Data Protection
Ensuring that your data is protected is a critical part of managing Nimble arrays. Volumes that hold multiple components of an application, such as databases and transaction logs, can be grouped in volume collections. A volume collection includes a set of protection schedules to create snapshots of each associated volume at specified intervals.
The protection schedule specifies the downstream partner where the volume and snapshot data is replicated. If a protection schedule is not used for replication, it does not have a downstream partner.
Snapshots are captured synchronously to assure a consistent backup of the entire application environment. Generally, each application uses a different volume collection.
The Nimble array ships with several predefined protection templates to use as the basis for volume collections. Protection templates include snapshot and replication schedules, as well as retention policies that are based on best practices for commonly used applications. You can copy the predefined templates and modify the copies, or create new protection templates to best match the requirements of applications used in your environment.
All volumes assigned to the volume collection use the same protection configuration of scheduled snapshots, replication, and retention settings. After the volume collection is created, it can be modified as needed.
Even if you plan to take snapshots of volumes manually, you can create a volume collection without schedules on those volumes. This capability is available in the command-line interface (CLI).