Commvault Metallic Backup as a Service for VMware Cloud on AWS - VMware Cloud 1.20
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Commvault Metallic Backup as a Service for VMware Cloud on AWS - VMware Cloud 1.20

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Article ID: 323640

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Updated On:

Products

VMware Cloud on AWS

Issue/Introduction

Purpose
This article provides information about the support of Metallic Backup as a Service on VMware Cloud that covers VMware Cloud on AWS.

Disclaimer:  The partner solution referenced in this article is a solution that is developed and supported by a partner. Use of this product is also governed by the end user license agreement of the partner. You must obtain from the partner the application, support, and licensing for using this product. For more information, see:

VMware Cloud on AWS: https://documentation.commvault.com/commvault/v11/article?p=93413.htm

Resolution

Resolution
Here is a summary of target use cases, solution architecture, solution components, and support information.

VMware Cloud on AWS

Use cases that are supported on VMware Cloud on AWS
Data Protection for Virtual Machines running within VMware Cloud on AWS using resources within VMware Cloud on AWS or resources on AWS are fully supported
Replication of Virtual Machines from On-Prem VMware vSphere environments to VMware Cloud on AWS
Migration or Recovery of VMware vSphere VMs into VMware Cloud on AWS environments
Use cases that are not supported on VMware Cloud on AWS
Replication of Virtual Machines from VMware vSphere on-premise to VMware Cloud on AWS using VMware VAIO
Live Mount and Live Recovery features of Commvault Complete Backup and Recovery which rely on the ability to present external storage to VMC on AWS



Solution Architecture
Metallic is a cloud-based backup as a service solution.  There is no need for customers to install or own any backup infrastructure.  The entire backup control plane and infrastructure live in Metallic cloud.  Metallic offers Backup as a Service solution will backup virtual machines in VMware Cloud on AWS while utilizing storage resources, via ENI, located within AWS. Each of the systems below refers to the software component of the Metallic ecosystem.
A Commvault Commserve is the control plane for the Metallic backup solution. This component is part of Metallic cloud service and is managed by Metallic.  User interacts with control plane through an intuitive Metallic user portal.
The Metallic Backup Gateway will discover, manage, protect and restore for virtual machines and manage the data movement.  Metallic Backup Gateway is deployed on guest VMs in VMware Cloud on AWS through Metallic user portal.   There are two components in Metallic Backup Gateway, the MediaAgent and Virtual Server Agent.
The MediaAgent component is the data mover within the Metallic ecosystem. It is responsible for managing client backup and restore data being written to or from backup media. In many cases, when using Amazon storage tiers, clients can be configured to send index and metadata information to the MediaAgent while sending the data portion of their backup operations directly to the cloud storage target.  This component is also part of Metallic cloud service and is managed by Metallic.
The Virtual Server Agent is the software component that interfaces with VMware Cloud on AWS to discover, manage, protect, and restore virtual machines configured for protection within a user environment.  
The MediaAgent and Virtual Server Agent components can be scaled to support customer workloads as needed. All documentation regarding recommended system sizing can be found at the following link:
https://documentation.commvault.com/commvault/v11/article?p=93413.htm
A screenshot of a cell phone Description automatically generated
Solution Components
The Commserve, Metallic Backup Gateway are part of the Metallic ecosystem. 

VMware Cloud on AWS Network configuration
[Provide information on firewall rules, NAT rules, VPN, ENI setup]
[Provide screenshots from VMware Cloud on AWS console as needed]

Features of the Backup Solution
QuestionsChoose from the list (all that apply)
Provide free text when there is no list
What backup repositories are supported? AWS S3; AWS EC2; AWS cross-region; on-premises; any cloud storage currently listed as part of our compatibility matrix:
http://documentation.commvault.com/commvault/v11_sp19/article?p=9236.htm
 
