8 Critical Features to Have in a VM Backup Solution

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Businesses that rely on virtual machines for their day-to-day operations should think twice about securing their infrastructure. Modern use of virtual machines stems from the benefits of virtualization, which include accessibility, reduced operating costs, and flexibility, among others. But your virtual infrastructure becomes obsolete without proper security. One way to achieve that is through virtual machine backup and recovery solutions.

VM backups are crucial for maintaining business continuity. They help businesses prevent data loss and offer a failsafe if something happens to your Hyper-V or VMware virtual infrastructure. These services aren't uncommon. But knowing which one to choose depends on several factors. None are more important than the product's features, which directly impact your ability to keep the infrastructure running.

So that begs the question, what are the essential features of a VM backup software? That's exactly what this short guide focuses on. So, let's dive in.

Key Topics:

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Ransomware Protection

Ransomware attacks are making the rounds, and cybersecurity blogs and experts talk extensively regarding the potential damage these attacks can do. A potential ransomware attack can render your data obsolete, locking it and demanding a ransom for releasing said data. Therefore, it becomes a necessity to protect against potential ransomware attacks. Luckily, ransomware protection is a core feature of the V9 VM backup.

The feature makes it impossible for malicious software to tamper with the data on your virtual machines. Moreover, the ransomware data protection feature prevents any user, even with admin or root access, from modifying or deleting the backup data on your backup server. With this level of protection against devastating malware, businesses add another layer of security to their virtual environment.

Storage Saving With Augmented Inline Deduplication Technology

Storage costs are a significant concern for businesses, and choosing a VM backup provider that offers massive storage-saving features is essential. Few storage-saving features are as comprehensive as the Augmented Inline Deduplication Technology with the V9 VM Backup. The feature works by eliminating redundant data, resulting in significant storage savings.

This technology uses machine learning to identify the changed data from the previous backup, thus backing up only the changed data to the customers' backup server or repository. In comparison, most VM backup and restore services approach the backup process differently, removing identical data after the transfer to the backup repository.

The benefits of the technology result in massive storage savings.

Cloud Backup

Cloud backups are a core feature to have when selecting efficient virtual machine backups. The right solution must be able to back up data to specific cloud providers, and the V9 can backup Hyper-V and VMware vSphere backups to Microsoft Azure, S3, and Wasabi.

VM Backup provides full support for a variety of cloud-backup platforms (click to enlarge)

The benefit of having this option is the ability to store offsite backup copies from your guest operating system to the cloud services your business relies on. That way, businesses can keep copies in multiple locations, in addition to being able to perform local backups.

Continuous Data Protection (CDP)

Continuous Data Protection (CDP) is a feature that allows businesses to back up data frequently, usually every five minutes. This means that data is backed up as it is changed, ensuring that businesses have the most up-to-date version of their data. CDP is a feature that promises a dramatic reduction in data loss, time, money, and hassle by allowing businesses to schedule backups frequently.

Centralized Control Panel

Modern backup solutions must come with a centralized control panel and dashboard to allow businesses to manage VMware backups or Hyper-V backups from a single centralized location.

VM Backup centralized control panel - click to enlarge

The V9 VM Backup has a comprehensive control panel that allows greater access to backup operations, access from anywhere, and real-time status updates. This feature is particularly useful for organizations with multiple locations or teams, as it allows for easy and efficient backup management.

The centralized control panel makes monitoring Hyper-V or VMware virtual machine backups seamless and performs a wide range of actions, including scheduling and managing backups from a single dashboard.

Health Monitor - Real-Time Monitoring

A health monitor is a feature that allows businesses to monitor their backup status and identify issues in real time. If it identifies potential issues, it will back up the affected data once more and attempt to solve the issue. This feature ensures that businesses are taking a proactive approach to backup protection.

Here are some key reasons why real-time backup monitoring is essential:

Early Detection of Problems: Real-time monitoring enables the timely identification of backup failures, errors, or other issues. By receiving instant notifications and alerts, IT teams can take immediate action to resolve problems and prevent data loss or prolonged downtime.
Ensuring Data Integrity: Monitoring backups in real-time helps ensure the integrity of the backup data. It allows organizations to verify the completeness and accuracy of backup files, ensuring that critical data is successfully captured and protected.
Performance Optimization: Real-time monitoring provides insights into the performance of backup systems and infrastructure. By analyzing backup metrics and trends, organizations can identify bottlenecks, optimize resource allocation, and enhance backup efficiency.
Compliance and Regulatory Requirements: Many industries have stringent compliance and regulatory requirements for data protection. Real-time backup monitoring helps organizations meet these obligations by providing evidence of backup activities, ensuring data retention periods are followed, and facilitating the auditing process.
Business Continuity: Monitoring backups in real-time plays a vital role in maintaining business continuity. It allows organizations to quickly respond to backup failures or data loss situations, ensuring that critical systems and data can be restored promptly, minimizing downtime, and mitigating financial and reputational risks.

Encryption

Backing up data from your Hyper-V or VMware virtual machines means nothing if you cannot protect the backups. Luckily, the V9 comes with AES-256 encryption, allowing users to encrypt backups by adding passwords. That way, businesses are adding an additional layer of security. Encryption protects the data during transmission and while in storage. Moreover, the V9 allows onsite encryption, although it is optional.

Instant Recovery

Instant recovery is a feature that allows businesses to restore data from their backups quickly and efficiently. In case of a data loss event, businesses can restore any VM version directly from the backup server or cloud location without affecting the integrity of the backup. Instant recovery is a feature that promises to minimize downtime and prevent productivity losses.

VM Backup instant recovery - Boot directly from backup instant. Click to enlarge

Summary

VM backups are crucial for protecting data and ensuring business continuity. When selecting a provider, businesses must ensure the right solution can meet their data protection needs by offering the right features. From ransomware protection to encryption and instant recovery to real-time health monitoring, businesses mitigate data loss events and protect their VM data in case one such scenario occurs. Download now your free copy of the latest V9 VM backup now.