08-16-2017, 09:27 PM
Cloud computing, based on virtualization, has a very different approach to disaster recovery. With virtualization, the entire server, including operating system, applications, patches and data is encapsulated in a single software package or virtual server. This entire virtual server can be copied or backed up in an off-site data center and spun into a virtual host in minutes.
Because the virtual server is hardware independent, the operating system, applications, patches, and data can be safely and accurately transferred from one data center to a second data center without the burden of reloading each component of the server . This can drastically reduce recovery times compared to conventional (non-virtualized) disaster recovery approaches in which servers must be loaded with OS and application software and patched to the last configuration used in production before restoring the data.
The cloud changes the disaster recovery compensation curve to the left, as shown below. With cloud computing (represented by the red arrow), disaster recovery becomes much more cost effective with significantly faster recovery times.
When introduced with the cost-effectiveness of online backup between data centers, the tape backup no longer makes sense in the cloud. The cost-effectiveness and speed of online, off-site backup makes it difficult to justify tape backup.
The cloud makes disaster recovery in cold places obsolete. With cloud computing, disaster recovery at hot sites becomes a very cost-effective option where critical server backups can be converted in minutes to a shared or private cloud host platform.
With SAN replication between sites, hot site DR with very short recovery times also becomes a much more attractive and cost-effective option. This is a capability that was rarely delivered with conventional DR systems due to cost and testing challenges. One of the most exciting capabilities for disaster recovery in the cloud is the ability to offer multi-site availability. SAN replication not only provides rapid failover to the disaster recovery site, but also the ability to return to the production site when the DR test or disaster event is over.
One of the added benefits of disaster recovery with cloud computing is the ability to fine-tune the costs and performance of the DR platform. Applications and servers that are considered less critical in a disaster can be adjusted with fewer resources, while ensuring that critical applications get the resources they need to keep the business running during the disaster.
