmed
- SQL instance: 192.168.91.129\VEEAMSQL2016
- Service account: vmorecloud\veeam-svc
- Catalog path: C:\VBRCatalog
Click Install to begin the installation. The process typically takes 10-20 minutes depending on server performance. Veeam will install all dependencies, configure the SQL database, register Windows services, and configure firewall rules automatically.
⏳ The installer will show a progress bar for each component. Do not close the installer window or reboot the server during this process.
Step 14 — Installation Complete
Once the installation finishes, you will see a confirmation screen showing all components installed successfully. The following Windows services will now be running:
| Service Name | Description |
| Veeam Backup Service | Core backup engine and job scheduler |
| Veeam Broker Service | Manages communication between components |
| Veeam Mount Service | Handles instant VM recovery and mounts |
| Veeam Guest Catalog Service | Indexes VM guest file systems |
| Veeam Distribution Service | Manages Veeam agents and updates |
Check the Launch Veeam Backup & Replication console checkbox and click Finish to complete the setup and open the console.
Post-Installation Configuration
Step 15 — First Launch & Console Overview
The Veeam Backup & Replication console will open and automatically connect to the local server at 192.168.91.129. You will be prompted to review and accept the third-party component licenses if you haven’t already.
The console consists of the following main sections visible in the left navigation pane:
- Home — Dashboard showing protected VMs, jobs, and recent activity
- Inventory — Connected vSphere, Hyper-V, and physical machine inventory
- Storage Infrastructure — Backup repositories and scale-out repositories
- Backup Infrastructure — Proxy servers, tape servers, and WAN accelerators
- Jobs — Backup, replication, and restore jobs
- History — Job history, sessions, and event logs
Step 16 — Add Your First Backup Repository
Before creating backup jobs, you must configure at least one Backup Repository. Navigate to Backup Infrastructure > Backup Repositories and click Add Repository.
- Select the repository type: Direct attached storage, Network attached storage (SMB/NFS), Deduplication appliance, or Object storage.
- Provide a display name, e.g., Local-Repo-01.
- Specify the path where backups will be stored, e.g., D:\VeeamBackups.
- Configure the concurrent task limit (default: 4).
- Click Finish to add the repository.
Step 17 — Add Infrastructure (VMware/Hyper-V)
To protect virtual machines, add your hypervisor infrastructure. Navigate to Inventory and click Add Server.
- For VMware vSphere: Enter vCenter Server hostname or IP, and provide credentials
- For Microsoft Hyper-V: Enter Hyper-V host or cluster FQDN with domain admin credentials (vmorecloud\administrator)
Veeam will discover all hosts, clusters, datastores, and VMs automatically.
Step 18 — Create Your First Backup Job
Navigate to Home > Jobs > Backup and click Backup Job > Virtual machine.
- Name the job (e.g., Daily-VM-Backup).
- Add VMs or VM containers to protect.
- Select the target repository configured in Step 16.
- Configure guest processing (application-aware processing, VSS, etc.).
- Set the schedule (e.g., daily at 10:00 PM).
- Click Finish & Run to save and optionally start the first backup immediately.
Step 19 — Configure Email Notifications
Set up email notifications to stay informed about backup job status. Navigate to Main Menu > General Options > E-mail Settings.
- SMTP Server: mail.vmorecloud.com (or your mail relay)
- Port: 25 or 587 (TLS)
- From: veeam@vmorecloud.com
- To: admin@vmorecloud.com
- Notify on: Success, Warning, Failure
Required Firewall Ports
Veeam Backup & Replication requires the following ports to be open between components. Configure your Windows Firewall and any network firewalls accordingly:
| Port | Protocol | Purpose |
| 9392 | TCP | Veeam Backup & Replication console connections |
| 9401 | TCP | Veeam Backup Service (internal communications) |
| 9397-9398 | TCP | Veeam Broker Service |
| 2500-3300 | TCP | Data transfer between Veeam components |
| 443 | TCP | VMware vCenter/ESXi HTTPS API access |
| 902 | TCP | VMware ESXi host network file copy (NFC) |
| 135, 137-139, 445 | TCP | Microsoft networking & WMI (Hyper-V) |
| 1433 | TCP | SQL Server database connection |
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3 on Windows Server 2025 within the vmorecloud.com domain. Your Veeam server at 192.168.91.129 is now ready to protect your virtual and physical infrastructure.
With Veeam 12.3, you benefit from:
- Immutable backups with hardened repositories and S3 object lock support
- Instant VM recovery to restore VMs in seconds
- Continuous Data Protection (CDP) for near-zero RPO
- Enhanced ransomware protection with SOBR immutability
