Datasheet

ServeRAID M5000 Series Performance Accelerator Key for IBM System x 5
MegaRAID Recovery
MegaRAID Recovery enhances the ServeRAID data protection feature set by offering snapshot
functionality that allows users to capture source volume data changes and either
Restore-from-View or
Rollback to a previous point in time (PiT) should accidental or malicious data deletion or infection occur.
While traditional overnight backups continue to be the preferred method for creating physical copies of
data for offsite or archival purposes, MegaRAID Recovery meets a growing need for more frequent
backups and reduced recovery times. By supplementing traditional backup methods with MegaRAID
Recovery, IT organizations can greatly enhance their level of business continuity, data protection, and
restore capabilities.
How MegaRAID Recovery works
MegaRAID Recovery preserves the state of information stored on a virtual drive at a specific point in time
using a copy-on-write methodology. This means that when data is written to a designated volume or
virtual drive (VD), the original data that was present before being written over is then copied to a snapshot
repository. The VD will continue to accept new data while copying original data to the repository. The
snapshot repository will then continue to collect the original data that is being written over until a snapshot
event takes place. Once a snapshot is taken, all of the new and old data on the VD becomes original data.
So the repository never becomes a complete copy of the source VD.
Figure 4 shows a server with three VDs and a single snapshot repository.
Figure 4: Server with three VDs and a single snapshot repository
As snapshots are taken and the repository fills with different PiTs, MegaRAID Recovery is able to restore
a VD's data should volume or file-level corruption or deletion occur. Recovery offers two methods for
restoring data:
Restore from View: Allows users to conveniently mount a view of the snapshot in MSM and
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drag-and-drop lost data and files back into the source data volume
Rollback: Allows users to quickly return the application to a previous point in time, prior to infection or
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malicious data corruption, without requiring re-installation of the application
No data movement
One of the key advantages of MegaRAID Recovery is its ability to create PiTs without physically
duplicating data. By simply opening up a new volume that keeps track of any changes to data in the
source volume, MegaRAID Recovery avoids the physical movement or copying of data, enabling each
PiT to be created in seconds, regardless of the size of the source volume.