Virtual TapeServer 6.04.03 Operations and Administration Guide

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Using Instant DR
Instant DR is an advanced software module that enables you to create and maintain identical
copies of backup data on Virtual TapeServer (VTS) disk storage at one or more locations. In
the event of a disaster, remote recovery operations can begin immediately using the backup
data copy on a remote VTS server.
Instant DR is designed to transmit data from one site to another over a wide area network
(WAN). Virtual tapes are transmitted from one vault to another. The Instant DR jobs indicate
the pools or virtual tapes to be transmitted. When a job is initiated, a copy of the virtual tape
is transmitted over the network link. Be aware that the virtual tapes duplicated on a remote
vault consume additional disk space, which is the same amount as the original virtual tape.
VTS servers cannot “see” each others’ pools and virtual tapes until the Instant DR jobs run.
The pools and virtual tapes in the primary operation page look identical if all virtual tapes are
copied. If selected virtual tapes are copied using the Instant DR job, the virtual tape and pool
lists are different. Automatic Event Management Service (EMS) mounting chooses from pools
as it would in day-to-day operations because the virtual tapes will be created in the new vault.
If an encrypted virtual tape is stored on an Instant DR server and the Instant DR server
attempts to perform an operation on the tape, SecureVTS must be enabled and the key server
that was used to encrypt the tape must be configured on the Instant DR server. If not, the
tape operation will fail and an error message is displayed on the Instant DR server indicating