Why You Should Choose Object First Ootbi Over Erasure Coding Options for Backup Storage

As cyber-attacks become increasingly common, erasure coding (EC) has become a popular method for safeguarding information. Although this technique distributes data across multiple nodes to improve reliability, it is often overly complicated and expensive. Object First offers an alternative aimed at meeting your backup needs through the 3-2-1-1-0 backup strategy. In this blog, we will break down what erasure coding is, its benefits and drawbacks, and why Object First's approach may be more suitable for your storage solution requirements. 

What is Erasure Coding?

Erasure coding is a data protection technique that divides data into fragments, adds redundancy through parity shards, and distributes these components across several nodes. This method ensures that lost fragments can be reconstructed, protecting against data loss. In most scenarios, EC requires at least five to seven nodes to maintain optimal storage use and fault tolerance. While some providers might suggest using as few as three nodes, this can lead to a poor balance between redundancy and storage efficiency.

Key Benefits and Drawbacks of Erasure Coding

When deployed at scale, erasure coding has some appealing advantages, like high data durability and the ability to handle large-scale applications, making it a solid option for production environments that need strong fault tolerance. However, for backup use cases, the disadvantages often tip the scale the other way. The complexity of set-up and management can be daunting, and the high upfront costs are a significant factor to consider. Plus, potential performance slowdowns during data recovery operations following node loss add extra layers of challenge. It's worth noting that erasure coding isn’t really designed for typical backup scenarios, which limits its overall effectiveness. With all these factors in play, while erasure coding has its perks, the drawbacks generally outweigh the benefits, making it less ideal for many backup solutions. Let’s dive into it below.

Advantages

High Data Durability

Erasure coding provides excellent data durability by ensuring that information is spread across multiple nodes within a single data center. This means that even if a node suffers a catastrophic fault and goes offline, the data can still be recovered, offering substantial resilience and peace of mind in critical operations.

Suitable for Large-Scale Applications

This technique is particularly effective for large-scale production environments where handling significant amounts of data is crucial. Its ability to maintain high fault tolerance makes it ideal for hyper-converged systems, enabling organizations to manage vast datasets efficiently while minimizing the risk of data loss.

Disadvantages

Not Ideal for Backup Needs

Erasure coding is primarily designed for production environments and isn’t well-suited for typical backup scenarios that require quick backup and restore processes or multiple immutable backups.

Complex Setup and Management

The setup requires detailed planning and can be complicated to manage with backup software like Veeam, often involving numerous workarounds and the potential need to disable important features following best practices.

Potential Performance Slowdowns

Relying on multiple nodes can lead to performance issues, as increased network traffic and database bottlenecks may occur during routine backup tasks, especially for larger datasets.

Impact of Node Failures on Operations

If a node fails, the overall performance can drop, making it difficult to meet RTO (recovery time objective) and RPO (recovery point objective) targets during backup or restore operations.

High Initial Investment

Implementing erasure coding typically requires a hefty upfront cost, as setups often need a minimum of seven identical nodes to function optimally.

Concerns About Redundancy

While it offers redundancy in a single site, erasure coding doesn’t properly address data resilience; without offsite backups, you could face significant risks in the event of a fire, flood, or other physical events. Using vendors’ proprietary replication to mirror backups in additional, offsite erasure coding installations is costly and adds to the administrative burden: Veeam doesn’t natively keep track of such extra backup copies.

Given All the Cons, Why Use It?

Despite their complexities, some vendors promote EC solutions in backup markets. These products are primarily designed for production systems, yet backup scenarios require different strategies for redundancy. This misalignment can lead to less-than-ideal outcomes, emphasizing the need for solutions that align with your specific backup needs.

Object First Approach: Simplifying Data Resilience

Object First understands the need for alternatives to complex solutions like erasure coding. Our product, Ootbi (Out-of-the-Box Immutability), prioritizes simplicity, affordability, and strong data protection. Here’s how in a nutshell:

1. Backup using the 3-2-1-1-0 Strategy

We focus on the well-regarded 3-2-1-1-0 strategy, which entails having:

• Three copies of your data, including production data
• Two different types of backups
• One off-site backup
• At least one immutable copy
• Zero errors

This strategy ensures your data remains available and secure.

2. RAID 6 for Redundancy

Our system utilizes RAID 6, which allows for two simultaneous drive failures on a single node. This setup enhances data protection, complemented by additional hardware redundancies across key components to reduce downtime. Even in the event of a complete node failure, devices under support can be recovered, and backup data can be preserved so long as the drives remain available.

3. Optimized for Veeam Operations

Object First is designed to integrate seamlessly with Veeam’s best practices, including immutability and backup requirements. Ootbi utilizes Veeam’s SOS API (Smart Object Storage) for both management and performance, enabling you to achieve reliable backup speeds and capacity reporting from the start.

4. Scalability and Affordability

Ootbi allows you to begin with a single node and expand as necessary, deferring upfront investment. This flexibility enables you to improve performance without overextending your resources.

To Wrap Up

While erasure coding does offer a solid level of data protection, its complexities and costs can be quite a hassle, especially for smaller setups. That’s why Object First has opted for a more straightforward approach with our RAID/3-2-1-1-0 strategy in Ootbi. This gives you a reliable, easy-to-manage storage solution tailored to meet your backup needs.

If you’re ready to explore how Ootbi can enhance your data protection strategy, we’d love to show you! Request a demo today, and let us assist you in finding the right fit for your backup requirements. For more information, feel free to check out our website!