Dell EMC XC Series Integrated Data...

Data Protection Management Console (DPMC)

Integrated and Simplified

Dell EMC XC Series Integrated Data Protection

http://cloud-evolutions.com/Dell EMC XC Series Integrated Data Protection

Introduction –Simplicity and Integration1

Data Protection Management Console

(DPMC) is a new Dell EMC innovation

exclusive to the XC Series Hyper-converged

platform that centralizes management with

built-in automation to streamline backup

operations. It is critical that backup storage

is deployed, managed, and supported as

a single solution. This integration extends

the turnkey hyper-converged experience

to provide complete data protection

capabilities to the XC Series virtual

environment without the complexity of a

multi-vendor or DIY solution.

The goals of DPMC are to optimize

implementation timelines and reduce

configuration challenges that enterprise

back up solutions present while configuring

and backing up ESXi and Hyper-V virtual

machines (VMs). DELL EMC engaged

Cloud Evolutions (CEVO) to evaluate those

factors while installing and configuring

Avamar, its agents and federated cluster

client on XC Series hyper-converged

appliances, powered by Nutanix software.

By introducing DPMC while configuring and

backing up Hyper-V VMs, we found that it

simplifies the process from an operational

point of view and integrates with Avamar

server, Prism Central, and Data Domain

making it more resilient and reliable. It has

features like one-click backup, upgrade,

configure retention policies, reduced

operational challenges, and enhanced

visibility to VM backups.

Intuitive Web UIFamiliar interface design will be easily understood and managed by anyonealready using the Prism UI

Simplified Backup OperationsEasily configure and execute Abackup operations, acknowledge andresolve alerts for Hyper-V and ESXi clustersmanaged by Prism Central

Widget in Prism CentralMonitor DPMC health and alerts fromwithin Prism Central.

run Avamar


1.1 Background - Avamar

Avamar is a backup solution providing

flexible deployment options for fast, daily,

full backups & is part of the Dell EMC Data

Protection Suite Family. Avamar backup

& recovery software with global, source

side data deduplication with Data Domain

Boost (DD Boost) delivers fast & efficient

protection for Hyper-V & ESXi environments.

Avamar protects VMs by deduplicating data

at the source so that only new, unique sub-

file variable length data segments are sent

during daily full backups. Avamar client

serves the purpose of backup VMs created

in a Hyper-V cluster.

With traditional backup solutions, client

configuration can be challenging because

misconfigurations can degrade the backup

performance. For example, the Serial ATA

Disk on Motherboard (SATADOM) is a flash

memory drive designed for use as a boot

drive on XC series platforms. While flash

memory provides many benefits, it has

a finite number of program-erase (P/E)

cycles you must consider. The SATADOM

shipped with XC series platforms is

designed as an appliance boot device.

Write-intensive activities and processes

leveraged by the XC Series platform are

intended to take place on the SSDs and

HDDs, not the boot device itself. The boot

device is not intended for application use.

Dell recommends limiting, or eliminating if

possible, the running of applications & write-

intensive processes from the SATADOM.

See for more information on best practices

for maximising the operational lifetime of

SATADOM. This is important because we

must install the clients to a local drive where

the logs will be stored. It is the XC Series

administrator’s responsibility to create a

new drive using Acropolis Block services.

These steps come with potential risks if not

done right. Additionally, when configuring

the network, errors can cause problems

with security, speed, & data collisions.

These limitations and challenges laid the

foundation for DPMC development, which

simplifies the configuration and operation,

integrates with XC Series, & provides a user

interface (UI) with a familiar look and feel.

https://www.emc.com/collateral/TechnicalDocument/xcseries-family-best-practices-on-windows2012r2-with-hyperv.pdf




Another important component in this

architecture is the Nutanix Prism Central UI,

which XC Series administrators use regularly

for managing multi-cluster environments.

This UI provides centralized infrastructure

management, one-click simplicity, and

intelligence for everyday operations such

as improved cluster management. The

home dashboard includes a menu bar and

a display section for a collection of widget

tiles with targeted information about the

registered clusters in each tile. Nutanix

opened its doors for integration, which

helped Dell EMC to build a roadmap around

this UI with a goal to integrate Avamar client

into Prism Central UI.

