---
title: beresp.backend.name
summary: null
url: >-
  https://www.fastly.com/documentation/reference/vcl/variables/backend-response/beresp-backend-name
---

**Type:** STRING  
**Access:** read-only

**Available in:** fetch, deliver, log, error

If a response was received from a backend, then this variable will be the name of the backend that served the response, truncated to 255 characters if necessary.

If a response was not received from a backend, then this variable will be empty.

> **HINT:** When using a [Director](https://www.fastly.com/documentation/reference/vcl/declarations/director/) we recommend using `beresp.backend.name` instead of `req.backend` if you're attempting to log or reference which backend was used for the request as it will identify which specific backend within the director was involved.