Deploy Veeam Recovery Orchestrator and Agents to VBR and VEM

Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO) extends the functionality of the Veeam Data Platform by orchestrating recovery processes, providing one-click recovery plans for critical applications and rich features for documentation and testing. In this blog post, we shall discuss “Deploy Veeam Recovery Orchestrator and Agents to VBR and VEM [Part 1]”. Please see How to upgrade Trellix ePolicy Orchestrator, and Why you should not Upgrade Windows on an ePO Server.

In recent times, Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO) has evolved from Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator (VDO), and Veeam Availability Orchestrator (VAO), reflecting its expanded capabilities and broader automation focus.

The goal of this blog post is to show you how to set up a VM on any hypervisor, such as Proxmox, Hyper-V, vSphere, and XCP-ng, to host Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO).

Also, see how to set up a VM via PXE boot on a Generation 1 VM, how to set up a VM via PXE boot on a Generation 2 VM, and Windows Driver Management: Upgrade Driver Automation Tool.

Veeam Recovery Orchestrator Architecture

The Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO) server serves as the core of the solution, managing orchestration plans, administering user roles and permissions, and integrating with supporting components through a web-based interface.

Note: SQL Server is not a core Veeam component but is required for VRO as it hosts configuration data, inventory groups, and plan definitions via Veeam ONE

Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO) defines specific user roles for managing recovery operations and four main recovery locations as targets for orchestrated recoveries.

Please, see Trellix ePolicy Orchestrator Installation on Windows Server, Trellix ePO On-prem 5.10.0 Service pack 1 Update 3 upgrade, and Trellix ePO On-prem 5.10.0 Service pack 1 Update 3 upgrade.

VRO Goals

Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO) focuses on three key goals: building workflows, automating recovery processes, and eliminating manual errors, as depicted in the image below.​

Please, see how to migrate Windows Servers from Hyper V to Proxmox Correctly, how to create a backup job for Proxmox VMs using VBR, and how to Resize or Expand Proxmox Hard Drive.

VRO Core Capabilities Layout

​The enhanced image depicts Veeam Recovery Orchestrator’s (VRO) core capabilities in a vibrant circular wheel diagram, showcasing eight interconnected features that drive automated, reliable disaster recovery.

Key Capabilities

The table below highlights the specific VRO strength from a clockwise position from the top.

This visual effectively communicates VRO’s end-to-end automation, from planning to verification

User Roles

Veeam Recovery Orchestrator includes built‑in roles that control who can perform which actions in the orchestration interface. These are access and execution roles, not organisational job titles, for your information.

These three core roles have scoped permissions tied to disaster recovery workflows.

• Administrator: Full access to all functions, including administration, plan creation/editing/deletion, testing, scheduling, running plans, and reports.
• Plan Author: Can create, edit, enable, disable, reset, and test plans, plus perform checks and access reports/templates (read/write).
• Plan Operator: Limited to readiness checks, testing/scheduling/running enabled plans only, and read-only reports; can reset plans.

These roles ensure separation of duties, with administrators overseeing everything while authors and operators handle plan lifecycle tasks within scopes.

Please, see Upgrade legacy VHR to Veeam Infrastructure Hardened Repository, how to Add Synology NFS Storage to Proxmox VE for VMs and Backups, and how to set up the OOTBI Virtual Appliance on Proxmox VE.

Recovery Locations

Recovery locations in Veeam Recovery Orchestrator define the target infrastructure, including compute, storage, and network resources, that are used by replica, restore, CDP, and storage plans to orchestrate automated recoveries.

Plans select these locations during creation, enabling flexible DR to original sites, DR sites, or the cloud.

Please, see Unknown Error occurred when installing Veeam Software Appliance, how to Update Veeam Backup for Proxmox Plugin to support PVE 9.0, and how to update Proxmox VE 9.0 now supported by Veeam.

Provisioning a Virtual Machine for Veeam Recovery Orchestrator Deployment

This section involves creating a VM on Proxmox for VRO. To do this, head over to Proxmox and select the node where the VM will reside. Enter the VM name, and click on Create.

