How to upgrade Veeam Backup and Replication from version 11 to 11a

Veeam Backup & Replication is a comprehensive data protection and disaster recovery solution. With Veeam Backup & Replication, you can create image-level backups of virtual, physical, and cloud machines and restore from them. The technology used in the product optimizes data transfer and resource consumption, which helps to minimize storage costs and recovery time in case of a disaster. It also provides a centralized console for administering backup/restore/replication operations in all supported platforms (virtual, physical, cloud). Please see How to upgrade Veeam Backup and Replication v11 to 12.1.

Also, the console allows you to automate and schedule routine data protection operations and integrate with solutions for alerting and generating compliance reports.

Kindly refer to these related guides: Veeam Certified Architect: A review of the VMCA Training & Certification, Standalone Veeam ONE installation: How to set up Veeam ONE 11 Server, Azure Backup and Recovery: How to setup Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure [Part 1], and how to install Veeam Backup and Replication 11 Community Edition with a dedicated SQL Server.

If you wish to explore the capabilities of Veeam Backup and Replication v11A, then you probably upgrade to this version. Kindly visit the following URL for more of these capabilities/features. Before upgrading Veeam Backup and Replication, kindly ensure the following prerequisites are met. As a Veeam Legend, here is a link to a guide on this topic.

The same license file format introduced in version 10 is also utilized in Veeam Backup & Replication 11 or 11a. This means you can easily use your existing license to install version 11 or any future versions. See for a complete list of these prerequisites.

Current Version and Setup Overview

Before the upgrade, I would love to show you the current version of the Veeam Backup and Replication Server we are running. As you can see in the image below, we are currently running v11 Build 11.0.0.839.

You may be notified if there is an update of the Veeam Backup and Replication. Upon clicking on this notification, you will be redirected to the following KB (download) link.

As you can see below, I will be downloading the new 11A ISO as shown below.

Download the Veeam Backup and Replication ISO

If you are not prompted that an update is available, you can download the latest version of the Veeam Backup and Replication ISO from the following  Veeam Backup & Replication Download page. However, To access the download, log in. Notice that the ISO file has already been downloaded.

Here is a guide on how to install and configure Veeam Backup and Replication 11 Community Edition with its default SQL Server Express Edition.

Before proceeding to upgrade, ensure all exisiting jobs are successfully completed. If there are any filed jobs, ensure to re-run them. 

- Also, ensure there isn't any restore sessions, Instant Recovery sessions and SureBackup jobs running. 
- It is also recommend that you do not stop running jobs and let them complete successfully. 
- You may also perform config backup. Here is a guide I have also writen on this "How to migrate Veeam MsSQL Database to a new MsSQL Server".

Note: Nonetheless, ou will also have to temporarily disable any periodic and backup copy jobs to prevent them from starting during the upgrade. On this note,  I will recommend you to stop the team services before upgrading. Below is an image of it.

Since we have already downloaded the ISO file, we will have to mount the ISO and run the setup.exe file as shown below. Moreover, You will need some administrative rights to perform this task. Ensure you have the appropriate rights assigned.

However, If the User Access Control is enabled, kindly select YES and proceed. If you wish to learn more about the User Account Control, kindly visit the following hyperlink: How to turn UAC on or off in Windows

Upon running the installer, it will determine that you have Veeam already installed and then select the upgrade button as shown below. Click on Upgrade. If you have a stand component, please select the Upgrade link under the standalone components.

Installation and Reboot Process

Nonetheless, The installation process will prompt you to install the Microsoft Visual C++ runtime. Click on OK as shown below, to proceed. However, After installation, your computer will prompt you to reboot the server. Click on YES to continue.

At this point, you will have to mount the ISO image and launch the installer again

On the License Agreement window, Kindly accept thelicense terms and then click next.

The next installation steps will show the product that has been installed previously.

However, If you have the Veeam license file, click on browse to add the license. If you do not have a license, the installation will continue with Community Edition. Nonetheless, Next, click on Next to continue. In the next guide, we will be installing a license.

Note: If you are using Veeam Backup Starter, this edition has been discontinued. Therefore, Veeam Backup & Replication 11 or 11a will not accept such a license file. To proceed with the upgrade, please download a replacement license file from the Customer Portal before upgrading

In the next dialog, the installer will then perform a system check configuration check. As you can see below, two of the components failed. Before we can proceed, we will have to install the missing components.

Moreover, You can see that we are currently installing all the missing features. Click on Next to continue.

In the next window, you will have to specify the service account or user account that must have local administrator privileges on this server.

Select your existing SQL Server instance and Windows authentication credential of the service account. However, Click on Next to continue.

Furthermore, Click on “Yes” to confirm the database connection information. This acknowledgment may also upgrade the database automatically to the version we are installing.

Click on Install. If you have remote Veeam components, check the box to update remote components automatically and click Install.

As you can see, the Veeam Backup & Replication Server is being installed.

Note: Nonetheless, This will take several minutes, depending on the size of your SQL database. Kindly exercise some patience.

Successful Upgrade of Veeam Backup and Replication Components

As you can see, the Veeam Backup and Replication upgrade has succeeded. Moreover The checkbox upgrade ensures the upgrade of all components.- For more guides on Veeam Backup and Replication, kindly click on this link.

Note: You will be prompted to restart your computer for the configuration changes to take effect. Upon restart, run Veeam Backup and then click connect.

Veeam components update window, select your managed server, and then click apply. However, You can observe the update of Veeam product components taking place.

You can see below that we have successfully installed all components. Click on Finish to complete these steps.

You may want to check the version of the Veeam Backup and Replication console to ensure it has been upgraded successfully. See what’s new in Veeam 11A.

You can check this under Help | About in Veeam Backup & Replication console. After upgrading, your build number will be 11.0.1.1261.

I hope you found this blog post on how to upgrade Veeam Backup and Replication helpful. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comment session.