The Essentials Series

Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

sponsored by

by Don Jones

The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

IntroductiontoRealtimePublishers
by Don Jones, Series Editor

Forseveralyearsnow,Realtimehasproduceddozensanddozensofhighqualitybooks thatjusthappentobedeliveredinelectronicformatatnocosttoyou,thereader.Weve madethisuniquepublishingmodelworkthroughthegeneroussupportandcooperationof oursponsors,whoagreetobeareachbooksproductionexpensesforthebenefitofour readers. Althoughwevealwaysofferedourpublicationstoyouforfree,dontthinkforamoment thatqualityisanythinglessthanourtoppriority.Myjobistomakesurethatourbooksare asgoodasandinmostcasesbetterthananyprintedbookthatwouldcostyou$40or more.Ourelectronicpublishingmodeloffersseveraladvantagesoverprintedbooks:You receivechaptersliterallyasfastasourauthorsproducethem(hencetherealtimeaspect ofourmodel),andwecanupdatechapterstoreflectthelatestchangesintechnology. Iwanttopointoutthatourbooksarebynomeanspaidadvertisementsorwhitepapers. Wereanindependentpublishingcompany,andanimportantaspectofmyjobistomake surethatourauthorsarefreetovoicetheirexpertiseandopinionswithoutreservationor restriction.Wemaintaincompleteeditorialcontrolofourpublications,andImproudthat weveproducedsomanyqualitybooksoverthepastyears. Iwanttoextendaninvitationtovisitusathttp://nexus.realtimepublishers.com,especially ifyouvereceivedthispublicationfromafriendorcolleague.Wehaveawidevarietyof additionalbooksonarangeoftopics,andyouresuretofindsomethingthatsofinterestto youanditwontcostyouathing.WehopeyoullcontinuetocometoRealtimeforyour educationalneedsfarintothefuture. Untilthen,enjoy. DonJones

The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

IntroductiontoRealtimePublishers.................................................................................................................i Article1:WhatCanCloudStorageReallyDoForYou?............................................................................1 ThreeBusinessNeedsYourCurrentStoragePlanDoesntMeet....................................................1 BackupWindows............................................................................................................................................1 TimetoRecover.............................................................................................................................................2 StorageUtilization..........................................................................................................................................2 BusinessDriversforStorage,DataProtection,andDisasterRecovery.......................................2 DataAccessibility............................................................................................................................................2 DowntimeReallyDoesCost........................................................................................................................3 BeStrategic,NotReactionary....................................................................................................................3 PlanningforCloudStorage..............................................................................................................................3 IdentifyingandSizingCriticalData........................................................................................................3 IdentifyingtheCostandProbabilityofDowntime ...........................................................................4 FittingtheCloudIntoYourInfrastructure...............................................................................................4 OptimizingBandwidthandStorage ........................................................................................................4 RethinkingDisasterRecovery...................................................................................................................5 CloudStorage:PureStrategyforStorageandDataProtection.......................................................5 Article2:ChallengesandSpecialConsiderationsforCloudStorage.................................................6 Rules,Regulations,andRestrictions...........................................................................................................6 DataSecurityRequirements......................................................................................................................6 DataLocationRequirements.....................................................................................................................6 OffsiteRequirements....................................................................................................................................6 RecoveryObjectives...........................................................................................................................................6 WhatAreYourDataCategories?..............................................................................................................7 HowMuchDowntimeCanYouTolerate? .............................................................................................7 WhatSystemsNeedProtection?..............................................................................................................7 BackupsAloneDoNotEqualDisasterRecoveryPlan.....................................................................7

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The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

OnSiteRecovery .............................................................................................................................................8 WarmSiteRecovery ......................................................................................................................................8 TheVendorConnection....................................................................................................................................9 HeresYourNewStoragePlan....................................................................................................................10 Article3:LeveragingtheCloudforStorageandDisasterRecovery:ThreePractical Strategies...................................................................................................................................................................11 KeepEverythingintheCloud......................................................................................................................11 UsetheCloudasaBackup............................................................................................................................11 HybridApproaches..........................................................................................................................................12 OnsitePrime..................................................................................................................................................12 CloudPrime...................................................................................................................................................12 OtherHybridApproaches........................................................................................................................12 HybridDetails...............................................................................................................................................13 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................................13

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The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

Copyright Statement
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The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

