StarWind Virtual Backup Appliance: Configuration Guide for Bare-metal Installation, Virtual Backup Appliance Deployed as a Linux ISO using Web UI

February 21, 2025
16 min read
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Annotation

Relevant products

StarWind Virtual Backup Appliance (VBA), StarWind Virtual Backup Appliance Free (VBA Free)

Purpose

StarWind Virtual Backup Appliance (VBA) is a software solution that can be deployed on a physical server baremetal using StarWind Appliance Linux ISO and turns it into a modern and robust backup repository.

This document outlines how to configure the StarWind Virtual Backup Appliance (VBA) on a physical server baremetal using StarWind Appliance Linux ISO. It covers the steps on how to create a Hardened Repository in StarWind VBA and connect it to Veeam Backup & Replication for achieving backups immutability. It also describes how to configure an iSCSI backup repository as well as NFS and SMB repositories for use with Veeam Backup & Replication or other backup software.

Audience

This technical guide is intended for storage and virtualization architects, system and backup administrators, and partners designing virtualized environments StarWind Virtual Backup Appliance (VBA).

Expected result

The end result of following this guide will be a fully configured StarWind Virtual Backup Appliance (VBA) on a physical server baremetal with different backup repository types created and Hardened Repository connected to Veeam Backup & Replication.

Prerequisites

StarWind VBA system requirements

Prior to installing StarWind VBA, please make sure that the system meets the requirements, which are available via the following link:

https://www.starwindsoftware.com/system-requirements#vba

StarWind Software System Requirements

Check out the system requirements for StarWind solutions to ensure the promised performance and stability

Recommended RAID settings for HDD and SSD disks:
https://knowledgebase.starwindsoftware.com/guidance/recommended-raid-settings-for-hdd-and-ssd-disks/

Solution diagram

The diagrams below illustrate the network and storage configuration of the solution:

Deploying StarWind VBA

1. Download the StarWind VBA archive at the following link and extract the ISO file: https://www.starwindsoftware.com/backup-appliance#download

2. Prepare installation media using Etcher, Rufus on Windows workstation, or dd command-line tool on Linux and macOS. For Network boot, mount the ISO to your server using iDRAC, iLo, or IPMI user interfaces.

3. Connect the installation media to your server and start the host.

4. Boot into BIOS and enable the Legacy boot mode. Save changes and reboot the host.

5. On server boot, press F12 or F2 to start the one-time boot menu. Select CD\DVD-ROM as a boot device.

NOTE. Refer to the server documentation to find the boot menu key.

6. The server should start booting from StarWind Appliance ISO. Once the system boots, the StarWind Appliance Installer launches.

7. Read the End-user License Agreement. Use the Tab button and arrow keys to select the Accept option by pressing Enter.

8. In the menu, select the “Install StarWind Appliance” option and press Enter.

9. Select one of the available disks on which to install StarWind Appliance. Press Enter.

10. All the data on the selected disk will be overwritten. Confirm the installation by typing “yes” and pressing Enter.

11. Wait until the installation is complete.

12. The installation is finished. Select “Restart” to reboot the server.

13. Eject the installation media.

14. The server now boots StarWind Appliance.

15. Press Enter to open the console.

16. Specify the default user name and password.

NOTE. The default account name is “user” and its password is “rds123RDS” without quotes. This account is removed from the appliance upon the completion of the Initial configuration wizard.

17. Select “Configure Management Network” and press Enter.

18. Press Enter once more to modify the settings.

19. Select the network adapter that will be used for management connectivity and press Enter.

20. Specify the static IPv4 address, subnet mask, default gateway and DNS addresses. Press Enter.

21. The management network settings have been applied. Press Enter.

Initial Configuration Wizard

1. Using the web browser, open a new tab and enter the StarWind Appliance IPv4 address specified previously to open the Web Interface. Click “Advanced” and then “Continue to…”

2. StarWind VBA web UI welcomes you, and the “Initial Configuration” wizard will guide you through the deployment process.

3. In the following step, upload the license file.

4. Read and accept the End User License Agreement to proceed.

5. Review or edit the Network settings and click Next.

NOTE. Static network settings are recommended for the configuration.

6. Specify the hostname and click Next.

7. Create an administrator account. Click Next.

8. Review your settings selection before setting up StarWind VBA.

9. Please standby until the Initial Configuration Wizard configures StarWind VBA for you.

10. The appliance is set and ready. Click Finish to proceed to the Login page.

Configure networking

1. Log in to the StarWind VBA using the username and password specified during the initial configuration.

2. Navigate to the Network tab, select the network adapter that will be used for backup (Data) traffic in case a separate dedicated backup network is present and click the Edit icon.

3. Uncheck the “Disable network adapter” checkbox, check the “Connect automatically on boot” checkbox set MTU to 9000, assign the Data role to the network adapter and specify the IPv4 address and network mask. Click Save.

4. The network adapter changes the Link Status to Up.

Create Storage Pool

1. Navigate to the Storage tab, select Physical disks and click Rescan.

NOTE. StarWind VBA can use storage from a hardware RAID or create a Linux Software RAID or ZFS storage pools from the drives connected to an HBA controller. This guide uses Linux Software RAID as an example.

2. In the Storage tab, navigate to the Storage pools and click the “+” sign.

3. Verify the prerequisites and click Next.

4. Select the drives to create a Linux Software RAID and click Next.

5. Select one of the preconfigured storage profiles or create a redundancy layout for the new storage pool manually according to your redundancy, capacity, and performance requirements. Software RAID-6 is highly recommended. To configure it, select Manual and click Next.

6. Select Software RAID and then select Software RAID\RAID-6 from the Available storage pool layouts. Click Next.

7. Review “Summary” and click the “Create” button to create the storage pool.

8. Wait until the Linux Software RAID synchronization process is fully complete and its state changes to Online.

Create Backup Repository

There are multiple options to present storage from StarWind VBA to backup software for use as backup repository. Hardened Repository is recommended for use with Veeam Backup & Replication to ensure immutability for backup files. Otherwise, StarWind VBA can present backup repository as an iSCSI target, NFS or SMB file share.

NOTE. Hardened Repository ensures immutability only when used with Veeam Backup & Replication.

Hardened Repository for Veeam Backup & Replication

1. Navigate to the “Volumes” tab and click the “+” button to open the “Create volume” wizard.

2. Select the storage pool that will be used for a new volume and click Next.

3. Specify the volume name and capacity. Click Next.

4. Select the “Backup repository” volume type and click Next. Backup repository volume type has been specifically designed for use with Veeam Backup & Replication.

5. Review Summary and click Create.

6. Select the recently created Volume and click “Manage VHR user”. This will create a dedicated Veeam Hardened Repository user with limited permissions for the selected volume.

NOTE. If Hardened Repository is not required, you can skip the further steps of creating a VHR user. The backup repository can be then added to Veeam Backup & Replication as a Direct Attached Linux storage to benefit from faster Veeam transport Service.

7. Click the “+” sign to create a new VHR user.

8. Specify the user name and password. Make sure to enable SSH access for VHR user. Click Save.

9. Make sure that SSH service is started an running in StarWind VBA. For this, click the “settings icon”, navigate to “Services” and start SSH server.

