Large Data Transfers (backups) – What to look for from a Network, Server, and Storage Perspective

What if you had to transfer a large amount of Data for backups?  Where do you put them?  How do you put them there?  Below I will outline the perspective from the Network, Server, and Storage.

NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE PERSPECTIVE

Transferring large volumes of data like 100 terabytes across wide area networks (WAN) and between data centers can be quite challenging and requires careful planning and optimization of the network infrastructure. Here are some areas you would need to focus on:

1. Bandwidth: This is the first and foremost consideration. You need a network with sufficient bandwidth to accommodate the data transfer without significantly impacting other network activities. You might need to consider upgrading your WAN links, or leasing a dedicated line specifically for the transfer.
2. Latency: The latency of your network can affect data transfer speeds. This is especially important over long distances. Low latency networks or direct interconnects can improve transfer speeds.
3. Quality of Service (QoS): Implementing QoS can prioritize your data transfer traffic and ensure that it does not get bottlenecked by other lower-priority traffic.
4. Network Equipment: Make sure that your routers, switches, and other network equipment can handle the data volume at high speeds without getting overwhelmed. This might require upgrading to higher capacity models.
5. Traffic Shaping and Load Balancing: Traffic shaping can help manage network congestion and improve overall performance. Load balancing can also help optimize the utilization of network links and prevent any single link from becoming a bottleneck.
6. Data Deduplication and Compression: These techniques can reduce the amount of data that needs to be transferred, thereby speeding up the process. Note that this requires processing power, which could affect performance, so it’s a trade-off.
7. WAN Acceleration: WAN acceleration tools can optimize the data transfer process over a WAN link. These tools use various techniques, including caching, compression, and protocol optimization.
8. Network Monitoring: Use network monitoring tools to identify potential bottlenecks and points of failure in your network. This can help you proactively address issues and ensure a smooth data transfer.
9. Security: Security mechanisms like VPNs or encryption can slow down data transfers, but they are essential for protecting the data. Make sure your security measures are optimized and not unnecessarily slowing down the network.
10. Testing: Before undertaking the actual data transfer, do a dry run with a smaller data set to identify any potential issues and estimate how long the transfer will take.

Remember that transferring large amounts of data will likely impact other network operations, so it’s often best to schedule such transfers during off-peak hours if possible. A well-planned approach can help minimize the impact on regular operations and ensure a smooth and efficient data transfer.

 

SERVER INFRASTRUCTURE PERSPECTIVE

Transferring large volumes of data like 100 terabytes between servers requires careful planning and optimization of the server infrastructure. Here are some considerations:

1. Storage Capacity: Both source and destination servers need to have enough storage capacity for the data. For the destination server, this needs to include space for the incoming data and any additional room required for processing or backup.
2. I/O Operations: High-speed data transfer requires high I/O (input/output) rates. This may mean upgrading storage drives to higher performance models or adding more drives to create a RAID configuration that can deliver better I/O.
3. Processing Power: Data transfers can be CPU-intensive, especially if data compression, encryption, or deduplication is involved. Your servers need to have sufficient CPU resources to handle these tasks without slowing down.
4. Memory: Adequate RAM is needed for efficient data transfer, as it provides a buffer for I/O operations. Lack of sufficient memory can cause bottlenecks.
5. Network Interface Cards (NICs): The speed of your NICs can limit data transfer rates. Consider upgrading to 10 GbE or faster if you’re not already using them. Also, consider implementing techniques such as NIC Teaming or Bonding for better performance and redundancy.
6. Operating System and Software: Ensure your server OS and software can handle large data transfers efficiently. Some OS configurations or software settings may need to be adjusted for optimal performance. Also, make sure your file system can handle large volumes of data.
7. Data Transfer Tools/Protocols: The tools or protocols you use for data transfer can greatly impact speed. Protocols such as FTP, HTTP, or SMB might not be the most efficient for large data transfers. Tools like Rsync, Robocopy, or dedicated data migration tools can often provide better performance.
8. Concurrent Transfers: Depending on the data and your infrastructure, it may be faster to run multiple concurrent transfers of smaller data sets rather than one large transfer.
9. Data Integrity Checks: These checks ensure data isn’t corrupted during transfer, but they can slow down the process. You need to strike a balance between speed and data safety.
10. Security: While security measures like encryption are necessary, they can also slow down data transfers. You’ll need to ensure that your servers have the resources to handle these tasks.
11. Server Location: Physical distance between servers can affect transfer speed. If possible, choose a destination server that is geographically close to the source.

