Use PowerShell to randomly stagger Veeam backup schedules

# This script will randomly stagger Veeam 9 backup schedules for one or more jobs 
# Only schedule-related settings are modified. The script does not enable or disable job options.
# Run this on a Veeam Backup and Replication version 9 server
# You could even copy and paste it into Veeam Backup and Replication > Menu > PowerShell
# Written by Jason Pearce of jasonpearce.com in September 2016
# Use at your own risk, freely share, and comment on improvements
 
##############################################
# ENABLE Veeam PowerShell Snap-In ############
##############################################
 
# Add Veeam snap-in if required
if ((Get-PSSnapin -Name VeeamPSSnapin -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) -eq $null) {add-pssnapin VeeamPSSnapin}
 
 
##############################################
# DEFINE User Preferences ####################
##############################################
 
# Target: Using the names of backup jobs (wildcards, prefix, suffix), define which jobs this script should target
#$Jobs = Get-VBRJob -Name "ExampleJob" #(one specific job)
#$Jobs = Get-VBRJob -Name "Prefix-*" #(one or more jobs)
#$Jobs = Get-VBRJob -Name "*-Suffix" #(one or more jobs)
$Jobs = Get-VBRJob -Name "TestJob"
#$Jobs = Get-VBRJob -Name "*" | Where-Object { $_.IsBackup -eq $true -and $_.IsScheduleEnabled -eq $true } | Sort Name #(all enabled backup jobs)
#$Jobs = Get-VBRJob -Name "*-by-folder" | Where-Object { $_.IsBackup -eq $true -and $_.IsScheduleEnabled -eq $true } | Sort Name
 
# Frequency: How many times per day should each job run? (e.g. minum frequency of backups)
$BackupFrequencyPerDay = 4
 
# Retention: How many days of restore points should be retained? (e.g. the oldest restore point). Leave black if you do not want it modified.
$BackupRetentionInDays = 7
 
# --------------------------------------------
# Decide what to Randomize (set $True or $False). 
# The script will randomize each schedule, but does not Enable or Disable the backup job option.
# --------------------------------------------
 
# Randomize Synthetic Full Backups Periodically schedule?
$RandomizeSyntheticFull = $True
 
# Randomize Active Full Backup schedule (both Monthly On and Weekly On)?
$RandomizeActiveFull = $True
 
# Randomize Storage-Level Corruption Guard schedule (both Monthly On and Weekly On)?
$RandomizeStorageLevelCorruptionGard = $True
 
# Randomize Full Backup File Maintenance schedule (both Monthly On and Weekly On)?
$RandomizeFullBackupFileMaintenance = $True
 
# Randomize Periodically Every X Minutes schedule? (this is the main purpose of the script)
$RandomizePeriodicallyEvery = $True
 
# Randomize Time Periods schedule? (this adds a random Denied offset to each day to prevent all Periodic jobs from running at midnight)
$RandomizeTimePeriods = $True
 
# Randomize Start Time Within An Hour schedule? (instead of starting at :00, jobs will stagger start at :09, :17, :41, etc. minutes after the hour)
$RandomizeStartTimeWithinHour = $True
 
# Randomize Automatic Retry Wait in minutes (wait before each retry attempt for X minutes)
$RandomizeAutomaticRetryWait = $True
 
##############################################
# CALCULATE User Preferences #################
##############################################
 
# Frequency Quantity Calculation: Create a range of how many times per day each job should run (e.g. +-0.9)
$MinNumBackupsPerDay = $BackupFrequencyPerDay - 0.9
$MaxNumBackupsPerDay = $BackupFrequencyPerDay + 0.9
 
# Frequency Minutes Calculation: Converting the quantity range into minutes (e.g. backup every 200 to 300 minutes)
$MinutesInADay = 1440
$MinBackupRangeInMinutes = [math]::Round($MinutesInADay/$MaxNumBackupsPerDay)
$MaxBackupRangeInMinutes = [math]::Round($MinutesInADay/$MinNumBackupsPerDay)
 
# Retention Calculation: Should be ($BackupFrequencyPerDay x $BackupRetentioninDays)
# GUI > Edit Backup Job > Storage > Retention Policy > Restore points to keep on disk
$RetainCycles = $BackupFrequencyPerDay * $BackupRetentioninDays
 
 
##############################################
# BEGIN Script ###############################
##############################################
 
 
##############################################
# BEGIN Random variables                     #
##############################################
 