10. The recently created VHR user has been assigned to the volume.

Creating iSCSI backup repository

1. Navigate to the “Volumes” tab and click the “+” button to open the “Create volume” wizard.

2. Select the storage pool that will be used for a new volume and click Next.

3. Specify the volume name and capacity. Click Next.

4. Select the “Standard” volume type and click Next.

5. Review the Summary and click Create.

6. Navigate to the LUNs tab and click the “+” sign to create an iSCSI target.

7. Click Next.

8. Standalone LUN availability is the only option for iSCSI backup repository. Click Next.

9. Select the volume on which the iSCSI LUN will be stored.

10. Specify the iSCSI LUN name and size. Click Next.

11. Review the Summary and click Create LUN.

12. The iSCSI target has been created and is ready to be connected to the backup software.

Creating NFS backup repository

1. Navigate to the “Volumes” tab and click the “+” button to open the “Create volume” wizard.

2. Select the storage pool that will be used for a new volume and click Next.

3. Specify the volume name and capacity. Click Next.

4. Select the “Standard” volume type and click Next.

5. Review the Summary and click Create.

6. Navigate to the File shares tab and click the “+” sign.

7. Select the NFS file share type and click Next.

8. Specify the file share name and volume on which it will be located.

9. Specify the required access settings to the NFS share. Click Next.

10. Review Summary and click Create.

11. The NFS share repository is ready to be connected to the backup software.

Creating SMB backup repository

1. Navigate to the “Volumes” tab and click the “+” button to open the “Create volume” wizard.

2. Select the storage pool that will be used for a new volume and click Next.

3. Specify the volume name and capacity. Click Next.

4. Select the “Standard” volume type and click Next.

5. Review the Summary and click Create.

6. Navigate to the File shares tab and click the “+” sign.

7. Select the SMB file share type and click Next.

8. Specify the file share name and volume on which it will be located.

9. Specify the required access settings to the SMB share. Click Next.

10. Review Summary and click Create.

11. The SMB share repository is ready to be connected to the backup software.

Adding Hardened Repository to Veeam Backup & Replication

1. Open the Veeam Backup and Replication console, navigate to “Backup Infrastructure”, and select “Backup Repositories”.

2. Click “Add Repository” and select “Direct attached storage”.

3. Select “Linux (Hardened Repository)”.

4. In the “New Backup Repository” wizard, specify the name and description for the new repository and click “Next”.

5. Click “Add New…”.

6. In the “New Linux Server” wizard, specify the IP address of the backup traffic network interface (Data) on StarWind VBA and click “Next”.

NOTE. You can add a backup repository using the management IP address of StarWind VBA or DNS name. It is recommended to add the backup traffic network (Data) to Veeam preferred Networks after the addition of backup repository in case a separate dedicated backup (Data) network is present: https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/backup/vsphere/select_backup_network.html?ver=120

7. Click “Add…” to add the VHR user account created previously that will be used for single-use credentials.

8. Specify the VHR user account credentials and click OK. Specify Advanced settings if required and then click Next.

9. Review the components that will be installed and click Apply.

10. Wait until the installation is complete and click “Next”.

11. Review the summary and click Finish.

12. In the “New Backup Repository” wizard, select the newly added StarWind VBA server and click “Populate”. Select the Backup repository volume created in StarWind VBA and click Next.

13. Make sure that the “Use fast cloning on XFS volumes” setting is enabled and specify the required retention period for immutability as well as other settings if required. Click Next.

14. Select the Mount server and instant-recovery write cache folder. Specify additional Ports settings if required.

15. Review the settings and components that will be installed and click Apply.

16. Wait until the backup repository is created and click Next.

17. Review the summary and click Finish.

18. Veeam prompts whether you want to change the configuration backup location to the newly added repository. Select the preferred option according to your requirements.

19. Hardened Repository has been successfully added to Veeam Backup & Replication.

20. Navigate back to the “Volumes” tab in StarWind VBA WEB UI, select the Backup repository volume and click “Manage VHR user”.

21. Change SSH access to “Disabled” to secure the StarWind VBA from potential local threats such as credentials theft. Click “Save”.

Conclusion

Following this guide, Veeam Hardened Linux Repository has been configured in StarWind VBA installed on a physical server baremetal and added to Veeam Backup & Replication. This guide also showed the steps on how to configure an iSCSI backup repository as well as NFS and SMB repositories for use with Veeam Backup & replication or other backup software.