Before undertaking the transfer, it would be wise to run tests with smaller data sets to identify potential bottlenecks or issues. Also, consider the impact on other services that the servers may be running and try to schedule the transfer during off-peak times if possible.

 

STORAGE INFRASTRUCTURE PERSPECTIVE

Transferring large volumes of data like 100 terabytes also requires significant considerations from a storage infrastructure perspective. Below are some main points to focus on:

1. Storage Capacity: Ensure there is sufficient storage capacity at the destination to accommodate the incoming data. Additionally, consider the growth rate of your data to plan for future storage needs.
2. Storage Performance: The speed of your storage infrastructure could become a bottleneck. Consider the type of storage media you are using (HDDs, SSDs, NVMe, etc.), their interface speed, and the IOPS they can handle.
3. Storage Array Configuration: How your storage array is configured can impact the speed of data transfer. RAID configurations that allow for faster read/write speeds (like RAID 10) may be advantageous. However, this must be balanced with data protection considerations.
4. Data Deduplication and Compression: These features can help reduce the amount of data to be transferred, thereby potentially speeding up the process. However, these processes can be resource-intensive and could affect performance.
5. Storage Network: The Storage Area Network (SAN) or Network Attached Storage (NAS) architecture and network speed can have a significant impact on data transfer rates. Network bottlenecks can severely impact performance, so consider network speed and bandwidth. Protocols like iSCSI, Fibre Channel, or NFS should be chosen and configured for optimal performance.
6. Data Layout and Fragmentation: Over time, data can become fragmented, which can slow down large data transfers. Consider defragmenting volumes before performing a large-scale data transfer.
7. Scalability: Consider the ability to scale your storage infrastructure as your data grows. This can be particularly relevant when planning for large transfers and future growth.
8. Data Protection and Backup: It’s crucial to ensure data is protected during and after the transfer process. RAID configurations, erasure coding, or other redundancy methods can protect against data loss. Also, consider how backup procedures might need to change after the transfer.
9. Data Security: When data is at rest, it should be secured through methods like encryption. During transit, security measures should also be in place to protect from unauthorized access or interception.
10. Storage Management Software: Using effective storage management software can help monitor the health and performance of your storage infrastructure, which can be especially important during a significant data transfer.

Remember, the ultimate goal is to ensure that your storage infrastructure can support the data transfer without losing data, without undue impact on other operations, and without creating future problems. A thorough assessment and testing before undertaking the transfer can help achieve this.

 

IS THERE A “BEST” WAY TO DO IT

Transferring large amounts of data like 100 terabytes to an off-site location can be a complex process, and the best method will depend on your specific needs and circumstances. Here are some potential options:

1. Physical Transfer: With the sheer size of 150 TB, transferring data over the internet might be too slow, even with a high-speed connection. In such cases, physically moving hard drives might be a viable option. You could save your data onto multiple high-capacity drives and then transport these to your offsite location. Keep in mind, this requires careful handling and secure transportation to avoid data loss or theft.
2. Direct Network Transfer: If both the primary and offsite locations have high-speed network connections, you could transfer the data directly. However, this would likely take a considerable amount of time and could impact other network operations. If considering this option, it’s often best to do this incrementally or during off-peak hours to minimize disruption.
3. Cloud Storage Services: You can consider using cloud storage services like AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure for offsite backups. These services offer large storage capacities, data redundancy, and security features. However, uploading 150 TB of data will take a significant amount of time and bandwidth. Also, you’ll have to consider the ongoing cost of storing such large volumes of data in the cloud.
4. Data Transfer Service: Some cloud providers offer a physical data transfer service. For example, AWS has a service called Snowball, and Google Cloud has Transfer Appliance. These services involve sending you a physical device to which you transfer your data, then you send the device back, and they upload the data to your cloud storage bucket. This can be faster than trying to transfer large volumes of data over the internet.
5. Hybrid Approach: A combination of these methods could also be used. For instance, you might do an initial data dump via physical transfer and then do incremental backups over the network or to the cloud.

Regardless of the method you choose, it’s essential to encrypt the data to protect it from unauthorized access during transit and at rest at the offsite location. It’s also critical to verify the integrity of the data after the transfer to ensure it wasn’t corrupted during the process. Finally, you should have a well-documented process for recovering the data in case it’s needed.