Select the OS ISO Image and populate the fields with the right details, and click on Next

For the system requirements, please populate accordingly as shown below and click next.

Specify the Disk size and format, and you can also add additional disks from this window or at a later time.

On the CPU tab, choose the number of cores you need for your VM.

On the Memory tab, select how much RAM you wish to allocate to your VM. I will adjust this accordingly after setup, as this is my lab environment and I have limited resources.

I will leave this section as the default, and click Next

On the confirmation window, click on Finish

Please, see Convert Windows Server Datacenter to Standard: Install Windows Server via iDRAC Virtual Media, how to install Windows Server unto ACEMAGICIAN Mini PC, and What’s New? Install Windows Server 2025 on Beelink EQ12 PC.

Windows Server Installation

The actual installation of the OS depends on the OS you choose. However, you can easily begin the installation in Proxmox VE’s user interface by clicking on Start to power on the VM at the top of the screen. Enter your desired OS language to proceed

Select keyboard settings and click on Next

Now, select “Install Windows Server” and agree to have everything deleted includeing apps and settings and click next.

Enter a product Key

Select the Image type you wish to install

Accept the applicable notices and license terms

Select the Disk and click Next. You can also create more partitions here or later via the Disk Management tool.

On the ready to install window, click on “Install”.

Windows Server is currently being installed.

On the customisation settings, when prompted. Enter the Administrator Password as shown below.

Note: To send Ctrl+Alt+Del to a Proxmox VM console from a Windows machine, use the dedicated button in the noVNC toolbar, which is usually located at the top-right of the console window.

Please see how to configure Windows Admin Centre on Windows Server 2019, how to set up Windows Server 2019 on a VMware Workstation, and what Active Directory Forest, Trees, Domain, and Sites, 

Windows Server Post OS customization

Some of these steps have been discussed here: “Post OS installation: Configure the properties of Windows Server“. I will proceed and enter the Computer Description and Name

I will suspend the current restart and apply Windows Updates and restart afterwards.

Install VirtIO Drivers

VirtIO Drivers are paravirtualized drivers for KVM/Linux. They enable direct (paravirtualized) access to devices and peripherals for virtual machines using them, instead of slower, emulated ones.

There are two methods for installing the VirtIO Drivers inside the existing Windows VM. You can download the virtio-win-gt-x64.msi and the guest tools as well.

I will proceed and download the virtio drivers from here. But I have decided to download the ISO, which also has the virtio-win-gt-x64.msi and the guest tools as well.

Upon downloading the ISO image, I will proceed and upload it to the Proxmox storage.

VrtIO ISO successfully uploaded to the Proxmox storage. Please, see how to Add Synology NFS Storage to Proxmox VE for VMs and Backups.

Next, I will have to attach the ISO to the VM as shown below.

VirtIO Drivers Installation

Note: In Proxmox environments, both the VirtIO-Win drivers (virtio-win-gt-x64) and VirtIO Guest Tools (virtio-win-guest-tools.exe) are needed for optimal Windows VM performance and management. The (virtio-win-gt-x64) handles core paravirtualized drivers during/after OS install, while the (virtio-win-guest-tools.exe) adds the QEMU Guest Agent and SPICE enhancements.

So, we will proceed and install virtio-win-gt-x64 first as recommended. Afterwards, I will proceed and install the virtio-win-guest-tools. The steps discussed in this section are similar to “Migrate Windows Servers from Hyper-V to Proxmox Correctly”.

Please, see how to link an iPhone with a Windows PC with Phone Link App, how to synchronise Apple Calendar on Windows with Outlook [Part 2], and Fix Users must have at least permission on these subscriptions.

Download and Upload VRO to Proxmox

You can download a Trial version of VRO from this link.

Alternatively, you could log in and use the following download link to download VRO.

Note: If you are using Proxmox, you may have to use SCP to move the ISO to the Proxmox storage due to the timeout error. Please see How to fix Error 401 Permission denied for invalid PVE ticket when uploading a large image to Proxmox.

