http://vinfrastructure.it/en
Twitter: @Andrea_Mauro
Basic principles of backup policiesAndrea MaurovExpert and VCDX
About the speaker
17 years of experience in IT
Working for Assyrus Srl – Italy● Server, Storage, Networking, Security & Virtualization
Certifications and accreditations
Italian VMUG founder and board member
VMTN Community Moderator
Blogger http://virtual-infrastructure.it/
Agenda
What is a backup policy
Design a backup plan
What defines a backup policy
What is a backup policy
Where do backups go
How will backups be performed
What is a backup policy?
Amount of data
principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve results
procedure or protocol
Backup policy
set of rules to achieve the required backup goals
several aspects:
12
12 • technical
• non technical
Input of backup policies
Requirements● Recovery Point Objective
(RPO)● Recovery Time Objective
(RTO)
Constraints● Business needs● Budget● Max backup window● Technical aspects
Business Continuity Plan(BCP)
Risk analysis
Backupsolutions
and products
Procedures
Requirements/Constraints
Backup policies
Bac
kup
/Bu
sin
ess
Co
nti
nu
ity
Pla
n
Properties & parameters & dependencies
What Where How, How much, How often Several dependencies
Synthetic Backup Real Time Replication
Tape Backups Vaults ArchivalDisk Backups Staging Off-Host
Protection Methods Recovery Methods
Tape Restores
Bare Metal Recovery
Instant Recovery
Disk Restores
Search & Retrieve
Days MinsHrsWks Secs
Recovery Point
Mins DaysHrsSecs Wks
Recovery Time
Backup as a process
Analysis +
Selectionlist
Backuppolicies
Backupjob
Backupdata
What – Define the sources of the backup
Required protection level
Way to handle the backup tasks
Type of sources
Type of “transport” at source side● Full copy● Incremental transfer● Size of the sources
Files
Virtualmachines
Applications
Systems
Way to handle the backup tasks
Agent vs. Agent-less● Application level● VM level
Hot vs. Cold● Usually agent or specific API are needed for hot-backup
Push vs. Pull● Also other models
Data transfer options important
Type of sources
Files
Application data – Not a simple collection of files
Systems
Virtual Machines – It may include also system, files and applications backup
For details see specific lessons on Backup Academy Which level of consistency?
● Windows● Linux / Unix
● A system is not just a set of files● It may include also files and applications backup
Consistency and integrity
Different levels
Files● Open files dilemma● Windows provide VSS
Application data● Application that are VSS-aware● Application specific solutions
Systems● Problem with the system state
Virtual Machines● Specific hypervisor functions are recommended
For details see specific lessons on Backup Academy
Type of “transport” at source side
Full copy vs. incremental copy LAN based vs. LAN-free
Size of the sources
Amount of data
How data can be transferred from the source● Full copy vs. incremental● Using of compression and/or de-duplication at source side
Data transfer options important
Type of data How data changes Backup consistency
Where – Which kind of backup destination
Disk based● D2D● Logical disk or network shares
Tape based● D2T● Real or “Virtual” tape
Multi-level backup● D2D2T● Other levels
Cloud
D2D
Different type of solutions● DAS or SAN● NAS● Backup Appliance
− Most NAS (and sometime VTL) based
Pros of D2D● Great capacity: 1,5 TB (LTO5) vs. 2-3 TB (SATA disk)● Speed: disks IOPS could scale with RAID● Bigger scalability● Replication and disaster recovery● More flexible
D2T
Type of tape based solutions● Tape unit: DAS with SAS or SCSI cables● Autoloader: DAS or SAN● Tape library: SAN● Virtual Tape Library (VTL): an appliance (hardware or software)
that can be used as an autoloader or tape library but it works usually with disk instead of tapes
Pros of D2T● Speed: throughput of 140MBps for LTO5● Removable support with long life?
VTL
A tape that is a disk
● Can be used as an autoloader or tape library but it works usuallywith disk instead of tapes
Implementation
● Gateway appliance● Implemented in D2D appliances● But could also implemented with software based products
− Virtual appliance
Pros of VTL
● Migration from D2T to D2D● Could be used to scale a D2T solution● Could export to physical tape● Backup over SAN
How – Save to sources to the destinations
Multi-tier (hierarchy backup)● how data are distributed using different type of destinations
Destination “format”:● how data are saved in which format● with which kind of relations with previous data
(full, incremental, differential, de-duplicated, …)
Backup frequency● how often are performed the backup jobs
Backup retention● how old data are removed from the destination● how much data must remain
Multi-tier backup strategies
More techniques, levels or hierarchy organization
D2DT
Storage Snapshots as a first level● But not a true backup!
Offline media
Replication as an additional level of protection
Destination “format”
Format of the backup data depends on the backup program
Common way to store the data● Full● Differential (Cumulative)● Incremental● Reverse incremental● Synthetic
Other aspects● Compression● De-duplication● Encryption
Backup frequency
How much● Job scheduling
Defined by● RPO and business requirements
Different schedules for different format
Backup retention
How much data must be stored?
Depends on● Source type and its size
● Frequency− more backup could mean more data that could limit the retention)
● “Format” type− by using deduplication or incremental backup and/or compression
we can reduce the amount of backup and increase the retention
● Destination type− that could define the amount of data that could be stored)
● Required Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
Reclaim of expired data
Retention on D2D and D2T
D2D● Incremental model● Retention vs. Space
− More disks− Compression and/or deduplication
● Reclaim mean usually delete old files
D2T● Full/differential/incremental models● Retention vs. Space
− Using off-line tapes
● Reclaim with media rotation policies
Media rotation policy
Round Robin (FIFO) Grandfather, Father, Son (GFS) Tower Of Hanoi More info on
● http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backup_rotation_scheme● http://www.computer-repair.com/Backup.htm
What we covered
What is a backup policy
What make a backup policy● What● Where● How
Why is important● To design a backup solution
− Consider the backup as an entire IT process
● Could be used as a documentation of the backup procedures and jobs
● Could be part of a BCP● High level policy can be adapted to different type of backup products
Enjoy and share this material
Feel free to promote this material
Recommend your peers to pass certification
Blog, Tweet and share this material and your experience on Facebook
You’re an Expert? We will be happy to have you as Backup Academy contributor. Apply here.
Web: http://www.backupacademy.comE-mail: [email protected]: BckpAcademyFacebook: backup.academy