5 1 0:About Replication

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Overview


Data replication is a concept in data protection that plays an important role in ensuring the availability, integrity, and recoverability of critical information. The process involves creating and maintaining consistent copies of data across various locations, devices, or systems.

Replication is the duplication of data from a source to one or more target locations or systems. The primary goal is to generate reliable and current copies of data, guaranteeing that in the event of data loss or system failure, a secondary copy is readily available for recovery.

SEP sesam uses changed block tracking techniques to track modifications, additions, or deletions of data, capturing changes to the source data. These captured changes are then replicated to the target location.

Key features

  • Consistent data replication between SEP sesam Servers and RDSs.
  • Efficient replication, deduplication, encryption, and recovery between HPE StoreOnce Catalyst stores. Supports replication to HPE Cloud Bank Storage and HPE Cloud Volumes Storage.
  • Provides an additional layer of data protection by maintaining consistent copies of critical information.
  • Offers a reliable mechanism for maintaining up-to-date copies of data, minimizing downtime during unforeseen events.

How it works?

SEP sesam supports various environments for replication, including software-based, hardware-based, or cloud-based storage systems. The configuration requirements and prerequisites differ based on the chosen replication type.

After the environment is configured, the initial replication is executed, transferring all data for the first time from the source to the destination. This process demands substantial CPU resources, network bandwidth, and time for successful completion.

To establish the replication process, the procedure involves creating a replication task, determining the schedule for replication, and creating and scheduling a replication event. Replication is defined for a specific time frame and requires source and target media pools. SEP sesam tracks changes to data in the source media pool and replicates changed data to the target media pool.

Types of replication

SEP sesam supports different types of replication, suited for specific scenarios and offering distinct advantages. SEP Si3 replication excels in SEP sesam environments with its block-level deduplication, while HPE StoreOnce replication extends replication capabilities to HPE's Catalyst stores and cloud storage solutions.

SEP Si3 replication involves data replication between SEP sesam Server and SEP sesam Remote Device Server (RDS) or between two RDSs. It enables source-based deduplication at the block level, leading to faster backup cycles and reduced storage requirements.

HPE StoreOnce replication supports replication between HPE Catalyst stores, HPE Cloud Bank Storage, and HPE Cloud Volumes Storage. It provides efficient deduplication and encryption of data and is suitable for long-term retention and offsite backup copies.

Deduplication in replication

When similar systems are backed up to the same data storage device, redundancy within the backed-up data is a potential challenge. SEP sesam addresses this using block-level deduplication, dividing data into blocks, skipping duplicates, and sending only unique blocks to storage. This significantly reduces the size of backed-up data, minimizing storage space requirements and network load.

SEP sesam offers a hybrid approach with both target-based (Si3T) and source-based (Si3S) deduplication, allowing organizations to choose the most suitable method for efficient data backup in diverse environments. For more information on deduplication, refer to Deduplication.


See also

Replication Best Practices - Configuring Replication - Creating a Replication Task - Creating a Replication Event

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