Streamlining Backup: Enhancing Data Protection with Backup Appliances

A Guide to Backup
Appliances and
Data Availability
A Guide to Backup Appliances
and Data Availability

Table of Contents
3
Introduction
4
History of Backup
Appliances
5
Types of Backup
appliances
8
Threats to Backups
and Backup Appliances
9
StoneFly Backup
and Disaster Recovery
Appliances
11
What You Should do Next

Introduction
Increased data growth leads organizations
to rely on multiple backup and disaster
recovery solutions. Even with their setup,
they lack the confidence that their data will
always be recoverable and highly available.
According to a report by Veeam in 2017,
Veeam Availability Report 2017, a majority
of organizations (82%) are facing a gap
between user demand and what IT can
deliver; in other words, an Availability Gap.
This can result in unplanned downtime
costs averaging up to $21.8M per year.
The availability challenges of today are
increasingly becoming difficult as user
demand varies and data grows
proportionally. In order to adapt and
deliver, IT has to evolve and do more. This
is where Backup appliances come in.
Initially nothing more than a bandage,
backup appliances have now become an
integral part of every enterprise IT
environment.
With backup appliances, IT environments
A Guide to Backup Appliances and Data Availability | www.stonefly.com
can ensure better backup performance and
recovery times.
StoneFly’s innovative technology has
empowered IT environments to ensure
effective recovery of their enterprise
workloads and reduce recovery times to
less than 15 minutes.
Our purpose-built backup and disaster
recovery appliances come equipped with
Veeam’s enterprise-level availability
software.
Veeam’s availability software, focuses on
innovation and delivers Always-On
Availability for enterprises. StoneFly and
Veeam, when used together, provide the
industry’s leading combination of
secondary storage and availability software,
offering a wide range of benefits to
customers such as faster backups, reduced
RTPOs, cost saving and ease of use.
3

History Of Backup
Appliances
15 years ago, backup appliances came into
the market and were a product of two
introductions to the storage industry:
SATA disk arrays and deduplication.
Before the integration of SATA disks in
disk arrays, arrays were more expensive
and there wasn’t much sense in using them
as backup targets. SATA disks, on the
other hand, were more affordable, so
companies introduced these products as a
place to store older copies of data
(archiving) and backups.
Backup appliances started to gain
popularity in the storage industry when the
concept of deduplication entered the
market. The way backups were traditionally
made created an excess of duplicate data
and the ability to identify and eliminate
duplicate data significantly reduced the
cost of using disk as a backup target.
Backup technology has come a long way,
orignating from expensive tape storage
environments to cost effective and high
performance disk environments.
Today’s backup-to-disk market is changing
as customers shift from simply using disks
to send backups to learning how that disk
can enable better functionality for the
enterprise IT environment.
This is why StoneFly is always innovating
and securing partnerships like with Veeam
Amazon, and Microsoft Azure; so that we
can deliver tightly integrated solutions that
offer optimized and reliable backup and
disaster recovery for the enterprise.
4

There are two main types of backup
appliances: backup targets and backup
systems. Backup targets are those designed
to accept backups from backup software.
Backup systems, on the other hand, are
complete systems that contain the backup
software and sufficient storage to hold
backups.
Backup targets were designed initially for
IT environments that already had an
existing backup product and wanted to
upgrade their storage hardware. Backup
targets also provide the ability to refresh
the computing side of the backup equation
at different rates than the storage side.
Backup systems, on the other hand, tend to
put both functions in one place so
traditionally it’s not possible to upgrade
one and not the other. However, with our
disaggregated High Availability (HA)
cluster configurations, users can
individually add performance capabilities
and storage capacities to their backup
systems.
Companies that prefer their backup
appliances to be more “plug and play” tend
to prefer backup systems over backup
targets.
Technically, any storage system accessible
via NFS, SMB or other storage protocols
can be used as a backup target. But
typically, when we speak of backup targets,
we are referring to disk systems specifically
designed for backups. Being designed for
backup means that these systems are
designed to be cost-effective (at least more
so than primary storage) and highly
scalable - storing petabytes of capacity -
and it means that they typically include
deduplication as a core feature.
Deduplication identifes and eliminates
data between backups, allowing a disk
storage system to store much more backup
history in the same amount of disk space.
5
Types of Backup
Appliances

