Backup Centralisation

Whether you’re aiming to cut costs, improve the reliability of backup & recovery or both – the first step is the same: standardise on a single enterprise-wide backup software package and centralise control to a single point.

If the volume of data on your servers is moderate and your LAN has enough bandwidth, then you’ll be able to use a single backup server to protect your entire site, as shown below.

Centralised Backup

Centralised Backup

Disadvantages

  • Requires selection of standard software & hardware - Some time will be needed to choose, plan and deploy the solution.
  • Consumes LAN bandwidth - With all backup traffic travelling across the LAN, the centralised backup can use a large part of the available bandwidth when in use, impacting the performance of other applications. This can be mitigated by deploying a separate LAN dedicated to backup traffic.

Advantages

  • Cost savings on tape drives - No longer need one per server.
  • Cost savings on tape media - Fewer tapes needed as partial use is reduced.
  • Cost savings on tape media handling & offsite storage - Fewer tapes needed.
  • Cost savings from reduced software maintenance and training - Improved reliability.
  • Centralised monitoring and management.
  • Consistent service levels - Standard backup policies are easily applied across your entire site.
  • Improved service levels - Data can be more quickly and reliably restored from tape when needed.
  • Simpler and faster emergency recovery procedures - A single tape technology and data format are now in use, providing simpler, easier access to backup data when it counts most: in an emergency.
  • Reduced risk of undetected backup failure - Tapes can be tested quickly & effectively to verify that the backup was successful and the data is readable.

The centralised backup solutions that Data Engines | ENSTOR designs & implements are each unique, but our customers all have one thing in common: they sleep more soundly after we’re finished than they did before.

As the amount of protected data in your organisation grows, you'll soon benefit from implementing a dedicated backup LAN and/or tape media automation - read on.

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