Backing up server (computers, various server programs and other applications) is essential in order to maintain business continuity. And given the needs and scope of the IT today, remote server backup for virtual setup is becoming increasingly important. Companies are deploying virtual servers into their IT environment and so it is in important to design and implement a disaster recovery plan for virtual environment.
Remote server backup tools for virtual environment
There are several options available in the market when it comes to backing up virtual servers, but when choosing a third party tool for remote server backup, it is important o pick a tool which can differentiate between a physical and virtualized environment. A virtual machine (VM) exists as an image file on a physical server, housing the OS with configuration settings, applications and the corresponding data. Say if a VM file is allotted 200GB on the hard drive and only 100GB is used, the virtual server backup will recognize it as a VM file and will back up only that 100GB of data in contrast to a traditional backup tool, which would back it up as a 200GB file.
Assigning storage space for remote server backup (virtual server)
Although a virtual server environment might have a storage area network (SAN) keeping the VM files, it is advisable to perform disk-to-disk backup to inexpensive storage disks. Virtual server backup tools take a point-in-time snapshot of the VM image and only the changes made in the original are stored in the backup copy. Therefore it is seen that storage requirements for virtual backup would not increase substantially over the period and getting more disks would not prove to be an expensive affair. However it must be remembered that deploying a SAN just for virtual server backup can be expensive. Moreover adding more disks to meet the mounting storage demands can further add to the costs.
Computing and networking requirement for remote server backup (in case of virtual server)
In case of a virtual server backup that creates a backup VM, the changes made to the original are synchronized with the backup copy. Therefore it is important that you first determine the resources needed to handle peak workloads across all VMs and then increase CPU allocation so that backups do not eat into the resources allocated to applications. Unlike the physical servers, each of which is provided a dedicated network interface card (NIC) for I/O operations, I/O from all VMs is expected to use a single NIC creating an I/O bottleneck. Therefore calculate the whole I/O throughput requirement for backing up VMs and if it is found to be on the higher side go with SAN-based virtual server backup that can support good LAN speed.
Conclusion:
In order to optimize bandwidth usage while performing remote server backup (particularly if it is virtual server) over WAN, data compression should be conducted at the source-based while de-duplication should be target-based. Remote server backup is crucial to every business operation. And with the virtualization trend picking up really fast, it's essential to learn about virtual server backup best practices.
Remote server backup tools for virtual environment
There are several options available in the market when it comes to backing up virtual servers, but when choosing a third party tool for remote server backup, it is important o pick a tool which can differentiate between a physical and virtualized environment. A virtual machine (VM) exists as an image file on a physical server, housing the OS with configuration settings, applications and the corresponding data. Say if a VM file is allotted 200GB on the hard drive and only 100GB is used, the virtual server backup will recognize it as a VM file and will back up only that 100GB of data in contrast to a traditional backup tool, which would back it up as a 200GB file.
Assigning storage space for remote server backup (virtual server)
Although a virtual server environment might have a storage area network (SAN) keeping the VM files, it is advisable to perform disk-to-disk backup to inexpensive storage disks. Virtual server backup tools take a point-in-time snapshot of the VM image and only the changes made in the original are stored in the backup copy. Therefore it is seen that storage requirements for virtual backup would not increase substantially over the period and getting more disks would not prove to be an expensive affair. However it must be remembered that deploying a SAN just for virtual server backup can be expensive. Moreover adding more disks to meet the mounting storage demands can further add to the costs.
Computing and networking requirement for remote server backup (in case of virtual server)
In case of a virtual server backup that creates a backup VM, the changes made to the original are synchronized with the backup copy. Therefore it is important that you first determine the resources needed to handle peak workloads across all VMs and then increase CPU allocation so that backups do not eat into the resources allocated to applications. Unlike the physical servers, each of which is provided a dedicated network interface card (NIC) for I/O operations, I/O from all VMs is expected to use a single NIC creating an I/O bottleneck. Therefore calculate the whole I/O throughput requirement for backing up VMs and if it is found to be on the higher side go with SAN-based virtual server backup that can support good LAN speed.
Conclusion:
In order to optimize bandwidth usage while performing remote server backup (particularly if it is virtual server) over WAN, data compression should be conducted at the source-based while de-duplication should be target-based. Remote server backup is crucial to every business operation. And with the virtualization trend picking up really fast, it's essential to learn about virtual server backup best practices.
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