Backup targets deduplicate in one of two
ways: inline or post-process (also referred
to as ayshnchronous). An inline system
deduplicates backup data before it is even
written to disk. A post-process system first
writes backup data to disk and then
deduplicates it with a secondary process.
Sometimes, the secondary deduplication
process runs asychronously with the
backups, and other times it occurs after all
backups have completed.
Each of these two have their advantages
and disadvantages. The inline approach is
more popular among vendors and appears
to occupy a greater percentage of the
backup target installed base. It is seen as a
cleaner approach since backups are
deduplicated before being written, which
means they can be immediately replicated
as well. This is in contrast to the post
process approach, where backups cannot
be replicated until they have been dedupli-
cated. Post-process systems also require a
disk staging area to hold the latest set of
backups before they are deduplicated.
A challenge with the inline approach
appears with the consideration that some
newer backup applications require random
read/write access to the backup repository
in order to facilitate features such as
instant recovery. Instant recovery is a
feature that allows customers to mount a
filesystem or start a VM directly from the
backup repository, rather than requiring a
restore. This type of restore is seen by
many as the difference between next
generation backup systems and traditional
backup systems. With the old way, one
must first repair the damaged server
and/or storage, after which a restore can
then be initiated. Then only once that
restore is complete can operations be
resumed. The downtime required by this
method often forces IT personnel to do
quick fixes, which then must be replaced
with the real repair at a later date -
requiring even more downtime. With
instant recovery, one can immediately
resume operations by running the VM
from the backup system. Once operations
are resumed, IT has the time to properly
diagnose and repair what caused the
failure. Once the repair is affected, they
may initiate a full or partial restore and
return the workload to the production
server at a convenient time. The difference
between the two recovery methods is
phenomenal - as long as the performance
of the instant recovery is sufficient - but if
the storage it is running from has
performance challenges, it may not even be
possible.
The reasons that inline appliances might
not be appropriate for such workloads
starts with the fact that an inline appliance
must be “re-duplicate” or rehydrate the
data during a restore. The real problem
with this is that the deduplication read and
write processes were optimized for the
serial reads and writes typical of traditional
backup software since that is how all
backup applications behaved when most
of them were designed. The combination
of the rehydration requirement and the
fact that it was designed for serial work-
loads is not conducive to an application
such as instant recovery that requires
constant random reads and writes.
The advantage of post-process systems is
that they typically have the most recent
backup stored in a native, not-yet-dedupli-
cated format in a typical filesystem
designed for random reads and writes. As
most recent backup is the one that’s going
to be used for an instant recovery situation,
being able to read and write from a typical
file system that is optimized for random
reads and writes and does not have to be
rehydrated can yield significant
performance advantages.
This is not to say that it is not possible to
use instant recovery with an inline
approach but it is something that needs to
be taken into consideration when consider-
ing instant recovery. It is possible to
address these challenges in other ways as
well.
6
Types of Backup Appliances
Inline vs. Post Process

Backup targets can further be divided into
how they can accept backup data. The
most common interface is to accept data
via NFS or SMB. The advantage to this
approach is that any backup software that
can write a POSIX-compliant file system
can write to such an appliance. The
disadvantage is that there is only a finite
amount of performance enhancement that
can be done across such an interface.
Simply writing data via NFS or SMB can
lead to poor random I/O performance
during instant recoveries and slow backup
or restore performance during traditional
operations.
Backup targets can also present themselves
as a virtual tape library or VTL. This
interface was popular at the time when
backup targets first came out and backup
software products were not adept at
writing to a file system interface. Today,
such an interface is used primarily for
those who need a high speed block
interface. The most common use of VTLs
is when backing up a NAS filer via NDMP,
as the protocl only understands backing up
to tape.
In contrast to backup targets, backup
systems are easier to understand and
classify. They are complete appliances that
contain backup software and enough
storage to hold the backups. In addition to
some security and performance
advantages, the main purpose of these
systems is to be a turnkey system ready to
do backups as soon as they’re turned on.
7
Types of Backup appliances
Interfaces: NFS/SMB,
iSCSI and Custom

