How to Use Megaport Storage as a Veeam Backup Target

By Ryan Tucker, Solutions Architect

Learn how to use Megaport Storage as an S3-compatible Veeam backup target for scalable, private, offsite backup storage.

In summary
Megaport Storage can be used as an S3-compatible backup target for Veeam, giving organizations a private, scalable destination for backup data. By connecting Veeam to Megaport Storage over private connectivity, teams can move backups offsite without relying on the public internet. This can improve backup performance, reduce costs, and support efficient recovery strategies.

A backup is only useful if it can be retrieved when needed. Where backups are stored determines how well they’re protected from incidents at the primary site, how long recovery transfers take, and what it costs to bring the data back.

For organizations using Veeam, backing up to S3-compatible object storage can be a scalable and cost effective way to create an offsite copy. Pairing that storage with private connectivity gives the data a more predictable route to its destination, can improve backup performance and RTO (Recovery Time Objective), and reduces the cost of retrieving data.

What is a Veeam backup target?

A Veeam backup target is the storage location that receives backup data from Veeam jobs. It may be a local drive, DAS (Direct Attached Storage), a Storage Area Network (SAN), Network Attached Storage (NAS), a tape device, or object storage service.

Most backup solutions will include a primary tier on local disks, DAS, or SAN for rapid recovery of individual files or systems. Remote copies are added to allow recovery from larger scale site outages, physical damage, or cyberattacks. These copies often use NAS, tape, or cloud storage like an object storage service.

Combining these repository types allows for the standard “3-2-1” backup strategy: maintaining three copies of the data, on two different types of media, with at least one copy in a remote location.

Can Veeam back up to S3-compatible storage?

Yes. As well as specific support for major cloud providers, Veeam Backup & Replication supports S3-compatible object storage repositories. S3-compatible storage follows the API conventions established by Amazon S3, which have become a broadly supported standard. In Veeam, teams supply the S3 service endpoint, access credentials, and bucket details when adding the repository.

Why use S3-compatible storage for Veeam backups?

Support for S3-compatible object storage gives Veeam users access to scalable and cost effective offsite destinations without limiting them to Amazon S3. As the de facto standard for object storage, many vendors support an S3 compatible API.

Object storage can be an easy and efficient way to store an offsite copy of backup data, which matters when the primary environment is affected by a site outage or cyberattack. Object storage can expand as retention needs grow, and provide features like versioning and object lock (immutability) to prevent stored backup objects from being changed or deleted for a defined period.

A major caveat to be aware of with object storage services is the cost and time required to retrieve the data. Some services have per-GB or per-request fees, and/or wait periods to access the data. Megaport Standard Object Storage has no egress fees, request fees, or storage capacity limits, and your data is available immediately, making recovery times and costs more predictable.

How Megaport Storage works as a Veeam backup target

Megaport Object Storage is S3-compatible object storage provisioned through Latitude.sh and connected to the Megaport Network through a dedicated Virtual Cross Connect (VXC). Storage resources, buckets, access credentials, and usage are managed in the Latitude.sh Portal. The network connection is created and managed separately in the Megaport Portal.

For Veeam, the result is an S3-compatible endpoint that can be configured as an object storage repository. Backup traffic can travel from an existing Megaport Port, Megaport Cloud Router (MCR), Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE), or Megaport NAT Gateway to the storage service over a dedicated VXC.

Megaport Standard Object Storage is the relevant tier for most backup and disaster recovery use cases. It supports object lock and versioning as well as high-speed private connectivity. Actual Veeam performance will still depend on the complete data path, including source storage, backup proxies, gateway configuration, concurrency, and the rate limit selected for the VXC.

How do you connect Veeam to Megaport Storage?

