5 2 0:Crossover Backup Server Replication

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Overview

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SEP sesam Crossover Backup Server Replication (CBSR) is designed to aggregate backups from multiple independent SEP sesam Servers into a single, centralized location. It ensures a secure and storage-efficient solution for managing backup data across independent SEP sesam environments. This feature can be especially beneficial in distributed IT environments, such as branch office or multi-site organizations, offering centralized data protection and restore management. It can be used for off-site replication for disaster recovery purposes, or for restoring replicated backups to set up a secondary site environment.

Key features

Enables centralized backup storage and management in distributed environments with multiple independent SEP sesam installations.
Replication is based on read-only access to the source Si3 deduplication store.
It can be used as a backup copy of source Si3 deduplication store, for disaster recovery, cross-location restore, and backup centralization.

Prerequisites

Both source and destination datastores must be of type Si3 deduplication store.
To ensure network connectivity, the firewall on the source Si3 server must allow requests on the Si3 port from the destination Si3 server. In case a proxy RDS is used, the source Si3 server must accept connection from both the destination Si3 server and proxy RDS.
Ensure sufficient memory and CPU resources on the destination Si3 server, and sufficient bandwidth between source and destination datastore systems.

How it works

In a SEP sesam crossover backup server replication setup, a destination Si3 deduplication store is used to store backup data from one or multiple external source Si3 deduplication stores. To enable access to the remote source Si3, a read-only Si3 deduplication store is configured on the destination SEP sesam Server or RDS. This datastore acts as a proxy, providing access to the source Si3 without requiring direct communication between SEP sesam Servers. Only datastore-level access is required, making this setup well-suited for distributed environments or cloud-based storage consolidation.

Replication is initiated from the destination SEP sesam Server, where a replication task is configured to transfer data from the read-only Si3 to the destination Si3. The read-only Si3 store enables access to the source Si3 and runs the SEP sesam commands, allowing the replication process to identify and replicate the savesets that are not already available on the destination Si3 deduplication store. After successful replication, the backup metadata is imported into the local SEP sesam database, making the backups usable for restore on the destination system.

Crossover backup server replication works as a cold replication process that requires only read-only access to the source Si3 deduplication store. Direct communication between SEP sesam Servers is not required, enhancing security and minimizing system dependencies, making it a secure way to replicate backups across environments. This architecture is flexible and supports various deployment scenarios. The source and destination Si3 stores can be located within the same environment, across different sites, or in multiple geographically distributed locations. Multiple source Si3 stores can replicate to a single central destination, or each source Si3 can have a dedicated destination datastore.

Network connectivity and firewall configuration

For correct functioning, SEP sesam crossover backup server replication requires proper network connectivity and firewall configuration to allow communication between the systems.

The Si3 host communicates with the Si3 deduplication store through the following port:
port 11701 + <drive number>
For example, if on the Si3 the configured drive has the number 28, the port number would be 11729. If multiple drives are configured for a datastore, the first (lowest) drive number is used.

Accessing source Si3 from the destination Si3 host

To enable access to the source Si3 deduplication store, the firewall on the source Si3 host must allow inbound connections from the destination Si3 host on this port.

Proper firewall rules and routing must be configured to ensure communication between the systems.

Configuring crossover backup server replication

To set up crossover backup server replication from a source to a destination Si3 deduplication store, a "read-only" datastore must first be configured on the destination SEP sesam Server or RDS. This read-only datastore acts as a "proxy" and provides the necessary connection details for accessing the source deduplication store. Note that the required configuration options are not yet available in the Web UI with the Storage Configuration Assistant, so the read-only datastore must be configured using the GUI instead.

Once the proxy datastore is configured, a replication task should be created and scheduled. It is recommended to run the replication task multiple times a day to ensure that the backup entries in the local SEP sesam database are updated correctly.

Configuring a read-only data store

To create a read-only Si3 deduplication store, use the SEP sesam GUI:

Go to Main Selection -> Components -> Data Stores, and then click on New Data Store.
Enter a name for the data store. In the Store type drop-down list, select SEP Si3 Deduplication Store.
In the Device server drop-down list, select the destination Si3 host as the proxy host. This system executes control commands on the source Si3 store.
Click the Storage Backend tab and in the Store type drop-down list, select Si3 Read-only Appliance.
Click New to create a new credential set and provide connection details for the source Si3 deduplication store:
- In the Remote host field, enter the hostname of the Si3 server hosting the source Si3 deduplication store (for example, SEP sesam Server or RDS).
- In the Remote port field, enter the port number through which this Si3 server accesses the data store.
  To calculate the port number, use the base 11701 and add the source server drive number:
  Port number = 11701 + <drive number>
  For example, for drive number 28 on the source Si3 server, the port number would be 11729.
Click Save to save the credential set, and then click OK to create the read-only data store.

The media pool for this data store is automatically created with the name based on the data store name.

For more information on configuring an Si3 deduplication store, see Configuring Si3 Deduplication Store.

Configuring replication task

To configure a replication task, use the SEP sesam GUI:

Go to Main Selection -> Tasks -> Replication Tasks, and then click on New Replication Task.
In the Media pool (source and destination) drop-down lists, select the source media pool, defined for the read-only Si3 deduplication store, and the target media pool on the local Si3 deduplication store, to which the data will be replicated.
Define the settings and options as required and click Save to create the replication task. For detailed explanations of the available options, refer to Creating a Replication Task.
Create a schedule for the replication cycles and then create and schedule a replication event. For detailed instructions see Creating a Replication Event. Note that it is recommended to run the replication task multiple times a day to ensure that the backup entries in the local SEP sesam database are updated correctly.