Notes about using the Agent for Hyper-V

Last published : Apr 02, 2026
The Backup Exec Agent for Hyper-V lets you back up and restore Hyper-V virtual machines that are hosted on Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and later. This version of Backup Exec supports the Windows Server 2012 and later vhdx file format and Microsoft incremental backups.
  • Virtual machines that have only vhd files
Both file/folder-level GRT and application-level GRT are fully supported.
  • Virtual machines that have only vhdx files
    • For a Backup Exec server that runs Windows 2008 R2 or earlier
If a virtual machine has only vhdx files, file/folder-level GRT and application-level GRT are supported if the vhdx has a capacity of less than 2040 GB and the logical sector size within the vhdx is 512 bytes. If the vhdx files have a capacity larger than 2040 GB, then file/folder-level GRT and application-level GRT are not supported. The job completes with a status of success with exceptions, but no GRT restore capability will be available. A full restore of the virtual machine will be available.
  • For a Backup Exec server that runs Windows 2012 or later
Both file/folder-level GRT and application-level GRT are fully supported.
  • Virtual machines that have a mixture of vhd and vhdx files
    • For a Backup Exec server that runs Windows 2008 R2 or earlier
If a virtual machine has a mixture of vhd and vhdx files, but all of the vhdx files have a capacity of less than 2 TB and the logical sector size within the vhdx is 512 bytes, then both file/folder-level GRT and application-level GRT are fully supported.
If a virtual machine has a mixture of vhd and vhdx files, but one or more vhdx files have a capacity of greater than 2 TB, then file/folder-level GRT and application-level GRT are not supported. The job completes with a status of success with exceptions, but no GRT restore capability will be available. A full restore of the virtual machine will be available.
  • For a Backup Exec server that runs Windows 2012 or later
Both file/folder-level GRT and application-level GRT are fully supported.
  • Any virtual machines that are configured with Fiber Channel HBAs are skipped during backup jobs. The job log lists a message to indicate that the virtual machine was skipped.
  • Remote VSS is not supported. In other words, virtual machines with vhd or vhdx files that are located on shares are not supported.
  • A VSS Copy backup of a virtual machine is not supported.
  • Backup Exec does not support instant recovery of a virtual machine to a Hyper-V server that runs an older version than the Hyper-V server from which you backed up the virtual machine. For example, a virtual machine that was backed up from a Hyper-V 2012 host cannot be restored to a virtual machine with an earlier version of Hyper-V, such as 2008 or 2008 R2.
  • Any virtual machines that have storage spaces are not supported because Microsoft Hyper-V VSS is unable to take snapshots of virtual machines with storage spaces.
  • Hyper-V Replication virtual machine backups may result in redundant backups of the primary virtual machine and the replicated virtual machine.
  • Virtual machines that are configured with remote storage are skipped during backup jobs. The job log contains a message about the virtual machines that were skipped.
  • If you back up a volume that is located on a vhdx disk and that was formatted with the "Perform a quick format" option deselected, then the size of the backup equals the size of the disk instead of the size of the data that was backed up.
  • Virtual machines that have shared vhdx files are excluded from a backup job and the job fails.
  • The restore of a Gen2 virtual machine can be redirected only to another Hyper-V host that runs Windows Server 2012 R2 or higher.
  • To enable GRT for a Hyper-V virtual machine that runs Active Directory or Active Directory Lightweight and backup that virtual machine to tape, both the Hyper-V host and the Backup Exec server must run the same version of the Windows server. For example, if you want to enable GRT for a Hyper-V virtual machine that runs Active Directory or Active Directory Lightweight on Windows Server 2012 R2 and backup that virtual machine to tape, both the Hyper-V host and the Backup Exec server must run Windows Server 2012 R2.
More Information
Requirements for using the Agent for Microsoft Hyper-V