Remote server backup to meet VM backup requirements
Server backup (computers, various server programs, and other applications) is essential to maintaining business continuity. And given the needs and scope of IT today, remote server backup for virtual setup is becoming increasingly important. Companies are implementing virtual servers in their IT environment, so it is important to design and implement a disaster recovery plan for the 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 to back up remote servers, it is important to choose a tool that can differentiate between a physical environment and a remote environment. virtualized. A virtual machine (VM) exists as an image file on a physical server, hosting the operating system with associated configuration settings, applications, and data. Let’s say if a virtual machine file is allocated 200 GB on the hard drive and only 100 GB is used, the virtual server backup will recognize it as a virtual machine file and back up only those 100 GB. GB of data in contrast to a traditional backup tool, which would back it up. as a 200 GB file.
Storage space allocation for remote server backup (virtual server)
Although a virtual server environment may have a storage area network (SAN) that stores the virtual machine’s files, it is recommended that you perform a disk-to-disk backup on inexpensive storage disks. Virtual server backup tools take a point-in-time snapshot of the virtual machine image and only changes made to the original are stored in the backup. Therefore, it is seen that the storage requirements for virtual backup would not increase substantially during the period and getting more disks would not be an expensive affair. However, it should be remembered that implementing a SAN just for virtual server backup can be expensive. Also, adding more disks to meet growing storage demands can further drive up costs.
Computer and network requirements for remote server backup (in the case of a virtual server)
In the case of a virtual server backup that creates a backup virtual machine, changes made to the original are synchronized with the backup. Therefore, it is important that you first determine the resources required to handle peak workloads on all virtual machines, and then increase the CPU allocation so that backups do not consume resources allocated to applications. Unlike physical servers, each of which has a dedicated network interface card (NIC) for I/O operations, I/O to all virtual machines is expected to use a single NIC, which which creates an I/O bottleneck. So, calculate all the I/O performance requirement for backing up virtual machines, and if it’s on the higher side, choose a SAN-based virtual backup that can support good LAN speed.
Conclusion:
To optimize bandwidth usage while backing up remotely (especially if it is a virtual server) over WAN, data compression should be done at the source, while deduplication should be based on the destination . Remote backup is crucial to all business operations. And with the trend of virtualization increasing very fast, knowing virtual backup best practices is essential.
