Archive for November, 2011
Posted: November 29, 2011, 9:37 pm
In the consideration of cloud-based recovery services, organizations need to understand more details of how cloud platforms are implemented for recovery. In this blog entry, I walk through the details of how SunGard has implemented a portion of its cloud recovery platform in support of the Recover2Cloud for Server Replication service.
Understanding a Virtual Data Center (VDC)
Within the cloud, one of the considerations for recovery is to ensure secure access to protected data. SunGard implements a dedicated VDC in the cloud using dedicated firewall protection for each client. VPN connection is established between the firewall and a firewall in the client’s production location.
Within the targeted cloud, there is also a dedicated live virtual machine (VM) for each customer. This VM receives the replicated data, and writes the data as dormant VMDK files.
At time of disaster, SunGard recovery automation launches the VMDK files to bring the VMs live within the VDC. This is done using server processing capacity which is allocated on-demand within the cloud. SunGard provides public IP addresses for those VMs which are public Internet facing. SunGard also provides multiple VLANs for the recovered VMs. All of this is done behind an additional dedicated virtual firewall, to ensure secure access to the recovered application environment.
Failover At Time Of Test (ATOT)
Organizations require the capability to test failover without having to shut down their production environment. This avoids testing in off-hours, such as overnight and on holidays.
To accommodate this requirement, SunGard implements patent-pending sandbox testing using a dedicated test VDC which is separate from the recovery VDC in the SunGard cloud implementation. The basic idea is that prior to test, SunGard instantiates a virtual firewall, creates the required VLANs, sets up the firewall policies between the test VDC and the required servers that will be recovered for test.
An organization working with SunGard can then select the recovery points based on the test goals, which can be either to test crash-consistency of the data or application consistency.
When recovery is triggered, the dormant VMDKs go live behind the newly instantiated virtual firewall. The VMs are assigned appropriate IP addresses, VLANs and port groups as part of the recovery process. The order in which servers are restarted is configured and automated as part of the recovery process, as well, to ensure that the interdependent applications environment is restarted quickly and correctly without risk of human error.
Once the recovery is complete, organizations can use a VPN client to connect to the sandbox VDC test environment. This enables remote test. Remote administrators can even choose use this method as a better means to test for OS or service pack maintenance upgrades.
When organizations have a hybrid environment, they can also connect to hot site or recovered workgroup environments along with the VDC.
How Secure is the Cloud?
SunGard implements enterprise-class security as part of the recovery cloud platform. A Recover2Cloud VDC looks like a remote office network to a client, accessible using secure IPsec VPN tunnel connections. At network layer 2, every R2C customer VDC is isolated from other VDCs in the cloud by using separate VLANs. At network layer 3, each customer VDC is securely protected using dedicated firewalls.
Tags: cloud recovery, high availability, R2C, Recover2Cloud, Secure Cloud Recovery, Secure Networking, server replication, VDC, Virtual Data Center
Posted in Recovery-as-a-Service
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Posted: November 29, 2011, 10:42 am
As traditional on-premise computing and data storage moves to the cloud, many companies have questions about data outages. What happens when the cloud experiences an outage?
It is unlikely that an entire cloud data center will go down, but it is not impossible, as Amazon’s recent outage in Dublin showed. Fortunately, companies can look to managed multisite availability to provide a higher level of service to keep the customer environment up and running, even in the event of an entire site disaster.
The phrase “managed multi-site availability” essentially defined itself. “Managed” refers to the ability of your vendor to help re-create your information technology in the event of a natural disaster or man-made incident. A Do-It-Yourself (DIY) service provider offers infrastructure only, while a cloud provider offering managed services has all the capabilities and processes you expect with IT, like change management, security, operations control, and the ability to resolve problems and issues.
Multi-site means your vendor has multiple sites where the cloud is available. That means you have options and different price points for satisfying back-up and recovery requirements in line with your business requirements, from high availability to highly resilient, failover and recovery, with many nuances in-between.
In effect, multi-site capabilities means the vendor has a “continuum of availability” at your disposal. “Availability” refers to the how accessible an application must be. The more important an application is to your business, the higher the availability it requires.
