How each backup copy mode picks restore points, when it runs and how GFS fulls are created.
From Ultra Transcenders VBR-13 by Tony Rough (coming January 2027)
The copy mode is chosen at the Name step and can be changed later by editing the job. It sets when data moves and what gets copied.
| Immediate copy | Periodic copy | |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | As soon as a new restore point appears in the source | On the job schedule |
| What is copied | Every new restore point from the source jobs, in order | The latest complete restore point at each run |
| Transaction log backups | Can be copied (Include database transaction log backups) | Not supported; turn log processing off before switching from immediate |
| Enterprise application plug-in backups | Supported | Not listed as supported |
| Schedule options | Data transfer Any time or During the following time periods only | Daily at this time, Monthly at this time, Periodically every, After this job; retries; Terminate job if it exceeds allowed backup window |
| Prohibited hours | Running sessions with unfinished transfer are stopped with status Failed; no new sessions start; when the window opens, all missed points are copied as separate increments | The job cannot start; a running job is stopped |
| GFS full on its scheduled day | Not created if the job did not run that day | Created even if a scheduled run is still in progress (the run is completed first) |
During prohibited hours only data transfer stops. Transformation in the target repository (merges, GFS fulls) still runs. The backup copy window defaults to allowing transfer at any time. In periodic mode, if several source jobs protect the same workload, only points from the first job in the Objects list are copied.
Decision rule. Choose immediate when the copy must track the primary closely (low RPO for the second copy) or when log backups and plug-in backups must also be copied. Choose periodic when only a regular snapshot of the latest state is needed, for example a nightly off-site copy over a link that is busy by day.
Common trap: Choosing periodic mode for SQL Server VMs and expecting transaction log backups to reach the second site - only immediate copy can copy log backups, and logging must be off before switching a job from immediate to periodic.
This note is one section of Ultra Transcenders VBR-13: Veeam Backup & Replication 13, an independent study guide that explains every topic the course covers by technology, with comparison tables, diagrams and the common traps, plus a glossary linked to the Veeam Help Center.
Due on Amazon in January 2027, in Kindle and paperback editions.
About the book · VBR-13 terms in the glossary · All VBR-13 study notes
How a backup proxy reads VM data, the order Veeam tries the modes in, and when it falls back to Network mode.
Where the full backup sits in each chain, what each method costs in storage and I/O, and why reverse incremental is deprecated in v13.
Immutability, single-use and certificate-based credentials, and what a hardened repository will not let you do.
Which Veeam technology meets a recovery point and recovery time objective, and what each keeps.