VAULTING
Any discussions that concern diasaster recovery, or DR should also include a discussion about the vaulting process. In very basic terms, a vaulting process is the process that allows you to manage and accomplish any or all of the following steps:
- Create a duplicate of the backup image for storage off-site.
- Automate ejecting the media that need to be taken off-site.
- Provide reports that allow you to track the location of all backup media.
- Manage recalling media from the off-site location, either for active restores or for recycling after all the data on the media has expired.
It is possible to develop all the tools and procedures to accomplish all of these tasks, but it can be a tedious and potentially risky endeavour. Some of the backup applications offer a vaulting option that is fully integrated with the backup solution, which is much easier to use and more reliable. Figure 1.2 shows the basic vaulting process flow.
There are at least three options for creating a backup image that will be taken off-site for secure storage:
- Take the media containing the original backup images off-site.
- Create multiple copies of the backup image during the initial backup.
- Have the vaulting process duplicate the appropriate backup images.
Offsiting Original Backup If you select this method of selecting which medium is stord offsite in a secure storage facility you must be prepared to accept a potential delay in restore requests. Any request to restore data will require the original media be recalled from the storage facility. This obviously not only will affect the time to restore but also has the real possibility of causing the backup media to be handled more, which can reduce the life of the media. It also puts you at a greater risk of loosing media as it is being transferred more often.
Create Multiple Copies of the Backup Some of the backup applications have the ability to create more than one copy of the backup data during the initial backup process. By doing this, you can have your vault process move one of the copies off-site. This removes the problem of always having to recall the off-site media to fulfill all restore requests. It also makes the off-site copy available as soon as the backup is completed.
Duplicate the Original Backup This has been the more common method of creating the off-site copy of the backup. After the initial backup is complete, the vault process will create copies of any backups that need to have an off-site copy.
After the backups are duplicated, one of the copies is moved off-site. After you have the images on media that are ready to be taken off-site, the vaulting process should create a list that includes all the media IDs for all the media destined to be taken off-site or vaulted. A good vaulting application will actually perform the ejection of the media, so the operator or administrator can physically remove the media.
The vaulting process should be capable of creating reports that show what images need to be moved and the inventory of all media that are currently off-site. It should also create a report that can be shared with the off-site storage company that shows all the media that need to be returned on any given day. These are generally the media on which all the backup images have expired. These media will be recalled and reintroduced into the local backup environment, usually going back into an available media set.
A good vaulting application will also manage the backup and off-site storage of the data that makes up the backup application’s internal catalogue. It will also track this information, which is very important if you need to recover the backup server itself.
The off-site storage companies have warehouses that are especially built for providing the highest possible protection against disasters – natural and otherwise. These companies offer services to physically transport the tapes to and from the warehouse. Some advanced vaulting applications provide reports and data formats that make it easy to integrate with the vault vendor’s own data management systems. It is important to remember that backup is a sticky application. Users should carefully evaluate the potential off-site storage vendor for their staying power. Backup is also a critical application, so the user should look at what support the vendor is able to provide. You want to be comfortable that the backup vendor and the off-site storage company are going to be around for the long haul. Otherwise, all those backup images that the user has been saving for 7 years might be of little use.
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