The availability requirements for production applications are much higher than the availability requirements for a development or testing environment. To accommodate production applications, the cloud environment is built from the ground up for production-level availability. It is not enough to add change management, security, operations control, etc. on top of a DIY environment.
How many applications in your data center require high availability?
Learn more about SunGard’s Enterprise Cloud Services.
Tags: Best cloud computing companies, cloud computing, cloud computing and security, cloud computing application, cloud computing company, cloud computing data security, cloud computing provider, Cloud computing resource, cloud computing security, cloud computing service provider, cloud computing services, enterprise cloud computing, multi-site integration, private cloud computing, Scaling in the cloud, secure cloud computing, security in cloud computing, top cloud computing
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Posted: November 22, 2011, 2:54 pm
Some applications are obviously mission-critical—the website of an e-tailer or the ATM machine at a bank. However, the criticality of some application can go unrecognized unless you do a systematic qualify of each application.
To qualify applications, check these metrics for each:
- Recovery point objective – how much data loss is tolerable? All of today’s data entries? The entire database, because restoring the database is easy?
- Recovery time objective – how long can the business go without access to the application before customer service, sales, accounting, etc., suffer? How much data can be rebuilt and verified inside that time window—a few day’s worth, a few hour’s worth?
- Recovery resources – what space, equipment and staffing are needed to replicate the data? Would those resources be available if other mission-critical systems were down, too? If not, how much
Once each application is evaluated, determine whether all the mission-critical applications can be recovered simultaneously, as would be needed with a data center incident caused by a flood, hurricane or tornado. If the recovery requirements exceed current equipment, network and staff resources, consideration of a cloud-based recovery solution is in order.
Cloud-based recovery solutions offer access to low-cost or pay-as-you-use recovery infrastructure. They can be provisioned on demand in the wake of failure events, with sufficient security and guaranteed performance.
Could unrecognized mission-critical application be lurking in your data center?
Visit our Cloud Solutions Center for videos, white papers and case studies about SunGard’s Enterprise Cloud Services.
Tags: best cloud computing, cloud computing, Cloud computing leader, cloud computing provider, cloud computing providers, cloud computing services, cloud computing strategy, cloud computing vendors, Enter your zip code here, high availability, high availability in the cloud, hybrid cloud computing, legacy applications, multi-site cloud computing, recovery in the cloud, resiliency, resilient computing, top cloud computing
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Posted: November 21, 2011, 10:38 pm
The move from tape as a basis for recovery, to replication as is provided in the SunGard Recover2Cloud for Server Replication service, offers many benefits. Benefits include:
- Faster recovery time objectives (RTOs) – recovery is guaranteed by SunGard Recover2Cloud service at sub-4 hours for the entire mission-critical applications environment that is protected
- Improved recovery point objectives (RPOs) — offered at near-zero with Server Replication capabilities
- Transformed recovery testing — avoiding the common costs and burdens, such as lengthy time of test, tape transport and loading, problems with not having enough time to complete test
Yet organizations sometimes seem to hesitate in adopting modern recovery methods. In an upcoming webinar scheduled for 11.30, SunGard will interview two professionals at Acacia Federal Savings Bank who have made the transition to replication-based recovery with success. Acacia will share their experiences in the webinar first-hand, to help other organizations in evaluating the SunGard Recover2Cloud service.
Some of the insights which attendees of the upcoming webinar can expect, include:
- How replication-based recovery compares to tape-based
- Why SunGard’s patent-pending service implementation completely transformed Acacia’s test process
- How replication complements Acacia’s backup-to-tape strategy
Interested to attend and ask your own questions? You can register now for the live event:
- Anantomy of a Cloud-Based Recovery
- November 30, 2011
- 10 am Pacific/ 1pm Eastern
In addition to speaking with Acacia representatives, a demonstration of the Recover2Cloud Server Replication product will also be offered during the webinar.
