No option to run DataLab test for CDP replicas

[kirst.mcleod]

Hello,

VEEAM support case: 04769536

We recently upgraded to VAO v4, primarily to test out CDP replicas as our SAP business team primarily are striving for near continuous data replication. Currently we replicate every 15 minutes using standard replicas. I was very surprised to find that after setting up the CDP replica plan that there was no option to run a DataLab test. I understand the technology is very different for CDP replicas but having the ability to test in an isolated environment is an integral and very important part of our DR process.

I wanted to ask what is being done to address this? Without the ability to run a DataLab test for CDP replicas we will therefore not be able to move over to using this technology which would be a great disappointment, and undoubtedly have to go back out to the marketplace to find an alternative solution.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,
Kirsty McLeod

[Vitaliy S.]

Hi Kirsty,

DataLabs extend SureBackup/SureReplica jobs in Veeam B&R. Today, there is no way to use CDP replicas in these jobs as data is written to the target location constantly and you will always be verifying not the actual state of the VM. With this fact in mind (data is changing every second), can you please clarify how do you want this test to be done?

Thanks!

[kirst.mcleod]

Hi Vitaliy,

I would have expected that we could have still disabled the CDP policy and used the replica within a DataLab, as we do at present with the standard replications. For our labs we are not always interested in the most recent state of the data, as we keep multiple restore points we sometimes recover to something within the lab that is not the most recent. Being able to verify VM's in a DataLab in my opinion is what makes VAO great, and to not have that functionality with CDP is a huge negative. If you can't verify your processes within a DataLab for CDP you are going to just hope that the failover works, and all your applications and scripting will just work. We spend hours every month putting replicas into labs to thoroughly test our applications and processes.

The fundamental statement here is: you are providing us now with the ability to continuously replicate data but with no way to test. There is no way our business is going to make a decision to move to CDP without this test lab functionality. I'm sure I'm not alone in that judgement.

Regards,
Kirst

[Alec King]

Hello Kirsty,

Let me start by saying that verification for CDP replicas in a Veeam virtual lab is already being researched here in R&D. We certainly realise the importance of testing and validation in the scenarios where CDP is deployed and we have been actively working on that capability.
As previously noted, the underlying technology is completely different from other methods such as those employed for Veeam standard replicas. So we are building new methods and integrations. This makes it difficult to promise specific release vehicles and timescales. However the work is already in progress.
So you can rest assured that we will ship this feature in an upcoming release of Veeam B&R, and when we do it will of course be fully supported by Veeam Orchestrator.

Thanks for your feedback!

[kirst.mcleod]

Hello Alec,

Thanks for the response and confirmation that this work is already in progress, that's exactly the information I was looking for and hoping to hear. We will continue with our business processes as they are today and await the product release that will support the DataLab functionality for CDP in the future.

Regards,
Kirst

[jtupeck]

I am going to second this request and am paying close attention to the progress in newer releases of VDRO. (I notice that it is still not a feature in the recent v5 version *cue sadface, here*)

Here is what I am proposing as a workaround to a customer who I recently implemented VDRO for:

In the CDP policy setup, I suggested setting up the network mappings to go from the production site network VLAN to the DR site's Data Lab VLAN. Seeing as they test their DR strategy quarterly, if they disable the CDP policy and simply choose the 'Run' option from the VDRO Orchestration Plan settings, this will allow the CDP replicas to power on in the Data Lab networking scheme without production impact. If they ever had to actually fail VMs over to the DR site because production is down, all it would take is a quick edit of the CDP replica VM's network settings to put them into their respective production VLANs.

So, essentially, a DR test would consist of disabling the CDP job (or not...testing both ways has been successful in the proof of concept deployment) and then choosing 'Run' option from the menu, while a true DR scenario would consist of the same either before or after editing the CDP replica VM's network settings. So far, in testing, this seems to work fine and has shown no issues, but I am not sure of what else is happening under the covers that could cause a problem. Can someone on the Veeam Team please review this thought process and validate it as an acceptable workaround until official testing procedures are developed?

[Alec King]

Your request is noted! Here in Veeam R&D we are working on the testing of CDP replicas. However this is complex and high-performance code, so I cannot promise exactly when we might ship this feature.

Regarding your workaround, this is acceptable technically. By repointing the network mapping in the CDP policy, you allow VDRO to simply perform a failover into the isolated network. Good idea!

[jtupeck]

Thanks Alec! Good to know that we’re on the right track. They’re running a quarterly DR test this Thursday and we have a meeting about it this afternoon, so I’ll be sure to let them know.