This library released by MiniTool gives a complete introduction to one of the cloud computing services – disaster recovery as a service. It covers its meaning, architectural models, operating models, functions, pros, cons, as well as popular providers. Find everything you need below!
About Disaster Recovery as a Service
What Is Disaster Recovery as a Service?
Disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS), also known as recovery as a service (RaaS), is a type of cloud computing. by enabling a full recovery in the cloud, it is used to protect data or apps from human or natural disasters or service disruption at one location.
By protecting data and offering standby computing capacity on-demand to facilitate more rapid app recovery, DRaaS is different from cloud-based backup services. DRaaS capacity is delivered in a cloud-computing model. Thus, recovery resources are only paid for when they are used. This makes recovery as a service more efficient than a traditional disaster recovery hot site or warm site where the recovery resources must be running at all times.
The term “recovery as a service (RaaS)” is considered to be part of the nomenclature of cloud computing, together with software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), as well as infrastructure as a service (IaaS).
Also Read: [FYI] Desktop as a Service & Other “as a Service” Solutions
Architectural Models of Disaster Recovery as a Service
RaaS architectural models vary depending on the location of the primary or source production app or data.
1. From-cloud Disaster Recovery as a Service
From-cloud recovery is when the primary or production data or application is in the cloud and the backup or recovery target site is a private data center.
2. To-cloud Disaster Recovery as a Service
To-cloud DRaaS is when the source app is in the user’s primary private datacenter and the cloud is used as a backup or recovery destination.
3. In-cloud Disaster Recovery as a Service
In-cloud RaaS is when both the source and recovery sites are on the cloud side.
Operating Models of Disaster Recovery as a Service
In general, there are three operating models of DRaaS.
1. Managed DRaaS
In this model, third parties take full responsibility for disaster recovery. Organizations need to work closely with disaster-recovery-as-a-service vendors to keep all infrastructure, app, and service changes up to date. This is the best selection for firms that don’t have the expertise and time to manage DR.
2. Assisted DRaaS
If you want to take responsibility for certain aspects of your disaster recovery plans, or if you have custom apps that may be difficult for a 3rd party to take over, supported disaster recovery as a service may be a better option. Selecting this option, the service provider offers services and expertise to help you optimize the recovery process but not be responsible for applying some or all of the recovery plans.
3. Self-Service DRaaS
This is the cheapest choice. Companies are responsible for planning, testing, and managing the recovery. The vendors only provide backup management software and hosts backups and virtual machines in remote locations. Self-service disaster recovery as a service is ideal for companies with in-house DR and cloud computing expertise.
Related article: [Overview] Remote Desktop Services Definition and Functions
Disaster Recovery as a Service Functions
The disaster recovery plan is critical to business continuity. Many disasters that have the potential to cause great damage to an IT organization have become more frequent in recent years. They are usually of the below types.
- Cyberattacks
- Power outages or equipment failures
- Human wrong operations
- Natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, fires, hurricanes, etc.
The DRaas works by replicating and hosting servers in a third-party provider’s facilities instead of in the physical location of the customer in case of a disaster shutting down the customer’s site.
True disaster recovery as a Service mirrors a complete infrastructure in fail-safe mode on virtual servers including compute, storage, and networking functions. Customers can continue to run apps from the service vendor’s cloud or hybrid cloud instead of from the disaster-affected physical servers.
This means recovery time after a disaster can be faster or even instant. Once the physical servers are covered or replaced, the processing and data will be transfer back to them.
Disaster Recovery as a Service Advantages and Disadvantages
Now, let’s see the benefits and shortcomings of DRaaS.
Advantages of DRaaS
- No need to build a secondary data center for DR purposes.
- No need for a like-for-like copy of storage hardware between the DR site and the primary data center.
- Offering DR capabilities for small businesses that lack the expertise to establish DR plans.
- Resources are replicated to many different sites to ensure continuous backup.
- DRaaS replicates any environment and doesn’t favor one provider or platform.
- Flexible protection enables customers to protect only the data they want.
Disadvantages of DRaaS
- Customers must trust the DRaaS vendors and meet the defined recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO).
- Users must rely on disaster recovery as a service provider’s security when failover happens.
- Potential bandwidth challenges, especially with continuous data replication.
Do you know: How to Do PC Disaster Recovery?
Recovery Test with Recovery as a Service
Sandboxes are a common feature of DRaaS solutions. A RaaS sandbox is a pool of infrastructure resources in which a test copy of the disaster recovery as a service-protected app can be deployed and tested.
The sandbox copy is restricted from accessing the network and is only accessible to the system administrator. It’s applied to test the DRaaS recovery process without disrupting the running application. Since the sandbox is in the cloud, the resources are created on demand, paid for while used, and discarded when the recovery test finishes.
The Market of Disaster Recovery as a Service
Since an increasing number of corporations are moving technical infrastructure to cloud services, the need for backup continues to grow. In the past, companies that rely on large cloud service providers like Microsoft are usually unaware that they are responsible for backing up and recovering their own data.
Yet, nowadays, this awareness grows. So, the market for DRaaS is expected to grow quickly. In 2017, the worldwide market for disaster recovery as a service reached 2 billion dollars. Some experts predict that the market will approach 13 billion by 2023.
Things You Should Consider When Choosing a DRaaS
- Reliability
- Performance
- Access interoperability
- Assistance
- Occupation of resources
- Costs
- Complexity
- Comprehensiveness
Disaster Recovery as a Service Providers
The following are the top DRaaS providers currently in the market.
- Microsoft Azure Site Recovery
- Amazon AWS
- VMware
- Veeam
- Zerto Virtual Prplication
- Unitrends
- Carbonite Cloud Backup
- Acronis
- IBM
- Rackware
- Quorum onQ
- Zetta Backup and Recovery
- Cloudian
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About The Author
Position: Columnist
Helen Graduated from university in 2014 and started working as a tech editor in the same year. Her articles focus on video creation, editing, and conversion. She also has a good knowledge of disk management and data backup & recovery. Through an in-depth exploration of computer technology, Helen has successfully helped thousands of users solve their annoying problems.