Tags: Acacia Federal, cloud recovery, Customer Experience, Live Event, Modern Data Protection, R2C, Recover2Cloud, server replication
Posted in Recovery-as-a-Service
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Posted: November 17, 2011, 8:10 pm
Last week, SunGard Availability Services announced General Availability (GA) of a new service called Managed Recovery Program (MRP). This service offers to help ensure the availability of applications by supporting management of the entire recovery lifecycle using a systematic approach for SunGard customers. As part of the approach, root-cause problems which undermine recovery are identified and addressed on an on-going basis.
During analyst briefings, what was the consistent comment heard by the team? That while others may talk about change management and other common root-cause problems which undermine recovery, SunGard is the only vendor with a packaged service, at General Availability, with real customers using it.
During briefings, SunGard Sr Director Kerwin Myers shared details of the experiences of early adopters of MRP services. Some of the comments shared by Kerwin include:
* Organizations with recovery scripts already in place, are often surprised to find significant gaps in those scripts which are revealed in on-boarding tests
* Lack of change management of recovery procedures is one of the most significant root causes which MRP is designed to address
* MRP customers report appreciating the benefits experienced from working with an assigned SunGard Service Delivery Manager (SDM), in particular, as the SDM serves as a counter-part to the organization’s DRC and helps to re-enforce and strengthen that role
Review of MRP service has been strong. You can read what’s being said in this round-up of coverage:
* “SunGard Availability Reveals Recovery Plan for Large Enterprises” Posted Nov 15, by Bruce Hoard at Virtualization Review
* “SunGard Announces New Managed Recovery Program” posted Nov 9, by Loiver VanDervoort at MSPNews
* “SunGard: Managed Recovery Progam for Cloud and On-Premise” posted Nov 10, by Nicholas Mukhar at MSPmentor
Interested in learning more? Kerwin Myers and the SunGard MRP team will be presenting a session on overcoming root-cause problems which undermine recovery, at the upcoming Gartner Data Center Conference being held Dec 5-8 in Las Vegas. Meet Kerwin and several of our SunGard SDM experts while you’re there!
Tags: change management, Coverage, GA Announcement, Managed Recovery Program, MRP, recovery planning, Recovery Test, Root-Cause Problems
Posted in Recovery-as-a-Service
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Posted: November 16, 2011, 5:10 pm
Today we are announcing the availability of cloud-based SAP ERP Services. You will probably see the formal announcement in the blogs, trade pubs and various news services, but we thought we would be remiss if we did not give you a heads-up here. Don’t hesitate to contact me for more info. Thanks, -CM
For the last 10 years, SunGard has provided SAP production support services (SAP-hosting certified since 2009), so it is only logical that we extend those services to our Enterprise Cloud. With our Enterprise Cloud as its foundation, our SAP ERP production-ready cloud services leverage the best-in-class Vblock™ platform with the multiple layers of availability, scalable and elastic resources, and cost advantages that make cloud computing attractive.
We have been certified as a cloud service provider by SAP, and we have optimized our infrastructure for SAP ERP production. Our services include advanced SAP monitoring and range from configuration support to application administration, patches and updates. Because the SAP ERP services interconnect with our hosted physical environment, we can provide flexible, hybrid solutions as well.
We meet the needs of SAP ERP environments ranging from new development environments to full multi-landscape deployments, including:
Available
Availability features range from automated fail-over of virtualized systems to managed multi-site availability with secure data replication and managed SAP recovery options. Our Service Level Agreement (SLA) covers 99.95% VM uptime in combination with a 99.9% SAP production uptime SLA.
Compliance
As a SAP-certified cloud services provider, we provides ITILv3 framework production application services in hardened data centers audited under SSAE 16 Type II criteria and certified to the ISO 20000-1 standard.
Security
We provides a range of secure network access, performance and security options, from Internet-based virtual private networks and private carrier circuits to geographic load balancing and intrusion detection systems (IDS).
Now, new SAP ERP installations can deploy with no upfront costs, low minimums for cloud resources and predictable, predetermined costs—making this an attractive, cost-effective alternative to in-house deployment. Likewise, existing installations can leverage the on-demand resources and predictable costs of the cloud to reduce in-house data center costs when equipment upgrades approach.
