We offer reference materials and resources to help you understand Continuous Data Protection and how it might fit into your IT environment to help you achieve your data protection and availability objectives.
NEW! CDP White paper "CDP - Solving the problem of recovery" - Download now.
CDP changes the cost structure of data protection, improves operational recovery, and provides a foundation for implementing application specific Service Level Agreements (SLAs), as well as a tiered storage model for your data processing environment.
What you will learn from this white paper includes:
1. Best practices for data protection and operational recovery
2. How CDP works to address your data protection, recovery and availability requirements
3. The different choices for implementing CDP using real life examples
Definition of CDP
The SNIA DMF CDP SIG defines CDP as follows:
Continuous data protection (CDP) is a methodology that continuously captures or tracks data modifications and stores changes independent of the primary data, enabling recovery points from any point in the past. CDP systems may be block-, file- or application-based and can provide fine granularities of restorable objects to infinitely variable recovery points. So, according to this definition, all CDP solutions incorporate these three fundamental attributes:
1. Data changes are continuously captured or tracked
2. All data changes are stored in a separate location from the primary storage
3. Recovery point objectives are arbitrary and need not be defined in advance of the actual recovery
A number of recognized technological approaches deliver CDP, including block-, file- and application-based. Today, many vendors offer varying degrees of support and awareness of specific application and data environments. But regardless of the underlying technological approach utilized, CDP can offer faster data retrieval, enhanced data protection, and increased business continuity with lower overall cost and complexity.
CDP Terminology
Any Point In Time: Any Point in Time (copy, replica, etc.) “APIT” refers to the ability to access or recreate the exact data state as it existed at any previous point in time. Typically unique to CDP technology.
Block-based Continuous Data Protection: Continuous Data Protection that operates at the block level of logical devices. As data blocks are written to primary storage, copies of the rights are stored and managed by the CDP system.
Continuous Data Protection (CDP): Continuous Data Protection is a methodology that continuously captures or tracks data modifications and stores changes independent of the primary data, enabling recovery points from any non-predetermined point in the past. CDP systems may be block-, file- or application-based, and can provide fine granularities of restorable objects to infinitely variable recovery points.
File-based Continuous Data Protection: (CDP) Continuous Data Protection that operates at the file level. All changes to files and file meta data are stored and managed by the CDP system.
Scheduled Point In Time: A SPIT is a Scheduled Point In Time image that is created in conjunction with external processing to create a stable recovery point for a file system, database or application.
