Overview

Server virtualization enables multiple virtual machines to run on a single physical server and share numerous computing resources.  In a physical server environment, you have low resource utilization, but plenty of bandwidth for backup.  With the new paradigm, you have higher resource utilization, but less bandwidth for backups.  This creates a real challenge with data protection. Applying agent-based, file-level backup strategies to virtual machine backups has drawbacks-the most significant problem is resource contention.  Backups demand significant processing power and the added resources needed to execute a backup may compromise the performance of that virtual machine as well as other virtual machines running on the system. This creates a burden on the VMware host's CPU, memory, disk, and network components-often making it impossible to back up within available windows. In response, VMware developed VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB), which leverages VMware's snapshot technology. VCB is a high-performance software solution that captures an image of the virtual machine disk and copies it to a proxy server where backup agent technology also resides. This approach offloads backup processing from the VMware server, effectively eliminating the backup window. VCB is a framework for backup-not a backup application itself. But VMware introduced some changes in vSphere 4, its next-generation virtual infrastructure. VCB is now called vStorage API for Data Protection (vStorage APIDP) and the platform gained some enhancements-features that will be available for all ISVs.  VMware hired a few ex-EMC Retrospect developers-guys that know their way around the backup block-to build a backup utility.  The result?  VMware Data Recovery (VDR), an agentless, disk-based (any VMFS storage, including DAS, iSCSI, NFS, or FC storage, or CIFS shares) backup solution that employs snapshot and data deduplication technologies.  Running in a virtual machine as a Linux virtual appliance, VMware Data Recovery backup and recovery tasks are launched through vCenter Server (a required component here).  vCenter automatically discovers virtual machines and a workflow wizard can be used to set schedules and policies. vCenter monitors virtual machines and backup jobs-even when a virtual machine is moved by VMware HA, VMotion, and DRS-to ensure backups continue. Because VDR takes advantage of the vStorage APIDP, a VM-level backup is performed-enabling fast backup and fast recovery.  Granular (file level) recovery is also possible from the VM-level backup.  The API also allows for incremental snapshots after the initial full.  Combined with block-level data deduplication, it keeps required disk space to a minimum.

Analysis

More than 70% of ESG research survey respondents indicated that their organizations presently use server virtualization (with 49% using it in a production environment), with another 13% planning to do so.[1] As shown in Figure 1, almost half of the research respondents currently using server virtualization identified VMware as their organization's primary solution, followed by Microsoft and Citrix.[2] VMware is positioning the built-in backup feature for its "smaller" customers.  VDR can support up to 100 virtual machines per appliance (and one appliance is supported per vCenter instance).  And it is a feature in vSphere Advanced, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus editions.  Otherwise, it can be purchased a la carte with vSphere Standard Edition. Respondents to an ESG research survey cited the number of virtual machines in their environments (see Figure 2).[3] Across companies of different sizes in the 100-2499 employee range, approximately 90% cited running 100 or fewer virtual machines-a sizeable addressable market for VMware Data Recovery.

The Bottom Line

Is it a threat to third-party backup providers?  Possibly.  On the one hand, most organizations-even the smaller shops-have some type of backup already in place.  Just about all backup applications support VMware, although support for vSphere 4 is likely to trickle out over the next quarter or two now that it is available.  Unless a site is 100% virtualized, it wouldn't make sense to have one backup solution for physical and another for virtual.  Therefore, those backup software vendors and service providers supporting vSphere 4 should not feel completely threatened. Also, one of the drawbacks of VMware Data Recovery is its inability to get data offsite. Neither tape media creation nor replication of deduplicated data is built in to VMware Data Recovery.  Further, it's unlikely that the utility could even be used to efficiently back up virtual machines and integrate with third-party backup software to create media due to the use of deduplication. On the other hand, smaller VMware vSphere 4 customers looking for an integrated, "built-for-VMware" backup solution may find VMware Data Recovery a good fit at the right price-no additional charge for those with the appropriate vSphere edition and a service and support contract.[4] As ESG research suggests, 100 or fewer virtual machines represents a sizeable slice of the VMware pie. There are vendors, such as Veeam, Vizioncore, and PHD Virtual that ONLY focus on backup/recovery of virtual environments, so the utility could erode opportunities for these vendors.  Of these vendors (and all backup providers, actually), only Vizioncore developed a backup solution for ESXi, so this could be a blow in that arena.  PHD Virtual should probably feel the most flattered by VMware.  A longstanding partner of VMware, the company's virtual backup appliance technique is the same design approach used in VMware Data Recovery. The real impact for VMware is thwarting Microsoft's advantage with Hyper-V.  Microsoft has Windows Server Backup 2008-a built-in backup utility available at no extra charge. The backup utility uses VSS and block-level incremental backup (after the first full backup, only the changes since the last backup are captured) to back up a full server, selected volumes, or the system state.  Recovery of individual items (folders, files, applications, system state) or an entire volume is available, as is a whole server recovery when restoring to a new server with no operating system installed.  Windows Backup also supports all Microsoft applications and multiple target media types, including shared folders, disk, removable hard disk drives, and DVDs... but not tapes.  Pound for pound, VMware Data Recovery is competitive with Microsoft's utility.  So now, both vendors have the check-box.

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[1] Source: ESG Research Report, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, December 2008.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Source: ESG Research.

[4] Access to VMware Data Recovery depends on the appropriate vSphere edition. See VMware information for entitlement mapping at: http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/upgrade-center/licensing.html.

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