The vStack platform will support enterprise backup systems

Backup is an important product feature of a virtualization platform, without which industrial operation can be difficult. For this reason, the vStack team has developed for its hyper-converged platform and is preparing to launch an update that includes this functionality in the coming months. For this, a unified approach was chosen that does not force companies with an established backup infrastructure to switch to other solutions. This innovation is suitable for all modern backup systems, allowing you to continue using existing solutions and save backups from previous years.

Backup is not that easy

Before implementing this functionality, the vStack team studied the experience of other developers. In some products, backup is implemented through integration with third-party solutions. vStack consciously rejected this option because third-party solutions can have flaws that are not managed by vStack and result in dependency on their owners. Since achieving technical sovereignty can be an important factor for a company or product consumer, it was decided to take a different path.

vStack thought of developing a basic backup solution in-house. In this case, another problem arose. As a rule, large companies with an established IT infrastructure already have their own backup system and an accumulated backup history. In addition, enterprise-level backup systems are usually a very expensive solution that is expected to work for a very long time. In some industries, such as banking, backup retention periods are regulated by regulatory requirements. Forcing the consumer to use another backup system is artificially creating unnecessary complexity for them.

Solution #1 – NDMP protocol

To avoid these issues, the vStack team chose to support a unified NDMP protocol for backing up infrastructure built with the vStack product. NDMP is a network data management protocol that can be used to transfer data from storage devices to backup devices and vice versa. The advantage is a higher data transfer rate without having to transfer data through a backup server.
The NDMP protocol supports most modern enterprise-level backup systems. Therefore, vStack customers do not need to change systems to install vStack virtual infrastructure backups. Companies can continue to use the existing product or choose the most suitable system on their own.

Solution #2 – Backup Appliance

For customers who don’t yet have their own backup infrastructure, the vStack team is developing the second option – Backup Appliance. It is designed for those who will build an infrastructure completely from scratch. This is a longer and more ambitious task that solves more ambitious goals.

As for the NDMP variant, this project is nearing completion. It will be available as an early adoption version in a few months.