It’s official: Veeam now supports XCP-ng. With Veeam Data Platform v13.1, released on 30 July 2026, XCP-ng became a fully supported hypervisor in Veeam Backup & Replication – alongside Citrix XenServer, Sangfor aSV, VergeIO, Platform9 and (shortly after) Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization.
For many XCP-ng users this was the missing piece. XCP-ng has grown fast as an open-source VMware alternative, but organisations standardised on Veeam were reluctant to move without their backup platform. Back in 2024 we asked whether Veeam was going to support XCP-ng soon. The answer is now a clear yes.
Here’s what’s new, what the XCP-ng integration can and can’t do, and what to consider before you deploy it.
Release at a glance
| Product | Veeam Data Platform v13.1 (Veeam Backup & Replication 13.1) |
| General availability | 30 July 2026 |
| Build | 13.1.0.411 |
| XCP-ng beta | Public beta plug-in from 30 September 2025 (for VBR 12.3.2) |
| New hypervisors | XCP-ng, Citrix XenServer, Sangfor aSV, VergeIO, Platform9; Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization plug-in following later in Q3 |
| Total hypervisors supported | 14 |
The road to XCP-ng support
- 2024 – The VMware/Broadcom upheaval pushes many organisations towards Proxmox VE and XCP-ng. Veeam adds Proxmox VE support first; XCP-ng users keep asking.
- 30 September 2025 – Veeam releases a public beta XCP-ng plug-in for Veeam Backup & Replication 12.3.2, with CBT-based incremental backups, file-level and item-level restore, malware detection, backup copy and tape support.
- Late 2025 – mid 2026 – Beta testing in the community; Veeam Backup & Replication 13 introduces the Linux-based Veeam Software Appliance and a new web UI.
- 30 July 2026 – Veeam Data Platform 13.1 makes XCP-ng (and Citrix XenServer) fully supported.
What Veeam 13.1 can do for XCP-ng
According to Veeam’s release information and early coverage, XCP-ng support in 13.1 includes:
Backup
- Agentless, image-level VM backups
- Incremental backups using Changed Block Tracking (CBT)
- Jobs based on VMs, tags or clusters
- Backup to all common Veeam repository types – including hardened Linux repositories and object storage with immutability (now the default in v13.1)
Restore
- Full VM restore to XCP-ng
- File-level restore and application item recovery with Veeam Explorers (e.g. Active Directory, Exchange, SQL Server)
- Instant recovery of XCP-ng backups to other platforms – vSphere, Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, and Proxmox VE (experimental)
- Cross-platform restore to XCP-ng from VMware, Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, public cloud and physical machines protected with Veeam Agent – very useful for migrations
- Restore to public cloud – AWS, Azure and Google Cloud
- Disk export to VHD, VHDX or VMDK
Security and verification
- Malware/threat scanning and detection before restore
- Backup integrity checks
In other words: XCP-ng becomes a first-class Veeam workload, managed from the same console as your VMware, Hyper-V or Proxmox VMs.
Known limitations and requirements
Early documentation and coverage list several points to check before deploying:
- NBD transport requires XCP-ng 8.3 LTS (it depends on OpenSSL 3.0.9 shipped with 8.3) and is disabled by default.
- Hot-Add isn’t supported on SMAPIv3-based storage repositories, and has issues on GFS2 storage.
- Xen RAW disks don’t support snapshots and must be converted before they can be protected.
- If the pool coordinator (master) role moves to another host, operations may pause until the console is updated and the new certificate accepted.
- Restoring to the original location may not preserve disk IDs – the next incremental can then behave like a full.
- Xen Orchestra metadata (such as XO-specific tags or settings) isn’t preserved, and names longer than 80 characters are truncated when restoring to other platforms.
- Restored VMs moved to another hypervisor may need driver, network, boot or licensing adjustments – test restores are strongly recommended.
As always, read the official release notes and “Considerations and Limitations” page for your exact build before production use.
Other highlights in Veeam Data Platform 13.1
XCP-ng isn’t the only news in this release:
- Six new hypervisors – XCP-ng, Citrix XenServer, Sangfor aSV, VergeIO, Platform9 and OpenShift Virtualization – for 14 in total, plus a Universal Hypervisor API for further vendors
- Proxmox VE improvements – VM replication, instant VM recovery, VLAN tagging, and wider web UI and RBAC coverage
- Clean recovery – threat detection before restore, so you restore only clean recovery points
- Active Directory Forest Recovery for faster identity recovery after an attack
- Immutable backups by default
- Malware scanning for NAS backups
- Post-quantum cryptography aligned with NIST standards, plus hybrid FIPS support
- New application support – e.g. Epic EHR, DB2 on Windows, Oracle incremental merge
- NAS long-term retention directly to AWS S3 Glacier and Azure Archive
- Further web UI and Veeam Software Appliance improvements, including more languages
Veeam or Xen Orchestra for XCP-ng backup?