Article1:WhatCanCloudStorageReally DoForYou?
Howlongwouldittakeyoutorecoveryourcompanysmostcriticaldatafromyourmost recentbackuptapes?Surprisingly,manycompaniesdontknowandiftheydid,theyd probablybetroubled.Weveconditionedourselvestoacceptthelimitationsofold fashionedbackupschemesandtechnologies,withoutrealizingthatbettertechniqueshave comealongthatbettermeetourbusinessneeds.Theadventofcloudcomputing,and particularlycloudstorage,nowoffersustheabilitytocreateahybridITmodelthatreally solvesourbusinessneedsandgetsusbackonlinefasterintheeventofadisaster.Infact, thisnewmodelofcloudstoragecanhelpaddresssomeoftheproblemswithourentire storageplannotjustbackupandrecovery.

ThreeBusinessNeedsYourCurrentStoragePlanDoesntMeet
Askmostcompanieswhattheirbackupplaninvolves,andtheyllprobablysay,Backup tapes.Magnetictapehasbeentheprimarymediumforbackupssincethe1970s.Some companiesstoretheirbackuptapesonsite,whileotherswillsmileknowinglyandsaythat theysendtheirtapesoffsiteforsafekeeping.Nobodyrealizes,however,thatthosetapes arentmeetingtheirbusinessneeds. Thesamethingappliestoourstorageplansingeneral:Justdumpingeverythingonafile serverintheofficedoesntactuallymeetallofourbusinessneeds.Weneedtoreally examinethosebusinessneeds,andlookforwaystomeetthem,goingbeyondwhatweve donewithstorageforsomanyyears.

BackupWindows
Tapebackupsusuallyconsistofasnapshotofyourdata,takenduringsomekindofbackup ormaintenancewindowusuallyatnight.Anydatathatschangedorbeencreatedsince thelasttapebackupisalwaysatriskuntilthenextbackupismademeaningwere potentiallygoingtoloseadayormoreofcriticaldataifaproblemoccurs. Thislimitedtimebackupwindowsplacerestrictionsonwhatwecanbackup,too:Wecan onlyprotectasmuchdataaswecancramontoatape(orsetoftapes)duringthebackup windowsduration.Wereconstantlylongingforfastertapedrives,biggertapecartridges, andfastertransfertimessothatwecangrabmoredataduringthatpreciouswindow. Cloudstorageproposestochangethewayyoucreateandusebackupsbystoringyourdata inhighlyprotecteddatacentersoutsideyourownfacilitymeaningyourdataisalways safelybackedupoffsite,withoutanyeffortonyourpart.

The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

TimetoRecover
Whenweactuallyneedtousethosetapebackups,werelefttositandwaitwhiledata slowlystreamsofftapewhileourbusinessislosingmoneybecauseweneedthatdata. Thisisactuallythebiggestproblemwitholdfashionedbackuptechniquesandstorage plans:Tapesmakeforasafe,easytocarryformofbackup,buttheytakeforevertoactually usewhenyouneedtorecoverdata. Withcloudstorage,thereismuchlesstimerequiredtorecover.Cloudstoragevendors buildhighlyavailable,highlyredundantstoragevaultssothatyourdataissimplythere whenyouneedit,allthetime.

StorageUtilization
Howwelldoyouactuallyutilizeallthatstorageyouvepaidforandthatyoupayto protect?Havingalotofextrastoragelyingaroundislikehavinganemptyroominyour houseitbegstobefilled,andonceyoudo,youllhavetomanageit.Manycompanies placetightrestrictionsonwhatkindofdatagoesontotheirstorage,becausetheyknow theyllhavetobackitupwithinthatlimitedbackupwindow.Restrictionsmeanthatyour storageisntdoingeverythingforyouthatitcould,simplybecauseyoufeelconstrainedto onlystorewhatyouknowyoucanprotect. Cloudstoragehelpstoremovethoseconstraints.Youwontrunoutofbackupstorage,and youllfeelbetteraboutactuallyutilizingyourstoragebecauseyouknowitllbeprotected.

BusinessDriversforStorage,DataProtection,andDisasterRecovery
Nobackupstoragelimitations.Fasterrecovery.Lessinfrastructuretomaintain.Better storageutilization.Thosearesomeofthemainbusinessneedsthatdrivebusinessesto reconsidertheirstorageplans,butthereareotherdrivers,too.

