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rVikas's avatar
rVikas
Level 5
8 years ago

Why should i use cloud backup solution like AWS..?

Hi Team

I have one query. Today lot of organizations are talking about cloud backup service.

If i have infrastructure created in cloud itself (AWS instances, Databases etc.,), do i need to deploy enviornment inside cloud as we deploy in on-premise?

Cloud offers few native features such as

  • Snapshot mechanims for AWS instances
  • Database availability and consistency
  • Data availability across multiple region.

In this scenario, why should i use backup software since they will charge me license cost.

 

 

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  • vtas_chas's avatar
    vtas_chas
    Level 6
    8 years ago

    Where I've had customers do this is when they try going down the native protection tools path only to realize they can't get their data back the same way they're accustomed to, with the same granularity and same predictability as their on-premise data.

    That's one of the problems with many, many, many cloud offerings.  Data protection is assumed, and it isn't really there.  Do you run your on-premise data protection strategy off of a snapshot?  While some environments do, those environments tend to have lower success rates getting data back when it's needed, too.

    You don't have to use a standard data protection strategy in a cloud environment, but reset your expectations on what you can get back when something fails.  And don't forget, there's nothing magical about the cloud, despite what analysts and advertising is telling us.  It is made up of the same hardware components we've been replacing due to failure for decades.  It's got the same kind of people we've been scratching our heads at wondering, "uhhh, why did you do that" for decades.  This is a when, not if situation.  Cloud providers have outages, failures, and data loss situations, and if you're not properly protected, there are no magical gnomes in the inner workings that fix things for you. :-)

    • rVikas's avatar
      rVikas
      Level 5
      8 years ago

      Thank you Charles,

      I agree with you however cloud is percieved as cost optimized solution.

      Suggesting them backup software deployment to protect instances deloyed in cloud will actually increase thier cost..by

      Backup software licensing cost

      Cloud storage cost.

      Backup software support cost

      Administrative cost

      Does veritas have same licensing mechanims and cost for data protection on the cloud as it offers for on-premise?

      • vtas_chas's avatar
        vtas_chas
        Level 6
        8 years ago

        I deal with this every day, and frankly perception is irrelevant.  The way I tackle this with a customer is asking whether their perception of their money is what buys them things or their actual money?  

        The REALITY is cloud is NOT a cost saver, in many, many cases.  It CAN be a cost saving mechanism, but if you think that your data doesn't have value enough to be protected, don't protect it.  Just don't expect Amazon to give you your lost revenue back when you lose a customer because you didn't properly protect the data and didn't bother to understand what your "cost optimization" really bought you.

        Cloud is not new.  It is a new spin on the same outsourcing, SaaS and IaaS marketing schemes that have existed for decades.  You still have a fiduciary responsibility to your shareholders and your customers to protect the data, regardless of where you store it -- whether that's in your datacenter or in someone else's, whether that someone else's is called a cloud, a block of cheese or an imaginary land of rainbows and unicorns.  :-)

        What licensing mechanism is needed other than the FETB model we have in use today?  Whether the TB is in the land of rainbows and unicorns or on spinning disk in a physical datacenter you own, if you're backing it up with NBU, it needs to be licensed.  Why should there be a different license modely because of where you choose to store it?  I'm curious what you're thinking about here.  Why should Veritas make less money because you decide that you aren't skilled enough or don't want to pay to run a datacenter of your own?  Aren't we still providing Enterprise backup capabilities, regardless of where you decide to put the data?  If you decided to move off Enterprise storage to USB drives, does that change what we do?  This is an interesting argument I'm hearing more and more -- that because hardware ownership is being denigrated and commoditized, all the other elements of the infrastructure should follow suit and declare themselves value-less.  I'm genuinely curious what you think should happen here.

        Also, remember not to confuse putting something in AWS with being a backup solution.  AWS isn't a backup solution unless you deploy backup into an AWS infrastructure.  AWS is storage and compute.  It's not ITaaS, it's IaaS, very different things.