Rapid Recovery 6.1.3

If you specify the use of a seed drive when defining replication, then only recovery points saved to the source Core after you establish replication are replicated to the target Core. Backups saved on the source Core before replication was established will not be present on the target Core until you explicitly seed the data, using the following process.

To avoid slowing down your network with an intensive transfer of historical data, seed your prior backup data to the target Core using a seed drive. A seed drive is an archive file that copies a set of deduplicated base images and incremental snapshots from the source Core. The seed drive file contains the full set of previous recovery points for the protected machines you want to replicate from the source Core to the target Core.

Move the seed drive file to a storage volume which you then make available to the target Core. Then you consume the information from the seed drive. This involves attaching the volume with the seed drive image to the target Core and importing the data to the repository from the Core Console. This process repairs orphans, uniting incremental snapshots replicated to the target Core with their base images, to form one or more complete recovery point chains. This process is sometimes called copy-consume.

Seeding data from your source Core is not always required. For example:

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If you are setting up replication for a new Rapid Recovery Core, seeding is not required.

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If the data from previous snapshots are not critical for your replicated data, and you only need to recover data saved after replication is set up, seeding is not required.

NOTE: In this case, Quest recommends capturing a new base image immediately before or immediately after setting up replication. This step ensures a full recovery point chain exists on the target Core from which to restore data in the future.

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If you captured a base image immediately before setting up replication, and only have a need to restore from data captured after that date, seeding is not required.

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If you set up replication without specifying a seed drive, then the snapshot data transmits over the network from the source Core to the target Core.

If one of these situations applies to you, you do not need to seed data. In such cases, replication can be completed entirely from the source Core.

If you set up replication for a Core with existing recovery points and may need to restore at the volume level, want to perform a BMR, or want to restore data from an earlier base image or incremental snapshot, seeding is required. In these situations, consider your seeding needs and strategy. Review the information in this topic and decide whether you will seed to your target Core, and which approach you will use.

Approaches to seeding data

If you want your replicated machines on a target Core to have access to data saved previously on the original source Core, seed your target Core using one of the following approaches:

Seed to the target Core over a network connection. Specify the use of a seed drive when you define replication. you can then share the folder containing the seed drive with the target Core, and consume the seed drive file over the network. For large data or slow connections, seeding by this method can take a substantial amount of time and consume substantial network bandwidth.

NOTE: Quest does not recommend seeding large amounts of data over a network connection. Initial seeding potentially involves very large amounts of data, which could overwhelm a typical WAN connection.

Transfer backup data from the source Core using physical storage media. Transfer the seed drive file to a portable external removable storage device. This approach is typically useful for large sets of data or sites with slow network connections. Seeding using this method requires you to perform the following steps:

Create a seed archive from the source Core, saving it to removable media.

Transport the seed drive to the physical location of the target Core.

Attach the drive to the target Core.

Consume the data from the seed drive to the repository of the target Core.

If replicating to a third-party Core, once your media is received by the MSP, a data center representative typically attaches the media and notifies you when it is ready for you to consume (or import) the seed data into the Core.

NOTE: Because large amounts of data need to be copied to the storage device, an eSATA, USB 3.0, or other high-speed connection is recommended. If the total size of the seed data archive is larger than the space available on the removable media, the archive can span across multiple devices.

For source and target Cores stored on virtual hosts, transfer backup data using a virtual hard disk. If your source Core and target Core are both on a virtual host, you can define and consume a seed drive on virtual storage media. Seeding using this method requires you to perform the following steps:

Create a seed drive file from the source Core, saving it to a virtual storage volume.

Detach the volume from the source Core and attach it to the target Core.

Consume the data from the seed drive to the repository of the target Core.

NOTE: While replication of incremental snapshots can occur between the source and target Cores before seeding is complete, the replicated snapshots transmitted from the source to the target remain orphaned until the initial data is consumed, and they are combined with the replicated base images.

Performance considerations for replicated data transfer

About replication and encrypted recovery points

About retention policies for replication

If the bandwidth between the source and target Cores cannot accommodate the transfer of stored recovery points, set up replication and specify the use of a seed drive. This process seeds the target Core with base images and recovery points from the selected servers protected on the source Core. The seeding process can be performed at any time. Seeding can be performed as part of the initial transfer of data, which serves as the foundation for regularly scheduled replication. You can also seed data for a previously replicated machine if replication has been paused or deleted. In this case, the "Build recovery point chains" option lets you copy not-yet replicated recovery points to a seed drive.

When preparing for replication, consider the following factors:

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Change rate. The change rate is the rate at which the amount of protected data is accumulated. The rate depends on the amount of data that changes on protected volumes and the protection interval of the volumes. Some machine types typically have a higher change rate, such as an Exchange email server. One way to reduce the change rate is to reduce the protection interval.

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Bandwidth. The bandwidth is the available transfer speed between the source Core and the target Core. It is crucial that the bandwidth be greater than the change rate for replication to keep up with the recovery points snapshots create. For very large data transfers from Core to Core, multiple parallel streams may be required to perform at wire speeds up to the speed of a 1GB Ethernet connection.

NOTE: Bandwidth that ISPs specify is typically the total available bandwidth. All devices on the network share the outgoing bandwidth. Make sure that there is enough free bandwidth for replication to accommodate the change rate.

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Number of protected machines. It is important to consider the number of machines protected per source Core and how many you plan to replicate to the target. You are not required to replicate every machine protected on the source Core; Rapid Recovery lets you replicate on a per-protected machine basis, so you can choose to replicate only certain machines, if you want. If all protected machines on a source Core must be replicated, the change rate is typically higher. This factor is relevant if the bandwidth between the source and target Cores is insufficient for the amount and size of the recovery points being replicated.

The maximum change rate for WAN connection types is shown in the following table, with examples of the necessary bandwidth per gigabyte for a reasonable change rate.

Table 98. Examples of bandwidth per gigabyte
Broadband	Bandwidth	Max Change Rate
DSL	768 Kbps and up	330MB per hour
Cable	1 Mbps and up	429MB per hour
T1	1.5 Mbps and up	644MB per hour
Fiber	20 Mbps and up	8.38GB per hour