Hardware configurations: Best Practices

Planning hardware configurations

Most physical disk drives can serve as a backup storage device for Catalogic vStor, provided they are compatible with block-oriented file system formats. For optimal performance, it is recommended to use high-speed storage solutions such as hard disk drives (HDDs) with a minimum speed of 7,200 RPM, or solid-state drives (SSDs).

The ideal hardware setup for Catalogic vStor — including storage capacity, the count of Catalogic vStor appliances, and the number of CPUs — varies based on several factors. These factors include the volume of data you currently have, how frequently you back up this data, the duration for which you retain backups, and the rate at which your data changes.

For personalized advice tailored to your specific circumstances, please reach out to Catalogic Support.

Below is a general guideline table. This table assumes a scenario where you perform one backup instance per day and maintain a retention period of 30 days:

Recommended configuration for each scenario to retain data for up to 30 days

Source data size	Dedup-lication	Number of Catalogic vStors	RAM	CPU	Cache disk size	Log disk size	Estimated data size
10 TB		1 vStor	48 GB	16 CPUs	100 GB	10 GB	24 TB
	•	1 vStor	64 GB	18 CPUs	100 GB	10 GB	16 TB
50 TB		1 vStor	64 GB	20 CPUs	500 GB	10 GB	100 TB
	•	1 vStor	128 GB	21 CPUs	150 GB	10 GB	70 TB
100 TB		1 vStor	64 GB	20 CPUs	500 GB	10 GB	200 TB
	•	2 vStors	128 GB	21 CPUs	200 GB	10 GB	140 TB
250 TB		3 vStors	64 GB	20 CPUs	500 GB	10 GB	500 TB
	•	4 vStors	128 GB	21 CPUs	200 GB	10 GB	350 TB
500 TB		5 vStors	64 GB	20 CPUs	500 GB	10 GB	1,000 TB
	•	7 vStors	128 GB	21 CPUs	200 GB	10 GB	700 TB

Suppose you need to back up 100 TB of critical data—encompassing files, databases, and virtual machines—daily, with a retention period of at least 30 days. Without data deduplication, you'll require a single Catalogic vStor appliance with a minimum of 200 TB storage capacity, 64 GB of RAM, 20 CPUs or logical cores, a 500 GB cache disk, and a 10 GB log disk. Enabling data deduplication reduces the storage requirement to 140 TB but necessitates two Catalogic vStor appliances, each equipped with 128 GB of RAM, 21 CPUs or logical cores, a 200 GB cache disk, and a 10 GB log disk.

It's advisable to consult with Catalogic for an accurate estimate of storage needs tailored to your environment and data protection strategies. Initially, provision storage conservatively due to the inherent difficulty in predicting an environment's rate of change and growth.

Best Practices for Reliable Operations

Maintain operational reliability of Catalogic DPX and Catalogic vStor by adhering to the following:

• Avoid adjusting advanced tuning settings in Catalogic vStor unless directed by Catalogic experts, as improper adjustments could lead to system failure and data loss.

• Assign each Catalogic vStor to a single enterprise.

• Ensure the network infrastructure can support the required data transfer rates. Utilize multiple network adapters, NIC teaming, and port trunking for safeguarding server volumes concurrently.

• With the Catalogic vStor virtual appliance, refrain from reverting to previous states using VMware snapshots or Microsoft Hyper-V checkpoints to prevent system failures and data loss.

Best Practices to Enhance Security

To bolster the security of the Catalogic DPX solution, including Catalogic vStor, consider these tips:

• Implement firewalls to secure Catalogic DPX and all related nodes—Catalogic DPX Client nodes, Catalogic vStor appliances, storage servers, etc.—and configure them to allow necessary data transfers through specified ports, detailed in the Catalogic DPX Knowledge Base article "Firewall Support Requirements and Implementation".

• Avoid installing antivirus software on the Catalogic DPX Master Server or the Catalogic vStor appliances.

Starter Data Disk and Storage Configuration

The Catalogic vStor virtual appliance comes with a starter data disk, which initializes upon logging into the Catalogic vStor Management Interface. Expand your storage by adding local or network storage to Catalogic vStor. For Catalogic vStor on Linux, you should prepare a storage disk beforehand. Adding Log Disks and Cache Disks

To enhance I/O resilience, especially with data compression or deduplication, incorporate log and cache disks into your Catalogic vStor setup. Opt for high-speed storage such as NVMe SSDs for these disks. Log disks should be local, not network-based, and consider disk mirroring for added resiliency. It's advisable to include log disks when total storage capacity exceeds 25 TB and cache disks when it's over 50 TB, to improve deduplication and read speeds during recovery and verification processes.