VM (Virtual Machine) specific backup solutions have become the predominant method for protecting the virtualized server infrastructure. New vendors creating these solutions were able to move quickly to fill in data protection gaps left by legacy data protection vendors. Now, though, these legacy vendors are closing the gaps they once had. In response, virtualized backup software solutions should do more than to just try to win the “new feature” war with legacy software solutions; they should also be focused on providing bedrock features like non-virtualized data protection and broader device support.

The Legacy Backup Challenge

Each time there is a shift in data center platforms, a new opportunity is created for data protection vendors, primarily because each shift is not immediately supported by the legacy data protection vendors. Examples of these shifts include the emergence of Windows as a data center server platform, the emergence of Oracle as a data center application environment, the emergence of Linux as a cloud operating system, and, of course, the emergence of VMware as the data center’s hypervisor.

As virtualization made its way from test and development into full scale production, a data protection problem became apparent. Legacy backup systems were ill-equipped to provide robust data protection to these new architectures. The legacy vendors had to be cautious when adopting new data protection capabilities provided by the virtualization hypervisors and infrastructures to make sure it did not conflict with their existing code. This is the opening that created the opportunity for vendors such as Quest Software to gain significant traction in the virtualization backup market.

The Challenge to VM Backup 1.0

In every case, the above gaps caused by data center platform shifts were over time closed by legacy data protection software, and the new emerging vendors either had to become more mainstream, be purchased and folded into one of the legacy data protection vendors portfolios, or risk going out of business. VM-specific backup utilities now face this same challenge. The legacy data protection vendors are gaining ground in the “new feature” war and now can provide many of the capabilities that were once the sole domain of the VM-specific backup solutions. The closing of the gap in capabilities, combined with the legacy vendors’ support of the rest of the data center, may eventually give them the advantage in the backup manager’s eyes.

As has been the case in other data center shifts, the new breed of VM-specific backup utilities needs to expand their reach in order to maintain their relevance in the data center. They need do that while maintaining and expanding on the capabilities that made them popular to begin with.

The Advantages to VM Backup 1.0

While legacy backup products have gained ground on the VM-specific backup utilities, they have not completely closed the gap, and may never close it entirely, as despite their advancements, they remain products architected in a non-virtualized and tape-centric world. Products like Quest’s vRanger, for example, have still maintained an ease of use advantage that many backup administrators count on in the rapidly growing virtualized server environment. In addition, these utilities provide efficient backup routing to have VM data sent directly to a storage device instead of a backup server. They also have the ability to have that data optimized or leverage unique software within the backup device to streamline data transfers. vRanger provides another example of these capabilities with its support of EMC Data Domain’s Boost software that reduces the amount of data sent to and processed by the Data Domain system.

Finally, many VM-specific backup products provide advanced recovery and replication techniques that leverage the virtual environment to quickly bring a VM back into production or create a test VM for development work. Again, all these advantages should continue to be invested in.

VM Backup 2.0 - From Utility to Complete Solution

In this article, we have been very careful to use the term utility to describe the software products that are VM specific. The key shift in VM Backup 2.0 is the move from utility to complete backup solution. To do this, VM Backup products must provide support for more than just data protection of the virtualized environment, and they must support more than just backups to disk.

Stepping Outside of the Virtual Environment

The first step for VM Backup products to become complete solutions is for them to support more than just the virtual environment. While the percentage of the data center that is virtualized continues to increase, and while it is true that many data centers have a “virtualize first” strategy, there still remains a measurable percentage of the data center that is not virtualized. Some of these applications are also mission critical and may never be virtualized due to their individual resource requirements. Not coincidently, these applications have data that needs to be protected.

If the VM-specific backup product remains a utility and does not evolve into a complete solution the data center may never be able to merge these two data protection points. VM-specific backup products should thus step out of the VM-only bubble to provide protection of these stand-alone systems, or they should integrate into/with enterprise solutions that do. Ideally, the VM-specific backup product (as we discussed in our article “Breaking The Backup Single Pane of Glass”) should do both, giving the customer the ultimate choice.

Of course, these products should still support and leverage their VM heritage. A good example with vRanger would be the ability to continue leveraging Quest’s patented active block mapping (ABM) technology, which speeds backups and reduces storage space by reading and writing only active blocks of data. In addition, these products should provide the ability to then virtualize stand alone applications they are protecting, even if it is only temporary, in the event that the physical server fails.

Stepping Outside of Disk

Disk as a backup target has many benefits, especially in terms of recovery. It allows VMs to be recovered quickly directly from the backup. It also enables backup processes like changed block tracking to work properly. Disk, however, even with deduplication, is still an expensive resource for the long-term retention of VMs and their data.

In many enterprises, companies execute a separate backup operation with a legacy backup product to capture that data to tape for more cost-effective long term storage of their virtual servers. This means that even if the data center does eventually achieve 100% virtualization, they will still be required to have multiple products if they choose – or for regulatory reasons, are required – to use tape for long-term data storage.

Thus, the second step for VM-specific backup utilities to evolve into complete backup solutions is to add direct tape support, whereby on a periodic basis virtual machines and their data can be copied to tape via the software for long-term data retention needs. This could be a perfect complement to their current disk only strategy. System administrators can leverage disk for quick backups and the most immediate recoveries, then leverage tape copy for long-term retention of that data. Doing so would keep disk cost down because it would only be used for the current working set.

In addition, the way disk as a backup target is used should be advanced. The modern disk backup appliance is more than just a bunch of disks in a box. These systems have advanced deduplication and replication capabilities. As mentioned, earlier backup products are adding interfaces that allow for a more efficient flow of data and to provide direct control over the replication function.

Summary

If today's virtual-only backup products are able to make the leap from being utilities to become complete backup solutions, they will provide backup administrators with greater flexibility in protecting their environments. They may also establish the new mid-range of the market, in the process replacing legacy backup solutions that have become long in the tooth and have lost their simplicity.

Quest Software is a client of Storage Switzerland 

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