Dell Appassure 5 User Guide
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Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B 11 179 Understanding replication This chapter describes how to configure and manage the replication of protected data from an AppAssure source core to an AppAssure target core for disaster recovery. It includes the following sections: •Understanding seed drives •Understanding failover and failback in AppAssure •Performance considerations for replicated data transfer •Configuring replication •Replicating to a self-managed target core •Replicating to a third-party target core •Adding a machine to existing replication •Consuming the seed drive on a target core •Managing replication settings •Removing replication •Recovering replicated data •Understanding failover and failback This section provides conceptual and procedural information to help you understand and configure replication in AppAssure. Replication is the process of copying recovery points from an AppAssure core and transmitting them to another AppAssure core in a separate location for the purpose of disaster recovery. The process requires a paired source- target relationship between two or more cores. The source core copies the recovery points of selected protected machines, and then asynchronously and continually transmits the incremental snapshot data to the target core at a remote disaster recovery site. You can configure outbound replication to a company-owned data center or remote disaster recovery site (that is, a “self-managed” target core). Or, you can configure outbound replication to a third-party managed service provider (MSP) or cloud provider that hosts off-site backup and disaster recovery services. When replicating to a third-party target core, you can use built-in work flows that let you request connections and receive automatic feedback notifications. Replication is managed on a per-protected-machine basis. Any machine (or all machines) protected or replicated on a source core can be configured to replicate to a target core. Possible scenarios for replication include: • Replication to a Local Location. The target core is located in a local data center or on-site location, and replication is maintained at all times. In this configuration, the loss of the Core would not prevent a recovery. • Replication to an Off-site Location. The target core is located at an off-site disaster recovery facility for recovery in the event of a loss. • Mutual Replication. Two data centers in two different locations each contain a core and are protecting machines and serving as the off-site disaster recovery backup for each other. In this scenario, each core replicates the protected machines to the Core that is located in the other data center.
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B180 • Hosted and Cloud Replication. AppAssure MSP partners maintain multiple target cores in a data center or a public cloud. On each of these cores, the MSP partner lets one or more of their customers replicate recovery points from a source core on the customer’s site to the MSP’s target core for a fee. Possible replication configurations include: •Point to Point. Replicates a single protected machine from a single source core to a single target core. Figure 5. Point to point configuration NOTE: In this scenario, customers would only have access to their own data.
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B181 • Multi-Point to Point. Replicates protected machines from multiple source cores to a single target core. Figure 6. Multi-point to point configuration
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B182 •Point to Multi-point. Replicates a protected machine from a single source core to more than one target core. Figure 7. Point to Multi-point configuration
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B183 •Multi-hop. Replicates a replicated protected machine from one target core to another target core, producing an additional failover or recovery option. Figure 8. Multi-hop configuration Understanding seed drives Replication begins with seeding: the initial transfer of deduplicated base images and incremental snapshots of the protected machines, which can add up to hundreds or thousands of gigabytes of data. Initial replication can be seeded to the target core over a network connection or by creating and saving a seed drive on external media and then transferring the initial data to the target core. This seed drive is typically useful for large sets of data or sites with slow links. The data in the seeding archive is compressed, optionally, encrypted, and deduplicated. If the total size of the archive is larger than the space available on the removable media, the archive can span across multiple devices based on the available space on the media After replication is established, all recovery points created after the establishment of the seed drive replicate to the target site in advance of the transfer of archived data. When the seed drive is consumed, the archived data synchronizes with the replicated recovery points present on the target core repository. Seeding is a two-part process (also known as copy-consume): •The first part involves copying, which is the writing of the initial replicated data to a removable media source. There are two copying options: duplicating not-yet replicated recovery points from the source core to a local removable storage device, such as a USB drive, or duplicating all existing recovery points [Build RP chains (fix orphans) option]. After copying is complete, you must then transport the drive from the source core location to the remote target core location. NOTE: While it is possible to seed the base data over a network connection, it is not recommended. Initial seeding involves potentially very large amounts of data, which could overwhelm a typical WAN connection. For example, if the seed data measures 10 GB and the WAN link transfers 24 Mbps, the transfer could take approximately one hour to complete.
