Elastic Disaster Recovery: A Deep Dive into AWS

Interested in learning more about  Elastic Disaster Recovery (DRS)? Read this guide or watch the webinar below to learn more.

DRS is a crucial service provided by AWS. If you’re a seasoned AWS user, you might recall this service under its former name, CloudEndure. Now fully integrated into the AWS console, DRS offers a suite of advanced features designed to revolutionize your disaster recovery strategy. This post will provide a deep dive into AWS DRS, covering its functionality, pricing, and real-world applications, all aimed at demonstrating how this service can significantly enhance your disaster recovery capabilities.

The Evolution of Elastic Disaster Recovery

AWS DRS has evolved significantly since its days as CloudEndure. Now embedded within the AWS console, it has transitioned from a standalone product to an integrated service, making it more user-friendly and accessible. Our speaker, who has spent five years crafting disaster recovery solutions for various clients, will share detailed insights and practical examples drawn from their extensive experience.

Meet the Expert

Our speaker, Eric Schuller, who leads solutions architecture at Aligned Technology Group, brings nearly three decades of experience in the tech industry. With a history that includes spearheading AWS’s nonprofit solutions architecture for healthcare and contributing to major tech giants like Cisco, Arista, and VMware, he offers unparalleled expertise in disaster recovery.

Aligned Technology Group (ATG): An Introduction

For those unfamiliar with ATG, we are a technology solutions provider specializing in AWS. Our expertise spans cloud advisory, cloud engineering, migration, data projects, and more across diverse industries such as manufacturing, gaming, finance, healthcare, software development, and local government.

Elastic Disaster Recovery vs’ Backup

Let’s explore the intricacies of Elastic Disaster Recovery and its operation. Disaster recovery is often mistaken for backup, but the two serve distinct purposes. While backup involves storing data copies, disaster recovery ensures the swift restoration of critical systems with minimal data loss.

Key Metrics: RPO and RTO

Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) are critical metrics in disaster recovery.

• RPO specifies the maximum age of the data that must be recovered for normal operations to resume.
• RTO defines the maximum allowable downtime before the business process must be restored to avoid severe consequences.

AWS DRS is engineered to meet the stringent RPO and RTO requirements often mandated by cybersecurity insurance policies, ensuring it is a dependable disaster recovery solution.

How AWS DRS Works

Setting Up DRS

DRS enables continuous block-level replication of your critical systems to AWS. Here’s a simplified overview:

1. Install Replication Agents: These agents handle continuous block-level replication, compressing and encrypting data during transmission.
2. Staging Area: Data is transferred to a staging area within your AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) as Elastic Block Store (EBS) volumes.
3. Initiating Recovery: Recovery can be initiated via the AWS Console, allowing you to select specific machines or groups.

Replication Endpoints

DRS supports a variety of endpoints, including Hyper-V, Windows, Linux, and VMware. While mainframes and certain network hardware are not supported, modern cloud-native applications are ideally suited for this service.

Real-World Implementation

Organizations across industries rely on AWS DRS for secure, efficient disaster recovery:

• Healthcare: A healthcare provider replicated its critical applications to AWS, eliminating the need for an expensive secondary data center.
• Manufacturing: Manufacturers use DRS to identify defects in production in real-time, enhancing efficiency and reducing costs.

Common Questions Addressed

• How do companies generate revenue on the cloud? Companies can host their entire product on the cloud, offering software, databases, and other services. GoDaddy, for instance, largely operates on AWS.
• Do we need a VMware cluster in AWS for VMware workloads? No, AWS DRS manages replication at the OS level, converting VMware data into an Amazon Machine Image (AMI), which removes the necessity for VMware infrastructure within AWS.

DRS Pricing

AWS DRS pricing is influenced by several factors:

• Hourly rate per source server: $0.028 per hour (~$21/month).
• Data storage: Approximately $0.05 per GB per month for GP3 SSD, equating to about $8/month for 100GB.
• Replication servers: Pricing varies by instance type (e.g., T3 small costs $0.0208/hour).

Given that pricing may fluctuate, we recommend consulting with our team at ATG. AWS also offers funding programs to help offset costs, particularly for organizations just beginning their cloud journey.

Conclusion

Elastic Disaster Recovery on AWS presents a cost-effective, efficient, and scalable solution for organizations seeking to protect their data and maintain business continuity. With low RPO and RTO, versatile integration options, and competitive pricing, DRS is an indispensable element of any robust disaster recovery plan.

For more information and personalized consultations, please reach out to us at Aligned Technology Group. Stay prepared and secure with AWS DRS!