Two months ago, December 3, 2024 to be precise. Veeam launched Veeam Data Platform v12.3, introducing powerful enhancements that significantly strengthen data resilience. The latest version optimises backup performance, enhances security etc. Thereby making data protection more efficient and seamless than ever. Therefore, in this article, we will discuss how to upgrade Veeam Backup and Replication 12.3. Please see how to Upgrade Veeam Backup and Replication to version 12.2, and how to uninstall Veeam Backup and Replication from your server.

Note: This release delivers three critical enhancements for enterprises: protecting identity and access management by enabling Microsoft Entra ID backups, enhancing proactive threat analysis with Recon Scanner and Veeam Threat Hunter, and leveraging Generative AI to provide smarter data protection with advanced reporting powered by Veeam Intelligence.

This release introduces advanced capabilities that strengthen enterprise data resilience and security, which include:

Microsoft Entra ID (previously Microsoft Azure Active Directory) Enhancements: This introduces streamlined tools to enhance compliance with industry standards and regulations more efficiently and enables you to detect and restore changes to Microsoft’s Entra ID, etc.
Proactive Threat Analysis: Introduces Recon Scanner and Veeam Threat Hunter to bolster cyber resilience.
Generative AI-Powered Reporting: Utilizing advanced AI to provide more intelligent data protection insights.
Complete Nutanix AHV Protection: This offers application-aware processing, inline threat detection during backup, and deep data observability (in-depth analytics) for Nutanix environments.
Integration with Veeam Data Cloud Vault v2: This provides instant access to secure, air-gapped, encrypted, and immutable cloud storage with predictable pricing.

Also, see how to Set up Veeam Backup for Microsoft Azure, how to Fix Error 1069: Windows could not start the Veeam backup service on local computer, and how to Install Veeam Backup And Replication With Dedicated SQL Server.

VBR 12.3 Upgrade Prerequisite

Before proceeding with this upgrade, kindly take a look at the Veeam User Guide for more information regarding this upgrade checklist, such as the system requirements, hardware compatibility, software prerequisites, licensing and hypervisor support. This will ensure your infrastructure is ready for the Veeam Backup & Replication upgrade,

,If you do not have a supported operating system, you would need to create a configuration backup, install Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3 on the supported OS first, and then restore the configuration backup created earlier. When using a hardened repository, ensure it is configured to use a non-root account, and does not have the Linux agent installed on it etc.

Veeam Backup 12.2 — As you can see, we are currently running 12.2, and we will be upgrading this to 12.3 very shortly.

Also, ensure that all the latest runs for all existing jobs have been completed successfully and that all failed jobs are rerun, as shown in the image below. Please also ensure that there are no running jobs, restore sessions, Instant Recovery sessions, and SureBackup jobs. If there are, please make sure they are completed and do not stop any job prematurely.

Just so you know, there are other upgrade processes you need to adhere to, but the above is only applicable to me. Please consult the Veeam User Guide linked above.

Please see Install Splunk and Veeam App on Windows Server to monitor VBR, how to migrate Veeam Configuration Database to PostgreSQL Server, and how to migrate Veeam MSSQL Database to a new Microsoft SQL Server.

Download the Image

To download the Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3 ISO image, kindly navigate to the following “Veeam Product Downloads page” to download the latest Veeam Backup & Replication installation image.

You will be required to register or login to download the ISO. Upon login, you should be able to download the image

Please see How to install Veeam Backup Console on a Jump Server, how to Mitigate Veeam Threat Hunter Service Scanning Interference, and how to Fix Windows Server frequent disconnects and shutdown.

Veeam Backup and Replication Upgrade

Note: When there is a pending restart on the PC, the upgrade will fail.

Having downloaded the image as shown above. You have to mount the ISO to the PC where Veeam Backup & Replication is installed.

Run the setup file as shown below by double-clicking on it.

Click on “Upgrade” as shown below.

Select “Veeam Backup and Replication 12.3” to start the upgrade process.

Click the upgrade Veeam Backup and Replication. This will initialise the wizard for the upgrade process.

Kindly accept the License Agreement as shown below.

Review the backup components to upgrade. Additionally, select to upgrade the “remote components automatically” and click Next.

Please specify the license you want to install for Veeam Backup & Replication. You can leave the license file used in the previous version of Veeam Backup & Replication or install a new one by browsing to a local license file or by signing in with Veeam and selecting one of the available licenses.

System Configuration Check

At the System Configuration Check step, the setup wizard will be verified for potential installation issues.

Note: If some of the required components are missing, the setup will try to install them automatically. After the components are successfully installed, a reboot is required. To reboot the machine, click Reboot. If the setup wizard cannot install some of the required software components automatically, install them manually and click Retry. But this was not the case in this guide.

Specify the service account you wish to run the backup service. I will be using the local administrator account, as shown below. Veeam Backup & Replication automatically grants the Log on as service right to the specified user account.

On the database wizard, I am okay with the default settings and parameters specified. Therefore, I will click on Next.

Note: If you previously used Microsoft SQL Server, after the Veeam Backup & Replication upgrade, you can migrate its configuration database to PostgreSQL. Here is an article on the reasons to migrate to PostgreSQl and how to migrate Veeam Configuration Database to PostgreSQL Server, and how to migrate Veeam MSSQL Database to a new Microsoft SQL Server.

Click on Yes to connect to the installation database.

Configuration Check

At this step, the setup checks the Veeam Backup & Replication configuration. If the check returns errors, solve their causes before continuing the upgrade. After you solve them, click Retry to check if there are any issues left.

The below is just a warning message, and the folder does not exist yet. Please click Next to proceed. I will show you how to resolve it correctly as recommended by Veeam to prevent interference: “Mitigate Veeam Threat Hunter Service Scanning Interference“.

New Threat Hunter Service — If you have already created an exception and this warning message is still prompted. Simply ignore and click Next to proceed.

Note: According to Gostev response to this question “Will I be good to install? Or do I need to add the exclusions in CrowdStrike?” on Reddit, and I quote, “Hard to say before you try installing. Impossible to predict what any given 3rd party antivirus software will treat as suspicious. But if you never had to do this before so most likely you will not have issues also this time.“.

Therefore, I will click on “Upgrade” to proceed.

Note: When upgrading to Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3, the Veeam Threat Hunter Service will be automatically installed on a mount server after the upgrade. For backward compatibility, third-party antivirus software will be selected as a default scan engine in the malware detection settings.

As you can see below, the installation has begun. At this step, the Veeam Backup and Replication Server is being upgraded.

In the second step, the console is upgraded.

Upgrading the Explorers

The Agent Redistributables are being upgraded.

Plug-ins upgrade

Setup is being finalized

Now, the installation process is complete. Click Finish to exit the wizard.

Also, see How to install Oracle VirtualBox on a Mac device, how to Create a web page to visualize the output of BitLocker Script, and How to update Object First OOTBI Cluster.

Launch Veeam Backup and Replication Console

Upon clicking on the Veeam Backup & Replication Console shortcut on the Desktop. This will open up the console, as shown below. As you can see below, we are greeted with a very important message announcing the capabilities that VBR 12.3 brings.