How is backup data transmitted to the repository? ENI (preferred), DX (supported), Public Internet (supported)
Describe the implementation of the Datamover componentA single data mover (MediaAgent) is required but multiple are supported to scale the solution to meet the needs of the customer
Datamover Scale If the data mover (MediaAgent) is running as an EC2 instance and networking rules have been configured to allow access, a single MediaAgent can manage data movement for multiple SDDC clusters. Multiple MediaAgents can be logically grouped together within Commvault Complete Backup and Recovery to support higher scale and meet customer RPO/RTO needs. 
 In large SDDCs (>500 VMs, >nTBs), your solution may scale data movers.  How do you scale?MediaAgents and Storage can be added to a backup plan at any time to scale data protection operations at any time without reconfiguring clients. 
How are additional data movers provisioned?  MediaAgents scale out is managed by Metallic based on the customer load and SLA through Metallic cloud monitoring services. 
Describe additional functionalities of image-based backups File based recovery; 
Application/Databases consistent backup (Microsoft SQL, Exchange, Active Directory, SharePoint; Oracle on Windows and Linux, and many more) Additional details can be found:
http://documentation.commvault.com/commvault/v11_sp19/article?p=14333.htm
 
Describe if in-guest backup options are available Any and all supported agents can be installed in-guest to further support customer requirements as needed. 
Describe security features encryption in-rest 
encryption in transit 
FIPS-140-2 among other security/industry certifications noted here:
https://documentation.commvault.com/11.24/expert/110316_certifications_and_compliance.html

Full Role Based Access security with granular role assignment linked directly to LDAP/Active Directory with support for multiple two factor authentication options

 
Describe network bandwidth/utilization control features Backup agents can be configured to support bandwidth limitations between client and MediaAgent
Limitations on concurrent operations/threads/streams can be placed to minimize load, where needed, on the virtualization infrastructure
Describe design of deduplication/compression features Deduplication and Compression can be enabled at the source (the virtual server agent for VM based protection) or at the data mover layer depending on customer need and requirement.  Data Mover hosts house a deduplication database which checks in hashes of data blocks which have been processed by the client to determine uniqueness. Only unique blocks are transferred to the Data Mover from the client.

The deduplication database is only required during data protection operations. All data written to disk is self-describing and is restored without needing to refer to the deduplication database. More information can be found here:
https://documentation.commvault.com/11.24/expert/12401_optimize_storage_space_using_deduplication.html
Describe added-value services/features not listed above  
For a 1TB VM Full backup/Full restore, describe
  1. Network Bandwidth usage
  2. Time to backup/restore
  3. RTO/RPO estimates
 
Hybrid centralized management: Describe how on-premises and VMC backups can be managed. Do you support single management console?The Metallic is designed to support multiple environments within a single deployment, CommCell, and interface. It can manage both on premises vCenter as well as VMC.
 

Hybrid restore/migration mode:
Describe how a VM can be restored from on-premises backup to VMC or from VMC to on-premises 		 
For example, let’s say that you have a hybrid configuration.  On-premise with local backup, in VMC with cloud backup.  What happens if an on-premise VM is migrated to VMC?  Will the backup solution automatically update the location of the repository or will the VM still be backed up on premise? Metallic is able to backup and restore virtual machines from VMware vSphere to a host of destinations including VMware Cloud on AWS or directly to AWS. Since Metallic is not actively managing the production workload, it is unaffected by restores of that workload in alternate locations, whether they are on premise or in the cloud. If the user has defined VMware Cloud on AWS as a known system and has defined auto-discovery rules, Metallic will begin protecting the recovered VM within VMware Cloud on AWS following the restore.
  
Scale:
a. What are your supported maximums (# of VMs, # of TBs) both in number, and/or in simultaneous backup streams?
b. Given your SLA, then what is the max bandwidth between VMC and repository?		We do not have a published maximum with respect to MediaAgents or backup proxies. As the customer environment scales and the backup proxies scale with it, those workloads will be incorporated.  Any given system will have maximum scale recommendations, but these are not enforced limits.

The SLA is defined by the customer not Commvault.
 

Interoperability with VMware Cloud on AWS Features
Metallic Backup and Recovery directly interacts with the vSphere/vSAN subsystems to detect, classify, protect, and restore virtual machines configured by the user which require data protection. 
The interaction with VMware Cloud on AWS interoperability is documented here:
https://documentation.commvault.com/commvault/v11/article?p=126043.htm

VMware Cloud on AWS does not provide low level access to the ESXi hosts underlying vSphere which limits the ability to use Live Sync IO (which requires VAIO) to provide replication from on-premises vSphere environments into VMware Cloud on AWS. Additionally, Live Mount and Live Recovery features are not available as Commvault does not have access to present storage from Commvault Data Movers to VMware Cloud on AWS as datastores to allow for the quick boot/recovery of VMs from backup media.
Support Information
  • All Metallic product documentation can be found here:
https://metallic.io/documentation#going-to-the-hub
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