DataAccessibility
Todaysbusinessesdontrunentirelyoutoftheoffice.Employeesworkfromhomeandon theroad.Intheeventofadisaster,theentirecompanymightneedtopickupandrelocate. Yourstorageplanshouldallowyourdatatobeavailableanytimeyouneedit,whereveryou needit,withoutcomplexandexpensiveremoteaccessschemes.Yourdatashouldbesafe, secure,private,andprotectedbutavailableinaninstantfromanywhereontheglobe,if youneedit. Thinkaboutit:Beingabletoaccessyourdatafromanywherecansolveamajorproblem thatsmallercompanieshavewithdisasterrecovery:Theneedtoplanforadisasterthat involvesyourentireofficeordatacenter.Offsiterecoveryfacilitiesareoftenexpensive, andyouredownforhoursordayswhileyourestoreyourdatatothefacilitysservers.But ifyoucouldmakeyourcriticaldataavailablefromanywhere,anytime,thenanyplacecould becomeyouroffsiterecoveryfacility.Thatswhatcloudstoragecanoffer.

The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

DowntimeReallyDoesCost
Dontunderestimatehowmuchmoneyyourelosingwhileyourewaitingforyourdatato berecoveredfromoldfashionedbackuptapes.Inbusiness,timereallyismoney,andwhen employeesarewaitingfordatatoberestored,yourenotonlywastingtheirtimeand yourmoneyyourealsomissingbusinessopportunities,losingcustomers,andfailingto succeed. Wevelongacceptedthefactthatrestoringdatatakesalongtimebecauseinthepastthat wassimplythebestwecoulddo.Butthisisntthepast,andwedonthavetoautomatically acceptanythinglessthaninstantaneousaccesstoourdata.Cloudbasedstoragecanoffer thatinstantaneousaccess.

BeStrategic,NotReactionary
Thetimetopreventyourstorageanddataprotectionplanfrombeingafailureisbeforea disasteroccurs.Youcantcomeupwithabetterstorageplaninthefaceofacrisis;you havetopullsometimeoutofyourbusyschedulenow,andbestrategicaboutyour companysstorageneedsanddataprotectioncapabilities.Youneedtounderstandyour businessneedsandevaluatenewtechnologieslikecloudstorageandunderstandhow theycanhelpyoucraftastorageanddataprotectionplanthatreallymeetsthosebusiness needs.

PlanningforCloudStorage
Cloudstorageproposesthatyourstoreyourdataatleastsomeofitinsomeoneelses datacenters.Youmightbestoringabackupcopythere,oryoumightbestoringyouractual livedatathereitdependsonyourprecisebusinessneeds.Onceitsinthecloud, protectingyourdataisnolongeryourproblem;itsyourstoragevendorsproblem.Your dataissimplyavailabletoyou,allthetime,withoutwaiting,fromanywherewithan Internetconnection.Thetrickisinproperlyplanningtoutilizecloudstorageaspartof yourtotalstorageanddataprotectionplan.

IdentifyingandSizingCriticalData
Itsprobablyreasonabletoassumethatnotallyourdataismissioncritical,andnotallofit isinneedofenhancedprotectionandfasterorinstantrecoveryintheeventoflossor disaster.Cloudstoragevendorscommonlychargeforthestorageyouuse,soyoullwantto beginbyidentifyingthedatathatyouwanttoprotectinthecloud.Onceyouveidentified yourcriticaldata,figureouthowbigitis.Thatwillhelpyoufigureouthowmuchcloud basedstorageyoullneed.

The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

IdentifyingtheCostandProbabilityofDowntime
Cloudstorageisntfree,ofcourseatleast,notthekindofprotected,securecloudstorage thatyoullneed.Inordertoweighthecostsandbenefits,youllneedtohavesomeideaof howmuchdowntimeactuallycostsyou.Imaginethatallthecriticaldatayouidentifiedis suddenlygone,andyouronlyhopeforgettingitbackisthatsetofbackuptapesinthe trunkofyourITadministratorscar.Whileyourewaitingtoseeifthosebackuptapes reallywork,howmuchmoneyareyoulosing?Youalsoneedtojudgehowlikelyitisfor thissituationtooccur.Howeasilycandatabelost?Itdoesnthavetobeameteorstrikeon youroffice;disasterscanhappenwiththeclickofaDeletebuttonbyanincautioususer.

