What is recovery?
It’s not unusual to confuse Backup, Recovery and Archive. Backup is about data, individual pieces of information. With a Backup we are interested in retrieving a version of a file or directory from a specific time. Recovery is about returning the complete system to a point in time. Backups can be used for Recovery and Recovery systems can be used for Backups. But each has its own strengths and weakness.
Archive : The need to go back to a file (or files) as it stood at a particular point in time
Backup: The accounting software is corrupt and it needs to be restored to yesterday’s version.
Recovery: The Server is corrupt and needs to be recovered to yesterday’s version.
What is the challenge?
Over the last couple of years, server software has grown rapidly in complexity and size. SBS 2008 is an example of this increased complexity. As updates have added new enhancements and features, the time required to rebuild and restore a failed system has become unacceptably long. A resolution that once would have taken 12 to 24 hours can now take two or more days. The challenge is to reduce the disruption, and cost of a recovery operation.
Traditionally we have used backups as recovery tools. 95% of all restores are a single file or group of files, so it has made sense to weight a solution towards restore rather than recovery. Our recommended backup solutions remain valid, but now we must consider the advantages of a separate application specifically for recovery purposes. Substantial improvements have been made in recovery software lately. Symantec now includes a recovery solution in their SBS Backup package. ShadowProtect is another proven recovery system and has special pricing for SBS and virtual servers.
Kinetics will continue to test and evaluate recovery solutions.
How much faster is a recovery?
There are many facts and figures available, and like most specification sheets, we have found a considerable variance between claims and reality. We do know that the last 2008 server that Kinetics recovered using traditional backup software took 36 hours and the last 2008 server that Kinetics recovered using specific Recovery software took 4 hours. These figures have been repeated across a number of rebuilds.
What is needed?
1. Recovery Software
The two products we have used the most are Symantec BackupExec and StorageCraft ShadowProtect. BESR (Backup Exec Server Recovery) retails for $1200 but is available free to anyone with current maintenance on their Backup Exec for SBS.
Shadow Protect for SBS retails for around $600.
2. Target Disk
Recovery software makes images rather than backups, and these images require a target disk. For physical servers the minimum is a USB disk. For a virtual server, a Belkin Network USB hub is also needed. Alternatively a NAS can be used, and this is our preference.
Approximate costs:
A suitable NAS – 2Tb typically under $1,000 or 1TB USB disk: $120 plus Belkin Network USB hub: $150
Recommendation:
Kinetics recommends placing the target disk in a different part of the building from the server. This would be done to reduce the chances of a localized event, e.g. a small flood damaging both the server and the recovery image.
Labour
Labour costs will vary depending on the system and the choice of equipment. We expect a typical configuration for BESR to take 3-5 hours. Two server reboots are needed. If the server is damaged, then we will also need to obtain a replacement machine and prepare it.
Offsite Copy
Once a recovery is in place, the next step is to look at having an offsite copy of the image. Recovery software is problematic when you swap target disks so other methods are needed. The solution is dependent on the situation. Offsite recovery would typically only be used during a major disaster that damages both the server and the onsite USB disk.
The offsite copy does not need to be current to be useful. A week old recovery in combination with a current backup will still provide significantly faster rebuild options than a pure backup option.
The simplest solution is two or more USB disks which are swapped once a week. Each weekend the image is copied by script from the target disk to one of the offsite disks.
Summary
The time required to rebuild and recover a server is dramatically increasing every year. This trend has widened the gap between backup and recovery solutions. Some vendors have recognized this change. Symantec offers customers with current Backup Exec SBS maintenance BESR for free. Recovery software now significantly reduces recovery time.
Any business running SBS 2008 or later should now add a recovery software solution to their protection plan.