ServicesBusiness Continuity with Virtual DR

Technical Questions

What server operating systems are supported?

We support all commonly used versions of Windows Server and Linux.

What applications are supported?

We support most of the Microsoft product set, most commonly used databases and most standard business applications. We would expect to support any application that falls outside this so long as it doesn’t have any peculiarity that specifically precludes it from working when it is moved between environments. These are rare and are typically licensing or other security measures that tightly tie an application to one bit of hardware. Even then there may be ways we can make this work in the event of a disaster but we couldn’t test this as part of the daily testing regimes.

How are copies of my servers collected?

Backup Direct provide a Snapshotting appliance, which sits in your network, next to the servers that we protect. A small snapshot agent is installed on each protected host, and these handle the offloading of data to the appliance.

What is the Backup Direct Snapshotting Appliance and what does it do?

The Snapshotting appliance takes care of scheduling snapshots, and making sure that data is sent back to Backup Direct's Rescue Platforms. It also does a number of routine housekeeping roles, and copies of previous data, in case it’s needed.

How does the local backup work?

The Backup Direct appliances have a good amount of storage on board. They hold a complete copy of all the data that’s associated with the machines we protect, and as many sets of historic data as they can accommodate. Because they store changes to data, this can mean that a single appliance can hold many, many days worth of historical data. The appliance provides an Administration Portal that allows authorised users to request a restore of historical data back to the machines it came from, or to other protected machines.

How easy is the service to set up?

The service is designed to be a very quick and easy to deploy. There is a short questionnaire to fill in, which defines the servers that Backup Direct will protect, an appliance to install on your network (a very simple process, typically taking only 10 minutes or so), and backup agents to install on every machine that is to be protected. And that’s it!

How often does the Appliance take copies of my systems?

Generally speaking, we expect to take a daily copy, usually overnight. The schedules for this can be adjusted, and it may be possible to take more than one a day, although this will vary depending on your individual requirements.

What happens if the appliance fails?

Backup Direct will ship you a new one. Installation of this appliance is as simple as the original installation, and the new appliance will acquire all it’s configuration data back from the Backup Direct Rescue Silos, so it will take over from where the old one left off. The Backup Direct Rescue Silos hang on to your last known good snapshot in the meantime, too, so you still won’t be completely unprotected while the appliance is replaced.

Won’t the shipping of snapshots be heavy on my bandwidth?

We only transfer data that has changed between one snapshot and the next. The first one is generally pretty big, but subsequent updates take a whole lot less space. Transfers are compressed and encrypted, and we’re pretty good at making sure we don’t send duplicate data.

What has to be done to a snapshot to make it work on the virtualised platform?

We apply a number of ‘overlays’ to the snapshots in order to make them function smoothly in their new environment. This includes everything from installing storage and network drivers, supporting software for the Virtualisation environment, network configurations, test agents, disabling hardware-specific monitoring agnets, and application-specific changes to make them work in their new environment. This is all done automatically, every single day, and doesn’t need any involvement from the customer at all.

How do I know that the Rescue Image of my server will run in the event of a disaster?

Every Rescue Image is tested every time it’s updated. This testing is pretty thorough, and is used to establish that your entire set of protected systems can be started up, can correctly interact with each other, and that they can be used to do useful work. In the event of a disaster, we’d simply repeat that process, and we already know it worked less than 24 hours ago!

What happens if a Rescue Image fails to run?

If a Rescue Image fails its testing, then it is marked as failed, and a ticket is raised. The causes of the failures will be investigated, and resolved. More importantly, Backup Direct always retain a ‘last known good’ image, which can be pressed into service should a disaster befall you at the worst possible time. So even if last night’s test failed, and your systems failed immediately afterwards, we’d still have night before’s available.

In what circumstances can I invoke a recovery of my systems?

Backup Direct think that a Disaster is a Disaster if YOU think it is. We don’t impose any limitations on the circumstances under which you are ‘allowed’ it invoke a recovery, so we’re happy to assist you even under circumstances where you’d usually be caught in a providers small-print.

Can I really recover my critical systems within 30 minutes in the event of a disaster?

Generally, we will have your systems running on the Rescue Platform in 15 to 30 minutes. If DNS and Email handling are required, then this may take a little longer, but if they’re inside our control, then we’d expect systems running within the hour.

What actually happens when I invoke a recovery?

We go through a security process to establish that the request for recovery is genuine. Once you have established your identity, then we activate the recovery process. This is entirely automated, and boots up all your protected systems (in order). At the same time, it adjusts DNS and Email Relay records, and dynamically reconfigures firewall and VPN settings to allow access to your systems. Once this process is complete, we contact you again, providing you with access details to your systems.

Will recovered systems be the same as my original systems?

Essentially, yes. They will be running your software, with your login credentials. We provide you with VPN connectivity to get to them, and you can administer them as you did in the live environment.

How will my staff access the recovered systems?

As part of the initial service setup, we will go through the access mechanisms with you. The precise option that fits best varies by customer, but a ‘typical’ customer will have IPSEC Site-to-Site VPN Access to the platform from one or more locations, as well as SSL VPN access for Roaming Users. The IPSEC VPNs are configured as the service is set up, and the SSL VPNs can easily be deployed as required in a disaster.

Who runs my servers in recovery?

You do. Backup Direct staff don’t even know any of your login details. You can look after the systems as you did before you were in recovery.

How do I migrate back to my live systems after the disaster has been dealt with?

This largely depends on what you want to migrate back to. If you already run a virtual infrastructure, then it could be as simple as us shipping you complete disk images, ready to run with your data on them. Other scenarios run more like a traditional migration, with replacement hardware being provisioned and set up, and us shipping the data to you.

 

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