84 tests in collectors/tests, run with Invoke-CollectorTests.ps1 (~15 s, PowerShell 7.2+ and Pester 5.5+): - Module.Tests: the shared module (property lookup, time format, config/lookback, sent-run state and pruning, dry runs, exit codes, 401 detection) - Veeam/Mars/Wsb/Vb365.Tests: each collector run in its own process against its mock and a stand-in ingest API, asserting the behaviours confirmed on real servers: VBR 13 live schedule, copy jobs, MARS UTC times and ErrorCode 0, WSB culture-formatted times and nested VMs, VB365 organization mapping, log prefixes and retries, state and resending, rejected keys - Installers.Tests: config, files and scheduled task from each installer, with stand-ins for icacls / Task Scheduler / the key prompt Collectors run under the test runner's PowerShell, or another shell via -CollectorShell (e.g. powershell.exe, to test under Windows PowerShell 5.1 like the MARS, WSB and VB365 servers). The mocks take their "now" from MOCK_NOW so expectations can't drift with the clock; the WSB mock gains -RunningJobFinished for the running-to-finished case. Each of 12 past bugs, put back one at a time, fails the test for its behaviour (and the runner exits 1). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <[email protected]>
Veeam Backup & Replication collector
A PowerShell script that runs on each client's VBR server and reports job results to the dashboard.
It covers jobs returned by Get-VBRJob: VM backup, replication and backup copy jobs.
Install (on the VBR server, as an administrator)
Requires PowerShell 7 installed machine-wide (winget install Microsoft.PowerShell or the MSI),
which VBR 13's Veeam module expects. The Microsoft Store version won't work, because the SYSTEM
account can't run it. The installer checks for this before changing anything.
- On the dashboard host, create a key for this server:
python manage.py create-key veeam-acme - Copy the whole
collectorsfolder to the VBR server (the installer needscommonas well as this folder), then fromcollectors\veeamrun, from PowerShell 7 (pwsh):It prompts for the key, then:.\Install-VeeamCollector.ps1 -ApiUrl https://backups.example.com -Tenant "Acme Corp"- writes
C:\ProgramData\BackupDashboard\veeam-collector.json(readable only by SYSTEM and Administrators) - copies the script to
C:\Program Files\BackupDashboard\ - registers the scheduled task Backup Dashboard - Veeam collector (SYSTEM, every 60 minutes,
run by
C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe; use-PwshPathif it's installed elsewhere)
- writes
- Preview the payloads, then backfill 30 days so the history view is populated straight away
(from
pwsh):& 'C:\Program Files\BackupDashboard\Send-VeeamBackupStatus.ps1' -DryRun & 'C:\Program Files\BackupDashboard\Send-VeeamBackupStatus.ps1' -LookbackHours 720
Re-run the installer to change settings or update the script. It also installs
BackupDashboard.Collector.psm1, the code shared by all collectors, next to the script. To remove the collector,
delete the scheduled task and both BackupDashboard folders.
What it sends
| Dashboard | Veeam |
|---|---|
| Company | Tenant from the config |
| Job | Job name. The job's GUID is the ID, so renaming a job in Veeam doesn't duplicate it |
| Status | Session result (Success / Warning / Failed). Any state other than Stopped is Running. A session that stopped with no result (e.g. cancelled) is reported as Warning |
| Started / finished | Session CreationTime / EndTime |
| Next scheduled | Job's next run, from the live schedule (GetScheduleOptions()). Sent as empty, so never flagged Overdue, for disabled jobs, chained ("run after") jobs, and immediate-mode backup copy jobs, which run whenever their source does |
| Message | Session reason, each VM or object that didn't succeed, and warning/error lines from the session log |
| Size | BackupStats.BackupSize |
Backup copy jobs (VBR 12+): Veeam records their sessions under hidden per-source "worker" jobs.
The collector files each worker session under its copy job (via the worker's PolicyJobId), so a
copy job gets one run per source job it copies, with the source in copied_from.
Each run covers the last 48 hours (LookbackHours), so a few missed runs (server rebooting, API
down) fill in automatically. Sessions already delivered are recorded in
veeam-collector.state.json. Running sessions are re-sent until they finish.
Troubleshooting
- Log:
C:\ProgramData\BackupDashboard\veeam-collector.log(rotates at 5 MB). - Exit codes:
0OK,1some jobs failed to send (they're retried next run),2setup failed (config, Veeam module, or Veeam connection). API key rejected: the key was revoked or mistyped. Re-run the installer with a new key.- A job shows Unknown on the dashboard: the collector sent the job but matched no sessions to it.
Run
.\Get-VeeamCollectorDiagnostics.ps1(read-only). It lists sessions whose job ID matches no job, plus the type and link properties of the jobs left without sessions. Get-VBRBackupSessionloads every session in the VBR database. On a server with years of history, this can make each run take a minute or more. The task's 30-minute limit and "don't start if already running" setting keep that safe.
Testing without Veeam
tests/MockVeeam.ps1 defines stand-in Get-VBRJob / Get-VBRBackupSession cmdlets with a mix of
success, warning, failed, running and disabled jobs:
. ./tests/MockVeeam.ps1
./Send-VeeamBackupStatus.ps1 -ConfigPath ./my-test-config.json -DryRun
Not covered yet
- Veeam Agent jobs managed by VBR (
Get-VBRComputerBackupJob), tape jobs, and SureBackup. - Veeam Backup for Microsoft 365, which has its own PowerShell module.