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B184 •The second part is consuming, which occurs when a target core receives the transported drive and copies the replicated data to the repository. The target core then consumes the recovery points and uses them to form replicated agents (protected machines). Because large amounts of data need to be copied to the portable storage device, an eSATA, USB 3.0, or other high-speed connection to the portable storage device is recommended. Seeding is an option available within the procedure for replicating to a self-managed target core and the procedure for replicating to a core managed by a third party (such as a managed service provider or MSP). For more information, see Replicating to a self-managed target core and Replicating to a third-party target core, respectively. Understanding failover and failback in AppAssure In the case of a severe outage in which your source core and protected machines fail, AppAssure supports failover and failback in replicated environments. Failover refers to switching to a redundant or standby target AppAssure Core upon system failure or abnormal termination of a source core and associated protected machines. The main goal of failover is to launch a new protected machine identical to the failed machine that was protected by the failed source core. The secondary goal is to switch the target core into a new mode so that the target core protects the failover protected machine in the same way as the source core protected the initial machine before the failure. The target core can recover instances from replicated protected machines and immediately commence protection on the failed-over machines. Failback is the process of restoring a protected machine and core back to their original states (before failure). The primary goal of failback is to restore the protected machine (in most cases, this is a new machine replacing a failed machine) to a state identical to the latest state of the new, temporary protected machine. When restored, it is protected by a restored source core. Replication is also restored, and the target core acts as a replication target again. For more information, see Understanding failover and failback. Performance considerations for replicated data transfer If the bandwidth between the source core and the target core cannot accommodate the transfer of stored recovery points, replication begins with seeding the target core with base images and recovery points from the selected servers protected on the source core. The seeding process can be performed at any time, as part of the initial transfer of data to serve as the foundation for regularly scheduled replication, or in the case of re- instating replication for a previously replicated machine whose replication had been paused or deleted. In this case, the Build RP Chain option would let you copy not-yet replicated recovery points to a see drive. When preparing for replication, you should consider the following factors: • Change rate. The change rate is the rate at which the amount of protected data is accumulated. The rate depends on the amount of data that changes on protected volumes and the protection interval of the volumes. If a set of blocks change on the volume, reducing the protection interval reduces the change rate. •Bandwidth. The bandwidth is the available transfer speed between the source core and the target core. It is crucial that the bandwidth be greater than the change rate for replication to keep up with the recovery points created by the snapshots. Due to the amount of data transmitted from core to core, NOTE: While replication of incremental snapshots can occur between the source and target cores before seeding is complete, the replicated snapshots transmitted from the source to the target will remain “orphaned” until the initial data is consumed, and they are combined with the replicated base images. For more information about orphaned recovery points, see Deleting an orphaned recovery point chain.
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B185 multiple parallel streams may be required to perform at wire speeds up to the speed of a 1GB Ethernet connection. • Number of protected machines. It is important to consider the number of machines protected per source core and how many you plan to replicate to the target. AppAssure lets you perform replication on a per-protected server basis, so you can choose to replicate certain servers. If all protected servers must be replicated, this drastically affects the change rate, particularly if the bandwidth between the source and target cores is insufficient for the amount and size of the recovery points being replicated. Depending on your network configuration, replication can be a time-consuming process. The Maximum Change Rate for WAN Connection Types is shown in the table below with examples of the necessary bandwidth per gigabyte for a reasonable change rate. If a link fails during data transfer, replication resumes from the previous failure point of the transfer once link functionality is restored. About replication and encrypted recovery points While the seed drive does not contain backups of the source core registry and certificates, the seed drive does contain encryption keys from the source core if the recovery points being replicated from source to target are encrypted. The replicated recovery points remain encrypted after they are transmitted to the target core. The owners or administrators of the target core need the passphrase to recover the encrypted data. About retention policies for replication Retention policies on the source and target cores are not synchronized. Rollup and ad-hoc deletion perform independently on each core on initial action as well as during the nightly jobs. For more information on retention policies, see Managing retention policies. NOTE: Bandwidth specified by the ISP is the total available bandwidth. The outgoing bandwidth is shared by all devices on the network. Make sure that there is enough free bandwidth for replication to accommodate the change rate. Table 95. Examples of bandwidth per gigabyte Broadband Bandwidth Max Change Rate DSL 768 Kbps and up 330 MB per hour Cable 1 Mbps and up 429 MB per hour T1 1.5 Mbps and up 644 MB per hour Fiber 20 Mbps and up 8.38 GB per hour NOTE: For optimum results, you should adhere to the recommendations listed in the table above.
