BASICS

VM DATAPROTECTION

2 3

VIRTUAL MACHINEDATA PROTECTIONBASICS

8 A DIFFERENT KIND OFANIMAL

10 A DIFFERENT KIND OFDATA PROTECTION

12 WHAT ARE THEBACKUP OPTIONS?

18

4A COMPLETESOLUTION

22 WHERE DO I GOFROM HERE?

4 5

VIRTUAL MACHINE

Virtual machines have been spreading like

smartphones throughout the world’s businesses.

They make good financial sense by greatly reducing

the number of physical machines required to handle

the ever-increasing data demands of a modern

24/7 organization. VMs simplify management by

consolidating servers into a single control panel. Even

the smallest companies are taking advantage of this

leading-edge technology.

Virtualization means that one physical computer can

host multiple virtual machines (VMs). Each VM appears

to the network, and functions, as if it were a physical

server, complete with operating system, software

applications and data. An administrative application

such as VMware manages this process by allocating

memory, CPU time, storage and other resources as

necessary. The software control system that supervises

all this sharing is called a hypervisor.

BASICSDATA PROTECTION

simplify management by consolidating servers into a singlecontrol panel

6 7

Smart technology managers already know that

backing up the company’s data is crucial to survival in

case the business is hit by fire, theft, data corruption

or other catastrophes. But the very convenience

offered by VMs can set a trap for the unwary, leading

them to believe that their systems are protected when

in fact they are not.

Application Application

Hypervisor

Physical Hardware

Application

Guest OS Guest OS Guest OS

vHardware

CPU Memory Network Disk

vHardware

CPU Memory Network Disk

vHardware

CPU Memory Network Disk

Discrete virtual machines, complete with isolated operating systems and applications,

share physical server resources like CPU, memory and disk, through the management

layer of a hypervisor.

8 9

A DIFFERENT KIND OF ANIMAL

Superficially, your company’s virtual machine system may look like the same old server sitting in the corner, but in fact it’s quite different than before. There are a lot of important pieces moving around inside that computer, and keeping track of them is no simple task.

Everything that might occur on a physical server also happens

inside a virtual machine, but the VM content is much more than just

the data files. There are also operating system files, logs, services,

and all of the components that allow the VM to fool other software

applications into thinking that it’s a server like any other.

Virtualization can also sneak up on you, which greatly complicates

the backup process. New VMs are so easy to deploy that they tend

to pop up as needed, but are not necessarily part of the policies you

have so carefully created. And the widespread use of VMs in test

or development environments can mean new challenges when the

development data suddenly becomes mission-critical.

Backup processes that treat this dynamic environment as if it

were just another plain vanilla computer are asking for trouble!

I THOUGHT

THAT SYSTEM

WAS PROTECTED...

10 11

Virtual machines are dynamic, and tend to move around. By design, VMs are easy to set up, so they can appear whenever an administrator needs to try something out before deploying it on a large scale.

Moving an entire VM from one physical machine to

another is simple, and is a logical way to deploy a test

system or continue operations while maintaining or

upgrading the physical server.

In addition, much of the contents of VMs are redundant.

Start with the fact that each VM needs its own copy of

an operating system. That could mean, for example, 25

identical copies of Windows, all backed up separately.

Then there are the application software files, many of

which may be common to multiple VMs.

To make matters worse, VMs

create a lot of temporary files that

aren’t always cleaned up when

they should be. This adds to the

complication of data protection.

Thus, the dynamic, redundant

and transient nature of VMs has

major implications for a backup

strategy. If your data protection

system is not optimized for

working with virtual machines,

there will be a huge waste of

backup disk space, as well

as unnecessary use of CPU

processing power. And with

VMs appearing, disappearing,

and moving, it is difficult to

feel confident that the data

crucial to your business is being

backed up properly.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF DATA PROTECTION

Application Application

Hypervisor

Physical Hardware

Application

Guest OS Guest OS Guest OS

vHardware

CPU Memory Network Disk

vHardware

CPU Memory Network Disk

vHardware

CPU Memory Network Disk

Hypervisor

Physical Hardware

Application

Guest OS

vHardware

CPU Memory Network Disk

move to newphysical server

VMs are very easy to move from one physical server to another, remaining live, with no down-

time. This may occur to better balance workload, or perhaps enable a hardware upgrade.

VM movement can even be configured to occur automatically at pre-defined thresholds. This

dynamic aspect of VMs can create a challenge to conventional backup approaches.

12 13

WHAT ARE THEBACKUP OPTIONS?

Now that you’re convinced of the importance of protecting virtual machines and their data, what are the options?

SNAPSHOT

The most basic approach is the snapshot, which is

usually a built-in feature of the VM software itself.

This captures a moment in time, including not only all

the software (OS, applications and data) but also the

contents of the VM’s memory. One difficulty with this

approach is that the snapshot is typically stored on the

same physical server as the VM, offering no protection

against disk crashes or natural disasters. Another

drawback is that snapshots are so storage-intensive

that few people retain them for long. And finding an

individual file is a tedious process.

Application

Guest OS

vHardware

VM SnapshotSnapshots store an image of the VM at a particular instant. Snapshots are great tools but

alone they do not provide an adequate level of data protection.

14 15

TRADITIONAL BACKUP SOFTWARE

A more comprehensive option is to use traditional

backup software. These applications often treat each VM

as a real, physical server, with a backup agent deployed

on each VM. This approach has the disadvantage

of consuming large amounts of resources, which

is problematic as VMs share physical resources. In

addition, the backup application doesn’t know anything

about the VM itself, so those files are not backed up, nor

is it aware of redundant data across VMs.

