Project for a backup system

lucas

Dear sales team,

I am looking to setup an automated, remote, Linux-based backup system to perform regular backups of a bunch of hosts running in European datacenters. I am envisioning the following setup with Time4VPS : 1 Linux KVM-based VPS coupled to an OpenVZ-based storage VPS. The backup software would run on the regular (KVM) VPS, as it requires a bit of processing power to run a DBMS, whereas the storage VPS would be exploited for the actual storage of large backup sets.

Is this feasable in practice?

Does it strike you as a valid way of doing things? Perhaps there is something better, more rational that I could plan?

In this expected setup, would it be possible for me to mount volumes from the storage VPS on the KVM VPS host as local volumes, using iSCSI or similar protocols? Is there a different, recommended way to exploit storage VPS space from a KVM VPS host for optimal speed and reliability?

Regards,

Justina

Hello, Lucas,

In short - yes, it is definitely possible, and you will be able to adapt this configuration to our servers.

You can use any file system on Linux VPS (KVM) servers. However, our Storage VPS (OpenVZ) servers support NFS only. You will be able to mount the Storge VPS server disk to your KVM server using the above-mentioned file system. Here's a tutorial on how to do this if your servers use Ubuntu, and here's a tutorial on how to do it if you prefer CentOS.

Our servers use local IP addresses. They are not resolved from the outside but can be used in our data center. If you mount the drive via a local IP address, no server data traffic will be counted from your servers' monthly bandwidth limit. Besides, higher network speeds can be extracted over local IP.

lucas

Thank you, Justina. NFS sounds good, I don't know of anything more time-tested.

Regarding local IP addresses providing "higher" networks speeds : using them, would I be able to achieve 1GB/s transfer rate between a KVM server and a storage server (without purchasing the 1GB/s option)? The documentation I've found only mentions "increase[d] port speed" without further quantifying.

Justina

It is not necessary to have a 1 Gbps component when sending data via a local IP address. With a standard port, speeds higher than 100 Mbps can be reached. However, we don't guarantee a speed of 1 Gbps, as there are other limits that could have an impact (such as VPS storage subsystems limitations).

lucas

Oh! I'm glad you pointed that out. A couple more questions.

How contractual are these storage subsystem limits? Can they just change at any time and apply to the VPS systems I would be renting after I subscribe?

With local IP addresses, can you guarantee a speed of 50 MB/s (roughly 400 Mb/s) (matching the storage VPS I/O speed limit) between two VPS systems? Or any minimum speed?

lucas

@Justina ?

Justina

Hello, Lucas,

Apologies for the delayed reply. The specified subsystem limits for our servers have not changed for some time. They have been the same for several years. I’m talking about standard speed here, without an SSD component. Disk speed with SSD component has only recently been increased, previously limits with SSD component were lower. For Storage VPS, unfortunately, the SSD component cannot be ordered, so the speed will always be 50 MB/s I/O, and you will have a limit of 200 IOPS.

We did the testing. The maximum speed that could be seen through a local IP address with a Storage VPS was about 25 MB/s, 200 Mbps. Thus, the speed was higher than the standard network port (i.e., 100 Mbps). However, the read/write speed is a matter of optimization, disk speed, and the protocol chosen.

lucas

Hello sales team,
I just thought I'd drop a line and let you know that I am very pleased with the service in general, and with this particular setup which you recommended (a modest Linux VPS accessing a large Storage VPS over NFS) My backup system has worked quite reliably throughout this past year and I was happy to sign up for a second term.
Best regards!
Lucas

Giedrius

@lucas said:
Hello sales team,
I just thought I'd drop a line and let you know that I am very pleased with the service in general, and with this particular setup which you recommended (a modest Linux VPS accessing a large Storage VPS over NFS) My backup system has worked quite reliably throughout this past year and I was happy to sign up for a second term.
Best regards!
Lucas

Hey @lucas,

thanks for the kind word. I am sure our team is trying to do deliver the same good service in the future