subject: Use Network Backup Software In Virtualized Environments [print this page] The rise of server virtual has driven network backup software developers to come up options to restore virtual machines. Virtual is an enduring trend and is here to stay. Physical backup vendors are found to make modifications in their solutions to make them function in imaginary environments. However it must be remembered that virtual machine backup solution do not backup physical servers. Therefore before choosing the virtual backup appliance, make sure that it provides all that you require to implement an effective disaster recovery strategy.
Network backup software features that support VM backup
Network backup software that provides virtual storage should be endowed with the features that will facilitate virtual or physical backup or both. The other features include image based backup; file-level restore, etc. It further enables
deduplication and compression of stored data; replication of backup data off-site for disaster recovery; and deployment as a Windows app or prebuilt virtual machine.
A virtual machine can be backed up by any server backup solution with the help of the agents inside each VM. This may allow administrators to restore files, but then it would be devoid of any virtual feature. Therefore it is advisable to choose virtual specific storage tools that will provide all the features to create optimal VM backup.
Types of network backup software that support virtual backup
There are several types of virtual backup appliances available in the market. There is a specific type that can store all virtual platforms. It is particularly advantageous because organizations just need to make a single, onetime license purchase to back up all of their VMs. This operates as an agent-less storage in most of the infrastructures and can provide both physical-to-virtual and virtual-to-virtual conversion with option to even backup to tape. While it supports deduplication, the replication option is not there. However the online backup option can be used to send restored data over the Internet for off-site storage. Likewise there are other options available. Some can restore both physical servers and virtual machines; others can provide remote site replication, support deduplication, etc. Choose the solution that best fits your business needs.
Market for network backup software with VM backup features
Virtual backup tools today have reached a high level of sophistication. Instead of just barely meeting the restore requirement, virtual backup tools are now coming equipped with features that perform tasks that were never imagined possible before. Since virtual has come into existing storage software category has been revived with features that conventional physical server restore failed to support. Virtual labs, instant restore of VMs and actual automated verification of VM backups are among the multitude of the facilities that mature virtual backup solutions offer.
Additionally unified network backup storage has been modified to enable replication of changed blocks in a VM disk file, thereby eliminating the need for creating backup tapes or storing those tapes off-site. The changed blocks are easily replicated to another location via internet.
Conclusion
Virtual has helped consolidate IT operations, making them more dynamic and flexible. But it has complicated the backup procedures. However network backup software vendor have risen to the challenge and have developed virtual specific backup tools to cater to VM backup requirements.