# RandomFullPeriod: Variable for Schedule > Run the job automatically > Periodically every XX minutes. Must be a value between 0 and 1440.
$RandomFullPeriodMinimum = $MinBackupRangeInMinutes
$RandomFullPeriodMaximum = $MaxBackupRangeInMinutes
 
# RandomHourlyOffset: Variable for Schedule > Run the job automatically > Periodically every > Schedule > Start time within an hour. Must be a value between 0 and 59.
$RandomHourlyOffsetMinimum = 0
$RandomHourlyOffsetMaximum = 59
 
# RandomRetryTimeout: Variable for Schedule > Automatic Retry > Wait before each retry attempt for. Must be a value between 0 and 59.
$RandomRetryTimeoutMinimum = 30
$RandomRetryTimeoutMaximum = 59
 
# RandomMidnightDelay: Variable to prevent all periodic backup jobs from running at midnight (Schedule Denied).
$RandomMidnightDelay0Hours = "0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0"
$RandomMidnightDelay1Hours = "1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0"
$RandomMidnightDelay2Hours = "1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0"
$RandomMidnightDelay3Hours = "1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0"
$RandomMidnightDelay4Hours = "1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0"
$RandomMidnightDelay5Hours = "1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0"
$RandomMidnightDelay6Hours = "1,1,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0"
 
# RandomPermitDeny: Default schedule settings for documentation purposes.
#$RandomPermitDenyDefault = "<scheduler><Sunday>0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Sunday><Monday>0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Monday><Tuesday>0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Tuesday><Wednesday>0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Wednesday><Thursday>0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Thursday><Friday>0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Friday><Saturday>0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0</Saturday></scheduler>"
 
# Every Day Number in the Month
$EveryDayNumberInMonth = "First","Second","Third","Fourth","Last"
 
# Every Day of the Week
$EveryDayOfWeek = "Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"
 
# Every Month of the Year
$EveryMonthOfYear = "January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"
 
# Random Day Number in the Month (mostly here for copy/paste reference in the foreach loop, because we'll want uniquely random results each time)
$RandomDayNumberInMonth = Get-Random -Input "First","Second","Third","Fourth","Last"
 
# Random Day of the Week (mostly here for copy/paste reference in the foreach loop, because we'll want uniquely random results each time)
$RandomDayOfWeek = Get-Random -Input "Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"
 
# Random Month of the Year (mostly here for copy/paste reference in the foreach loop, because we'll want uniquely random results each time)
$RandomMonthOfYear = Get-Random -Input "January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"
 
# Script Name
$scriptName = "RandomizeBackupJobSchedules"
 
# Start Time
$starttime = Get-Date -uformat "%m-%d-%Y %I:%M:%S"
 
# Report Header
Clear-Host
Write-Host "********************************************************************************"
Write-Host "$scriptName`t`tStart Time:`t$starttime"
Write-Host "********************************************************************************`n"
 
 
##############################################
# BEGIN foreach loop                         #
##############################################
 
# Make the following changes to all backup jobs
foreach ($job in $jobs) {
 
	# Notice: State which job is being updated
	Write-Host "Setting job options on "$job.Name -ForegroundColor Yellow
 
	#--------------------------------------------------------------------
	# Retention Policy
	if ($BackupRetentionInDays -ne $null) {
 
	# BEGIN Job Options ######################
 
	# Read current job settings
	$jobOptions = Get-VBRJobOptions -Job $job
 
	# Set Job Advanced Backup Storage Options 
	$jobOptions.BackupStorageOptions.RetainCycles = $RetainCycles
 
	# Apply these additional Backup Mode settings
	$jobOptions = Set-VBRJobOptions -Job $job -Options $jobOptions
 
	}
 
	#--------------------------------------------------------------------
	# Randomize Synthetic Full Backups Periodically
	if ($RandomizeSyntheticFull -eq $True) {
 
		# Set-VBRJobAdvancedBackupOptions: Customizes advanced job backup settings.
		Set-VBRJobAdvancedBackupOptions -Job $job -TransformToSyntethicDays (Get-Random -Input "Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday") | Out-Null
 
	}
 
	#--------------------------------------------------------------------
	# Randomize Active Full Backup
	if ($RandomizeActiveFull -eq $True) {
 
		# Set-VBRJobAdvancedBackupOptions: Customizes advanced job backup settings.
		Set-VBRJobAdvancedBackupOptions -Job $job -FullBackupDays (Get-Random -Input "Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday") -Months $EveryMonthOfYear -DayNumberInMonth (Get-Random -Input "First","Second","Third","Fourth","Last") -DayOfWeek (Get-Random -Input "Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday") | Out-Null
 
	}
 
	#--------------------------------------------------------------------
	# Randomize Storage-Level Corruption Guard
	if ($RandomizeStorageLevelCorruptionGard -eq $True) {
 
		# Set-VBRJobOptions: Applies custom job settings. Acts like a catch all for settings not in other Veeam 9 PowerShell Cmdlets.
 