FittingtheCloudIntoYourInfrastructure
Sohowdoescloudstoragefitintoyourcurrentstorageplan?Thereareactuallyseveral approachesandvariations,whichyoulllearnmoreaboutinthethirdarticleinthisseries. Briefly,though,youcanchooseto: Keepallofyourdatainthecloud,andaccessitdirectlyfromthere.Thisoption providesgreatprotectionbutrequiressolid,reliableconnectivitytothecloudso thatyoullbeabletogettoyourdata. Usethecloudforbackups.Ratherthanbackinguptotape,backuptothecloud.This methodensuresthatyourbackedupdataisavailableforinstantusewhenyouneed it,butkeepsyourlivedatalocallywhereitseasytogettoevenifyourInternet connectionisdown. Createahybridstorageplan.Therearenumerousvariationstoconsider,someof whichincludekeepingyourlivedatainthecloudandabackupcopylocallyin caseyourInternetconnectionfails.Youmayalsochoosetotreatdifferentcategories ofdatadifferently,keepingthemostcriticaldataliveinthecloud,whereits protected.

OptimizingBandwidthandStorage
Howwillyougetallyourdataintothecloudinthefirstplaceandwhatsitgoingtocost tostoreitthere?Thereareafewtechniquesandtechnologiesthatcanhelp.Compression anddeduplicationgoalongwaytowardreducingthebandwidthneededtouploadyour datatothecloudandkeepituptodate;somevendorsclaimuptoan80%reductionindata sizethroughacombinationofcompressionandtheeliminationofduplicatedatasegments. BandwidththrottlinghelpsensurethatyourInternetconnectionisnttakenover completelybydatauploadstothecloud,reservingasmuchbandwidthasyouneedforyour productionneeds.And,oncethedataisinthecloud,compressionanddeduplicationhelp reduceitssizereducingthestoragecostsforyou.

The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

RethinkingDisasterRecovery
Storingyourdatainthecloudopensupfantasticnewtechniquesfordisasterrecovery. Loseaserver?Noproblemyourdataisalreadyinthecloud,andcanbeusedtospinupa virtualmachineinthecloud,too,duplicatingyourserversfunctionalityuntilyoucangeta replacementrunning.Adisastertakesyourentireofficeoutofcommission?Again,no problem:Withyourdatainthecloud,allyourcriticalserverscanbebroughtonlineas virtualmachines,andmadeaccessibletoyouremployeesworkingatoneormore alternativelocations.Thismodeliscalledawarmsiterecovery,meaningyourrecovery sitewhichisinthecloudhascopiesofyourdatareadytogotheminuteyouneedthem. Comparethattoacoldsitemodel,whereyoubasicallyhavetoshowupwithyourold schoolbackuptapesandstartrestoringthem,andyoullrealizehowmuchfasterandmore efficientthecloudbasedmodelcanbe. Agoodcloudstoragevendorwillhelpyougetyourownserversbackonlinemoreeasily, too.Youshouldnthavetopullanentireserversworthoffilesanddatadownoveryour Internetconnection;thevendorshouldbeabletoshipyoutapes,opticalmedia,hard drives,orotherbulkstoragemediasothatyoucangetyourserversupandrunningmore quickly.Combinedwithwarmsiterecoverymodels,youllgetminimaldowntime,andthe abilitytogetyourowndatacenterbackonlineasquicklyaspossible.

CloudStorage:PureStrategyforStorageandDataProtection
Cloudstoragemodelsoffersignificantadvantagesovertheoldschoolbackuptechniques wevebeenusingforyears.Inthenextarticle,wellexploresomeofthespecific considerationsandspecialchallengesthatcloudstorageneedstoaddress,andconsider someofthevendorsthataremakingthisspaceareality.Inthefinalarticleofthisseries, welllookspecificallyatpracticalstrategiesforcloudbasedstorageanddisasterrecovery, includingspecificmodelsandsomeoftheirprosandcons.

The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

Article2:ChallengesandSpecial ConsiderationsforCloudStorage
Yourecontemplatinghandingoveratleastsomeofyourbusinessdatatoanother company.Whatdoyouneedtohaveinmindbeforeyoudoso?

Rules,Regulations,andRestrictions
Startbyconsideringanyrulesthatmayapplytoyourdata.Theserulesmaybeparticularto yourindustry,imposedbylegislation,ormightbetheresultofinternalpoliciesand businessdrivers.