To do this, please run the command below on a Mac.

scp -v /Users/christian/Desktop/VeeamDataPlatformPremium_v13.0_20260102.iso root@pve01:/mnt/pve/ProxmoxSynStorage/template/iso/

Also, on a Windows PC, use the command below.

scp "C:\Users\chris\Downloads\VeeamDataPlatformPremium_v13.0_20260102.iso" root@192.168.2.69:/mnt/pve/ProxmoxSynStorage/template/iso/

Now that we have successfully uploaded the ISO to the Proxmox storage. We have to attach the ISO to the VM as well.

To do this, to do this, select the VM and click on Hardware. You can click to add a new CD/DVD or modify the previous entry for the VirtIO and click on OK as shown below.

Lastly, before proceedingto install VRO, kindly ensure updates are correctly applied. Otherwise, you might be prompted to reboot when there are pending updates.

Note: Before proceeding to install VRO, I will once again search for updates and apply them if available. As you can see, there are new updates, and we have to wait for them to complete.

Please, see Create an NFS Storage on Synology NAS and Present it to XCP-ng, how to set up Veeam Software Appliance v13, and Building VIHR: Ransomware-Proof Repository with Veeam JeOS.

VRO Deployment: Do’s and Don’ts

Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO) requires careful server placement to avoid conflicts and ensure smooth orchestration. Follow these guidelines for reliable VRO installs and operations.​ These rules prevent service failures, DB overlaps, and agent mismatches common in multi-Veeam setups

Install VRO

Since we have attached the ISO to the VM, we will now proceed with the installation of VRO. To do this, we have to double-click on the Setup file as shown in the image below and click on Install on the splash screen.

Currently initializing setupp wizard. We just have to wait for a while.

Accept the license terms

By default, all these products will be installed alongside the VRO. We will see them very shortly.

Sign in with Veeam or browser to the local license file.

I have temporarily assigned the evaluation Premium license (trial license). This will be replaced with my NFR shortly.

Note. You can request an NFR license via the following program, as discussed here: “How to apply and install Veeam NFR License“. Alternatively, you can also request a Trial Key from here.

Specify the User name and Password for the VRO services account, and click Next.

Shortly, the system configuration check will be performed. If there are missing features, this will be enabled automatically.

On the ready to install window, click on Install to install VRO onto your system.

Please see How to Install all Editions of Microsoft SQL Server 2025, how to Install SQL Server Management Studio 21 on Windows Server, and how to Upgrade Windows Admin Centre 2306 – 2311: Install WACmg 2410

VRO Installation Steps

This first step involves installing Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Express Edition. If you wish to upgrade, as the Express edition is not recommended for production. Please see SQL Server 2025 Upgrade Requirements and Compatibility, how to upgrade Microsoft SQL Server 2019 to 2022, and how to install SQL Server Management Studio 20 on Windows Server.

PostgreSQL is currently being installed

VBR is being installed

The console is being installed

Installing Veeam Explorers

The Veeam Agents Redistributables are being installed.

Plugins for VBR are being installed

Adding Veeam One Client

Also, veeam one server is being installed.

Installing Veeam One Web Services

Now, the big Bull “VRO” is being installed

Adding the Veeam Recovery Orchestrator Web UI

Updates are being applied

At this stage, the installation is being finalised and serviceswill be started.

Keep retrying, or run the command below to extend the service timeout. In my case, the retry button resolved this issue.

New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control" -Name "ServicesPipeTimeout" -PropertyType DWord -Value 120000 -Force

As you can see, the VRO has been successfully installed.

When prompted to restart, click on Yes.

Please, see Microsoft SQL Evaluation period has expired: How to upgrade SQL Server instance, and how to upgrade Expired Evaluation Configuration Manager to Full Version.

Initial Configuration of VRO

After the installation of VRO, you must assign the Administrator role to a user or group that will be responsible for managing orchestration plans, configuring recovery locations, and administering system settings.

To do this, we have to log in with the administrator credentials we created above.

