The announced version 10 of Veeam Backup & Replication backup solution introduces a brand new feature called Veeam Continuous Data Protection (CDP).
CDP is basically a continuous replication job that lower the replication RPO from minutes to seconds, 15 seconds is the default.
Compared to standard Veeam Replication that uses snapshots to do replication, the new capability uses the new VMware vSphere API for I/O Filtering (VAIO) technology to intercept and redirect VM I/O requests to the replica without creating VM snapshots. This solution has a very little impact on VMs and storage.
vSphere APIs for IO Filtering (VAIO)
VAIO is a Framework that enables their parties (Partners) to develop filters that run in ESXi and can intercept any I/O requests from a guest operating system to a virtual disk. An I/O will not be issued or committed to disk without being processed by I/O Filters created by 3rd parties.
CDP Policy Job
The CDP Policy Job is a policy similar to Replication Job but has a different Schedule page.
You can define three schedules for CDP:
- RPO - the maximum acceptable data loss in case of a protected VM failure (default 15 seconds)
- Short retention - how many restore points of previous setting (RPO) you want to keep (default 4 hours)
- Long retention - additional restore points to take/keep (as default a restore point is taken every 8 hours and kept for 7 days)
The restore process is a little bit different compared to standard replication and the VM can be recovered to a specific state identified in the screen with a different color:
- crash-consistent - the data is in the identical state it was in at the time of the backup
- application-consistent - backups also capture all data in memory and all transactions in process
Due to the impact on network requirements, CDP should be used for critical business VMs where a lower RPO is required. In addition high transitional applications will not handle the very lowest interval.
Standard Veeam Replication can still be used but templates and powered off VMs won't be replicated by CDP.
Veeam Backup & Replication 10 is still in pre-release code and screenshots and features may change before its final release.
