Managing files in VMware ESXi environments can be challenging without the right tools. Veeam FastSCP, a free utility from Veeam, was designed to simplify secure file copy, backup, and VM data management for VMware admins.
This tool remains a favorite in the virtualization community because of its ease of use, speed, and reliability.
This feature might be completely unfamiliar to the vast majority of people—even seasoned Veeam veterans who've been using it for years might be completely unaware of its existence. However, if you're a die-hard Veeam fan and have been following them since 2008, you might not find it unfamiliar. Yes, this is Veeam's very first product from their startup days: Veeam FastSCP.
This product once had its own standalone software package, but now it's hidden within the Files view of the VBR Community Edition. In the Files view, all the operations above are standard Veeam FastSCP functionality. Here, any managed server node can easily transfer data using FastSCP's capabilities. Veeam enables data from these managed nodes to be effortlessly transferred to their destination through Veeam's data transfer service.
An even more powerful feature is that for VMware virtual machine text configuration files—such as VMX, VMDK descriptor files, etc.—FastSCP also provides online editing functionality. Administrators no longer need to open the ESXi Shell and access the console to modify these files.
There are also no quantity restrictions for managed nodes using this feature. Administrators can freely use FastSCP to transfer data.
Why Use Veeam FastSCP?
Traditionally, transferring files between ESXi hosts and local storage required complex SSH/SCP commands. Veeam FastSCP simplified this process with:
A graphical interface for file transfers
Secure connections using standard ESXi protocols
Faster performance than manual SCP commands
📌 According to Veeam’s official site, FastSCP became one of the most popular free VMware tools ever released.
Key Features of Veeam FastSCP
Free, no license required
Up to 6x faster file copy compared to standard SCP
Automatic resume for interrupted transfers
Full support for VMware ESXi free edition
Simple interface designed for VMware administrators
Best Practices for Using FastSCP
Use FastSCP for large ISO and VMDK file transfers.
Pair with Veeam Backup & Replication for a complete backup solution.
Always verify checksums after large transfers to ensure file integrity.
If upgrading to modern VMware environments, consider Veeam Backup Community Edition for advanced features.
Conclusion
The Veeam FastSCP free tool remains an essential utility for VMware administrators who need a fast, secure, and reliable way to copy files and backups in ESXi environments.
While newer tools now provide extended functionality, FastSCP still stands as a lightweight, free, and efficient option for file management in VMware infrastructures.
Free Tape Drive and Library Management Tool – VBR Simplify Backup and Archiving
Last time we talked about VeeamZIP and Veeam Storage Snapshots. This time, let's introduce another powerful free tool in Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition (VBR).
Introduction
Tape storage may sound old-fashioned, but it remains one of the most reliable and cost-effective solutions for long-term data archiving and backup. Managing tape drives and libraries, however, can be complex without the right software.
This guide introduces a free tape drive and library management tool designed to make tape operations easier for IT admins handling enterprise backup and archiving strategies.
When you buy a tape drive, you typically need to pair it with expensive backup software to use it. Many backup software vendors even charge per drive for tape usage—adding just one drive can easily cost hundreds of thousands in licensing fees.
With Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition, tape drive/library management and usage are completely free. Administrators can use the File to Tape feature to write data to tapes. The key point is, just like the previous two capabilities, no matter if your environment has 1 tape drive, 10 tape drives, 10,000 tapes, 10 million files, or 1PB of data, using Veeam's tape drive/library management is fully authorized and completely free, with unlimited usage.
So next time you buy a tape drive, don't foolishly spend money on expensive companion software just for file-to-tape functionality. Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition is all you need.
Why Tape Still Matters in Modern IT
While cloud storage and disk-based solutions are popular, tape remains valuable because it offers:
Low cost per terabyte for archiving.
Durability with a lifespan of 20+ years.
Air-gap protection against ransomware.
📌 According to IDC Research, enterprises still rely on tape for compliance and disaster recovery due to its long-term reliability.