2DPMC provides several valuable

improvements over manually configuring a

traditional backup solution.

Key features include:

• Fewer steps to deploy, mitigating the

risks of mistakes

• UI that is familiar to users of Prism Central

• Simple monitoring of events and alerts

from both DPMC and Avamar

Summary of Key Findings

1.2 Background - Prism Central

• One-click scheduling of backups

• Retention policies can be applied at the

cluster level

DPMC is integrated with Prism Central

to get the clusters information. It is also

integrated with Avamar server and Avamar

administrator to conduct VM backups,

update the retention policy, and create

scheduled backups with one-click.


2.1 Simplified ConfigurationDPMC significantly reduces the number

of steps required to install and configure

the Avamar client and required agents to

take backups when deployed in Hyper-V

environment. Using DPMC process is much

simpler when compared to the backup

of virtual machines in traditional backup

solutions.

We compared the process of installing and

configuring Avamar manually and with

DPMC. Manual configuration of a traditional

backup solution is monotonous, lengthy,

repetitive, and error-prone. The figure below

shows the steps required.The simplified

configuration with DPMC enabled XC Series

administrators to save time while configuring

Avamar client and also minimized the

errors that could potentially arise during


configuration. We conducted multiple tests

while we mimicked Novice, competent and

proficient users. This helped us to determine

how long it takes to install and configure

Avamar client software for each of the user

levels of an XC Series administrator. We then

conducted a similar test using DPMC and

compared the results. When using DPMC,

we saw improvements in the time taken to

configure each environment due to fewer

errors and a simplified process. See the

figure below to see the time each level of

XC Series administrator needs to configure

Avamar client.

2.2 Integrated UI Familiar to Users of Prism Central UI

and understand the operation of DPMC.

The DPMC interface is a single pane of glass

that presents all the critical system health

data in one place or single dashboard

screen. You get notifications for events and

alerts related to your backups which can

give an ability to resolve alerts generated by

DPMC is simple to manage because all the

services in the environment such as Avamar

server, Data Domain, and Prism Central are

integrated into the UI. The UI of DPMC is

designed to look similar to the Prism Central

UI. This allows administrators who are

familiar with Prism Central to easily manage

Novice

Competent

ProÞcient

8 Hours

6 Hours

2 Hours

10 Minutes

10 Minutes

10 Minutes

DPMC Traditional Enterprise Backup Solution

Proficient


Avamar and as well as DPMC. The widgets

contain charts showing the information

gathered from the integrated system

every 15 minutes for the last 24 hours.

DPMC Dashboard displays vital information

like:

• Avamar health

• Avamar hostname

• Avamar version

• Last validated checkpoint

• License expiration

• Activity summary (current backup jobs)

• Events and alerts related to backup jobs

It also organizes all the information from

the Data Domain server and displays the

following:

• Data Domain hostname

• Data Domain health

• Data Domain OS version

• Data Domain system name

• Monitoring status

Additionally, it shows information about

the Avamar metadata storage utilization,

the total capacity of Avamar Virtual Edition

(AVE) metadata storage, the available

capacity of the AVE metadata storage,

and bytes protected by AVE. The graphical

representation of the data gives users a

better understanding of all the integrated

system information and health information

in a single UI.


2.3 Easy Monitoring of Alerts and Operations

2.4 On Demand and Scheduled Backups With One Click

DPMC dashboard provides a view into all events and alerts presented in a similar style to

Prism dashboard. DPMC also provides visibility to the progress of the backup jobs, which is

not easily found in a traditional backup solution.

DPMC scheduled backup is simplified

compared to traditional backup solutions

where you must create datasets and create

a group for the backup.

In DPMC we can use a pre-configured

group that is implemented at the cluster

level. It is not necessary to add a client

to the group because DPMC recognizes

the cluster. Creating a scheduled backup

requires just two screens in DPMC.

