Werk #22343: Veeam Backup & Replication: new REST API based special agent
| Component | Checks & agents | ||
| Title | Veeam Backup & Replication: new REST API based special agent | ||
| Date | Sep 24, 2026 | ||
| Level | Prominent Change | ||
| Class | New Feature | ||
| Compatibility | Incompatible - Manual interaction might be required | ||
| Checkmk versions & editions |
|
A new special agent for Veeam Backup & Replication (agent_veeam) is now available,
querying the Veeam REST API directly instead of relying on the PowerShell-based agent
plug-in. It runs alongside the existing plug-in and can be configured independently.
The special agent requires Veeam Backup & Replication 13.0.1.180 or later (REST API version 1.3-rev1). Against an older backup server, it stops with an error naming the required version.
The new special agent currently provides the following services:
- Backup job %s, from the
veeam_backup_jobsagent section (GET /api/v1/jobs/states), reporting the state and result of each configured backup job and the time since its last run, which the perf-o-meter shows. A disabled job is OK by default, configurable in the Veeam: Backup job rule. The same rule sets levels for the time since the last run, which are not applied to disabled jobs. Disabled jobs are discovered by default; to leave them out, use the Veeam: Backup job discovery rule. - Backup %s, from the
veeam_backupsagent section (GET /api/v1/taskSessions), delivered via piggyback to each protected machine. The time since the last backup is checked against the Veeam: Time since last backup rule, with the same default levels as the plug-in's VEEAM Client service (30 hours/2 days). The summary shows the result, the time since the last backup and the backup size; the perf-o-meter shows the time since the last backup. - Veeam License, from the
veeam_licenseagent section (GET /api/v1/license), reporting the license edition, status, expiry, support expiry and consumption. The perf-o-meter shows the time until the license expires. - Configuration backup, from the
veeam_config_backupagent section (GET /api/v1/configBackup), reporting whether configuration backup is enabled, the time since the last successful backup, restore points kept, encryption and the target repository. The perf-o-meter shows the time since the last successful backup. - Backup proxy %s, from the
veeam_proxiesagent section (GET /api/v1/backupInfrastructure/proxies/states), reporting each proxy's type, description, host, and its online, disabled and out-of-date states. A disabled proxy is OK by default, configurable in the Veeam: Backup proxy rule. - Scale-out repository %s, from the
veeam_scaleout_repositoriesagent section (GET /api/v1/backupInfrastructure/scaleOutRepositories), reporting the number of performance extents and their statuses, the capacity and archive tier configuration, and the placement policy. - Restore points, from the
veeam_restore_pointsagent section (GET /api/v1/backupObjectsandGET /api/v1/restorePoints), delivered via piggyback to each protected machine, reporting the age and type of the last restore point, the number of restore points and the malware status. The perf-o-meter shows the age of the last restore point. Like the Backup services, those of a file share backup go to a host named after the share. - Backup repository %s, from the
veeam_repositoriesagent section (GET /api/v1/backupInfrastructure/repositories/states), reporting a backup repository's used space, online and out-of-date states, host, path and description. Each extent of a scale-out repository is discovered as its own service; the scale-out repository itself has no capacity of its own. - Protection group %s, from the
veeam_protection_groupsagent section (GET /api/v1/agents/protectionGroups), reporting each agent protection group's type, number of configured computers (for group types that list them) and description. A disabled protection group is OK by default, configurable in the Veeam: Protection group rule. Reading protection groups requires the Veeam Backup Administrator, Restore Operator or Tape Operator role. - Managed server %s, from the
veeam_managed_serversagent section (GET /api/v1/backupInfrastructure/managedServers), reporting the type and availability status of each server managed by Veeam (hypervisor hosts, Windows and Linux servers, SMB3 servers), its description and its roles. - Replica %s, from the
veeam_replicasagent section (GET /api/v1/replicas), reporting each replica's state, type, platform, source job, creation time and ID. By default, a ready replica is OK, a failed over or failing back one is WARN and a failed failover is CRIT, configurable per replica state in the Veeam: Replica rule. CDP replicas are not monitored, as Veeam reports no state for them. The item is the replica's name followed by the first 8 characters of its ID, as replica names are not unique. Reading replicas requires the Veeam Backup Administrator or Restore Operator role.
The special agent also inventorizes the backup server in the HW/SW inventory, from the
veeam_server_info agent section (GET /api/v1/serverInfo): its name, build
version, platform, configuration database, registration and installed patches. Reading
this endpoint requires a more privileged role than read-only monitoring. An account
without that role makes the special agent stop; deselect this service (see below), or
grant the role.
It also inventorizes the WAN accelerators, from the veeam_wan_accelerators agent
section (GET /api/v1/backupInfrastructure/wanAccelerators): one row per accelerator
with its description, traffic port, number of streams, high bandwidth mode and cache
folder and size. Reading this endpoint requires the Veeam Backup Administrator role.
You can select which services the special agent fetches: every service can be enabled or disabled individually in the rule, and all are enabled by default. Deselect the ones you do not need, for example data your monitoring account cannot read. If a selected service cannot be fetched — because the account lacks a required Veeam role, or for any other reason — the special agent stops and reports the error on the host's Checkmk service, so you can correct the selection or grant the missing permission.
If a host is monitored by both the new special agent and the legacy PowerShell agent
plug-in, the new sections take precedence: veeam_backup_jobs supersedes veeam_jobs,
and veeam_backups supersedes veeam_client. On such a host, the corresponding old
services (from the plug-in) disappear once the new special agent is configured, replaced
by the new ones.
The item of the new services is the job name, sanitized as the plug-in does it: spaces and apostrophes are replaced by underscores. The same job thus has the same item on the old and on the new services. A Veeam: Time since last backup rule with an item condition therefore applies to the new Backup service as it did to VEEAM Client.
Compared with the PowerShell agent plug-in, the special agent:
- Monitors file backup jobs, which the plug-in does not: each gets a Backup job service, and each backed-up file share a Backup and a Restore points service.
- Shows different data on the Backup service than the plug-in's VEEAM Client:
- For Veeam Agent backup jobs, the Veeam REST API does not report per-machine details, so the service is based on the job's last session. Its duration covers the whole session, including its start and finish, so it is longer than the machine's processing time that VEEAM Client showed, and the average speed is not reported.
- For all job types, the backup server is not shown.
Still, Backup job and Backup are new services, not renamed VEEAM Job and VEEAM Client services. Existing graphs, performance data history, and any downtimes or acknowledgements of the old services are lost.