Tips and Tricks for Leveraging Netapp Storage with Veeam

Tips and Tricks for leveraging NetApp Storage with Veeam

Chris M Evans Technology Analyst, Subject Matter Expert (Storage & Virt), Writer and Blogger Tips and Tricks for leveraging NetApp Storage with Veeam

Contents Introduction and executive summary ...... 3

NetApp Data ONTAP key features ...... 4

Write Anywhere File Layout ...... 4

NetApp Data ONTAP and VMware vSphere ...... 5

Efficient backups in virtual environments ...... 5

Veeam and VADP ...... 6

NetApp Data ONTAP storage platform support ...... 7

Benefits for the small/medium enterprise ...... 9

About the Author ...... 10

About Veeam Software ...... 10.

Introduction and executive summary NetApp® FAS storage platforms provide small and medium enterprises significant operational benefits through the use of innovative operational features that cover the needs of data efficiency and data protection . With the latest release of Veeam® Availability Suite™, which includes Veeam Backup & Replication™ v8, customers can use the Storage System Support features to both perform backup and restore tasks that significantly reduce the RPO (recovery point objective) and RTO (recovery time objective) when operational efficiency is at its most critical — while recovering data .

NetApp’s flagship Data ONTAP storage operating system provides features to both optimize and protect data, such as data deduplication and snapshots . Veeam Explorer for Storage Snapshots™ can be combined with additional Data ONTAP features such as SnapVault® and SnapMirror® to provide a VM (virtual machine) image archive . Veeam Backup & Replication can exploit these archives to provide enhanced data protection and recovery capabilities . Recovery can be in the form of an entire virtual machine (Instant VM Recovery), individual files or application objects from Microsoft platforms such as Active Directory .

Two new NetApp-specific storage systems’ related features have been integrated with Veeam Backup & Replication . Veeam Backup from Storage Snapshots provides the ability to use hardware-based snapshots on NetApp FAS systems as sources for backup . This feature still uses a VMware snapshot, but only for a fraction of the time compared to regular backups . For customers using NetApp Snapshot, Veeam software allows backups to be secured from snapshots in a timely and efficient fashion, compared to using VMware snapshots in vSphere, by moving them to another physical location to mitigate primary storage hardware failures . These backups are then treated as normal backup images within the Veeam ecosystem and are storage agnostic .

For the cost-conscious small/medium enterprise using VMware vSphere, Veeam Backup & Replication provides the ability to move the backup capability from the hypervisor to the storage hardware, which reduces the load and impact on the virtual host when taking snapshots . This also allows for improved RPOs . During the restore process, RTOs improve as data is recovered directly from snapshots with minimal storage system overhead .

During both backup and recovery, Veeam Backup & Replication manages the entire process . This greatly reduces the operational impact for small/medium enterprises (SMBs) where money and time are precious resources .

NetApp Data ONTAP key features NetApp Data ONTAP is NetApp’s flagship storage OS (operating system), which has been delivering data efficiency and data protection features for over 20 years . Today NetApp Data ONTAP 8 is delivered in either 7-mode (supporting legacy environments) or C-mode (previously known as cluster-mode), which provides greater scalability and resilience than 7-mode systems . One of the advantages of NetApp Data ONTAP is all systems run the same software (subject to licensing) and are able to run the same features, from the low-end FAS2000 series to the FAS8000 .

Write Anywhere File Layout

Data ONTAP uses a feature known as WAFL (Write Anywhere File Layout) to map out on-disk data structures . LUNs and files are stored on disk at a 4KB level of granularity, irrespective of the size of the volume itself . System metadata is used to track the location of each LUN or file in terms of the 4 KB block components, which do not have to sit physically contiguous on disk . Data in WAFL is never overwritten in place . Instead, new data is written to a free 4 KB block in another part of the container used to store volumes known as an aggregate . The process of always writing data to new locations is the foundation for all of NetApp Data ONTAP’s data optimization and protection features, including thin provisioning, data de-duplication, Snapshots, SnapMirror and SnapVault .

• Thin provisioning is a space-reduction technology that optimizes physical-space utilization by ensuring that only valid data written by a host system is stored on disk . WAFL enables the use of thin provisioning through the use of aggregates and FlexVols . An aggregate serves as a collection of physical RAID groups, providing a pool of physical storage . FlexVols are logical volumes created within an aggregate . Thin provisioning is implemented by allocating physical space on an aggregate on-demand as data is written to a FlexVol .

• Data de-duplication, or dedupe, is a process that eliminates duplicate or redundant copies of data within a storage system . In Data ONTAP, dedupe is implemented within each aggregate, using WAFL metadata pointers to track multiple volumes pointing to the same physical data . The write-new process of WAFL ensures that updates to any volume referencing a shared de-duplicated data block will simply be written to a new location with no additional system overhead .

• Snapshot is a Data ONTAP feature that creates point-in-time copies of volumes and LUNs . The snapshot process is space efficient, with the difference between any two snapshots consisting of only the updated blocks of data from one snapshot to another . Snapshots are stored within the same physical disk space as the volume itself, allowing for rapid recovery from data loss or corruption .

• SnapVault is a feature that aggregates multiple snapshot images to create a set of immutable point-in-time backups . A SnapVault volume can be located on a remote system using separate disk storage and it provides a secure backup capability over and above that of simple snapshots .

• SnapMirror is a feature that provides the ability to replicate an entire volume or LUN to another physical FAS system . A mirrored volume uses snapshots to synchronize the replication process, optimizing the data replicated to only those blocks that have changed since the last SnapMirror replication was performed .

All of these features deliver key requirements for SMBs including:

• Efficiency — WAFL operations act at the 4 KB-level of granularity, storing only changed data and providing the ability to thin-provision and de-duplicate, which are features that provide significant space savings for virtualized environments .

• Performance — Snapshot functionality is executed with little or no system overhead, because all functions are achieved through manipulating metadata that maps to logical volumes (LUNs and file shares) on disk data structures . This includes the deletion or expiring of snapshots, where freed data blocks are reclaimed by the NetApp Data ONTAP operating system through a garbage-collection process .

• Scalability — NetApp Data ONTAP allows up to 255 unique snapshots per volume with each volume based on a custom schedule . Snapshots can be created to hourly, daily or weekly basis .

NetApp Data ONTAP and VMware vSphere

NetApp Data ONTAP integrates well into VMware vSphere virtual storage environments . Typically, SMB deployments use NFS (Network File System) as the protocol to present storage to vSphere from a Data ONTAP system . NFS can be deployed over standard Ethernet switches and is, therefore, at a lower cost compared to deploying Fibre-Channel, which requires bespoke hardware, including HBAs and optical cabling . NFS datastores are, by default, thin-provisioned, so they start efficiently from day one . Efficient backups in virtual environments The approach to making backups in virtual environments differs greatly from those in only physical servers . Typically, in a physical environment agents are used to manage the process of reading and transferring backup data over the network from a server (the client) to the backup system . Because physical servers each have their own network connections and storage connectivity, the client typically isn’t a bottleneck when making a backup . Instead, care must be taken to ensure that enough bandwidth exists across the entire network and into the backup server itself .

Virtual server environments are different . The initial premise of virtualizing was to reduce the amount of physical resources deployed in the data center . Operating system and application inefficiencies meant that many organizations were deploying a single physical server for a single task, which was expensive and wasteful, not only in acquisition costs of the hardware but in space, power and cooling demands .

Deploying agents on every VM in a vSphere environment simply isn’t practical for a number of reasons:

• VMs come and go more quickly than physical servers, making the tracking of client licenses for backup more difficult, which could result in over-purchasing software .

• Agents require management overhead and can demand more attention from system administrators .

• Network bandwidth in virtual environments is optimized to each VM . Therefore, moving large volumes of backup data across virtual and physical networks results in bottlenecks and application-performance issues .

• Storage is shared between VM, which means that numerous concurrent backups can place a strain on storage resources and result in application-performance issues .

Because VMs are stored and accessed by the hypervisor as files, a more effective approach to backup is the use of features provided by the hypervisor itself . VMware offers an API interface known as VADP (vStorage APIs for Data Protection), which provides backup capabilities for VMs without the need to deploy guest agents . VADP was introduced with vSphere 4 .0 and replaced VCB (VMware Consolidated Backup), which provided similar functionality .

The benefits of using VADP include:

• Native support — VADP is built into the hypervisor .

• Efficiency — Backups can either be taken as a full copy of a host or as an incremental copy using a feature called changed block tracking, which optimizes the backup stream so it consists of changed data since the last backup was made .

• Granularity — Backups can be content-aware and can manage individual files .

• Consistency — Guest applications can be acquired through Microsoft VSS (Volume Shadow-copy Services) to ensure that all in-flight data is flushed to disk before the VADP backup is taken .

Veeam and VADP

Veeam Backup & Replication takes advantage of the VADP interface to make fast and efficient backups of VM guests in vSphere, in addition to the NetApp snapshot intelligence described earlier . Veeam Backup & Replication allows the user to:

• Backup entire VMs (or groups of VMs) with a single, scheduled backup job

• Replicate VMs between vSphere clusters

• Copy VMs to specific storage locations

• Perform full or incremental backups

• Restore VMs from backup, including as instant VMs (mounted in the backup location)

• Restore VM volumes, such as VMDKs

• Restore individual VM files for Windows and other operating systems

• Restore application components such as Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server and SharePoint

Backup data can be stored on Windows or Linux servers, shared folders (over Microsoft SMB), de- duplication platforms, cloud backup targets or on tape . These features provide powerful capabilities for the small/medium enterprise, especially those in the Microsoft platform and its suite of applications .

NetApp Data ONTAP storage platform support

Veeam Backup & Replication introduces two new features that support the native hardware data protection capabilities of NetApp Data ONTAP . These are backup from Storage Snapshots and Veeam Explorer for Storage Snapshots .

Backup from Storage Snapshots allows hardware-based snapshot images to be used to take backups of VMs . In a standard VMware vSphere environment, Veeam Backup & Replication accesses a vSphere snapshot through the VADP API to disable a VM and initiate a VMware snapshot . Veeam Backup & Replication then copies the read-only snapshot image to the backup pool . During this time, updates to the VM are stored in VM disk (VMDK) files . Once the Veeam backup process is completed, the snapshot is committed into the main VMDK files and the vSphere snapshot files are deleted .

When hardware-based snapshots are used, a vSphere snapshot is started in order to ensure the VM is quiesced and in a consistent state . A hardware-based snapshot is then created for the volume containing the LUN on the storage array . At this point, the vSphere snapshot is released and Veeam Backup & Replication secures a copy of the VM from the hardware snapshot image . This process provides a number of benefits, including:

• vSphere snapshots are retained for a much shorter time . This results in less data that needs to be integrated back into the main VMDK files when the snapshot is committed and deleted, which, in turn, means there will be significantly less overhead on the vSphere host and less risk of access to the VM being affected .

• Hardware-based snapshots allow for good RPOs . Snapshots can be taken hourly or on-demand for any number of volumes with little-to-no overhead to the NetApp Data ONTAP system .

The figure below shows a backup job running where the data is moved from the NetApp snapshot, after the VMware snapshot has been taken and removed:

Explorer for Storage Snapshots is a feature that allows VM data to be restored directly from a hardware-based snapshot . This can include an entire VM through the Instant VM Recovery feature, files from within the VM guest or application objects from Microsoft applications including Active Directory, Exchange, SharePoint and SQL Server .

The restore process starts with the user browsing a list of snapshots within a volume on the source storage array using backup and replication . Virtual machines appear as their VM name with the complexity of the files that comprise the VM hidden from the user . The VMs are supported for primary copies of snapshots, SnapMirror or SnapVault snapshots . From this point, one of three recovery options are available:

• Instant VM Recovery — Recover the entire VM, either back to the original location, to another location or with different settings such as changing the VM name . Instant restored VMs can be imported into vSphere and accessed immediately, which allows for recovery of the application or data . If required, the VM can be vMotioned to a vSphere datastore for permanent use .

• Restore files (Windows and Linux support) — Recover individual files from the VM image . This option is useful when only part of the VM data is required, such as a configuration or log file . This option avoids a lengthy restore process, especially for large VMs .

• Restore Application Items — This option covers Microsoft Active Directory objects, Exchange mailbox items, SharePoint content and SQL Server databases . This option also avoids a lengthy restore process and issues of bringing a recovered server with the same name and configuration as the one currently running in production back online or isolating it .

The figure below shows a recovery through Veeam Explorer for Storage Snapshots from SnapVault.

Benefits for the small/medium enterprise

IT departments in small/medium enterprises are usually made up of several generalists with server, networking, storage, virtualization and backup general skills . These teams are typically time-challenged and they need cost-effective solutions, which will allow them to be productive and operationally effective, without having to learn about all IT disciplines in greater depth .

The new features in Veeam Backup & Replication allow an IT generalist to easily backup and restore data with hardware-based, efficient snapshots on NetApp FAS systems running Data ONTAP . The specific benefits include:

• Faster backups by minimizing the overhead of VMware snapshots, with better RPOs compared to using vSphere VADP-based methods .

• Faster RTOs with the ability to restore directly from snapshots using VM Instant Recovery .

• Faster and more efficient recovery by exposing access only to the items required for recovery at granular and application levels — either the entire VM, the files or the application objects .

• Leveraging of investments in the NetApp hardware platform .

• Simpler recovery by obfuscating the detailed components of a VM .

For additional technical background or other advice on the use of flash in the enterprise, contact [email protected] for more information .

Langton Blue Ltd is hardware and software independent, working for the business value to the end customer . Contact us to discuss how we can help you transform your business through effective use of technology .

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About the Author Chris M Evans has worked in the technology industry since 1987 . He started as an IBM mainframe platform systems programmer, while retaining an interest in storage . After working abroad, he co-founded an Internet-based, music- distribution company during the .com era and returned to consulting in the new millennium . In 2009, he co-founded Langton Blue Ltd (www.langtonblue.com), a boutique consultancy firm focused on delivering business benefits through efficient technology deployments . Chris writes a popular blog at http://blog. architecting.it, attends many conferences and invitation-only events and he provides regular industry contributions through Twitter (@chrismevans) and other social-media outlets .

No guarantees or warranties are provided regarding the accuracy, reliability or usability of any information contained within this document and it is recommended that readers validate any statements or other representations for validity .

Copyright© 2015 Langton Blue Ltd . All rights reserved . No portions of this document may be reproduced without the prior written consent of Langton Blue Ltd . Details are subject to change without notice . All brands and trademarks of the respective owners are recognized as such . About Veeam Software Veeam® recognizes the new challenges companies across the globe face in enabling the Always- On Business™, a business that must operate 24/7/365 . To address this, Veeam has pioneered a new market of Availability for the Modern Data Center™ by helping organizations meet recovery time and point objectives (RTPO™) of less than 15 minutes for all applications and data, through a fundamentally new kind of solution that delivers high-speed recovery, data loss avoidance, verified protection, leveraged data and complete visibility Veeam Availability Suite™, which includes Veeam Backup & Replication™, leverages virtualization, storage, and cloud technologies that enable the modern data center to help organizations save time, mitigate risks, and dramatically reduce capital and operational costs .

Founded in 2006, Veeam currently has 29,000 ProPartners and more than 135,000 customers worldwide . Veeam’s global headquarters are located in Baar, Switzerland, and the company has offices throughout the world . To learn more, visit http://www.veeam.com .

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