Vanguard Summit 2019 - Continuous Data Protection

Hello! Continuous Data Protection (CDP) provides better SLAs for end-users by using new VMware technology. Veeam CDP (without snapshots) – VMware continuous data protection to reduce RPOs from minutes to seconds. It leverages VMware’s VAIO framework to reliably intercept and redirect VM I/O to the replica without a need to create standard VM snapshots. Anthony Spiteri presented the new CDP feature at #VanguardSummit 2019 in Prague!

Veeam CDP, the new Continuous Data Protection technology that is best compared to Veeam’s current replication functionality, except it, allows to achieve recovery point objectives (RPO) – maximum acceptable data loss in case of disaster – of mere seconds and without using VMware snapshots, thus not impacting protected workloads. Veeam achieves this by using the new VMware technology called vSphere API for I/O filtering (VAIO), which is VMware-supported way to tap into VM’s I/O stream. This capability changes the game because until now, Veeam’s competition required either the use of agents inside of the protected Virtual Machines or some dirty hacks explicitly unsupported by VMware.

About VMware VAIO:

VAIO is a framework that enables their parties (Partners) to develop filters that run in ESXi and can intercept any IO requests from a guest operating system to a virtual disk. An IO will not be issued or committed to disk without being processed by IO Filters created by 3rd parties.

VAIO Overview Architecture:

IO request moving between the guest operating system (Initiator), located in the Virtual Machine Monitor(VMM), and a virtual disk (Consumer) are filtered through a series of two IO Filters (per disk), one filter per filter class, invoked in filter class order. For example, a replication filter executes before a cache filter. Once the IO request has been filtered by all the filters for the particular disk, the IO request moves on to its destination, either the VM or the virtual disk.

Setting up:

End to end policy based control of workloads:

The framework enables third parties (partners) to develop filters that run in VMware ESXi and can intercept any IO requests from a guest operating system to a virtual disk. An IO will not be issued or committed to disk without being processed by IO Filters created by 3rd parties. Filters execute inside ESXi and not in a VM. In addition, the VAIO Framework provides a centralized installation and upgrade.

Caching will significantly increase the IOPS available, reduce latency, and increase hardware utilization rates. Replication will allow the user to create VM granular replication policies for use in DR and other scenarios.

First, choose server for new CDP replication proxy:

Specify location and size of the global cache used by CDP proxy:

Create a new CDP policy:

Select clusters to install vSphere API for I/O filtering filter package:

Filter status “Active”:

Best practice is to use VMware Tags to manage your RPO strategy:

Specify the name and description for this job and provide information on your DR site:

Select VMs to replication (VMware tag):

Specify where replicas should be created in the DR site:

Choose how VM data should be transferred to the target site, specify replica name suffix and customize advanced job settings (suffix “_cdp”):

Choose backup poxies:

Specify job scheduling and retention options:

Restore point taken every 15 seconds, and four hours of those restore points are kept. Then every 8 hours a restore point is taken and kept for 7 days.
Veeam CDP