DataSecurityRequirements
Howsecuredoesyourdataneedtobe,andhowsecurecanacloudstoragevendormakeit? Considernotonlytheencryptionthatthevendorusesintheirstoragecenters,butalsothe encryptionthatprotectsyourdatawhileitsintransittoorfromthecloud. Ifyouaresubjecttoauditingrulesespeciallycommonforlegislativecompliance scenarioshowwillthevendorensurethatyoucancontinuetomeetthoserules?Canthe vendorproduceauditingreportsthatmeetyourparticularcompliancescenariosand providetheevidencethatauditorsrequiretoprovethatyourdatahasbeensafeand secure?

DataLocationRequirements
Areyoupermittedtomoveyourdataoutsideofyourlocaljurisdiction?Insomecountries andindustries,datahastobekeptinjurisdiction;youneedtoensurethatyoureworking withacloudstoragevendorwhocanmeetthatrequirement.

OffsiteRequirements
Areyourequiredtomovesomedataoffsiteforprotection?Ifso,cloudstoragecanoffera faster,moreconvenient,andmoreautomatedwaytomakethathappen.Besureyou understandwhatoffsitemeans,too:Doesthatmeanoutofyouroffice?Outofthecity? Outoftheregionentirely,toguardagainstaregionalnaturaldisaster?Besureyourcloud storagevendorunderstandstheserequirementsandcanhelpyoumeetthem.

RecoveryObjectives
Itsimpracticalformostbusinessestoprovidetheexactsamelevelofprotectionforall theirdata,andinmostcasesitisntnecessary.Youllneedtocarefullydefinekeyrecovery objectivessothatyoucanbeginidentifyingpotentialsolutionsandvendorsthatmeetthose capabilities.

The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

WhatAreYourDataCategories?
Notalldataiscreatedequal.Somedataisabsolutelyessentialtoyourbusiness.Youmay wellwanttostorecopiesofthatdatalocallyaswellasinthecloudformaximumaccessand protection.Otherdataisimportant,butlessso;youmaysimplystorecopiesinthecloud andacceptthefactthataccessingthosecopiesoveryourInternetconnection,shouldthe needarise,mightbeslower.Somedatamaybesoessentialthatyoudontevenkeepcopies locally:Youstoreitentirelyinthecloud,whereitiscontinuallyprotectedandneveratrisk.

HowMuchDowntimeCanYouTolerate?
Speedcosts,soyoullneedtodeterminehowmuchdowntimeyoucanhandleforeachof yourdatacategories.Onereasontokeeplivedatainthecloud,asopposedtomerely keepingbackupsthere,istoensurethecontinualavailabilityofthatdatameaningyou canttolerateanydowntime.Forotherdata,youmaybesatisfiedkeepingthedatalocally andbackingituptothecloud,knowingthatrestoringthedatamaytakeafewhoursifthe needarises.

WhatSystemsNeedProtection?
AreyouacompletelyhomogeneousITshop,ordoyouhaveamixofoperatingsystems (OSs)runningyourserverandclientcomputers?Ideally,youllwantasolutionthatcan handleallyoursystemssothatyourstoragecanbecentrallymanagedinoneplace.The abilitytosupportmultipleplatformsisoneareawherecloudstoragevendorstruly differentiatethemselves.

BackupsAloneDoNotEqualDisasterRecoveryPlan
Youcantsimplyhavebackuptapesorevencloudbasedbackupsandcallthata disasterrecoveryplan.Anactualplanincludesdetailsonwhatyoulldointheeventofa disastersothattheresnoguessworkormistakesjustconsistent,rapid,thoughtout responses. Therearereallytwobroadmodelsforrecoveringfromacompletedisaster:Inthefirst,you assumethatyourdatacenterisstilloperationalandusable,andthatyouneedtorecover oneormorespecificservers.Inthesecond,eitheryourdatacenterisunusableor unavailable,ortheserveryouneedtorecoverhashadacompletehardwarefailureand cantbeused.

The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

OnSiteRecovery
Inanonsiterecovery,yourdatacenterandserverhardwareisfunctioning,andyousimply needtorecoveroneormoreservers.Usingacloudbaseddataprotectionplan,youhave threeoptions: Pulltheneededdatafromthecloud.Thiscanbetimeconsumingforalargeamount ofdata,especiallyifyouhavealowerbandwidthconnectiontotheInternet. Havedatashippedtoyoufromthecloudprovider.Thiscanoftenbequickerthan tryingtocopyallthatdataoverthewire.Agoodvendorwillprovidedifferentforms ofmediatheycansendyou,andwillofferrushorcourierdeliveryservices. Usealocalcopyofthedata.Thisisobviouslythefastestroute,asthedatayouneed isrightwithinyourreach.Itdoes,however,requireyoutohaveplannedforthis scenariobecauseyoullneedtoincludealocalcopyofyourdatainyourstorage plan.

