Remote DS-VDR
Summary
This article describes some topics related to Remote DS-VDR in greater detail.
DS-VDR is a tool licensed in the form of an incremental 'counter' to a DS-System in its license (from the DS-License Server). The DS-System administrator can assign the license count to DS-Clients individually from the pool allocated for the DS-System. Each backup set using Remote DS-VDR configuration reduces the corresponding pool by 1 count.
This tool comes with the GUI integrated in the DS-Operator and the daemon (remote server engine that processes the DS-VDR requests) installed on a separate server. This option currently works with "VMware VADP" backup sets (backed up from a Linux DS-Client). The backup must be of an entire functioning Virtual Machine (not just an individual disk).
When a (VMware VADP) backup set is configured for Remote DS-VDR (for scheduled Remote DS-VDR activities), the latest backed up generation is automatically restored to a stand-by VMware server. In the event the protected customer suffers a disaster or other event that requires them to use the Remote DS-VDR service, they can simply contact their Service Provider and switch immediately to the stand-by VMware server(s).
Many-to-many connectivity
Handling multiple Encryption Keys
DS-Client has no involvement with Remote DS-VDR, since the configuration and management is performed solely from the DS-Operator / DS-System side. Therefore, the DS-Client must have been configured with "Encryption Key Forwarding" and the encryption keys must be available in the DS-System database.
For each restore session, the DS-System will supply the required encryption key(s) for the corresponding backup set to the Remote DS-VDR Tool. This enables the tool to handle multiple restore sessions from different DS-Clients.
- Encryption keys that are sent to the Remote DS-VDR Tool are in encrypted format. They are only stored in memory and discarded when the Remote DS-VDR restore is finished.
Decompression & Decrypting
Decompression and decrypting are performed on the Remote DS-VDR machine, thereby relieving the DS-System of processing load.
Creating the VMs and their disks
The Remote DS-VDR tool is responsible for creating the VMs and their disks, as configured in each backup set.
Restoring the data (from DS-System through Remote DS-VDR to target)
- DS-System establishes the connection on port 4406 (default) to the Remote DS-VDR Tool. It will send all configuration parameters and required encryption keys to the DS-VDR Tool.
- DS-System will send the list of files that need to be restored and other meta-data information generated from the backup set's Remote DS-VDR configuration.
- DS-VDR tool is the software that will interact with VMware ESX server. The Remote DS-VDR Tool creates a VM and disks based on the meta-data information.
- DS-System starts sending file data to the Remote DS-VDR tool, which then decrypts and decompresses it, then saves it in the disks created by DS-VDR tool. DS-VDR tool will return completion logs to DS-System.
- The restored VMs will be restored under a unique name by pre-pending "RVDR" and appending the time of each backup session to the VM name.
- When manually triggering a Remote DS-VDR restore, the operator can select from the available backup sessions stored on the DS-System.
- Depending on the Remote DS-VDR configuration, the restored VM can be powered on or left powered off after successful restore.
Notifications
E-Mail notifications that show the completion status of Remote DS-VDR activities can be configured to be sent to the DS-System administrator (Setup Menu > Configuration > Notification Tab: Notification Settings).
See Also
The information provided in this document is provided "AS IS", without warranty of any kind. ASIGRA Inc. (ASIGRA) disclaims all warranties, either express or implied. In no event shall ASIGRA or its business partners be liable for any damages whatsoever, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if ASIGRA or its business partners have been advised of the possibility of such damages. © Asigra Inc. All Rights Reserved. Confidential.
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