Hello everyone,
This time I’ll be talking a bit about a project I’ve been working on for the last few months that has the use of creating basic diagrams of the components of the Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure. The tool is called Veeam.Diagrammer and you can see the project page on Github. Here is the link so you can see the features of this tool.
Moreover, this project is still under continuous development, so you may encounter errors or bugs 😁.
**Important: This module is published in PowerShell Gallery.
Now, to get started, the following requirements must be met:
- Windows OS (Veeam modules work only on Windows)
- PowerShell v5.1+
- Veeam.Backup.PowerShell module >= 1.0
To validate the Powershell version, the "$PSVersionTable “ variable can be used from a PowerShell console:
PS C:\Users\jocolon> $PSVersionTable
Name Value
---- -----
PSVersion 5.1.19041.1682
PSEdition Desktop
PSCompatibleVersions {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...}
BuildVersion 10.0.19041.1682
CLRVersion 4.0.30319.42000
WSManStackVersion 3.0
PSRemotingProtocolVersion 2.3
SerializationVersion 1.1.0.1
PS C:\Users\jocolon>
To confirm if the required Veeam modules are present, you can use the “Get-Module “ cmdlet as shown in the following example:
PS C:\Users\jocolon> Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name @('Veeam.Backup.PowerShell')
Directory: C:\Program Files\Veeam\Backup and Replication\Console
ModuleType Version Name ExportedCommands
---------- ------- ---- ----------------
Manifest 1.0 Veeam.Backup.PowerShell {Get-VBRComputerFileProxyServe....}
PS C:\Users\jocolon>
If the command does not return any results, it means that the module is not installed. It is important to note that Veeam.Backup.PowerShell modules are available on the Veeam Backup server or on any device where the management console is already installed. Reference:
The remote computer from which Veeam PowerShell commands are executed must have the Veeam Backup & Replication console installed. After installing the console, the Veeam powershell module will be installed by default.
To install the Veeam.Diagrammer from the PowerShell Gallery use the “Install-Module “ command:
PS C:\Users\jocolon> Install-Module -Name Veeam.Diagrammer
PS C:\Users\jocolon>
To confirm if all dependencies are installed, you can use the “Get-Module” cmdlet.
PS C:\Users\jocolon> Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name @('Veeam.Backup.PowerShell','Veeam.Diagrammer')
Directory: C:\Users\jocolon\Documents\WindowsPowerShell\Modules
ModuleType Version Name ExportedCommands
---------- ------- ---- ----------------
Script 0.5.0 Veeam.Diagrammer New-VeeamDiagram
Directory: C:\Program Files\Veeam\Backup and Replication\Console
ModuleType Version Name ExportedCommands
---------- ------- ---- ----------------
Manifest 1.0 Veeam.Backup.PowerShell {Get-VBRComputerFileProxyServer, New-VBRSanIntegrationOptions, New-VBRSelectedPersonalFolders, New-VBRUnixScheduleOptions...}
PS C:\Users\jocolon>
Finally, the “New-VeeamDiagram “ cmdlet is used to build the diagram. It is important to note that you need to use the IP address or the FQDN of the Veeam Backup Server as “Target “.
Store Credentials in a Variable
PS C:\Users\jocolon> $Credential = Get-Credential
PowerShell credential request
Enter your credentials.
User: Veeam_Admin
Password for user Veeam_Admin: ***********
New-VeeamDiagram command
PS C:\Users\jocolon> New-VeeamDiagram -Target veeam-vbr.pharmax.local -Username "pharmax\administrator" -Password p@ssw0rd -Format pdf,dot -Direction top-to-bottom -OutputFolderPath C:\Users\jocolon\ -EdgeType polyline -DiagramType Backup-to-Proxy -Verbose -EnableEdgeDebug -EnableSubGraphDebug
VERBOSE: Loading module from path 'C:\Program Files\Veeam\Backup and Replication\Console\Veeam.Backup.PowerShell\..\Veeam.Backup.PowerShell.dll'.
VERBOSE: Trying to import Veeam B&R modules.
VERBOSE: Loading module from path 'C:\Program Files\Veeam\Backup and Replication\Console\Veeam.Backup.PowerShell\..\Veeam.Backup.PowerShell.dll'.