To connect Veeam to Megaport Storage, first provision the storage and private connection, then add the S3-compatible endpoint as an object storage repository in Veeam. Menu names can vary by Veeam version, so use the following as an architectural guide alongside the current product documentation:

1. Provision Megaport Standard Object Storage in the Latitude.sh Portal, create the required bucket, and record its endpoint, region, access key, and secret key.
2. In the Megaport Portal, create a Megaport Object Storage connection from an existing Port, MCR, MVE, or NAT Gateway. Select the same destination location used when provisioning the storage.
3. Set the VXC rate limit and configure the required routing. Megaport assigns a customer IP address for the MCR, MVE, or device attached to the Port. It’s recommended that customers use BGP to manage the routes.
4. In Veeam Backup & Replication, add a new object storage repository and choose “S3 Compatible”.
5. Enter the Megaport Storage endpoint and port as the service point, specify the region, then add the access and secret keys. Veeam’s configuration guide also allows teams to choose direct transfer or a gateway server, depending on your architecture.
6. Select the existing bucket and map the repository to a folder. Configure any consumption limit, retention setting, or immutability option required by the backup policy.
7. Complete the repository wizard, run a small test backup, and perform a restore before moving production jobs to the new target.

This setup involves both the Latitude.sh Portal and Megaport Portal before the repository is configured in Veeam. Latitude.sh manages the storage resources, while Megaport manages the dedicated network connection.

How does private connectivity improve Veeam backup performance?

Private connectivity can give Veeam backup traffic a more consistent path than the public internet. Instead of competing with general internet traffic and following routes outside the organization’s control, data travels over the Megaport network through a dedicated VXC.

That can make throughput and latency more predictable, which helps teams plan backup windows and estimate restore times. The VXC rate limit can also be adjusted as data volumes change or a large recovery requires more bandwidth.

Private connectivity does not remove every bottleneck. Veeam proxy sizing, gateway placement, source read speed, and encryption and compression overhead can all affect the result. Test the complete backup and restore workflow using representative data rather than treating the connection’s maximum rate as guaranteed application throughput.

If the dedicated Megaport Object Storage connection is unavailable, traffic can fail over to the public internet to maintain access if desired. Teams should test that behavior and understand that the private connection’s performance and traffic-path benefits do not apply while failover is active.

What are the best practices for using Megaport Storage with Veeam?

Backup and data management solutions can have complex requirements in order to align with business needs. Often these systems consist of several moving parts, so end-to-end testing and cost modeling is important.

Before moving production data, teams should:

• Match the tier to the workload: Use Standard Object Storage for backup, disaster recovery, or long-term retention, and assess higher-performance tiers separately for active datasets with different access patterns.
• Keep more than one recovery option: Use the offsite object storage repository as part of a broader backup strategy, with copies separated across suitable media and locations. During recovery, connectivity to the backup storage is as important as the storage itself.
• Size for recovery as well as backup: Calculate the bandwidth needed to complete regular backup jobs, then test whether the same design can restore the required data within the RTO.
• Protect access credentials: Give the Veeam repository only the permissions it needs, store credentials securely, and rotate them under a documented process.
• Align immutability and retention: Enable versioning and object lock where supported, then make its retention period consistent with the Veeam policy and the organization’s legal requirements.
• Test the failure paths: Run scheduled restore tests, monitor Veeam job results and VXC traffic, and verify what happens when the dedicated connection fails over to the public internet.

When should you use Megaport Storage for Veeam backups?

Megaport Storage is a strong fit when an organization needs an efficient offsite repository with high-speed private connectivity. It’s particularly valuable when backup volumes are growing, public internet performance makes backup windows difficult to predict, or egress charges make large restores expensive.

It also suits teams building a layered recovery strategy. A local target can handle frequent operational restores, while Megaport Standard Object Storage holds a separate copy for site-level disruption or longer retention.

The best storage solution for a backup system will depend on the business needs the system is serving. The decision should be based on how much data needs to be protected, how often the data changes, the retention period, the Recovery Point Objective (RPO), the Recovery Time Objective (RTO), and the associated costs.

Megaport Standard Object Storage provides a scalable, cost-effective solution that natively works with Veeam’s S3-compatible repositories, includes private high-speed connectivity, and has no egress or data retrieval costs.