What’s New and Noteworthy About RecoverPoint for VMs 5.2.1
Earlier this year, Dell EMC announced the release of RecoverPoint for VMs 5.2.1 and with it the arrival of a capability longed for by data center admins. For the first time 
ever, admins will have the option to protect their VMware virtual machines in AWS by way of RecoverPoint. Given the sustained enthusiasm they’ve encountered surrounding this topic, our Data Center engineers deemed it worth covering more closely.
At its core, RecoverPoint for VMs is a software-only solution that can protect VMware environments at the VM level. This latest version, 5.2.1, offers the customary on-prem replication feature, but it goes a step further. It also provides a clear and secure path to cloud-based disaster recovery. Should organizations utilize its Cloud DR functionality, they can secure their VMs using either AWS or VMC on AWS. Admins can configure replication to occur either synchronously or asynchronously, depending on their DR/BC objectives.
So what is it about the integration of RecoverPoint for VMs and the cloud that has data center personnel so excited? We can think of at least four reasons:
- RPO measured in minutes – RecoverPoint for VMs uses a proprietary take on snap-based replication to allow organizations to recover to a point in time mere minutes before an incident instead of hours (or worse). Data snapshots are compressed and encrypted before being routed to a home in Amazon S3 object storage. As DR/BC needs vary by organization, the parameters that govern this process are customizable. This can significantly reduce the amount of data lost during a disaster recovery scenario while speeding up the return to normalcy.
- Hands-free capabilities – The solution’s orchestration feature can automate testing, failover and failback workflows. Taking these tasks off the plates of data center resources serves a number of purposes. It eliminates much of the risk of an accidental misstep during the failover or failback process. Also, automating testing frees resources of a mundane, time-consuming task, the kind that may often get pushed aside in favor of the day’s more pressing “fires.” In this way, regular testing is performed, without burdening data center resources, to provide some peace of mind that the disaster recovery process will unfold as needed in the event of an actual emergency.
- Powerful yet cost-effective recovery – RecoverPoint for VMs won’t further tax already thin technology budgets. There’s no need for additional licensing to leverage the solution. Also, the use of Amazon’s AWS S3 cloud storage can further keep costs down. Additionally, the solutions driving restore services only activate as needed rather than running continuously. RecoverPoint for VMs may even lead to cost savings on the network side through intelligent WAN bandwidth utilization.
- Familiar, unified operations – Data center admins will find a bit of familiarity in RecoverPoint for VMs. The solution integrates with VMware vCenter and uses that pairing to power the orchestration and automation capabilities outlined above. It’s also possible to failover directly to an on-premises vCenter deployment. Having vCenter at the core of so much of what RecoverPoint for VMs is looking to do helps to simplify and streamline the user experience while also making DR/BC processes less imposing.
Next Steps: Continue exploring RecoverPoint for VMs 5.2.1
Want to learn more about RecoverPoint for VMs 5.2.1? Our Data Center team is here to help! They can guide you through this most recent version and analyze your organization’s current approach to DR/BC. They can help your team determine if RecoverPoint for VMs 5.2.1 belongs in your strategy and they can help close any process gaps. To start a conversation about RecoverPoint for VMs 5.2.1 or data center disaster recovery in general, reach out to us by visiting https://www.arrayasolutions.com//contact-us/.
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