Moving to the SAP ERP production-ready cloud services lets your in-house IT experts manage their production work, rather than being consumed with the day-to-day execution details. In short, it frees them to focus more on the company’s IT priorities and initiatives. We can help you get there.
How much time could your IT department save with an enterprise-class SAP ERP cloud?
See a demo of the SunGard Enterprise Cloud Services here.
Tags: Best cloud computing companies, cloud computing, cloud computing and security, cloud computing company, Cloud computing costs, cloud computing data security, Cloud computing leader, cloud computing provider, Cloud computing review, cloud computing security, cloud computing services, cloud computing solution, cloud computing system, cloud computing vendors, compliance services, enhanced intrusion protection, Enter your zip code here, regulatory services, SAP, SAP certified cloud, SAP certified cloud provider, SAP cloud services, SAP ERP, Security services, top cloud computing
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Posted: November 15, 2011, 10:40 am
David Ayers, Senior Product Manager for SunGard Availability Services, provides insights today on the evolving role of the data center and cloud computing. –CM
Corporate data centers are definitely changing how they are used, but co-location and managed hosting have done that for some time. Now, cloud computing will be one more tool a company has at its disposal to manage their technology. So, will cloud computing replace in-house data centers? Not for the foreseeable future.
Currently, corporations are shifting to the cloud the applications that make sense, while retaining the applications that manage sensitive data, that operate smoothly with little oversight or that make financial sense for one reason or another. Applications that require a more scalable, more elastic environment will move to the cloud, along with those that run infrequently but require capital expenditures to support.
Over time, corporations may move more applications to the cloud as their comfort level increases and as usage patterns change. In addition, they are more likely to build new applications for the cloud to reduce capital expenditures from the beginning.
The role of the in-house data center will not diminish in importance. Instead, it will focus more on evaluating the optimal environment for the company. With someone else worrying about capacity planning, bandwidth, firewalls, licenses and managing a cadre of vendors, the in-house data center can focus more on the next generation of business applications.
In the end, a cloud operates at a fraction of the cost of an in-house data center and it draws in applications that can benefit from those savings. In-house data centers will use them as tools, where they can oversee the work rather than actually do the work.
What advantages could your company reap with enterprise cloud computing services?
Download SunGard’s white paper, The Real Value of Cloud Computing.
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Posted: November 10, 2011, 11:54 am
Recovery In the Cloud, Part 2 – What CIOs Should Ask
Ram Shanmugan, our Senior Director of Product Management for Recovery Services, offered the important points below in an interview recently with Smart Business Philly. –Carl M.
Evaluating cloud providers is time-consuming and can be a nerve-racing task. You don’t do it often enough to become expert at it and sometimes its hard to separate reality from hype. Here are a few questions that go to the crux of most CIO concerns.
- Does the provider offer meaningful service level guarantees for recovery of mission-critical applications? Can it reliably recover mission-critical applications in the wake of failure?
- Does it support heterogeneous computing platforms (e.g., Windows, Linux) and hybrid architectures that meet the recovery needs of the entire IT portfolio?
- Does the staff have hands-on disaster recovery experience? Has it recovered from a disaster? Does it understand the entire disaster recovery lifecycle? Can it provide audit-ready test reports?
- Does it provide options for high availability, as well as less crucial applications in a heterogeneous environment? More specifically, can this partner support a broad portfolio of Recovery Point Objectives (i.e., for each application, the amount of downtime and data loss your business can sustain after a disaster) and Recovery Time Objectives (i.e., the recovery timelines and priorities your business requires for mission-critical applications and processes).
- What is the range of options supported for moving data to the cloud? Does it use monitoring and automation tools to ensure rapid and effective response to failures?
- Can the cloud partner handle your current and future needs? Can it expand and contract on demand, handle sudden growth or support large amounts of application data?
- Can clients pay as they go?
- Does the provider offer multiple levels of security and service options? If some data is too sensitive for the cloud, will the provider use a private cloud for that data but use a shared cloud for everything else?