Forexample,supposethatacriticalserverfails.Becauseofitsimportancetoyour company,youvepushedallofitsdataintoyourcloudbasedstorage.Youdonthavealocal copyofthedata,soyoudecidetobeginrestoringtheserverbycopyingthedatafromthe cloud.Yourdataisstillavailabletousersfromitslocationinthecloud,soyoudonthaveto waituntiltheserverisbackonlinetocontinueworking.Downtime:Zero,orclosetoit. Evenifanentireserverfailed,youwouldhaveminimaldowntimeifyourcloudstorage providerwasabletorestoretheservertoavirtualenvironmentforyou. Thelastoptioninthepreviouslistisahybridstoragesolution,somethingIllcoverinmore detailinthenextarticleinthisseries.Theideaisthatyoukeepalocalcopyofyourdatafor speedierrecoverycapabilities,butalsoreplicatethatsamedatatothecloudinlieuof tapebackupsandoffsitetapestoragetoensuretheprotectionofthatdataintheeventof alargerdisaster.

WarmSiteRecovery
Ifacriticalserverfailscompletely,oryourentiredatacenterisoffline,whatwillyoudo? Withcloudbaseddataprotection,youcanimmediatelystartaccessingyourdatabut whataboutserversthatwererunningapplications?Itisntenough,inotherwords,tohave accesstoyourdatabasefilesyoualsoneedadatabaseserver.Thisiswhereagoodcloud vendorandawarmsiterecoverymodelcancomeinhandy.Simplyensurethatyour criticalserversarecompletelybackeduptothecloud,andthecloudvendorcanlaunch virtualmachinesandrestoreyourserverstothosevirtualmachines,andyourdataand applicationsareupandrunningagain.BycreatingaVirtualPrivateNetwork(VPN) connectionbetweenyournetworkandthecloudbasedvirtualmachines,itslikethose serversarerightonyourlocalnetwork,andyouruserscangetbacktoworkfromalmost anywhereintheworld. Again,thisrequiresadvanceplanning.Youneedtoknowhowyoullnotifythevendor,what serverswillberecovered,andyoullneedtoknowhowtoconnecttothoseserversonce theyrerunninginvirtualmachines.Documentingthisinformationinadvancewillmakeit easiertoimplementwhentheneedarises.

The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

Thisismorethanjustbackupsyourcloudvendorhastonotonlyofferstoragebutalsothe virtualization,networking,andexpertservicestorecreateaportionofyourproduction environment,virtually,intheirowndatacenters.Manyvendorssellingcloudbasedstorage arenotsellingcompletedisasterrecovery,eventhoughtheyllusethetermdisaster recovery.Justbeawareofwhatyourebuying.Vendorssuchasi365,EMC,iland,and othersoffertruedisasterrecoveryinadditiontocloudbasedbackups;evenserviceslike AmazonsE3Ccloudcomputingplatformcanbeusedforcertainlimiteddisasterrecovery scenarios.

TheVendorConnection
Thereareseveralvendorswhocanmakecloudstorageanddataprotectionarealitytoday. Someoftheminclude: i365 IronMountain BarracudaNetworks CommVault EMC iland Unitrends

Differentvendorsapproachcloudstorageindifferentways.Manyprovideahardware applianceorsoftwarethatyouinstallinyourdatacenter,whichreplicatesdatatothe vendorscloudbasedstoragenetwork.Somevendorsspecificallytargetsmalltomidsize businessesandprovidesolutiontailoredforthem.i365sEVaultisoneexampleofa solutiontailoredforthatbusinessmarket.Othervendorstargetlargerenterprisesand providemorecomplexsolutionsdesignedwithverylargebusinessesinmind. Dokeepinmind,though,thataswithanyproductorserviceyoureevaluating,notevery vendoriscreatedequal.Askyourself: Howlonghasthevendorbeeninbusiness?Whoaretheirexistingclients?Arethey astablecompany?Willtheybearoundin5years,or10? Howlonghasthevendorofferedthiskindofsolution,andhowlonghavethey workedindataprotection?Withthehypearoundthecloud,alotofbrandnew companiesareplayinginthecloudstoragespaceandmaynothavetheexperience ortrackrecordyouneedtoseeinordertotrustthemwithyourdata.