The retention policy is also implemented at


the cluster level, so the retention policy can

be defined for the cluster, not for a group

of clients. This can save you a significant

amount of time if the VMs are sprawling.

DPMC has streamlined all the operations

so that users can easily understand the

UI and perform the operations. Prism

administrators who have no knowledge of

Avamar can easily schedule backups with

no errors.

We simplified the UI so that vital tasks can

be performed with one-click.

• One-click backup of virtual machines

• One-click to automate or schedule

backups of XC Series cluster

• One-click to set retention policy

(default)

• One-click to upgrade DPMC software


2.5 Easy Access from Prism Central From Prism Central you are able to see important details from DPMC in deployed applications.

The deployed application wizard displays information like the health, the number of alerts in

Avamar server, the number of events failed, and provides a link to DPMC.

3 Solution Details – DPMC

DPMC was developed by Dell EMC to

simplify the installation and configuration

of Avamar, to integrate with XC Series, and

to provide users with an interface where

the look and feel is similar to Prism Central

for ease of use. DPMC makes things easier

for administrators to configure the Avamar

client and agents associated with it. It is

also easily ordered as a complete solution.

It also installs all the required clients and

plugins to perform backup operations.

DPMC includes the following features:

The HEALTH

of DPMCLink to DPMC

Number of Alerts


• Link and Launch Prism Central widget

• Easier and faster to configure Avamar

• Summary information for Avamar and

any configured Data Domain systems

• Ability to deploy AVE proxy VMs in an

ESXi cluster

• Combined DPMC, AVE, and Data Domain

Alert and Event information

• Multiple cluster backup management by

interfacing to Prism Central

• Ability to launch Avamar Administrator

DPMC is deployed as a VM and sits in the

Avamar environment to configure the

Avamar client and agents associated with

it. It is very simple to configure and install all

the required client and plugins to perform

backup operations. In a click or screen, it can

perform following operations for Hyper-V

clusters mentioned below:

• Creates volume groups in Acropolis

block services

• Configure iSCSI targets in the hypervisor

host

• Formats the iSCSI formatted disks

• Installs the Avamar client and brings it

online to communicate with Avamar

server

• Hyper-V cluster information is critical for

reliable architecture and is achieved by

integrating DPMC with Prism Central and

secondly for backing up VMs, update

retention policy and schedule a backup

is critical and can only be achieved

by integrating with Avamar server

DPMC is launched with a single click from

within the Prism management console and

is capable of monitoring and managing

common data protection functions for

multiple XC Series clusters through a single

interface.

Simple • Single pane of glass view of Avamar and

Data Domain summaries with alerts and

activity log

• Common look and feel with Prism

provides ease of use and enabled

workforce collaboration between IT

teams

Fast • Single click functionality for on-demand

backup of VM’s and editing individual

VM backup policies


• Quickly set retention policies for

multiple clusters

Efficient • Built-in runtime automation takes care

of common backup management tasks

and protects XC Series clusters with

predefined data protection policies to

reduce ongoing management

• Protect new VMs by applying policies

at the cluster level automatically

This integrated solution utilizes Avamar VE

running as a VM on an XC Series cluster

that backs up to a Data Domain target

which features native cloud tiering to send

deduplicated and encrypted data to the

cloud for long-term retention.

DPMC integrates Dell EMC XC Series

appliances with EMC data protection.

DPMC simplifies VM backups and system

monitoring in both vCenter and Hyper-V XC

Series environments.

Data Protection is accomplished through

these approaches:

• Integrating Avamar and Data Domain

with the XC Series hyper-converged

appliance

• Providing a backup target built on

PowerEdge servers with Data Domain

Virtual Edition (DDVE)

• Using dedicated Data Domain Systems

as required backup targets

• Simple configuration of backup schedules

with DPMC

• Streamlined deployments and

automation in the run-time environment

with automated VM protection


3.1 DPMC Architecture andLab Solution Componentsin Hyper-V

The following graphic shows an overview of the high-level integration and data flow between

the XC Series Cluster with Hyper-V, DPMC, Avamar, Data Domain, and cloud storage.


