Best Practices in backing up VMware using VTLs and De-Dupe - April 4, 2008
It's can be said that a server virtualization project may actually an infrastructure redesign project. In areas related to storage and data protection, the impact can be dramatic both in terms of the volume of data and in the operations to support and protect it. Backup is a particular case in point.
Fundamentally, there are two approaches to backup in VMware environments: the first is to mimic the traditional physical server backup approach by installing backup client software on each VM and backing them up individually. The second is to perform image-level backups of virtual disks using either VMware's snapshot capability or a third party. More and more, this second method is being enhanced by mounting snapshots to a VMware Consolidated Backup proxy server for final backup via a traditional backup application.
Besides the integration and coordination effort required, another important consideration is the increase of the volume of data created by virtual environments. The standard use of configuration templates for creating virtual machines results in numerous cookie-cutter VMs of a particular class that are nearly identical. Backing up and storing the myriad copies of nearly redundant data consumes significant storage, a fact that has certainly not escaped data de-duplication product vendors.
There are at least three ways that de-duplication technology can be leveraged in a VMware Virtual Iron vs Virual Machine backup infrastructure:
For the traditional backup within a VM approach, both EMC's Avamar and Symantec's NetBackup PureDisk offer VMware clients that de-duplicates data within a VM prior to sending it across the network.
The storing of aggregated snapshots is, of course, a prime target for de-duplication making NAS storage platforms that offer de-duplication, like EMC Data Domain and NetApp, NEC and Exagrid may be attractive options.
Finally, if data is ultimately being backed up via traditional backup applications, VTL platforms that incorporate de-duplication, such as Overland Storage, Diligent, FalconStor, HDS, Quantum, and Sepatonmay be worth considering.
Or ask your local reseller for advice. Each approach offers its own benefits and trade-offs, but in any case, the opportunity for dramatic data reduction -- and therefore dramatic storage savings -- will only increase as virtualization continues to expand throughout the enterprise.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com/storage-data-deduplication.php
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Sencilo Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in storage, security and networking solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple manufacturers including VMware, EMC, Juniper Networks, Hitachi, Symantec, Barracuda Networks, and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
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