Configuring Replication for Cloud Storage

You can choose to use a cloud vendor provided replication method to replicate backup data to another region or location. This configuration allows you to access the backup data at a different cloud region or location, possibly with a different set of user credentials.

For example: Cloud library 1 is configured on MediaAgent 1, where MediaAgent 1 has read and write access to the mount paths. After running a backup, the data is replicated using the cloud vendor provided replication method (for example, Cross-Region Replication for buckets supported by AWS). You can configure MediaAgent 2 with read-only permissions to access the replica cloud library that points to the replicated bucket.

Note that with this method, as the replication is not performed by Commvault software, you need to ensure that the data is successfully replicated to the destination region or location, before accessing it.

Procedure

1. Create a cloud library on the source MediaAgent.

   For more information on creating a cloud storage library, see Creating a Cloud Storage Library.

2. Backup the data to the cloud library.

   For more information on how to run backups, see the documentation for the specific agent.

3. Replicate the backed up data from the source location using the cloud vendor provided replication method to the destination loaction.

4. Configure the destination mount path from where you can run the read and write operations.

   For more information, see Configuring To Access the Replicated Mount Path.

5. To ensure that data can be read from the replicated cloud location through the shared MediaAgent you can restore the data by selecting the destination MediaAgent on the Advanced Options tab of the Restore Options dialog box.

   For more information, see Browse and Restore Using MediaAgent.

Additional Information

• For Azure Blob RA-GRS (Read-access geo-redundant storage) replication, set the host url to -secondary.blob.core.windows.net or secondary.blob.core.windows.net on the mount path associated with the replicated read-only MediaAgent.

  • For more information on RA-GRS, see https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-redundancy#read-access-geo-redundant-storage.

  • For more information on setting up the host url, see Modify the Access Information.

• For Amazon S3 replication, enable versioning in both the source and destination buckets in Amazon S3.

  Commvault only uses the current version of an object. Hence, when Commvault sends a delete request to the source bucket, Amazon S3 adds a delete marker to the object's version ID.

  For deleted objects to be synced on the both the source and destination buckets, make sure the following options are configured.

  1. Configure the nCloudDeleteVersionedObjects additional setting on the pruner MediaAgent associated with the cloud library.
     

  2. For replication on source bucket, make sure that the following options are defined in the rule to make sure the deletion of objects are in sync on both the source and destination buckets.

     Under Additional replication options, select the following check boxes:

     • Replication Time Control (RTC)
     • Delete marker replication
     • Replica modification sync

  A lifecycle rule must be set up to clean up previous versions from both the source and destination buckets.

  Create a life cycle rule on both the source and destination buckets with the following options, based on the minimum number of days that the user wants to retain the delete markers.

  • Under Lifecycle rule actions, select the following check boxes:

    • Permanently delete noncurrent versions of objects
    • Delete expired object delete markers or incomplete multipart uploads

  • Under the Permanently delete noncurrent versions of objects section, enter 1 in the Days after objects become noncurrent field.

  • Under the Expired object delete markers or incomplete multipart uploads section, select the Delete expired object delete markers check box.

  • Click Save.