National Distribution Alliance (NDA)

National Distribution Alliance upgraded from tape backups to Assure MIMIX DR for AIX

Data and application availability are critical to NDA’s business. Consequently, it needs a disaster recovery solution that allows for much faster recovery and more complete protection than tape-based backups, and with less room for human error.

At one time, National Distribution Alliance protected its data by backing it up to tape nightly. However, that was inadequate because recoveries were too slow and once-a-day backups left too much data vulnerable to loss.

One of the problems with nightly tape-based backups is the nightly part. Data entered or updated during the current day is not yet on any backup tape. Consequently, up to a day’s worth of data is always at risk—and more if the most recent tape is unavailable or corrupted.

Another problem with nightly tape-based backups is the tape part. To perform a recovery, the backup tape has to be retrieved, possibly from an offsite location, it has to be mounted onto a drive and the necessary data have to be extracted and loaded unto the production server. In the event of a disaster, it might also be necessary to first acquire and configure a new server. In all, recovery can take hours or even a few days. For a dynamic business like NDA, that’s far too long.

In addition, tape backups and recoveries involve many manual processes to locate, transport and mount tapes and run the necessary jobs. And, humans are fallible and, consequently, manual processes create opportunities for error.

NDA recognized that it needed a disaster recovery solution that protects all of its data, allows data to be recovered almost immediately and minimizes the chance of human error.

NDA now has a disaster recovery solution that is far more robust than was possible with tape-based alternatives. NDA uses Assure MIMIX DR for AIX to protect the AIX environment it uses to run its business.