# Backup Repository Before you start planning for the repository, go through Veeam Backup & Replication online documentation at to get basic understanding of repositories. You can balance the load across the backup infrastructure by setting up several repositories in the environment and limiting the number of concurrent jobs for each repository, or if you have a proper license you can leverage Scale-out Backup Repository as explained later on in this section. ## The 3-2-1 rule The 3-2-1 rule states that an environment, in order to be properly protected, has to have **3 copies of data, stored on 2 different media, with at least 1 copy in a different location**. Each of the parts of the rule involves the use of a storage device, that's why a Backup Repository is such a key component in each Veeam deployment. The 3-2-1 rule however is a data protection strategy, whereas **availability** requires the different storage implemented in this strategy to support additional capabilities like: * Instant VM recovery * File transforms * Distant copies * Item restoration * Sure Backup This is the reason why v9.0 introduced two major new features for Veeam backup repositories : **Scale-out Backup Repository** and **Per-VM Backup chains**. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://old.veeambp.com/repository_server.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.