I have been excited about the possibilities of using deduplication storage and virtualization togethersince implementing both technologies while working in IT prior to joining Data Domain. At my previous employer, we built a multi-tier application infrastructure with a disaster recovery site 2,000 miles away using VMware ESX Server in both locations. All VMDK and application backups went to a Data Domain system in the primary site and were replicated those 2,000 miles to the DR site. The image backups were recovered on a scheduled basis to keep the underlying virtual servers up-to-date, with only specific applications (MS SQL, Exchange, CIFS fileshares) receiving agent level protection and recovery. As a result, our primary data center was consolidated into five racks and we eliminated the use of tape for protecting our most critical applications. It is the many benefits of achieving these two objectives that our customers continue to enjoy today.
There are three generally accepted techniques for backing up VMs:
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Running backup agents, installed inside the guest
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Running proxy-based VMDK backups using VCB, with or without 3rd -party backup application integration
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Running host-based VMDK backups, either from the service console or using a VMware-specific backup application, like Vizioncore vRanger Pro
Best practices documentation typically references using some combination of these approaches. Unlike most other deduplication solutions, Data Domain systems support all three methods and will eliminate the redundancy across all data stored. This support allows organizations to customize their data protection policies, and to best leverage existing infrastructure.
Because Data Domain systems deduplicate data inline, image backups can be reduced 40-60x or more before being stored, and entire virtual environments can be efficiently replicated using a minimum amount of bandwidth. We support VCB backups natively, and can be a target for most enterprise backup applications that provide VCB integration as well as traditional agents installed in the guest OS. Specialized applications, scripts, and even native VMware features like cloning, storage VMotion and templates can all use Data Domain storage.
In today's world, this simplicity and flexibility are critical forces which balance the underlying complexity of new technologies. Data Domain and VMware are like peanut butter and chocolate - both are great on their own, but together, they become greater than the sum of the parts.
Come visit us in booth #1302 at VMworld next week - the RPBC is on me.
