06
Sun, Oct
2 New Articles

Is Electronic Vaulting the Answer to the DR Question?

High Availability / Disaster Recovery
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Value-based DR lies in the space between tape and HA for small and mid-size organizations.

 

We are in the midst of a business cycle where many IT shops are realigning their priorities. The conversation has shifted to conservation, and technologies that facilitate efficiency are coming to the forefront. Virtual storage and electronic vaulting are fast becoming preferred ways of increasing storage capacity and improving disaster recovery capabilities while simultaneously keeping operating costs level.

 

Naturally, disaster recovery capacity is more critical to organizations that provide services on a 24x7 basis. While many of these organizations have already made a commitment to OEM and third-party solutions that deliver Continuous Data Protection (either True CDP or Near CDP), businesses in the small and middle tiers with somewhat eased uptime requirements have not set sail on CDP because the cost is high, often exceeding six figures.

 

So what's wrong with tape? Almost everyone knows what the shortcomings of tape backups are because nearly all of us on IBM i have used, or still use, tape. Besides media failures and the fact that tape is often a manual and cumbersome process involving numerous time-consuming and tedious steps, backing up to tape is also vulnerable to human fallibility, i.e., sometimes tapes are overwritten, and frequently they are left in places where you wouldn't leave your car keys. While these procedural issues can be managed, constant vigilance over tiny, repetitive details can make a person weary. And aside from the labor expense, the life span of a tape drive is finite, so tape drives should be replaced about every fifteen months.

 

SHARE, the world's first user group for computer professionals, in cooperation with IBM, defined a set of disaster recovery tier levels. While SHARE is an organization for mainframe users, its definitions of readiness are widely used. SHARE defines eight tiers of readiness, based on the types of technology deployments used to meet recovery objectives. Tier 0 calls for no off-site data storage, whereas Tier 7 incorporates a highly automated, business-integrated solution. According to SHARE guidelines, Tier 3 solutions use electronic vaulting for mission-critical data or for all data including email.

 

Electronic vaulting nearly eliminates all data loss after a system failure or disaster and facilitates quick recovery from accidentally deleted or corrupted objects. Electronic vaulting involves moving data from a primary site to a separate, secure co-location facility over a network. Replication software is used on both sides, and periodic snapshots are bundled up, encrypted, and moved across the network to the target backup system. Advanced compression algorithms that compress data to one-tenth of its original volume make it possible to employ networks with limited bandwidth, such as WANS.


Foremost among electronic vaulting's virtues is the fact that it's relatively inexpensive to acquire and maintain. In part, inexpensive DASD has made this possible. Other topographies for rapid recovery involve acquiring additional hardware, software, co-location facilities, and staff. The notion of electronically transferring periodic updates to a remote managed data storage facility is much less expensive, sometimes one-tenth the cost. With lower expenditures for infrastructure, tape, and labor, electronic vaulting is a very viable alternative to conventional tape backup and is less expensive than HA.

 

Electronic vaulting can also solve problems with growing data storage needs because capacity can be increased simply by contacting the vendor and contracting for additional space.

Auto Pilot

Converting to electronic vaulting is relatively simple, and once configured, it largely manages itself. Step one essentially involves loading the electronic vaulting agent on your server and defining the objects you want to replicate. Next, the remote vault must be seeded. This operation can be facilitated over the network if you have enough bandwidth to support the volume of data that needs to be sent. If you choose a vaulting solution with robust data compression--for example, one that reduces 100 GB to just 15 GB--the process will go much faster. Interestingly, the seeding process does not need to be completed in one session. It can be done over the course of several days during periods of low network traffic.

For large volumes of data, such as multiple terabytes, an inexpensive, portable 2U storage server can be used to seed the vault.

 

From this point forward, the vault is updated automatically. At the end of every day, the system can perform daily data saves. If you prefer shorter intervals, you can configure the frequency of these snapshots to your liking, down to 20 minutes.

 

In instances where objects have been corrupted or accidentally deleted on the production server, those same objects can be compressed, encrypted, and re-sent from the vault back to the production processor over the network. If a significant amount of data (25 GB to 2 TB) is affected or you have a complete disaster, a 2U storage device can be shipped overnight to your data center.

Satisfy Your Uptime Requirements

Business objectives and budget constraints often define how much downtime system users will be asked to withstand. Select vendors offer tiered disaster recovery programs that enable subscribers to recover in 24 hours, 12 hours, or less than one hour. In instances where uptime is very valuable, business losses escalate for every hour that the system is down. As you would expect, as recovery capabilities improve, downtime intervals lessen and the investment in technology increases.

 

Electronic vaulting's virtues extend a few steps further when managed remote hardware and services are added. Even when delivered in a SaaS construct--where you contract for a dedicated partition on the provider's hardware, and your core business applications are preloaded--electronic vaulting is relatively inexpensive. In instances where the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) is one hour or less, full disk-mirroring tools with automated recovery capabilities can be used in place of the online backup replication software. Those who subscribe to premium services essentially have a hot site available. Once your network-connected I/O devices are reconfigured to point to the backup site, you can be back online within an hour with the loss of a minimum number of transactions.

 

When considering the switch to electronic backup, also consider the reputation of the company you intend to partner with. Do their answers to your questions make sense? Do they have references that you can speak with? Also, find out where your data will be stored. Be certain that a user ID and password are needed and that your data is encrypted. If you're compelled by law to comply with privacy or transparency legislation, you'll want to be certain that you'll remain in compliance once electronic vaulting technology is deployed.

 

Jim Kandrac

Jim Kandrac is president of United Computer Group. UCG offers a suite of tiered vaulting solutions. Vault400 solutions can be tailored to deliver target recovery times ranging from 72, 24, or 12 hours to less than 60 minutes. 

 

In Vault400, replication accuracy is managed with DeltaPro features. DeltaPro facilitates bandwidth throttling to minimize disruptions in ongoing business operations during backups. The DeltaPro re-creation technology provides faster backups by regenerating the delta file index when it is missing or corrupt and eliminates the need to re-seed the vault.  

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: