Dell Compellent Replay Manager
Reliable, consistent protection of Windows Server data while applications stay online
Overview:
Snapshot Consistency
Dell Compellent Replay Manager is powerful snapshot consistency software that integrates with Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to ensure the integrity of Exchange Server, SQL Server and Hyper-V data. By initiating snapshots when the I/O is quiesced, Replay Manager provides time-consistent snapshots even if the application or virtual machine (VM) is running during the process. The application-aware technology leverages Data Instant Replay, which creates space-efficient snapshots for recovery of most volumes to a server in less than 10 seconds.
How to Protect Applications and VMs with Replay Manager
- Provides a VSS-integrated solution for creating application-aware Replays (snapshots) of Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server and Hyper-V volumes
- Leverages VSS to help ensure the integrity of application data spanning multiple volumes
- Streamlines Replay management with PowerShell integration and provides the ability to manage multiple server instances through a single interface
- Integrated with Microsoft's Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)
- Consistent, online backup and recovery of any VSS-enabled application without full-volume clones or downtime
- Dozens of Replays scheduled as often as every 15 minutes for many recovery points
- Uses VSS for integrity of application data spanning multiple volumes
- Support for Microsoft Windows clustering
- Windows PowerShell integration for Replay management automation
- Single interface for managing Replays on multiple servers simultaneously
- Take time-consistent snapshots of Windows application data in physical or virtualized server environments without disruption
- Protect Windows application data and VMs without full-volume clones or taking applications offline
- Prevent business-critical data from being corrupted or skipped during the backup and recovery process
- Manage multiple instances of Replay Manager through a centralized interface spanning multiple servers and applications
- Provide advanced granular SQL Server database recovery by restoring a database and applying transaction logs
- Leverage Windows PowerShell cmdlet scripting to automate Replay Manager tasks
Key Benefits:
Protecting Windows server application data
Backing up Microsoft Windows® server application data, such as Exchange and SQL Server data, is one of the biggest challenges for storage administrators because the applications need to be in a known state for data consistency.
With conventional snapshot solutions, ensuring data consistency requires Windows Server applications to be shut down prior to backup. If they aren't, there is risk that during the snapshot process some data files may be corrupted or skipped, causing business-critical information to be unrecoverable in the event of a power outage, virus or natural disaster.
Maintaining data integrity without disruption
Having a high number of application-aware recovery points for any given application is key to quick and precise recovery. But creating and managing those recovery points may create downtime of its own. Dell Compellent Replay Manager works with Data Instant Replay technology to protect Windows application data in a space-efficient, cost-effective manner without sacrificing productivity.
With Replay Manager, you have the ability to take Replays of Exchange, SQL Server and Hyper-V volumes without taking the application offline. Replay Manager integrates with Microsoft's Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to ensure data remains application-consistent even if Exchange, SQL Server or Hyper-V is running as the Replay is captured.
VSS integration-putting server applications to workFor data protection in virtual environments, Replay Manager seamlessly integrates with Windows snapshot technology, Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), to quiesce I/O between the server and the storage volume. By momentarily pausing Windows Server applications during the snapshot process, Replay Manager ensures time-consistent Replays for Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server and Hyper-V. Once the Replay is taken, the application resumes normal operations-all without disrupting user access to enterprise data. The creation of a time-consistent recovery point with Replay Manager and Data Instant Replay helps eliminate time-consuming manual recovery processes for Microsoft Server applications. Efficient management through a single interfaceReplay Manager allows for global management and scheduling of multiple instances, and executing restores across multiple servers, through a single interface. Managing multiple instances through a single pane of glass not only helps save time and cut costs, but helps reduce overall complexity. For planning and analysis, Replay Manager generates global job reports and displays them together on the same screen, removing the need to switch between Replay Manager instances for management and reporting. Additionally, administrators can utilize Windows PowerShell scripting to automate repetitive tasks related to Replay creation and management. Leveraging PowerShell cmdlets, users can perform tasks such as scheduling and deleting Replays or designating an individual Replay to never expire. |
Multi-volume application data
If Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server or Hyper-V data spans multiple volumes within an array, Replay Manager utilizes VSS to make sure the Replays taken of all those volumes share recovery points created at the exact same point in time. In a multi-tiered application environment, this allows the user to recover all volumes associated to a particular application or database at a common point in time. Just as with a single volume, Replay Manager quiesces application I/O, but across multiple volumes simultaneously.
Technical Specifications:
| Replay Manager Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Architecture | |
| Automated Replay creation and scheduling | Yes |
| Pre-allocation required | No |
| Readable and writeable restore points | Yes |
| Volume clone required for recovery | No |
| Automated coalescence of expired Replays | Yes |
| Performance | |
| Time required to create a Replay | 10 seconds |
| Time required to mount a Replay | 30 seconds |
| Management | |
| Windows task scheduling for Replays | Yes |
| Replay scheduling frequency | Once, daily, weekly, monthly |
| Multiple Replay schedules for volumes | Yes |
| Server Environment | |
| Integration with Microsoft's VSS | Yes |
| Server operating system support | Microsoft Windows Server 2003, 2003 R2, 2008, 2008 R2 |
| Database support | Microsoft Exchange 2003, 2007, 2010 SQL Server 2000, 2005, 2008, 2008 R2 |
| Hypervisor | Microsoft Hyper-V™ and VMware ESX |
| Virtual machine support | Microsoft Hyper-V |
| Clustering support | Yes |
| Volume recovery to any server | Yes |