Conclusion
A free tape drive and library management tool can simplify the often-overlooked process of tape-based backups and archiving. With features for automation, monitoring, and compatibility with enterprise backup solutions, it helps IT admins reduce complexity while improving reliability.
For organizations seeking cost-effective long-term storage, tape remains an essential component of a strong data protection strategy.
Last time we introduced the Free Backup tool VeeamZIP, now today it's another free tool: Storage snapshots
Introduction
Data protection is essential in modern IT environments. For small businesses and home labs, cost is often a barrier to deploying enterprise-grade backup solutions. That’s why Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition is a game-changer—it delivers powerful backup and replication features for VMware and Hyper-V at no cost.
Storage snapshots are an advanced feature of Veeam, typically found in the Enterprise Plus edition. Because configuration is somewhat complex, requiring knowledge of both virtualization and storage infrastructure, many entry-level administrators don't commonly use this feature.
However, if your storage is NetApp, Dell EMC SC or Unity, HPE 3PAR or Nimble, Lenovo V-series or DM-series, or Huawei OceanStore series storage, you can fully and freely use the storage snapshot recovery feature in the Community Edition at no cost. This feature will significantly expand these storage systems' capabilities in virtualized environments. Leveraging Veeam's storage snapshot parsing and recovery capabilities, any volume snapshot taken on these storage systems can be utilized with Veeam's full-featured recovery technology, including:
Performing instant single VM recovery from volume snapshots;
Performing instant single virtual disk recovery from volume snapshots;
Recovering guest OS granular files from volume snapshots;
Recovering application objects, including SQL, Oracle, Exchange, AD, and more.
This recovery capability operates without backup tasks and doesn't require Veeam to run backup jobs, making it completely free for snapshot users. Whether your environment has 100 ESXi hosts, 10 enterprise storage systems, 1000 virtual machines, or 1PB of data, recovering data from storage snapshots using this feature remains entirely free. It essentially provides these storage systems with powerful, additional value-added functionality.
So stop saying storage snapshots aren't useful! If you haven't used storage snapshots yet, go ahead and give them a try!
Why Choose Veeam Community Edition?
The Community Edition is designed for small infrastructures, offering protection for up to 10 VMs, servers, or workstations completely free.
Key Benefits
Agentless backup for VMware and Hyper-V
Fast recovery options (full VM restore, file-level recovery)
Application-aware backups for SQL, Exchange, and Active Directory
Replication capabilities for disaster recovery
Free forever, no license expiration
📌 According to Veeam’s official site, the Community Edition includes most features of the paid version but with resource limits.
Best Use Cases for Veeam Free Edition
Small businesses with limited infrastructure
IT pros running lab environments
Developers testing backup strategies
Organizations needing low-cost disaster recovery
How to Get Started with Veeam Community Edition
Download the installer from the official Veeam website.
Install on a Windows Server or supported OS.
Add VMware ESXi or Hyper-V hosts.
Configure backup jobs and test recovery.
Conclusion
The Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition is an excellent free tool for VMware and Hyper-V environments, offering enterprise-grade features without cost.
By leveraging Veeam’s backup, replication, and recovery capabilities, IT admins can ensure data resilience and disaster recovery readiness for small-scale deployments.
Free Backup for VMware and Hyper-V with Veeam Community Edition VeeamZIP
Today, I want to introduce Veeam Software's excellent free tools, recommended for every IT administrator. As a leader in the backup solutions field, Veeam not only offers its powerful flagship product, Veeam Availability Suite, but also provides a full suite of free tools for every IT administrator. These tools are completely ad-free, have no restrictions, and can be used freely. However, they differ from open-source software; Veeam refers to them as Community Edition software.
Veeam's Community Edition software is slightly different from its full-featured commercial versions. Some advanced product features are limited, and there are restrictions on the number of licenses. For detailed limitations, see the Veeam official website:
Nevertheless, despite these restrictions, countless administrators have come to love this powerful Community Edition software. Below, I'll discuss what the Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition can do in an administrator's daily operations. Using these features doesn't consume any Veeam licenses, including the built-in 10 free gift licenses, yet they bring tremendous convenience to our operational management.