		# Get current job settings
		$jobOptions = Get-VBRJobOptions $job
 
		# Define new randomized job settings
		$jobOptions.GenerationPolicy.RecheckDays = Get-Random -Input "Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"
		$jobOptions.GenerationPolicy.RecheckBackupMonthlyScheduleOptions.DayNumberInMonth = Get-Random -Input "First","Second","Third","Fourth","Last"
		$jobOptions.GenerationPolicy.RecheckBackupMonthlyScheduleOptions.DayOfWeek = Get-Random -Input "Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"
		$jobOptions.GenerationPolicy.RecheckBackupMonthlyScheduleOptions.Months = $EveryMonthOfYear
 
		# Apply these additional Backup Mode settings
		Set-VBRJobOptions -Job $job -Options $jobOptions | Out-Null
 
	}
 
	#--------------------------------------------------------------------
	# Randomize Full Backup File Maintenance
	if ($RandomizeFullBackupFileMaintenance -eq $True) {
 
		# Set-VBRJobOptions: Applies custom job settings. Acts like a catch all for settings not in other Veeam 9 PowerShell Cmdlets.
 
		# Get current job settings
		$jobOptions = Get-VBRJobOptions $job
 
		# Define new randomized job settings
		$jobOptions.GenerationPolicy.CompactFullBackupDays = Get-Random -Input "Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"
		$jobOptions.GenerationPolicy.CompactFullBackupMonthlyScheduleOptions.DayNumberInMonth = Get-Random -Input "First","Second","Third","Fourth","Last"
		$jobOptions.GenerationPolicy.CompactFullBackupMonthlyScheduleOptions.DayOfWeek = Get-Random -Input "Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"
		$jobOptions.GenerationPolicy.CompactFullBackupMonthlyScheduleOptions.Months = $EveryMonthOfYear
 
		# Apply these additional Backup Mode settings
		Set-VBRJobOptions -Job $job -Options $jobOptions | Out-Null
 
	}
 
	#--------------------------------------------------------------------
	# Randomize Periodically Every X Minutes
	if ($RandomizePeriodicallyEvery -eq $True) {
 
		# Create a new job schedule
		$jobScheduleOptions = Get-VBRJobScheduleOptions -Job $job
 
		# Disable Other Schedules
		$jobScheduleOptions.OptionsDaily.Enabled = $false
		$jobScheduleOptions.OptionsMonthly.Enabled = $false
		$jobScheduleOptions.OptionsContinuous.Enabled = $false
 
		# Enable Periodically Schedule
		$jobScheduleOptions.OptionsPeriodically.Enabled = $true
 
		# Configure Periodic Schedule in Minutes (0 = Hours, 1 = Minutes)
		$jobScheduleOptions.OptionsPeriodically.Kind = 1
 
		# Generate random number for FullPeriod (Minimum and Maximum variables are defined above)
		$RandomFullPeriod = Get-Random -Minimum $RandomFullPeriodMinimum -Maximum $RandomFullPeriodMaximum
 
		# Create a random FullPeriod offset
		$jobScheduleOptions.OptionsPeriodically.FullPeriod = $RandomFullPeriod
 
		# Do some math to randomly stagger the NextRun (future), while correctly calculating the FullPeriod difference
		$RandomlyStagger			= Get-Random -Minimum 1 -Maximum $RandomFullPeriod
		$jobScheduleOptions.NextRun	= ($jobScheduleOptions.LatestRunLocal).AddMinutes($RandomlyStagger)
 
		# Apply the new job schedule
		Set-VBRJobScheduleOptions -Job $job -Options $jobScheduleOptions | Out-Null
 
	}
 
	#--------------------------------------------------------------------
	# Randomize Time Periods schedule (e.g. midnight "run all jobs" avoidance)
	if ($RandomizeTimePeriods -eq $True) {
 
