Best Practices for Implementing Tape Storage in VMware Virtualization Environments

Tape infrastructure continues to play an important role in long-term data storage and offsite backup due to its low cost per gigabyte, longevity and portability, but integrating tape into virtual environments requires careful planning and management to increase performance and reliability.

We will cover sizing, configuration, and integration recommendations as well as advice on backup, restore, and disaster recovery practices. The goal is to help you get the most out of tape storage while avoiding common pitfalls. Let’s get started!

In this blog post, we will explore best practices for deploying tape storage in VMware vSphere environments.

Practice# 1: Right-Size Your Tape Infrastructure

Properly sizing your tape infrastructure is important to ensure that backup solutions are completed within maintenance windows without impacting production workloads. Start by getting your virtual machine’s disk usage trends over time to anticipate power needs. Consider both short-term and long-term retention requirements for regulatory compliance or e-discovery purposes.

Take data growth rates into account, and choose tape drives and libraries that suit your computing capabilities. LTO-7 or higher is generally recommended in most environments today. Be sure to budget for enough cartridges to satisfy your retention policies as well. Overprovisioning is better than exhausting storage mid-backup.

Practice# 2: Use a Dedicated Backup Host

While it is possible to run backup software directly on VMware virtualization servers, this risks impacting production workloads during intensive backup operations. A better approach is to deploy a dedicated physical or virtual backup host for all tape-related activities.

The backup host should have fast storage, ample memory and CPU resources optimized for I/O-intensive backup workloads. Connect it to the tape library and SAN/NAS storage using the fastest network and HBA interfaces available. This separation of duties improves performance and stability for both production and backup systems.

Practice# 3: Leverage Backup Appliances for Scalability

For medium- to large-scale environments, consider using a purpose-built backup appliance to remove backup processing from the object server. The devices are specially designed for high-throughput backups to disk and tape. They also come with built-in features such as deduplication, compression, and backup software.

This makes it easier to build capacity by adding more tape backup drives or libraries. The device simplifies operations through centralized planning and management of all backup components. Overall, infrastructure costs can be reduced compared to building a custom backup strategy.

Practice# 4: Test Different Backup Strategies

There is no one-size-fits-all backup solution strategy. Thoroughly test different options before committing to a long-term solution. Some variables to experiment with include:

• Full vs incremental backups
• Image-level vs file-level backups
• How frequently to run full backups
• Backup window durations
• Using multiple backup streams
• Deduplication and compression settings

Make adjustments as needed and document the validated configuration. This prevents nasty surprises down the road when more data is added.

Practice# 5: Enable Change Block Tracking

A Change Block Tracking (CBT) backup can only copy blocks that have changed since the last backup, not the entire virtual disk. This provides significant performance gains, especially for incremental backups. Enable CBT at the ESXi host level and verify that your backup software is supported by using this information.

On some versions of ESXi, CBT is disabled by default for security reasons. So make sure you configure it correctly on all hosts. This small change can significantly reduce the amount of backup time and patches required for large environments.

Practice# 6: Optimize Backup File Placement

The location of backup files can significantly affect performance. Place temporary backup files, such as VM snapshot files, on fast local storage instead of on the network. The backup software can then properly copy only the modified parts to tape.

Similarly, use a dedicated LUN or local disk for the backup database to avoid storage bottlenecks. Experiment with different locations to validate the optimal layout of your infrastructure. Using storage layering is key to increasing tape storage throughput.

Practice# 7: Automate Retention and Reclamation

Relying on hand holding and retrieving can be error-prone and can lead to long-term storage damage. It is important to use automated systems to manage leases efficiently.

To preserve, define rules in the backup software that specify how long backups should be kept (e.g., daily backups for 30 days, weekly backups for 12 months), and then the software can remove the backups if it actually end in accordance with defined times This ensures that the retention SLAs. There is always pursuit without the involvement of hands.

To recover tape storage, schedule recurring jobs that identify redundant tapes based on retention rules. The software will overwrite these tapes with a new backup instead of a new tape. This fully utilizes the storage capacity of each strip.

Some key factors to configure for the retention and reclamation policies include:

1. Retention durations for different backup frequencies (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)
2. Whether to retain a certain number of restore points or go by age alone
3. Frequency of reclamation jobs (weekly is common but adjust based on backup volumes)
4. Granularity of backups eligible for reclamation (full backups only or incrementals too)
5. Testing is important to validate the policies are behaving as expected over time. You may need to adjust settings as backup volumes change. Monitoring is also critical to identify any issues preventing policies from executing properly.

With automated retention and reclamation, you can be confident that expired backups are removed and tapes are reused efficiently without manual oversight. This maximizes the value of each tape invested while maintaining compliance with recovery SLAs.

Practice# 8: Test Restores Frequently

The true test of any backup solution is the reliability of the restore. Schedule regular retesting from different time periods using methods such as file-level, virtual machine-level, and full disaster recovery testing.

A recorded freshness check ensures competency has been maintained. It also confirms that the backup infrastructure, media management, and restore processes are performing as expected over time. Deal with any problems you discover before the actual divorce.

Practice# 9: Maintain Offsite Tape Rotation

A backup strategy is incomplete without proper backup copies. Maintain a regular tape rotation schedule where tapes are shipped weekly/monthly to an off-site location. This protects it from a major hazard that destroys all internal structures.

If maintaining your own remote location isn’t practical, consider using a professional recordkeeper. Proper documentation and tracking are important so tape can be traced and retrieved quickly in an emergency. Also test the ability to restore remote images.

Final Words

With careful planning and proper procedures, tape encryption can provide highly reliable and cost-effective protection for virtual environments for many years to come. Following these best practices will help you implement a robust tape backup solution that performs well and meets all restore needs. With the right policies and procedures in place, tape can remain an integral part of your disaster recovery plan.