Hypervisor

Application

Guest OS

vHardware

HIGH DEMANDS ON CPUAND NETWORK RESOURCES

Application

Guest OS

vHardware

Guest OS

vHardware

MediaServer

BackupAgent

BackupAgent

BackupAgent

Application

Applying the traditional approach of backing up physical servers, installing agents on

each server and backing up through a media server, creates large demands on CPU and

network resources, slowing down system and network performance.

16 17

ApplicationvmPRO

DXi4601Reduces storage needs 95%

Application

CPU Network Disk CPU Memory Network Disk CPU Memory Network Disk

Hypervisor

Application

CPU Memory Network Disk

vmPRO auto-detectsnew and moved VMs

Guest OS

vHardware

Memory

Hypervisor

Guest OS

vHardware

Guest OS

vHardware

Guest OS

vHardware

Physical Hardware Physical Hardware

IMPROVED SYSTEMAND NETWORK PERFORMANCE

VM SPECIFIC SOFTWARE

Significant advancements have been made by software

applications designed specifically for protecting VM

environments. These VM-aware applications understand

the inner-workings of VM environments and integrate

with the hypervisors to simplify the management

and improve the efficiency of VM data protection

processes. This approach eliminates the need for

agents, significantly improving system and network

performance, and reduces the amount of storage

capacity required.

VM-aware applications leverage hypervisor tools to simplify the management and

improve the performance of VM data protection.

18 19

The Quantum vmPRO software is a backup application

designed to simplify the management of protecting VM

environments. vmPRO installs as a virtual appliance in

your existing VMware environment, eliminating the need

for backup agents. Built on an innovative combination

of technologies, vmPRO software has a number of

advantages, including:

→ Progressive optimization filters out inactive data from each VM before

storing it, resulting in up to a 75% reduction in storage space, network

traffic and CPU overhead, which improves system and network

performance while reducing storage costs.

→ Auto discovery of VMs on the network, to ensure new and moved VMs are

protected, which is very important due to the dynamic nature of VMs.

→ Data is stored in native file format, enabling simple single-file or full

VM restores; the stored data is bootable directly from the storage

device or can be simply “dragged and dropped” to another device –

unlike proprietary formats that complicate the file identification and

restoration process.

→ File-system view provides a simple unified directory view of the entire VM

environment, allowing easy navigation and access to all VM data.

A COMPLETESOLUTION

App

OS

App

OS

App

OS

App

ESX Hosts andassociated VMs

OS

ESX1

VM1

VM4

VM2

VM3

c:

Docs & Settings

Program Files

Windows

ESX2

vmPRO provides direct, file system view of all VMs across multiple physical servers.

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IDEAL TURNKEY SOLUTION

The vmPRO 4000 is a complete VM data protection

solution, including vmPRO software and a DXi4000

series deduplication appliance. Deduplication

technology excels in VM environments, as they tend

to have much more redundant data. The vmPRO

4000 is available in a 2TB configuration or in scalable

configurations from 4TB to 12TB. The Capacity-on-

Demand (COD) scalability provided in the vmPRO 4601

models is unique in the industry as the only solution

that scales with only a software license, extending

the product life simply with no additional hardware

to purchase or install. The vmPRO software is ideally

suited for use with DXi deduplication appliances,

providing the highest deduplication rates, with typically a

95% storage reduction.

vmPRO Software

Simplifies and accelerates the backup and restore process for VMware

virtualized environments

Reduces network traffic and CPU workload by 75%, improving

backup performance without impacting other processes

Supports backup for Microsoft SQL Server and Exchange

Stores data in native file format, for simple file or full-system

restores; enabling bootable VMs from the storage device

Auto-discovers new and moved VMs ensuring all data is protected

vmPRO 4000

Features high-performance deduplication to reduce typical

bandwidth requirements by a factor of 50 or more, turning existing

WANs into effective disaster recovery networks

The DXi4601 is the industry’s first Capacity-on-Demand

deduplication appliance, starting at 4TB of capacity and scaling up

to 12TB by simply activating a license key

The vmPRO 4000 is a turnkey solution optimized for virtual

machine environments, including both backup software and DXi

storage to retain months of data

The vmPRO software is a virtual appliance that simplifies the

management while improving the performance of protecting

virtual environments

22 23

While virtual machines may be relatively new, Quantum has been protecting business data for more than 30 years. It is a pioneer in data deduplication technology as well

as data storage, so you can have confidence in a proven

and cost-effective backup and archiving solution.

For more information about the vmPRO 4000 and VM data protection,

consult a knowledgeable reseller in your area.

To learn additional product details, visit www.quantum.com and

click on the Products tab. You will find publications, videos, slide

presentations and podcasts to give you a complete background

on the subject.

In North America, call a product representative at the

Quantum Call Center, toll-free at 888-738-1533. ©2012 Quantum Corporation. All rights reserved. Quantum, the Quantum logo and DXi are registered trademarks of Quantum Corporation and its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

WHERE DO I GOFROM HERE?

www.quantum.com • 1.888.738.1533

ABOUT QUANTUM

Quantum is a proven global expert in Data Protection and Big Data management,

providing specialized storage solutions for physical, virtual and cloud environments.

From small businesses to major enterprises, more than 50,000 customers trust

Quantum to help maximize the value of their data by protecting and preserving it over

its entire lifecycle. With Quantum, customers can Be Certain they’re able to adapt in

a changing world – keeping more data longer, bridging from today to tomorrow, and

reducing costs. See how at www.quantum.com/BeCertain.

BE CERTAIN

ST00900A-v01 August 2012