4 Testing Methodology

There were four objectives of this project:

1. Measure the time saved when using

DPMC to deploy a traditional backup

solution in a Hyper-V environment on

the XC Series platform

2. Reduce human errors with the DPMC

solution

3. Showcase the benefits of using DPMC

for backup operations

4. Showcase the features of DPMC and how

it simplifies operations and improves the

management of backup operations

For these tests, we used two identical

environments (London and Vancouver)

with Hyper-V Dell EMC XC series cluster

configured integrated with Avamar server

and data domain for backups. The goal is to

deploy Avamar client software manually on

one cluster and DPMC virtual machine on

second cluster and use it to deploy Avamar

client software and compare the differences

when it comes to installation, steps and time

it takes to complete the task demonstrating

simplicity. We conducted multiple tests

while we are simulating the expert levels of

beginner, intermediate, and expert users.

This helped us to determine how long it

takes to install and configure Avamar client

software for each of the user levels of an XC

Series administrator. We then conducted a

similar test using DPMC and compared the

results.

When using DPMC, we saw improvements

in the time taken to configure each

environment, the total number of steps were

reduced, and fewer screens were required

to complete the configuration.

4.1 Configuration TimeWe configured each environment three

times to calculate the time for the first

attempt as a beginner user, the second as

a competent user, and the third attempt

as a proficient user. In the first attempt

as a beginner, we took eight hours to


install and configure Avamar client and

agents using the Avamar manual process

whereas in DPMC it took just 10 minutes

to configure the whole cluster. In the

second attempt as competent, it took four

hours to complete the installation and

configuration procedure whereas with

DPMC it took 10 minutes. In the attempt

as a proficient user in the environment,

the installation and configuration steps

took two hours whereas with DPMC it took

only 10 minutes to complete. Notice that all

three attempts using DPMC were consistent

because of the simplified UI. Using DPMC

reduces the time consumed to configure

each environment by 90% when compared

to manual configuration.

4.2 Fewer Steps for Installing and Configuring Avamar Clients and Agents

With DPMC, the steps to configure

Avamar client and agents is simplified

and reduced. Overall 50% of the steps

are automated and made easier in DPMC.

Compare the following processes:

Avamar Manual configuration

1. Upload the client related software into Avamar server

2. Install file server VSS agent service

3. Create volume groups in Acropolis

Block storage for each node

4. Initiate and configure iSCSI targets

5. Download and install Avamar client and

Hyper-V vss plugin software

6. configure federated cluster client

DPMC Configuration1. Integrate DPMC with Prism Central

2. Integrate DPMC with Avamar Server

3. Install Avamar Client and agents from

DPMC

4. Create a federated cluster client

5. Backup VMs


The administration process is simplified with DPMC. Only 17 screens are needed to

configure the cluster with DPMC compared to 68 screens in each host when doing

Tasks Avamar Manual Backup (each host)

Upload the client related software into

Avamar server

5

Install file server VSS agent service 5

Create volume groups in Acropolis Block

storage for each node

6

Initiate and configure iSCSI targets 6

Format and create the drive 6

Download and install Avamar client and

Hyper-V vss plugin software

14

Configure federated cluster client 10

Edit file avhypervss.cmd and insert

hostname and IP address

3

Create groups, Datasets, retention policies 10

Take backups 3

With Avamar Manual Configuration

4.3 Number of Screens to Configure Avamar Clients


Tasks DPMC

Integrate DPMC with Prism Central 2

Integrate DPMC with Avamar Server 2

Install Avamar Client and agents from

DPMC

2

Create a federated cluster client

(This is a manual step in manual Avamar

configuration and is in the roadmap of

DPMC to automate and orchestrate this

step)

10

Back up Virtual Machine 1

With DPMC

5 Conclusion

Our testing showed that DPMC has many

advantages over manually configuring a

backup solution. First, it makes it easier

for administrators to install and configure

the environment with no errors because

of the streamlined UI. DPMC also provides

enhanced monitoring with Health Checks,

Alerts, and Events. Integrating with Avamar

server, Prism Central, and Data Domain

make it more resilient and reliable. Using the

One-Click features allows an administrator

to configure on demand and scheduled

backups. Retention policies can be set at

the cluster level instead of VM level. All

these features show strong advantages to

using DPMC for Avamar deployment and

management.


