About NetBackup Replication Director
Replication Director is the implementation of NetBackup OpenStorage-managed snapshots and snapshot replication, where the snapshots are stored on the storage systems of partnering companies. OpenStorage is a Cohesity API that lets NetBackup communicate with the storage implementations that conform to the API.
Replication Director uses the functions of the OpenStorage partners to perform the following tasks:
To share disks so that multiple heterogeneous media servers can access the same disk volume concurrently.
To balance loads and tune performance. NetBackup balances backup jobs and storage usage among the media servers and disk pools.
To make full use of disk array capabilities, including fast storage provisioning and almost unlimited storage.
To use as an alternative to off-site vaulting. Storage replication technology provides an efficient means to send copies of user data (files, applications, databases) to off-site storage as part of a disaster recovery plan.
NetBackup stores snapshots of client data on the volumes that are available to the storage server.
Snapshots represent a point-in-time of primary storage data as captured by the storage hardware. NetBackup can then instruct the storage server to replicate the snapshot from primary volumes to other volumes available to the storage server. The snapshot can be replicated to multiple volumes within the storage server, or to storage outside of the storage server, such as a tape device or other disk storage. Replication Director can accommodate an assortment of scenarios to meet the specific data protection needs of an organization.
Replication Director offers a single NetBackup interface for end-to-end data protection management for the following tasks:
Unified policy management.
Use the NetBackup web UI as the one, centralized backup infrastructure to manage the lifecycle of all data.
Snapshot copy management.
Use NetBackup to manage the entire lifecycle of the snapshot. Replication Director uses OpenStorage with a media server to access the storage server volumes. No image can be moved, expired, or deleted from the disk array unless NetBackup instructs the storage server to do so.
The instruction to perform the initial snapshot comes from an operation in a NetBackup storage lifecycle policy (SLP). You can create one SLP that instructs NetBackup to create the initial snapshot, to replicate the snapshot to several locations, and to indicate a different retention period for each of the replications. Additional instructions (or operations) can be included in the SLP that create a backup from the snapshot, index the snapshot, and more.
Global search and restore.
Recovery is available from any storage device in the environment that is defined to NetBackup. This includes recovery from the primary copy or any replicated copy on disk, or from any duplicated copy on disk or tape.
For more information, see the NetBackup Replication Director Solutions Guide.