How will you backup your virtualised environment?

Backing up data has become a natural routine for almost every business, as it provides security against losing potentially critical information and minimises downtime of services. However as technology moves along and more services such as servers become virtualised, can your backup methods keep up?

What can a more sophisticated backup system do for my business?

Traditional backups can often still be found on external media devices, in order for it be stored offsite or simply away from the original server once the backup has been taken.  What if you have moved on from multiple servers, and now have multiple Virtual machines managing these processes for you? With all of the VM’s based on a singular server, can you afford to lose the functionality and data from that sever?

That’s where the more sophisticated virtual backup system comes in place. At Southbank IT we have partnered with Altaro to provide a solution to these exact problems. If you have multiple VM’s running, Altaro’s backup software can manage all of these seamlessly and has a completely customisable backup schedule to ensure your data is covered. More than this, it will take an image of your virtual server, and can transfer this as a clone on the host machine, or transfer it via the internet to a new host machine. By having these benefits you can ensure a quick recovery time from any issue with your host server or your VM’s, and ensure that minimal data/functionality is lost.

What could the extra functionalities do for you?

Having a more sophisticated system in place such as Altaro’s VM backup software can give you real peace of mind. The reason for this is that on all of your virtual servers/services you can backup data from file level, and not just restore a server to a previous state. This allows for a faster and more convenient business use, and gives you more security over your data. On top of this you can encrypt your files that you backup to a military standard if you have certain requirements for your data.

However it’s not just security and ease of use Altaro can provide. By having all of your VM’s backed up via Altaro you can have one central management system to monitor the performance and status’s of the backup. This makes it incredibly easy to manage larger systems and get a clear idea of how everything is progressing. If this doesn’t make it an attractive enough option for you, or if you are looking to edit your systems on a regular basis then there is still more to consider. Altaro’s advanced system allows you to sandbox new environments, and test out how new entries into your VM network will affect your system. This will allow you to pro-actively test new changes without risking your operation requirements, and add to the simplicity of running a VM environment. To top these impressive features off, you will also receive support from Altaro should any problems arise. Their professional team work tirelessly to handle all complaints, which is why they have received many commendable recommendations from their users.

Is it expensive to implement?

Depending on how many hosts you have and how many VM’s you are looking to run, the price may vary. The pricing starts from £255 per host for 5 VM’s which is incredibly cost effective, due to the amount of services it covers. Being able to centralise your management of backups, create and test environments and back up data to the individual item and not do a rollback is a huge plus for any business. If you are looking for a more premium service then you are looking at £390 per host server, but that covers unlimited VM’s on that host. This allows a bespoke and customisable service to suit your needs that also can be expanded as you expand as a business. With it’s easy to set up and easy to use interface, Altaro can not only make Backup’s for your VM’s easier, but also more secure too.

Where can I find more information?

If you want to know more about what Altaro VM Backup and the new features it has in store, then visit http://www.altaro.com/vm-backup/. If you want to talk to IT specialists further and how to implement the product then why not contact us? We are experienced partners with Altaro and have implemented many setups with their product. Visit our contact details at https://www.southbank-it.co.uk/contact/, we would love to hear from you!