The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

Doesthevendorofferarangeofsolutionsorjustaonesizefitsalloffering? Differentsolutionssoftwareasaservice,managedservices,appliances,software, andsoforthofferflexibilitytomorepreciselymatchyourbusinessparticular needs. Isthevendorsnetworksolid?Lookforgeographicallydispersed,redundantdata centers.YoucanalsolookforSAS70TypeIIcertification,whichcertifiesan organizationsabilitytoauditandmaintaintheirinternalmanagementcontrolsa criticalcapabilitywhenyouplantotrustthemwithpartofyourbusiness.

Becarefulofofferingsthatseemtoogoodtobetrue,especiallyfromnewcomerstothe space.Cloudbasedstorageisacompetitive,growingindustry,butyoushouldstillexpectto payafairpriceforaqualityproductfromanestablishedvendor.

HeresYourNewStoragePlan
Inthenextandfinalarticleinthisseries,welllookatdifferentmodelsyoucanconsiderfor cloudbasedstorageanddataprotection.Illoutlinespecificbusinessadvantagesofeach, andhelpyoustartthinkingaboutasolutionthatwillfityourneeds.

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The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

Article3:LeveragingtheCloudforStorage andDisasterRecovery:ThreePractical Strategies

Howwillyouincorporatecloudstorageintoyourstorageanddataprotectionplans?Lets lookatthreecommonmodelsandsomevariationsthatfitthebillforvarioustypesof businessneeds.

KeepEverythingintheCloud
Oneapproachistosimplystopstoringdatalocallyandtokeepitallinthecloud.Youll workwithitdirectlyinthecloudoftenthroughaVPNconnectionorbymeansofclient softwareinstalledonyourclientcomputersandthedataissimplyprotectedallthetime bythevendorsstoragenetwork.Itsraretoseebusinessesrelysolelyoncloudstoragefor alltheirstorageneeds,butforcertaincategoriesofdata,itcanmakealotofsense. Therearesomepotentialdownsides.DependingonyourInternetconnection,accessing datainthisfashionmaybeslower.Ifthedatacanonlybeaccessedthroughaserver applicationsuchasadatabaseserverthenstoringthedataonlyinthecloudmaynotbe practical.Cloudstoragespacecosts,sostoringagreatdealofdatamaybemoreexpensive thanyoucanafford.However,besuretoalsoconsiderthecostsofprotectingthatdata whenitslivinglocally,becauseyouwonthavetopaythatoverheadwhenthedataissolely inthecloud. Thisis,frankly,aprettyrareapproachatleastintermsofstoringallofacompanysdata. Thatwouldbeexpensiveandprobablyimpractical.Thatswhyitsmorecommontosee hybridapproachesthatusethecloudmorejudiciouslyandstrategicallysomethingwell gettoinamoment.

UsetheCloudasaBackup
Anotherapproachistosimplyusethecloudasagiantbackupdevice.Typically,this involvesinstallinganapplianceorsoftwareinyourdatacenter.Thatdeviceisresponsible forcapturingthedata,compressinganddeduplicatingit,andtransmittingittothecloud. Appliancessuchasthei365EVaultPlugnProtectandBarracudaNetworksBarracuda BackupService,areexamplesofthiskindofappliance.

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The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

Youcontinuetouseyourdatalocally.Youreonlyrelyingonthecloudasabackupa convenient,moreautomatedwaytogetbackupsoffsitethanthoseantiquatedmagnetic tapes.Ifyouneedtorecoverdataeitherasinglefileoranentireserveryouretrievethe neededdatafromthecloud.Intheeventthatyouneedtorecoveralotofdata,yourvendor mayofferyoutheoptionofhavingitshippedtoyou.Ifthatsanappealingidea(anditcan makerecoveryfasterifyouhaveaslowerInternetconnection),besureyouchoosea vendorthatoffersthatoption. Thisisaverycommonmodel;themajorityofthecloudstoragevendorsoutthereare primarilysellingthismodelandcallingitdisasterrecovery(technically,itisnt,for reasonsIpointedoutinthepreviousarticle).Andthisisagoodmodelifitfitsyourneeds. However,itputsallyourdataintooneclass,andassumesthatyoucantoleratesomelevel ofdowntimeforallyourdata.Thatisntalwaysthecaseforeverybusiness,whichiswhere hybridapproachescomein.