Besides the age-old threats of failed media,
disasters taking out an entire server or
storage array, or simply human error or
mischief, today’s backup servers have more
threats to them than ever - especially if
they are Windows-based systems. The
biggest threat today comes in the form of
ransomware, insider attacks or other
malware that will delete or otherwise
corrupt backups or the backup software’s
configuration files.
Regarding backup appliances, one of the
biggest pitfalls that many of them face is
that any data stored on a typical backup
appliance is simply available via an SMB or
NFS mount. If someone were to access
that mount outside the backup process,
they could encrypt or delete the backups
along with the original data. For this
reason, it is imperative that companies lock
down access to that shared folder. This can
be done via ACLs, VPNs and basic SMB
and NFS controls that allow only the
backup server to mount the directory in
question.
Another technique is to use a protocol
between the backup software and backup
appliance down their backup systems
tighter than any other system in the data
center. The backup system should have a
different authentication system that is
seperate from anything like Active
Directory. So that someone compromising
the corporate system would not be able to
compromise the backup system as well.
Finally, intrusion detection systems should
treat the backup server as a high priority
system from a security perspective, as it has
a copy of everything in the environment.
8
Threats to Backups
and Backup
Appliances

StoneFly offers purpose-built backup and
disaster recovery (DR) appliances built to
withstand cyber-security threats like
ransomware and deliver RTOs and RPOs
of less than 15 minutes.
Our range of backup and DR systems
include:
- DR365V™ - Veeam-Ready Backup &
DR Appliance
- DR365™ - Backup & DR Solution (DR
Site in a Box)
- DR365U™ - Universal Backup & DR
Appliance
Configured with high-end processors,
robust storage drives, and built-in cloud
connect to public and private clouds, our
backup and DR appliances enable users to
protect business-critical NAS and SAN
volumes and Virtual Machines (VMs)
running on VMware, Hyper-V, KVM and
Citrix (formerly XenServer) hypervisors.
The robust combination of enterprise
backup software, our patented storage
operating system and enterprise servers
our backup & DR appliances deliver highly
secure data protection for terabytes to
petabytes of enterprise data.
With our backup & DR appliances users
can backup Windows and Linux servers,
relational databases (MySQL, NoSQL,
PostGreSQL, etc.) and CRM, EHR/EMR
applications as well.
To simplify our customer experience, we
offer a one-stop-shop for all data
protection needs, including:
- Backup software licenses
- Hypervisor licenses
- Storage Operating System
- Enterprise Server
9
StoneFly Backup and
Disaster Recovery
Systems
Purpose-Built Enterprise Backup & DR Systems

Integrated Configuration
The integrated hardware delivers backup &
DR in a box experience. It’s a single
aggregated harwdare chassis with the
storage controller, RAID controller, and
storage operating system.
The appliance supports our storage
operating system, backup software,
hypervisors, cloud connect to Azure cloud
and AWS (Amazon Web Services) along
with the ability to scale up by adding
JBODs or EBODs and scale out by adding
virtually unlimited number of appliace
nodes for additional performance
capabilities and petabytes of storage
capacities.
HA Cluster Configuration
The HA Cluster configuration is a
disaggregated hardware system and a
perfect fit for IT environments that require
high availability and instant recovery.
Our HA cluster appliances comprise of
three hardware chassis:
- Two Storage Controllers (SCs)
- One or More HA RAID Expansion
Arrays
The two SCs provide multi-path access and
ensure data availability even in the event of
hardware failure. And with two processors,
the compute capabilities are doubled;
making it a good fit for the most
demanding workloads and RTPO
requirements.
Scale-out Node Configuration
Best suited for large enterprises and large
volumes of big data, this configuration
starts with three nodes and can scale out to
virtually unlimited number of appliance
nodes.
The addition of each appliance node in the
system adds more processors, more system
memory, and more storage drives;
consequently this delivers a proportional
increase in performance as storage
capacities grow to petabytes in scale. This
makes it a good fit for organizations with
continuously growing volumes of data and
instant recovery needs.
With increased performance capabilities,
no matter the volume, enterprises instantly
recover mission-critical VMs to reduce
downtime and enhance business continuity.
10
StoneFly Backup and Disaster
Recovery Appliances
Appliance Configurations:
Integrated, HA Cluster & Scale Out

11
To effectively protect your mission-critical
enterprise workloads, backup and disaster
recovery appliances are necessary.
If you’re looking for an innovative backup
and disaster recovery system that delivers
everything within a single box, is easy to
setup and deploy and delivers reduced
RTPOs while keeping costs in check,
contact us today and let us offer you
purpose-built and customized solutions.
StoneFly’s enterprise-level backup and
disaster recovery solutions facilitate
businesses around the globe including
corporate and government clients.
To explore StoneFly’s partial list of
customers, click here: Partial Customer List
What You Should Do Next
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StoneFly, Inc.
26250 Eden Landing Rd,
Hayward, CA 94545 USA.
+1 (510) 265 1616
sales@stonefly.com
www.stonefly.com
www.iscsi.com

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