VeeamZIP, Free Compression Software from Veeam
This is one of Veeam's classic features, hidden within Veeam products since the first generation, and included as a standard function. As the name suggests, it essentially allows you to package a VMware or Hyper-V virtual machine into a compressed file, turning it into a ZIP archive—similar to how we compress files normally. During restoration, you can extract the original data you need from this compressed archive.
However, VeeamZIP is more than just that; its powerful functionality doesn't stop at ZIP files. VeeamZIP uses Veeam's standard backup engine, but it's not an ordinary backup scheduled task. It's a full backup of the entire virtual machine. Each VeeamZIP operation triggers the backup engine to perform a full backup of the virtual machine, resulting in a .vbk full backup archive.
During restoration, VeeamZIP is treated as a first-class citizen in Veeam, with access to the full suite of recovery features, including:
- Instant Recovery, including cross-platform recovery to VMware or Hyper-V in v11
- Instant Disk Recovery
- Full VM Restore
- Virtual Machine Disk Restore
- Virtual Machine File Restore
- Guest OS Granular File/Object Restore
- Restore to Amazon EC2
- Restore to Microsoft Azure
VeeamZIP doesn't consume any of the 10 built-in instance licenses
More importantly, VeeamZIP is truly free and doesn't consume any of the 10 built-in instance licenses in the Community Edition. Whether your environment has 100 ESXi hosts, 1000 VMs, or 1PB of data capacity, you can use the Community Edition's VeeamZIP to create compressed archives for these virtual machines without any restrictions.
Additionally, there are automated scripts to back up your VMware or Hyper-V environment.
Disaster Recovery Success with Vinchin – Reliable Backup and Business Continuity Solutions
Introduction
When disaster strikes, businesses need fast recovery and reliable data protection to keep operations running. Vinchin has emerged as a trusted provider of enterprise backup and disaster recovery solutions, helping organizations achieve business continuity with confidence.
This article highlights how Vinchin delivers disaster recovery success, what makes its approach effective, and why enterprises are choosing it over traditional methods.
Are you worried about losing critical business data in a disaster? Disaster recovery is a game-changer for businesses aiming to protect data and ensure operations run smoothly. In this article, we dive into the inspiring journey of Vinchin Technology, a Chinese company that transformed from a small tech startup into a global disaster recovery leader. Led by founder Xiaoqin Hu, Vinchin’s story shows how innovation and grit can lead to massive growth.
Why Disaster Recovery Matters
Unexpected failures—whether caused by hardware crashes, ransomware attacks, or natural disasters—can cost enterprises millions in downtime.
According to Gartner Research, companies without a disaster recovery plan face 40% higher risks of permanent data loss.
Disaster recovery is the process of protecting and restoring data after unexpected events like cyberattacks, hardware failures, or natural disasters. It’s not just a nice-to-have—it’s critical for businesses. For example, after the 9/11 attacks, Morgan Stanley resumed operations the next day thanks to robust disaster recovery systems. Source: IDC
Vinchin Technology, based in Chengdu, China, saw this need early on. Starting in 2015, they focused on disaster recovery for virtual machines, filling a gap in the market. Their primary focus keyword, disaster recovery, drives their mission to safeguard data for businesses worldwide.
From Tech Nerds to Global Players: Vinchin’s Journey
Starting Small with Big Dreams
Xiaoqin Hu and his four co-founders began Vinchin with a simple goal: build a product that solves real problems. All tech enthusiasts, they aimed to create a Chinese version of Veeam, a global leader in data protection. But startups aren’t easy. With no initial funding, they poured their savings into research, studying Veeam’s tools to craft their own disaster recovery software. By late 2015, they faced a cash crunch. A $50,000 grant from Chengdu’s High-Tech Zone saved them, letting them focus on what they did best—building great tech. This is a classic example of how small business disaster recovery can start with limited resources but big vision.
