As cloud-first mandates push more application development, database hosting, compute workloads and more to clouds like Amazon Web Services (AWS), it’s equally important that backup, security and cloud professionals alike ensure that their data is reliably recoverable in the face of any downtime or data loss scenario.
At Veeam, we understand the importance of having a secure backup that’s compatible with the unique way your cloud data is stored and structured, which is why we are thrilled to introduce the latest version of Veeam Backup for AWS v6! This new release comes with innovative features that will not only enhance the backup and recovery strategy for our users, but also improve their hybrid cloud experience.
AWS backup should be recoverable, secure and cost-efficient
With the rise of ransomware attacks, it has become increasingly important to prioritize data protection as part of any robust security strategy. Our 2023 Data Protection Trends Report revealed that 85% of organizations experienced at least one ransomware attack in the last 12 months, so it’s no longer a question of if you will be attacked, but when and how often. To effectively safeguard your data effectively, it is crucial to review the AWS Shared Responsibility Model since it is your responsibility to ensure your data is both secured and protected, and more importantly, recoverable. Merely storing data in the cloud (even in a highly available design) or relying on snapshots for backups won’t mean your data is recoverable in the face of a cybersecurity attack.
Although snapshots are incredibly convenient due to their low recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs), they are not the most reliable backup option. Snapshots are linked to and stored with their source instance; therefore, it is common for snapshots to be compromised when production data sets are as well. Moreover, snapshots are not cost-effective due to their high storage costs; there is a better way!
Getting the most out of immutable storage with V6
As ransomware attacks become more sophisticated, merely separating backup data may no longer be sufficient. For this reason, we are excited to announce that NEW Veeam Backup for AWS v6 now offers immutability, enabling you to store backups in immutable Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) storage through S3 Object Lock. By creating backups in a WORM state (write once read many), you can safeguard your backup data from not only ransomware attacks, but human error as well. This is crucial because securing your data is your responsibility, and immutability helps provide an additional layer of protection. Not only will your data be better protected against ransomware, but immutability also helps prevent accidental deletion and ensures data integrity.
Immutability settings on the Veeam Backup for AWS console (image caption)
With this new benefit, you need to be careful when setting up the Amazon S3 Object Lock on your instances. Avoid setting the Amazon S3 Object Lock beyond your retention requirement for the data. Otherwise, you will have to wait longer to delete the backup data and end up incurring additional costs and potentially be out of compliance, too.
Object Lock must be enabled in the AWS console to make the bucket immutable.
The latest wave of enterprise-ready scalability enhancements
V6 also addresses the challenge of managing multiple resources within AWS. Recognizing the importance of time, we have introduced new features that not only streamline the backup and recovery process but also facilitate scalability. These features include:
- Protect more instances with a single appliance: Several enhancements have been made to the Veeam Backup for AWS code base to enhance scalability in even the largest of environments.
- Improved backup and archive sessions: Veeam Backup for AWS now separates backup and archive tasks into distinct sessions, enabling more granular monitoring and reporting.
- Enhanced internal backup appliance tasks: This feature reduces the number of API calls to the public cloud while improving backup appliance tasks internally.
The license and backup software portability you need for cloud migration projects
With every workload ported to Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), and every database refactored and migrated from on-premises storage to Amazon Relational Data Service (Amazon RDS), legacy software tied to the on-premises environments becomes incompatible – wasting valuable budget funds.
The beauty of Veeam is that no software investment becomes stale and unusable shelfware. Veeam Backup for AWS natively protects these newly formed cloud workloads, maintaining operational consistency from on-premises VMware to cloud-hosted IaaS and PaaS services.
The best part is the license transforms with the workload shift. The Veeam Universal License (VUL) offers a portable license format that unlocks entitlement for vSphere (VMs), Linux machines, Amazon EC2 and many more environments alike.
Plus, the license key can be installed in two ways:
- The VUL license can be installed in Veeam Backup & Replication, which can be connected to the Veeam Backup for AWS appliance to entitle usage.
- Or NEW for V6, the VUL license can be installed directly into the Veeam Backup for AWS
License entitlement flexibility is just yet another indicator of Veeam’s commitment to hybrid cloud data protection.
Wrap Up
Immutability, enterprise scalability and hybrid cloud licensing and deployment make Veeam Backup for AWS the comprehensive and reliable backup and recovery solution your organization requires. To experience the benefits of V6, deploy our FREE version today and backup up to 10 instances at no cost! If you have any questions or want to learn more, you can chat with our cloud specialists.