Appendix A - Testing Environment

XC Series Cluster Information

Cluster Name Acropolis OS (AOS) Version

London 5.1.3.2

Vancouver 5.1.3.2

DPMC Deployed

Yes

No


DPMC Information

Host Cluster vCPU Cores Memory Version

London 4 16 GiB 1.0.0.11344

Vancouver 4 16 GiB 1.0.0.11344

Prism Central Information

Avamar Virtual Edition Information

Data Domain Virtual Edition Information

Cluster Name Clusters Managed Acropolis OS (AOS) Version

London London 5.5.0.2

Vancouver Vancouver 5.5.0.2

Host Cluster vCPU cores Memory Virtual Data Disks

Licensed Capacity

Avamar Version

London 2 6 GiB 3 x 1 TiB 2 GiB 7.5.0.183_HF289693_10

Vancouver 2 6 GiB 3 x 1 TiB 2 GiB 7.5.0.183_HF289693_10

Model Backup Target for

vCPU cores

Memory Virtual Data Disks

Licensed Capacity

DDOS Version

DD VE Version 3

London 4 32 GiB 1 x 500 GiB 500 GiB 6.0.0.9-544198

DD VE Version 3

Vancouver 4 32 GiB 1 x 500 GiB 500 GiB 6.0.0.9-544198

http://cloud-evolutions.com/Dell EMC XC Series Intvegrated Data Protection

XC Series Node Information

Node Name

ClusterMembership

CPU Memory Drives Hypervisor Installed

JAMES-01

Model

XC630-10 London 2 x Intel E5-

2690 v4 @

2.60GHz

256GB 6 x 800GB

SSD

Microsoft Hy -

per-V 2012R2

Standard

London 2 x Intel E5-

2690 v4 @

2.60GHz

256GB 6 x 800GB

SSD

Microsoft Hy -per-V 2012R2

Standard


2690 v4 @

2.60GHz

256GB 6 x 800GB

SSD


Standard


2690 v4 @

2.60GHz

256GB 6 x 800GB

SSD


Standard

Vancouver 2 x Intel E5-

2690 v4 @

2.60GHz

256GB 6 x 800GB

SSD


Standard


2690 v4 @

2.60GHz

256GB 6 x 800GB

SSD


Standard


2690 v4 @

2.60GHz

256GB 6 x 800GB

SSD


Standard

JAMES-02 XC630-10

JAMES-03 XC630-10

JAMES-04 XC630-10

JAMES-05 XC630-10

JAMES-06 XC630-10

JAMES-07 XC630-10

JAMES-08 XC630-10 Vancouver 2 x Intel E5-

2690 v4 @

2.60GHz

256GB 6 x 800GB

SSD


Standard

For more information Dell EMC XC Series solutions

visit the XC Series Family Technical Resource Center:

www.dellemc.com/XCSeriesSolutions

DISCLAIMER:

Fact based analysis matters.All other product names are the trademarks of their respective owners.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY:

Inc. Inc. specifically disclaims any warranty, expressed or implied, relating to the test results and analysis, their accuracy,

completeness or quality, including any implied warranty of fitness for any particular purpose. All persons or entities relying

on the results of any testing do so at their own risk, and agree Cloud Evolutions, Inc., its employees and its subcontractors

shall have no liability whatsoever from any claim of loss or damage on account of any alleged error or defect in any testing

procedure or result. In no event shall Cloud Evolutions, Inc. be liable for indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages in

connection with its testing, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event shall Cloud Evolutions, Inc.’s liability,

including for direct damages, exceed the amounts paid in connection with Cloud Evolutions, Inc.’s testing.

Customer’s sole and exclusive remedies are as set forth herein.

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