Using Z1 Storage as a Backend for Veeam Backup & Replication

Z1 Storage is fully S3-compatible cloud storage, which makes it a reliable, cost-effective backend for Veeam Backup & Replication. Since Veeam v12, backup jobs can write directly to object storage — no scale-out repository required — and this guide covers that workflow as it appears in the current release, Veeam Backup & Replication v13.

Prerequisites

• An active Veeam Backup & Replication v12 or v13 installation
• A Z1 Storage account with a bucket created for your Veeam backups
• Your Z1 Storage Access Key ID and Secret Access Key (from your client area)
• The Z1 Storage endpoint: https://s3.z1storage.com

Step 1: Prepare Z1 Storage

1. Log in to your Z1 Storage client area.
2. Create a dedicated bucket for Veeam backups (a dedicated bucket keeps permissions and lifecycle management simple). If you want immutable, ransomware-resilient backups, expand Advanced Settings during bucket creation and set Object lock to Enabled — this is a permanent setting and can only be chosen when the bucket is created.
3. Note your access key and secret key — you will enter these in the Veeam console.

Step 2: Add Z1 Storage as a Backup Repository

1. In the Veeam Backup & Replication console, open the Backup Infrastructure view.
2. Right-click Backup Repositories and select Add backup repository.
3. Choose Object storage → S3 Compatible → S3 Compatible.
4. Give the repository a name, e.g. Z1 Storage.
5. On the Account step:
   • Service point: https://s3.z1storage.com
   • Region: leave the default (us-east-1) unless advised otherwise
   • Credentials: click Add and enter your Z1 Storage access key and secret key
6. On the Bucket step, browse to and select the bucket you created, then click Browse next to Folder and create a folder for this repository.
7. Complete the wizard with the defaults, review the summary and click Finish.

Step 3: Point a Backup Job at Z1 Storage

1. Go to the Home view and click Backup Job (choose your platform — VMware, Hyper-V, agent, etc.).
2. Select the VMs or machines you want to protect.
3. On the Storage step, select your new Z1 Storage repository as the target — backup jobs can write straight to object storage.
4. Set your retention policy and schedule, then save the job.

Alternatively, you can use Z1 Storage as the Capacity Tier of a Scale-Out Backup Repository to automatically offload older restore points to the cloud while keeping recent backups on local disk — a natural fit for the 3-2-1 backup rule.

Step 4: Verify and Restore

• Run the job and confirm it completes successfully, then check that objects are appearing in your bucket via your Z1 interface or a client such as S3Browser or rclone.
• Test a restore: Veeam supports full VM restores, file-level recovery and application item-level recovery directly from the Z1 Storage repository.

Notes and Good Practice

• Keep your Veeam installation up to date; the current release is v13. The steps above are near-identical in v12.
• To use Veeam’s Make recent backups immutable repository option, your bucket must have been created with Object lock enabled (see Step 1). Object lock cannot be added to an existing bucket, so plan this before your first backup. Only enable immutability in Veeam against an object-lock-enabled bucket.
• Monitor job sessions and storage consumption regularly, and review Veeam's own best-practice guidance for object storage repositories.

By following this guide you have integrated Z1 Storage as a direct backup target for Veeam Backup & Replication — combining Veeam's recovery capabilities with affordable, POPIA-compliant object storage hosted in South Africa.