Cloud Libraries

Quick Links to Topics:

Cloud storage is an emerging technology that is quickly being integrated into data centers for its availability and, in some cases, lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). As a DR solution, however, there are still significant questions on its effectiveness. The two biggest questions regarding cloud storage for DR are bandwidth availability and data security.

Using advanced features such as Commvault deduplication can greatly reduce the bandwidth requirements of backing up to cloud storage. However, in a disaster situation where a significant amount of data must be restored, bandwidth can become a serious bottleneck.

Data transfers are achieved using secured channels (HTTPS) and are optionally encrypted to further secure the data sent to the cloud.

Cloud libraries best practices:

Properly plan and analyze if the cloud library scenario meets the needs (i.e. restoring an entire datacenter).
If the link is shared with users, consider throttling Commvault^® bandwidth usage during business hours.
If the MediaAgent does not have direct access to the internet, define the proxy settings in the Advanced tab of the cloud library configuration page.
If the cloud library is accessed through a high-speed internet link (1GB or higher), consider tuning the connection. For more information, refer to the Commvault Online Documentation, 'Cloud Connection Performance Tuning' section.
If using deduplication, by default, jobs are not aged and pruned unless the DDB is sealed. If you want to age and prune jobs as soon as retention is met, configure micro pruning. For more information, refer to the Commvault Online Documentation, 'Configuring Micro Pruning on Cloud Storage' section.

The list of supported cloud providers for Commvault^® software grew over the years — up to 41 providers in the CommCell^® Console and 25 in the Commvault Command Center^TM as of Feature Release 22. For a complete list of supported providers, please refer to Commvault Online Documentation.

Add a Cloud Library

If a cloud provider is used for the cloud library, access information is given by the provider. This includes the URL, username, password or keys, and the container or bucket in which to store the data. This information is required in Commvault^® software when adding the cloud library.

A MediaAgent must be defined to act as a gateway and to send the data to the cloud. If the library is used for secondary copies of data store in local library, it is recommended whenever possible to use the MediaAgent hosting the primary copy to avoid unnecessary traffic. If the MediaAgent requires a proxy to reach the cloud, it can be defined during the cloud library creation process by using the Advanced tab.

To create a cloud library

1 - Right-click Libraries | Add | Select the storage type to use.

Metallic cloud storage – Commvault provided storage.

Cloud storage – Your preferred cloud storage provider.

2 - Provide the library a name

3 - Provide the cloud provider storage type.

4 - Select the MediaAgent that will access the cloud storage.

5 - Select the authentication type to use to access the cloud storage.

6 - Provide the DNS name of the provider storage service.

7 - Provide the cloud storage connection credentials from the list or click create if they were not already configured.

8 - Provide a meaningful name for the saved credentials.

9 - Provide the connection credentials.

10 - Click OK to save the credentials.