Cracking the Overseas Market
Vinchin didn’t just stay local—they went global. In 2017, they launched an English website and began marketing abroad. By 2018, they landed their first overseas order from France. Small but exciting, it proved their cloud disaster recovery solutions worked. Fast forward to 2023, and a major shift in the industry—VMware’s switch to a subscription model—spiked demand for alternatives. Vinchin’s V2V disaster recovery tool, which helps businesses switch platforms like VMware to PVE or OpenStack, saw a surge in inquiries. Their overseas customer base grew four to five times in Q1 2023 alone, thanks to their early global disaster recovery focus. Source: Vinchin’s internal data shared with ITPlus
Key Tip: Start small but think globally. Vinchin’s early investment in an English website opened doors to international markets.
Fun Fact: Vinchin’s user-friendly interface and affordable pricing made them a hit abroad, even against bigger competitors.
Check out this YouTube video for a quick explainer on why disaster recovery matters for businesses.
Overcoming Challenges with Innovation
Building a disaster recovery solution isn’t just about tech—it’s about adapting to change. Hu faced tough challenges, like learning to control costs. He jokingly calls himself the “stingiest” person in the company, but it’s paid off. By carefully managing budgets, Vinchin turned profits even in tough years. Another hurdle was shifting from a tech-only mindset to a business-focused one. Hu now asks, “How will this feature drive sales?” before building it, ensuring every move supports enterprise disaster recovery goals.
Vinchin also tapped into Chengdu’s rich academic resources, collaborating with local universities to test new ideas. This helped them stay ahead in data backup and recovery, especially for open-source platforms like PVE and OpenStack, where competitors lagged.
How Vinchin Ensures Disaster Recovery Success
1. Advanced Backup Technology
Support for VM-level backup across VMware, Hyper-V, XenServer, and Proxmox.
Incremental and deduplication backups reduce storage costs.
2. Fast and Reliable Recovery
Instant VM recovery reduces downtime.
Cross-platform restore ensures flexibility across different hypervisors.
3. Ransomware-Resilient Architecture
Immutable backups protect against malicious encryption.
In 2023, Vinchin made a bold move: they shifted from standard products to tailored industry disaster recovery solutions. Why? Bigger clients in sectors like finance and healthcare need customized tools to protect complex data. By focusing on specific industries, Vinchin can better meet unique needs, like securing sensitive patient data or ensuring bank transactions never stop. This strategic pivot is their “second growth curve,” blending disaster recovery technology with deep industry insights.
For example, their solutions now integrate seamlessly with clients’ existing systems, offering faster recovery times. This move not only boosts their market share but also builds stronger client relationships. Curious about building your own disaster recovery plan? Check out our guide to data protection strategies for practical tips.
Why Vinchin’s Story Inspires Us
Vinchin’s journey shows that disaster recovery isn’t just about tech—it’s about resilience and growth. From a cash-strapped startup to a global player, Xiaoqin Hu’s team proves that small businesses can compete with giants through innovation and adaptability. Their focus on affordable disaster recovery and compatibility with open-source platforms sets them apart.
Hu’s personal growth mirrors Vinchin’s. He transformed from a tech-focused founder to a savvy business leader, embracing challenges like cost management and market uncertainty. His story resonates with entrepreneurs everywhere: change is tough but necessary.
Ready to protect your business? Start exploring disaster recovery solutions today. Visit Vinchin’s website for tools to safeguard your data, or read our backup basics post to get started. Don’t wait for a data disaster—act now!
Best Practices for Using Vinchin in Disaster Recovery
Follow the 3-2-1 backup rule (3 copies, 2 media types, 1 offsite).
Regularly test recovery plans to ensure readiness.
Monitor system health and backup job reports via the Vinchin console.
📌 For deeper insights, see Vinchin Official Website for enterprise case studies and technical documentation. and their Youtube Channel