HybridApproaches
Notalldata,asIwroteinthepreviousarticleinthisseries,iscreatedequal.Thatswhy hybridstorageapproachesaremorecommon:Theyrecognizethatsomekindsofdatawill needtobetreateddifferentlythanothers.Onceyouclassifyyourdata,youcanchoosea hybridapproachforeachcategory,balancingcost,protection,potentialdowntime,and easeofaccess.

OnsitePrime
Inthismodel,yourelyprimarilyononsitedata,andusethecloudonlyforbackups. However,forcertaincriticalcategoriesofdata,youmightusethecloudasprimarystorage. Doingsomakesthatdatamorereadilyaccessiblefrommultiplelocations,andensuresthat youwonteverexperienceanydowntimewithregardtothatdata.

CloudPrime
Inthisvariation,youkeepmostofyourdataprimarilyinthecloud,andaccessitdirectly fromthere.However,youalsokeepalocalcopyonsite.Intheeventthatthecloudis unavailablebecauseyouvelostyourInternetconnection,forexampleyoucanusethe localcopyofthedataasabackup. Forthismodeltowork,yourcloudstorageproviderneedstobeabletoreplicatedatadown toyou,ratherthanupfromyoutothecloud.Inotherwords,asyouworkwithdatainthe cloud,thatdataneedstosilentlystreamdowntosomelocalstoragedeviceinthe backgroundsothatitsuptodateshouldyouneedtouseit.

OtherHybridApproaches
Theresreallynolinewhenitcomestobuildingyourownhybridapproach.Keepsome dataliveinthecloud,usethecloudtobackupotherdata,andkeeplocalbackupsofsome cloudbaseddata.Youcanpaintthepicturehoweveryouwanttoinordertomeetyour specificbusinessneeds.

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The Essentials Series: Strategies for Cloud Storage, Data Protection, and Disaster Recovery

Thisis,infact,thevalueofplanningahead.Youcantakethetimetoconsiderthedifferent typesofdatayouhave,considerhowimportantitistoyou,andconsiderhowmuchyou wanttoinvestinprotectingeachdifferentcategoryofdata.Youcanthenassemblethe precisecloudstorageanddataprotectionplanthatmostexactlyfitsyourneeds.

HybridDetails
Idowanttocautionyouasyouconsiderahybridapproachbecauseyouwanttocarefully avoidcreatingamodelthat,combinedwithaparticularvendoroffering,createsmore managementoverheadforyou.Ahybridapproachmeansmultiplewaysofdealingwith data;forsomevendors,thatmeansofferingyoumultiplesolutionsthatmayormaynot integratetightlyorbemanagedasasingleunit.Ifyoureconsideringahybridapproach,try tofindavendorthatcanofferyouasinglesolutionthatimplementstheapproachyou want.Youllfindthatmanagementbecomeslessintensiveandeasier,helpingtoensure thatyourhybridapproachissuccessful. Dobeawarethatsomevendorscomponentizedtheirproductofferings;thatsnotquitethe samethingasseparatesolutions.Inotherwords,whenyoubuyacar,youmaywant optionslikeleatherseatsandcruisecontrol,butyouwantthemallinstalledandintegrated intothefinalproduct.Youdontwantthecartoarrivewithnoseats,andthenreceivea cratecontainingtheseatslaterforyoutointegrateyourself.Talkwithvendorsto understandwhethertheyreofferingyoucompletelyseparate,standalonepointsolutions, orwhethertheycanofferyouafullyintegratedproductandservicesolutionthathasthe optionsyouneed.

Conclusion
Cloudstorageoffersexcitingnewoptionsfordataprotectionanddisasterrecovery.With carefuladvancedplanning,youcanditchthoseoldbackuptapeswhileprovidingbetter protectionandfasterrecoveryforyourdataincludingbroaderaccessibility,andeven optionsforoffsitedisasterrecovery,suchasthewarmsiterecoverymodelIdescribed. Allyouneedtodois: Takesometimetothinkaboutandunderstandthedatainyourorganization Workwithvendorstounderstandtheoptionstheyoffer Createacustomizedmodelthatmeetsyourbudget,dataprotection,anddisaster recoveryneeds

Wenolongerhavetoputupwiththeconstraintsthattapebackupshaveimposedonusfor years;wecanhavethedataprotectioncapabilitiesourbusinesseshavealwaysneeded thankstothecloud.

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