On the Server details, please populate accordingly and click on Next

Assign Administrator(s)

Now, we have to assign at least one administrator account to log in to the Orchestrator UI. To do this, click on Add as shown in the image below.

You can choose to select a user or a group, as shown in the image below, and click on Apply.

Deploy Agents

Next is the Orchestrator Agent Deployment. Deploying agents to the VBR is actually a way for VRO and VBR to communicate. Click on “Deploy Agents” and on the Deploy Orchestrator Agent wizard, click on Deploy Agent as shown below.

To add a Windows agent, click on Windows

Enter the IP or DNS name of the Windows Machine. In my case, VBR v13. Inthe next article, I wil show you how to add VSA v13.

Add the Server Credentials

Next, click on Apply.

Note: You can also deploy the agent from here to VBR via the initial configuration. But when you run into issues, you can always add it later via the VRO infrastructure.

Click Next to proceed.

Upon clicking on Finish, the deployment will run. This can take a while, please, be patient.

You will be automatically signed out and prompted to sign in again. Use your VBR credentials or an account that belongs to the Administrators group, as administrative permissions have been assigned to that group.

Please, see Fix Error 0x87E10BC6 on a PC running Windows non-core Edition, how to Fix Windows Server frequent disconnects and shutdown, and how to Convert Windows Server Essentials or Evaluation to Retail Edition.

VRO dashboard

The image below shows the Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO) Dashboard in a fresh, clean deployment with no recovery plans configured yet.

The interface displays key metrics across four main tabs: Inventory, Plan Verification, Plan Execution, and Plan Scanning all showing zero activity, indicating a new setup ready for DR plan creation.

Note: As the embedded Veeam Backup & Replication server is automatically registered in the Orchestrator UI during installation, you will not need to connect it manually.

Note: If you want to connect a remote Veeam Backup & Replication server, use the Infrastructure > Deploy Orchestrator agent section. Alternatively, skip it and later follow the instructions provided in the section Connecting Veeam Backup & Replication Servers.

Fix Error” Failed to detect a Veeam Backup and Replication on Port 443″

If you attempt to connect manually or during the initial deployment, and you get the following error. Relex! I am here to walk you through the steps to troubleshoot and resolve it.

Attempting agent deployment, but it will fail.

If this fails with the error below, this could mean that some of the VBR services are not running.

To further confirm this, you can run the command below

Test-NetConnection 192.168.2.147 -Port 443

As you can see, PingSucceeded: True, and TcpTestSucceeded: False. This means that nothing is listening on 443

As you can see, these services were stopped. You can proceed to start them and try again, as shown below, if you have already completed the initial deployment as discussed above. You can always add the agents afterwards.

Now, proceed to deploy the agents via the methods discussed below.

Pushing Agent to Linux via the Infrastructure

Click on deploy agent and select Linux to add our VBEM server, and click on Next. Please see how to set up Veeam Enterprise Manager setup and User Role management.

Click on “Remember and Continue” when prompted, as we do not have a valid TLS certificate.

Click Finish to complete the Linux Agent deployment.

As you can see, we have successfully added the Veeam Backup for Enterprise Manager to VRO.

Please see Automatically Log Out After a Period of Inactivity on Mac, how to Manage Microsoft Defender Antivirus with Argon ACMP, and Using IBM Library with Veeam.

Pushing Orchestrator Agents to Windows

As explained previously, when add VBR to VRO, you have to select Windows under the deploy agent.

Select VBR as shown below, and enter the IP or DNS name, followed by the credential and click on Next.

Repair Orchestrator Agent

Since we have already registered the server as shown below. We cannot add it again. Therefore, we will have to repair it.

On the Repair Orchestrator Agent, specify the credential and click on NExt

Click on “Remember and Continue” for the untrusted TLS certificate.

On the Summary window, click on Finish.

VBR is being intialized and the status will change very shortly.

As you can see, the VBR, VBEM and the embedded VBR are all healthy.

I hope you found this blog post on “Deploy Veeam Recovery Orchestrator and Agents to VBR and VEM [Part 1]” very useful. Please, feel free to leave a comment below.