		# Create a new job schedule
		$jobScheduleOptions = Get-VBRJobScheduleOptions -Job $job
 
		# Generate random Midnight Delay (Schedule Denied) for each day. Variables up to $RandomMidnightDelay6Hours are already created above.
		$RandomMidnightDelaySun = Get-Random $RandomMidnightDelay0Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay1Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay2Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay3Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay4Hours
		$RandomMidnightDelayMon = Get-Random $RandomMidnightDelay0Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay1Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay2Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay3Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay4Hours
		$RandomMidnightDelayTue = Get-Random $RandomMidnightDelay0Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay1Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay2Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay3Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay4Hours
		$RandomMidnightDelayWed = Get-Random $RandomMidnightDelay0Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay1Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay2Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay3Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay4Hours
		$RandomMidnightDelayThu = Get-Random $RandomMidnightDelay0Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay1Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay2Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay3Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay4Hours
		$RandomMidnightDelayFri = Get-Random $RandomMidnightDelay0Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay1Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay2Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay3Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay4Hours
		$RandomMidnightDelaySat = Get-Random $RandomMidnightDelay0Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay1Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay2Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay3Hours,$RandomMidnightDelay4Hours
 
		# Create a random Midnight Delay (Schedule Denied) for the full week
		$RandomMidnightDelay = "<scheduler><Sunday>" + $RandomMidnightDelaySun + "</Sunday><Monday>" + $RandomMidnightDelayMon + "</Monday><Tuesday>" + $RandomMidnightDelayTue + "</Tuesday><Wednesday>" + $RandomMidnightDelayWed + "</Wednesday><Thursday>" + $RandomMidnightDelayThu + "</Thursday><Friday>" + $RandomMidnightDelayFri + "</Friday><Saturday>" + $RandomMidnightDelaySat + "</Saturday></scheduler>"
 
		# Apply the random Midnight Delay (Schedule Denied)
		$jobScheduleOptions.OptionsPeriodically.Schedule = $RandomMidnightDelay
 
		# Apply the new job schedule
		Set-VBRJobScheduleOptions -Job $job -Options $jobScheduleOptions | Out-Null
 
	}
 
	#--------------------------------------------------------------------
	# Randomize Start Time Within An Hour schedule
	if ($RandomizeStartTimeWithinHour -eq $True) {
 
		# Create a new job schedule
		$jobScheduleOptions = Get-VBRJobScheduleOptions -Job $job
 
		# Generate random number for HourlyOffset (Minimum and Maximum variables are defined above)
		$RandomHourlyOffset = Get-Random -Minimum $RandomHourlyOffsetMinimum -Maximum $RandomHourlyOffsetMaximum
 
		# Create a random HourlyOffset
		$jobScheduleOptions.OptionsPeriodically.HourlyOffset = $RandomHourlyOffset
 
		# Apply the new job schedule
		Set-VBRJobScheduleOptions -Job $job -Options $jobScheduleOptions | Out-Null
 
	}
 
	#--------------------------------------------------------------------
	# Randomize Automatic Retry Wait in minutes
	if ($RandomizeAutomaticRetryWait -eq $True) {
 
		# Create a new job schedule
		$jobScheduleOptions = Get-VBRJobScheduleOptions -Job $job
 
		# Generate random number for RetryTimeout (Minimum and Maximum variables are defined above)
		$RandomRetryTimeout = Get-Random -Minimum $RandomRetryTimeoutMinimum -Maximum $RandomRetryTimeoutMaximum
 
		# Create a random RetryTimeout
		$jobScheduleOptions.RetryTimeout = $RandomRetryTimeout
 
		# Apply the new job schedule
		Set-VBRJobScheduleOptions -Job $job -Options $jobScheduleOptions | Out-Null
 
	}
 
	# Report which jobs received these changes
	Write-Host "Changed settings for" $job.Name
 
}
# END foreach loop ###########################
# END Backup Settings Script #################
 
 
#--------------------------------------------------------------------
# Outputs
 
Write-Host "`nProcessing Complete" -ForegroundColor Yellow
 
 
$finishtime = Get-Date -uformat "%m-%d-%Y %I:%M:%S"
Write-Host "`n`n"
Write-Host "********************************************************************************"
Write-Host "$scriptName`t`tFinish Time:`t$finishtime"
Write-Host "********************************************************************************"
 
# Prompt to exit script - This leaves PS window open when run via right-click
Write-Host "`n`n"
Write-Host "Press any key to continue ..." -foregroundcolor Gray
$x = $host.UI.RawUI.ReadKey("NoEcho,IncludeKeyDown")