What you will learn in this tip: In the previous part of our series on data replication techniques, you learned about asynchronous vs. synchronous replication, array-based and network-based replication, and host-based replication products. In this part of our series, you key criteria for selecting a data replication product.
Data
replication has been used for high availability and data protection of critical data and
applications for a long time, and it has been slowly eating away at tape as the media of choice for
data protection. As a consequence of shrinking recovery time objectives, and increased need for
24/7 availability of applications and data, this trend is likely to continue, if not accelerate. On
the technology side, cloud computing, the virtualization of IT infrastructure, and a flurry of
replication options and offerings are aiding this trend.
Choosing the best
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data replication product can be difficult. We've made it easier for you by
providing a free, downloadable data replication product checklist. Click here to download the data
replication product checklist you see below. |
KEY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING A REPLICATION PRODUCT |
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Type of replication |
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Criteria |
Array based |
Host based |
Network based |
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Storage infrastructure |
Requires homogeneous storage or storage virtualization
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Storage agnostic
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Storage agnostic; fabric-based products; require intelligent switches
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Server infrastructure
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Equally suitable for small or large number of servers and multi-OS environments |
Very attractive for a small number of hosts; unfavorable for a large number of
servers and multiple OS infrastructures |
Equally suitable for small or large number of servers and multi-OS environments
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Management |
Very good, as replication is simply an extension of array management
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Complexity increases with the number of hosts
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One additional storage component to manage; complexity is independent of the
number of hosts and arrays |
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Scalability |
Good; it’s directly linked to scalability of the arrays |
Very good, as replication runs on hosts |
More prone to becoming a performance bottleneck |
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Robustness |
Very robust, as it’s part of the storage array |
Less robust, as problems on hosts and in applications can impact
replication |
Very robust because of dedicated appliances
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Cost |
Very good for existing arrays; unfavorable if new arrays need to be added |
Cost increases proportionally with the number of hosts |
Fixed cost for variable number of servers and arrays |
About this author: Jacob Gsoedl is a freelance writer and a corporate director for business systems.
This article was previously published in Storage magazine
This was first published in April 2011