One size does not fit all, so cloud partners should offer a range of private, hybrid and physical environments to make sure your data is secure and can be recovered after a disasters.
What combination of shared, hybrid and private cloud makes the best economic sense for your company?
Visit our Cloud Solutions Center for videos, white papers and case studies about SunGard’s Enterprise Cloud Services.
Tags: best cloud computing, cloud computing, Cloud computing leader, Enter your zip code here, high availability, high availability in the cloud, multi-site cloud computing, recovery in the cloud, resiliency, resilient computing
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Posted: November 8, 2011, 11:44 am
Ram Shanmugan, our Senior Director of Product Management for Recovery Services, was recently interviewed by Smart Business Philly magazine. Below are some of the important points he discussed. We’ll have more next week. – Carl M.
“Weathering a storm” is more than just an off-hand comment these day. The U.S. experienced eight disasters costing over $1B in the first 6-months of 2011. Few areas of the U.S were shared the business complications caused by tornado, blizzard, wildfires and floods.
Planning for erratic weather can be tricky. Of course, you want secure data, redundant infrastructure and business continuity processes, but balancing those needs against the needs for revenue-generating IT projects is difficult.
Fortunately, “recovery in the cloud” offers a cost-effective, reliable option. It lets you formulate the right availability service for your applications, from mission-critical to important but infrequently used applications.
Four elements drive the decision to move to a cloud-based recovery service:
- Cost savings. The ability to fulfill recovery needs and lower costs is the most significant driver,
- RPO/RTO. The Recovery point objectives (how long you can tolerate an application being down) and the recovery time objectives (how long it takes to recover the application) determine the level of resources your need to avoid serious impact to your business.
- Reliability. The true value of a recovery environment comes during a time of disaster, and managed cloud-based solutions offer higher reliability in recovery of mission-critical applications than do in-house solutions.
- Skilled Resources. In-house recovery solutions require an investment in specialized skills to support the recovery infrastructure. Cloud-based recovery eliminates that need.
Can your IT department recover from an outage without incurring emergency resources and costs?
Visit our Cloud Solutions Center for videos, white papers and case studies about SunGard’s Enterprise Cloud Services.
Tags: best cloud computing, cloud computing, Cloud computing leader, cloud computing provider, cloud computing providers, cloud computing services, cloud computing strategy, cloud computing vendors, Enter your zip code here, high availability, high availability in the cloud, hybrid cloud computing, legacy applications, multi-site cloud computing, recovery in the cloud, resiliency, resilient computing, top cloud computing
Posted in cloud-based recovery
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Posted: November 3, 2011, 10:21 pm
Next week on Nov 9, Information Week and Network Computing host a virtual event called “Virtualization Anywhere.” At this event, sponsoring vendors will provide information about their products and services — and how they can help you to address challenges with managing virtual systems and infrastructures. An online virtual event emulates in-person trade shows, but are far more convenient and are usually free to attend.
If you’ve never attended a virtual event like this one, then you’ll be interested to know that each vendor is available in a virtual booth. You navigate an online map which emulates a typical event show floor, and you decide which vendor booths you would like to visit. When you visit, you can pick up digital copies of product literature. And, most importantly, you can chat in real-time with vendor representatives.
In addition to the virtual show floor, virtual events also feature a series of live webinars which you can attend — emulating “main-tent” style presentations which occur at in-person events.
SunGard Availability Services is a platinum sponsor at next week’s event, and we hope you come to see us there! Our speaker, Ramanan Shanmugam, is Sr Director of Product Management for the Recover2Cloud suite of services. Ram will cover the top five considerations for raising service levels with tiered recovery services and cloud services, with insights learned from SunGard’s track record with providing disaster recovery services for over 30 years.
Interested in learning more about the event? See the event web site, and register to attend today!
If you’re busy on Nov 9 and you cannot attend, check this blog site after the event. We will share the links to Ram’s recorded presentation following the event.
Tags: cloud recovery, Information Week, Network Computing, presentation, R2C, Ramanan Shanmugam, Recover2Cloud, virtual event
Posted in Recovery-as-a-Service
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