Virtual machine backup with CA, HP and Syncsort
As noted above, users have reported issues with backing up VMs using a software-based agent. This method can overload the I/O resources of the physical server. Replacing the agent with a proxy server that offloads the backup process to a separate physical server can help. Many vendors, including CA, HP and Syncsort, have integrated their backup packages with VCB.
"We use [Syncsort's] Backup Express Agent to do block-level backups of our data," William Grainger, network analyst for the Alachua County government in Gainesville, Fla. "We can instantly map a drive to a different server to make data available. With a tape backup, what would take hours takes minutes now. If we have a drive failure, we can use iSCSI to map to the volume on the SAN, take a point-in-time copy and map a drive to it. To the end user, it is seamless -- they don't even know it happens."
Read more about VM backup with CA, HP and Syncsort.
Centralizing data protection with VMware VDI
The concept behind VMware's Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is to centralize desktop operating systems, applications and data in the data center. Desktop operating systems and applications run in VMs on data center servers, but users access the "virtual desktop" and applications from a thick or thin client through remote display software.
Backup and disaster recovery of virtual desktops that leverage shared storage is simplified and centralized, and backup network traffic is eliminated. Data protection solutions in the data center -- such as backup, snapshot and continuous data protection (CDP) -- can be used to protect virtual desktops.
Read more about centralizing data protection with VMware VDI.