VERBOSE: Identifying Veeam Powershell module version.
VERBOSE: Using Veeam Powershell module version 11.
VERBOSE: Loading module from path 'C:\Program Files\Veeam\Backup and Replication\Console\Veeam.Backup.PowerShell\..\Veeam.Backup.PowerShell.dll'.
VERBOSE: Establishing initial connection to Backup Server: veeam-vbr.pharmax.local.
VERBOSE: Looking for veeam existing server connection.
VERBOSE: Existing veeam server connection found
VERBOSE: Validating connection to veeam-vbr.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: Successfully connected to veeam-vbr.pharmax.local:9392 Backup Server.
VERBOSE: Operation '' complete.
VERBOSE: Collecting Backup Server information from VEEAM-VBR.pharmax.local.
VERBOSE: VEEAM-VBR.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-VBR.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-SQL.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-SQL.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-EM.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-EM.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: Collecting Backup Proxy information from VEEAM-VBR.pharmax.local.
VERBOSE: VEEAM-VBR.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-VBR.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-VBR-02V.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-VBR-02V.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: Collecting Backup Proxy information from VEEAM-VBR.pharmax.local.
VERBOSE: pharmax-cluster.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: pharmax-cluster.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-HV-02
VERBOSE: VEEAM-HV-02
VERBOSE: VEEAM-HV-01
VERBOSE: VEEAM-HV-01
VERBOSE: Collecting Backup Proxy information from VEEAM-VBR.pharmax.local.
VERBOSE: VEEAM-VBR.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-VBR.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-VBR-02V.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-VBR-02V.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: Collecting Backup Proxy information from VEEAM-VBR.pharmax.local.
VERBOSE: pharmax-cluster.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: pharmax-cluster.pharmax.local
VERBOSE: VEEAM-HV-02
VERBOSE: VEEAM-HV-02
VERBOSE: VEEAM-HV-01
VERBOSE: VEEAM-HV-01
Diagram 'Output.pdf' has been saved to 'C:\Users\jocolon\'.
Diagram 'Output.dot' has been saved to 'C:\Users\jocolon\'.
PS C:\Users\jocolon>
Here are several examples of the generated diagram.
Tape Infrastructure Diagram
Backup Repository Diagram
Scale-Out Backup Repository Diagram
I also include several options on how to construct the diagram.
.SYNOPSIS
Diagram the configuration of Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure in PDF/SVG/DOT/PNG formats using PSGraph and Graphviz.
.DESCRIPTION
Diagram the configuration of Veeam Backup & Replication infrastructure in PDF/SVG/DOT/PNG formats using PSGraph and Graphviz.
.PARAMETER DiagramType
Specifies the type of veeam vbr diagram that will be generated.
.PARAMETER Target
Specifies the IP/FQDN of the system to connect.
Multiple targets may be specified, separated by a comma.
.PARAMETER Port
Specifies a optional port to connect to Veeam VBR Service.
By default, port will be set to 9392
.PARAMETER Credential
Specifies the stored credential of the target system.
.PARAMETER Username
Specifies the username for the target system.
.PARAMETER Password
Specifies the password for the target system.
.PARAMETER Format
Specifies the output format of the diagram.
The supported output formats are PDF, PNG, DOT & SVG.
Multiple output formats may be specified, separated by a comma.
.PARAMETER Direction
Set the direction in which resource are plotted on the visualization
By default, direction will be set to top-to-bottom.
.PARAMETER NodeSeparation
Controls Node separation ratio in visualization
By default, NodeSeparation will be set to .60.
.PARAMETER SectionSeparation
Controls Section (Subgraph) separation ratio in visualization
By default, NodeSeparation will be set to .75.
.PARAMETER EdgeType
Controls how edges lines appear in visualization
By default, EdgeType will be set to spline.
.PARAMETER OutputFolderPath
Specifies the folder path to save the diagram.
.PARAMETER Filename
Specifies a filename for the diagram.
.PARAMETER EnableEdgeDebug
Control to enable edge debugging ( Dummy Edge and Node lines ).
.PARAMETER EnableSubGraphDebug
Control to enable subgraph debugging ( Subgraph Lines ).