4 4 3 Grolar:S3 Cloud Storage Replication

Overview

As of SEP sesam v. 4.4.3 Grolar, you can use S3 (simple storage solution) cloud storage to safely store and retrieve your business data. SEP sesam treats the S3 cloud storage like any other devices. It creates the snapshots and synchronizes data to the cloud.

Configuring backup to S3 cloud storage

For backing up to S3 cloud storage, follow the configuration steps below.

Creating a bucket

Sign-up for S3 and create a bucket (container) where every object in S3 is stored. For details, see Creating a Bucket.

Creating a new backup user

1. Configure on S3 an AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) user <user_name> with user administrative privileges. For details, see Creating an Administrator IAM User and Group.
2. Create the same user <user_name> with the same password at the backup server.
3. Put the newly created user to the Administrators group. For details, see Configuring Database-Based Authentication.

Configuring an Si3 deduplication store for backing up to S3

Configure an Si3 deduplication store for backing up to S3. For details on how to configure an Si3 deduplication store, see Configuring an Si3 Deduplication Store.

1. In the Main selection -> Components, click Data stores to display the data store contents frame.
2. From the Data stores menu, select New data store. A New data store dialog appears.
3. In the Name field, enter a meaningful name for the Si3 deduplication store, for example, si3-store-2.
4. From the Store type drop-down list, select SEP Si3 Deduplication Store.
5. Make sure that the option Create Drive is checked under the Drive parameter properties. The predefined value for the drive is automatically added to the Drive number field.
6. In the Path field, enter the location for your Si3 store, for example, H:, or use the Browse button to select the relevant folder and click OK.
7. Under the Drive group properties, select Create new drive group if you want to create a new drive group, for example, si3-store-2, or select Use existing drive group to add a drive to one of the configured groups, available in the drop-down list.
8. The predefined number of channels is already displayed in the Max. channels drop-down list. The number of available channels depends on your SEP sesam Server package. The standard license supports 5 concurrent streams, enabling 5 backup processes to run simultaneously. For details on SEP sesam licenses, see Licensing.


9. Switch to the Credentials tab and specify your previously configured credentials.


10. Click OK to configure your Si3 deduplication store.

	Note
	You can check in the Si3 deduplication store properties if the S3 access is configured and if it works properly.

Configuring two dedicated media pools of different types

After configuring an Si3 deduplication store, you have to configure at least two media pools in the Si3 deduplication store properties. One pool is required for backups, while another is used as a clone for S3 sync pools. You configure a media pool from Main Selection -> Data Stores -> double-click Si3 deduplication store -> Properties window -> Create Media Pool.

Creating a media pool for backup

1. Double-click the Si3 deduplication store and in the Properties window click Create Media Pool.
2. Enter a media pool name, for example, MP_si3-2_dly.
3. Set up the Retention time, for which the media from the pool are protected from writing (see Managing EOL).

Creating a clone media pool

A specific media pool is required for S3 sync to receive the clone data. Note that only one media pool with type clone can be created per Si3 store.

1. Double-click the Si3 deduplication store and in the Properties window click Create Media Pool.
2. In the New Media Pool window, enter a media pool name, for example, MP_si3_clone.
3. From the Type drop-down list, select a clone type media pool.
4. Set up the Retention time, for which the media from the pool are protected from writing (see Managing EOL).

Note

In the case of a clone media pool, the option Set media pool inactive controls not only whether a media pool is available for use but consequently also whether the upload – synchronization with the S3 cloud is performed. If you deactivate a clone media pool by selecting the option Set media pool inactive, the data will no longer be synchronized with the S3 cloud. Deactivated clone media pool is marked with an OFF icon in the GUI and all uploads to S3 are stopped. Clone media pool cannot be used for backup, restore, migration or replication.

Backing up to S3

After configuring an Si3 deduplication store and a media pool, create a backup task for backing up relevant files to S3. For details, see Creating a Backup Task. If you want to start the newly created task immediately, right-click the name of the task and click Immediate start. If you want to schedule the task, click New schedule under Main Selection -> Scheduling -> Schedules. Once you have configured a schedule, you must create a new backup event for it. For details on how to configure a backup, see Standard Backup Procedure.

During the backup SEP sesam creates the snapshots and synchronizes data to the S3 cloud. Snapshots of the S3 are listed under the Areas tab of the data store properties, as shown in the screenshot below.