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B186 Configuring replication To replicate data using AppAssure, you must configure the source and target cores for replication. After you configure replication, you can then replicate protected machine data, monitor and manage replication, and perform recovery. Performing replication in AppAssure involves performing the following operations: • Set up a repository on the target core. For more information on adding a repository to the target core, see Creating a repository. • Configure self-managed replication. For more information on replicating to a self-managed target core, see Replicating to a self-managed target core. • Configure third-party replication. For more information on replicating to a third-party target core, see Replicating to a third-party target core. • Replicate an existing protected machine. For more information on replicating a machine that is already protected by the source core, see Adding a machine to existing replication. • Consume the seed drive. For more information on consuming seed drive data on the target core, see Consuming the seed drive on a target core. • Set the replication priority for a protected machine. For more information on prioritizing the replication of protected machines, see Setting replication priority for a protected machine. • Set a replication schedule for a protected machine. For more information on setting a replication schedule, see Scheduling replication. • Monitor replication as needed. For more information on monitoring replication, see Monitoring replication. • Manage replication settings as needed. For more information on managing replication settings, see Managing replication settings. • Recover replicated data in the event of disaster or data loss. For more information on recovering replicated data, see Recovering replicated data. Replicating to a self-managed target core A self-managed core is a core to which you have access, often because it is managed by your company at an off- site location. Replication can be completed entirely on the source core, unless you choose to seed your data. Seeding requires that you consume the seed drive on the target core after you configure replication on the source core. Complete the steps in the following procedure to configure your source core to replicate to a self-managed target core. To replicate a self-managed target core 1 Navigate to the AppAssure Core, and then click the Replication tab or icon. 2 On the Replication tab, click Add Target Core. The Replication Wizard appears. 3 On the Target Core page of the Replication Wizard, select I have my own Target Core, and then enter the information as described in the following table. NOTE: This configuration applies to Replication to an Off-site Location and to Mutual Replication. The AppAssure Core must be installed on all source and target machines. If you are configuring AppAssure for Multi-Point to Point replication, you must perform this task on all source cores and the one target core. NOTE: With AppAssure, you can replicate to the Dell DL-4000. For information about this feature, see the Dell AppAssure Release Notes or the AppAssure Knowledge Base.
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B187 •If the Core you want to add has been paired with this source core previously, you can do the following: aSelect Use an existing target core. b Select the target core from the drop-down list. cClick Next. dSkip to Step 7. 4Click Next. 5 On the Details page, enter a name for this replication configuration; for example, SourceCore1. •If you are re-initiating or repairing a previous replication configuration, select My Core has been migrated and I would like to repair replication. 6Click Next. 7 On the Machines page, select the protected machines you want to replicate, and then use the drop-down lists in the Repository column to select a repository for each protected machine. 8 If you want to perform the seeding process for the transfer of the base data, complete the following steps: a On the Machines page, select Use a seed drive to perform initial transfer. •If you currently have one or more protected machines replicating to a target core, you can include these protected machines on the seed drive by selecting With already replicated. bClick Next. c On the Seed Drive Location page, use the Location type drop-down list to select from the following destination types: •Local •Network •Cloud d Enter the details for the archive as described in the following table based on the location type you selected in Step c. Table 96. Target core information Te x t B o x D e s c r i p t i o n Host Name Enter the host name or IP address of the Core machine to which you are replicating. Port Enter the port number on which the AppAssure Core will communicate with the machine. The default port number is 8006. User Name Enter the user name for accessing the machine. Password Enter the password for accessing the machine. NOTE: If no repository exists on the target core, a warning appears notifying you that you can pair the source core with the target core, but that you are unable to replicate agents (protected machines) to this location until a repository is established. For information about how to set up a repository to a core, see Creating a repository. NOTE: Because large amounts of data need to be copied to the portable storage device, an eSATA, USB 3.0, or other high-speed connection to the portable storage device is recommended.
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B188 eClick Next. f On the Seed Drive Options page, enter the information as described in the following table. Table 97. Archive details Option Text Box Description Local Output location Enter the location for the output. It is used to define the location path where you want the archive to reside; for example, d:\work\archive. Network Output location Enter the location for the output. It is used to define the location path where you want the archive to reside; for example, \\servername\sharename. User Name Enter a user name. It is used to establish logon credentials for the network share. Password Enter a password for the network path. It is used to establish logon credentials for the network share. Cloud Account Select an account from the drop-down list. NOTE: To select a cloud account, you must first have added it in the Core Console. For more information, see Adding a cloud account. Container Select a container associated with your account from the drop- down menu. Folder Name Enter a name for the folder in which the archived data is to be saved. The default name is AppAssure-5-Archive-[DATE CREATED]-[TIME CREATED] Table 98. Seed drive options Item Description Maximum Size Large archives of data can be divided into multiple segments. Select the maximum size of the segment you want to reserve for creating the seed drive by doing one of the following: •Select Entire Target to reserve all available space in the path provided on the Seed Drive Location page for future use (for example, if the location is D:\work\archive, all of the available space on the D: drive is reserved if required for copying the seed drive, but is not reserved immediately after starting the copying process). •Select the blank text box, enter an amount, and then select a unit of measurement from the drop-down list to customize the maximum space you want to reserve. Customer ID (optional) Optionally, enter the customer ID that was assigned to you by the service provider. Recycle action In the event the path already contains a seed drive, select one of the following options: •Do not reuse. Does not overwrite or clear any existing seed data from the location. If the location is not empty, the seed drive write will fail. •Replace this Core. Overwrites any pre-existing seed data pertaining to this core but leaves the data for other cores intact. •Erase completely. Clears all seed data from the directory before writing the seed drive. Comment Enter a comment that describes the seed drive. Add all Agents to Seed DriveSelect this option to replicate all protected machines on the source core using the seed drive. This option is selected by default.