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Veeam and Silent Bricks
Silent Bricks are the ideal backup storage for Veeam. Ransomware-proof with support for Instant VM Recovery and SureBackup. As SecureNAS+VTL or as SecureNAS with replication.
In this, you have two options: The classic way or the modern way
(1) The classic route: backup on SecureNAS and VTL
- With the combination SecureNAS & VTL, you replace both the traditional NAS system as a primary backup location and also tapes as a secondary backup.
- Primary backup on SecureNAS, secondary backup on VTL, both via Veeam
The advantages of tape and disk united: suitable for offline and off-site, random access, high speed
- Secondary backup on VTL has over traditional tapes the advantage of instant access without cueing, random access, and quadruple redundancy
One storage system for SecureNAS and VTL, one point of contact, one service contract
- VTL backups are suitable for offline and can additionally be stored off-site, e.g. in a safe, for protection against theft or calamities
Unsurpassed scalability by easily adding additional Silent Bricks
- Media rotation from VTL is directly supported by Veeam. This simplifies the backup process.
As is common with disc-to-disc-to-tape, with SecureNAS & VTL the data is written twice by Veeam to the Silent Brick system. Instant VM Recovery is not possible from VTL, but only from SecureNAS.
(2) The modern way: backup on SecureNAS with replication
The combination of SecureNAS & local and/or remote replication unburdens your network and offers highest flexibility.
- Primary backup via Veeam on SecureNAS, secondary protection via replication within the Silent Brick system
Instant VM Recovery is possible even from offline media within seconds
- Secondary backup is no longer done through Veeam, halving the data transfer rate
Removing the replicates from the system allows true off-site security without additional storage hardware
- Replication is alternatively or additionally remote to a second location or to the COMEX data center possible
Data is transferred through Veeam only once, reducing the burden and network traffic
- Replications can be taken offline or taken out of the system entirely and stored securely.
One storage system for SecureNAS and VTL, one point of contact, one service contract
- Instant VM Recovery is possible from any backup within seconds, both from SecureNAS and from local and remote replicas
Managing and setting up replication is done through the administration interface of the Silent Bricks system. An integration into the Veeam backup software is in planning.
So in summary, you have a choice: To-disk-to-tape strategy with VTL or to-disk-to-replica strategy with built-in replication.
- Choose between fast SSDand pricey hard disk bricks. Also mixed. The disadvantages of tape are a thing of the past.
- Nevertheless, Silent Bricks are offline-capable and can be stored off-site without power and protected from unauthorized access.
- Transportable storage containers allow arbitrarily large backup files to be physically brought to the location of restore. Up-and-running within the shortest time when combined with Instant VM Recovery.
- Silent Bricks scale elastically with the need simply by adding additional media.
- Primary backups on Silent Bricks save valuable and expensive physical storage in your VM environment.
- Fast integration through Dual 10 GbE incl LACP. Powerful storage server with throughput up to 1 GByte/s.
- Flexible Silent Brick system instead of short-lived NAS or clunky tape storage. One configuration, one point of contact, one service contract.
THE WORD FROM GOSTEV. Some advice.
The following situation is particularly interesting because it busts the popular myth that Linux-based backup appliances are inherently more secure and better protected against malware. They are not, and it’s only a matter of a particular appliance becoming popular enough to justify the attack > Thousands of QNAP NAS infected with malware
| This again shows the importance of air-gapped backups, and brings me to the next topic: this German startup that I haven’t heard before until this week, but was left deeply impressed with after their visit to our HQ with the hardware to do Veeam Ready certification testing. I spent some time trying to find words to best describe their product called The Silent Brick, and I think the best comparison is “an iPhone of air-gapped disk-based storage.” By itself, the concept of rugged and easily offline-able disk-based data container is not new – what makes this one special is that I found it incredibly satisfying to use. These folks have clearly put much effort into the actual user experience. Besides, each brick protects data with the efficient data redundancy algorithm, making a good solution even for longer-term archival. Disclaimer: please don’t consider this as an official endorsement from Veeam. Also, FastLTA did not ask me to blog about them – I just got excited about the art behind this tech, and decided to spread the word. |
Anton Gostev (SVP, Product Management at Veeam Software. The guy behind Veeam Backup & Replication).
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