XCP-ng already has a capable built-in backup engine in Xen Orchestra. So when does Veeam make sense?
| Xen Orchestra backup | Veeam 13.1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Included with XOA / free from sources | Commercial (per workload) |
| Integration | Native, same console as VM management | Separate Veeam console |
| Incremental (CBT) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Replication & health checks | ✓ | Check current docs for XCP-ng replication |
| Immutable repositories | ✓ | ✓ (default in 13.1) |
| Application-aware item restore | ✗ | ✓ Veeam Explorers |
| Cross-hypervisor restore | ✗ | ✓ |
| Restore to public cloud | ✗ | ✓ |
| Malware detection before restore | ✗ | ✓ |
| One tool for VMware, Hyper-V, Proxmox, physical, M365 | ✗ | ✓ |
Choose Xen Orchestra if you run XCP-ng only and want a simple, integrated, low-cost solution.
Choose Veeam 13.1 if you already use Veeam, run several hypervisors, are migrating from VMware (restore VMware backups directly to XCP-ng!), or need application-aware restores and advanced ransomware features.
Many organisations will use both: Xen Orchestra for fast operational backups and replication, Veeam for application-aware and cross-platform protection.
Before you upgrade or deploy
- Run XCP-ng 8.3 LTS (required for NBD transport; older releases no longer get updates)
- Read the 13.1 release notes and the XCP-ng considerations and limitations
- Check your storage repository types (SMAPIv3, GFS2, RAW disks)
- If you used the beta plug-in, plan the move to the GA version and test existing jobs
- Check licensing – XCP-ng VMs consume Veeam workload licences
- Back up the Veeam configuration before upgrading
- Run a test backup and full restore of a non-critical VM
- Test file-level and application item restore if you rely on them
- Don’t run Xen Orchestra and Veeam backup jobs on the same VMs at the same time without planning snapshots and schedules
What this means for the VMware exit
Backup was one of the biggest practical barriers for organisations considering XCP-ng. With Veeam now officially supporting it – and supporting restores from VMware to XCP-ng – that barrier is largely gone. Combined with XCP-ng 8.3 LTS, Xen Orchestra and Vates support, XCP-ng is now a much easier choice for Veeam shops leaving VMware.
It also shows how quickly the backup market has adapted: in roughly two years, Veeam has gone from VMware, Hyper-V and Nutanix to 14 hypervisors. For customers, that means more freedom to choose a platform on its merits.
FAQ
When was Veeam Data Platform 13.1 released?
Veeam Data Platform v13.1 became generally available on 30 July 2026 (build 13.1.0.411).
Does Veeam support XCP-ng?
Yes. Since version 13.1, XCP-ng is a fully supported hypervisor in Veeam Backup & Replication, with CBT-based incremental backups, file-level restore, Veeam Explorers and cross-platform restore.
Which XCP-ng version do I need?
XCP-ng 8.3 LTS is recommended – NBD transport requires it, and older XCP-ng releases no longer receive updates.
Does Veeam 13.1 also support Citrix XenServer?
Yes. Citrix XenServer was added together with XCP-ng.
Can I migrate VMware VMs to XCP-ng with Veeam?
Yes. Veeam 13.1 supports restoring backups from VMware (and Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, cloud and physical) to XCP-ng – a practical migration path.
Is there a free version?
Veeam Backup & Replication Community Edition is free for up to 10 workloads. Check the current edition limits for XCP-ng support. See Free Backup Software for Proxmox, Hyper-V and VMware.
Conclusion
With Veeam Data Platform 13.1, XCP-ng users finally get what many had been waiting for: official, fully supported Veeam backups – incremental with CBT, application-aware restores, malware detection and the ability to move workloads between XCP-ng, VMware, Hyper-V, Proxmox and the cloud.
There are still limitations to check, and Xen Orchestra remains an excellent native option. But for organisations standardised on Veeam, XCP-ng is now a fully viable destination for the post-VMware era.
Have you tested Veeam 13.1 with XCP-ng yet? Share your experience in the comments.
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