HYCU for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) is a native Google Cloud service designed to protect applications running in the Google Cloud. The software is available directly from the Google Marketplace. Instead of developing its own mechanisms for protecting data, HYCU for GCP uses the native Google Cloud snapshot capabilities to capture the first copy of data. It also fully integrates into Google Identity and Access Management (IAM).
HYCU manages the snapshot process and then leverages it to create a standalone copy of the data. During copy creation, it offloads the transfer of data from the production instance of the application, so the transfer does not impact application performance. Once the standalone copy is under HYCU management, the user can, through the HYCU interface, trigger either full Virtual Machine or single file recoveries.
HYCU Walk Through
Getting HYCU up and running is straightforward. The user searches for the solution in the Google Marketplace. Once selected, the marketplace redirects you to a signup page using the administrator’s Google Credentials. The HYCU service sends the administrator an email which takes them to a login screen. After authentication HYCU presents the administrator with the HYCU dashboard, which provides the protected status of each application in the environment.
Each instance or application is assigned a backup policy. There are several types of policies available, and users can define their own. The policy configuration screen is straightforward. The administrator sets how often the backup should occur and how long the backup should be retained. The backup policy will automatically backup to a default regional bucket.
The policy screen allows the administrator to setup custom parameters like custom buckets, for example, enabling exact control over where and how HYCU stores protected data copies. The administrator can also control the speed of a restore, where instead of recovering the data from the backup targets, it also keeps a configurable number of snapshot copies locally, which speeds recovery time. The local snapshots do cost money, so the organization needs to balance how many snapshots it keeps. Once administrators create a set of policies, they apply the appropriate policies to the organization’s cloud application instances based on recovery point and time objectives and data retention requirements.
For administrators that do want to keep a close eye on data protection, the dashboard is their primary screen to monitor the protection process. From the dashboard the administrator can see how HYCU is doing meeting backup policies, how many instances it is successfully protecting, the success/failure rate of backups, total bucket capacity consumed by backup, the number of protection tasks run per day and the number of events or warning messages per day. For people who want to integrate HYCU into their other consoles or automation workflows, HYCU does provide APIs for all of the functionality.
Conclusion
As companies migrate to the cloud, they can’t afford to ignore the importance of a stand-alone, protected, point-in-time copy of data to safeguard against accidental user errors, rogue users or cyber-attacks. Most cloud services provide fundamental protection capabilities that require integration with the application or manual execution. Organizations like HYCU are automating the cloud protection process and making it easier to implement and manage, especially across a broad spectrum of applications. The availability of complete data protection solutions should be a crucial part of the cloud selection process.
George Crump is the Chief Marketing Officer at VergeIO, the leader in Ultraconverged Infrastructure. Prior to VergeIO he was Chief Product Strategist at StorONE. Before assuming roles with innovative technology vendors, George spent almost 14 years as the founder and lead analyst at Storage Switzerland. In his spare time, he continues to write blogs on Storage Switzerland to educate IT professionals on all aspects of data center storage. He is the primary contributor to Storage Switzerland and is a heavily sought-after public speaker. With over 30 years of experience designing storage solutions for data centers across the US, he has seen the birth of such technologies as RAID, NAS, SAN, Virtualization, Cloud, and Enterprise Flash. Before founding Storage Switzerland, he was CTO at one of the nation's largest storage integrators, where he was in charge of technology testing, integration, and product selection.
StorageSwiss.com - The Home of Storage Switzerland 