Data protection components
The data protection solutions that IBM Storage Protect provides consist of a server, client systems and applications, and storage media. IBM Storage Protect provides management interfaces for monitoring and reporting the data protection status.
Server
Client systems send data to the server to be stored as backups or archived data. The server includes an inventory, which is a repository of information about client data.
- Database
- Information about each file, logical volume, or database that the server archives, migrates or creates a backup of, is stored in the server database. The server database also contains information about the policy and schedules for data protection services.
- Recovery log
- Records of database transactions are kept in this log. The recovery log helps to maintain data consistency in the database.
Client systems and applications
Clients are applications, virtual machines, and systems that must be protected. The clients send data to the server, as shown in Figure 1.
- Client software
- For IBM Storage Protect to protect client data, the appropriate software must be installed on the client system and the client must be registered with the server.
- Client nodes
- A client node is equivalent to a computer, virtual machine, or application, such as a backup-archive client that is installed on a workstation for file system backups. Each client node must be registered with the server. Multiple nodes can be registered on a single computer.
Storage media
- Storage devices
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The server can write data to hard disk drives, disk arrays and subsystems, stand-alone tape drives, tape libraries, and other types of random-access and sequential-access storage. Storage devices can be connected directly to the server or connected through a local area network (LAN) or a storage area network (SAN).
- Storage pools
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Storage devices that are connected to the server are grouped into storage pools. Each storage pool represents a set of storage devices of the same media type, such as disk or tape drives. IBM Storage Protect stores all of the client data in storage pools. You can organize storage pools into a hierarchy, so that data storage can be transferred from disk storage to lower-cost storage such as tape devices.
- Cloud object storage
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IBM Cloud Object Storage (COS) is a scalable cloud storage service that is designed for durability, resiliency, and security. The service helps to store, manage, and access your data through IBM's self-service portal and RESTful APIs. You can also use the COS service to connect applications directly to COS for using other IBM Cloud services with your data.
Data that is stored by using IBM Cloud Object Storage is encrypted and dispersed across multiple geographic locations and accessed over the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) by using a REST API. The COS service makes use of the distributed storage technologies provided by IBM Cloud Object Storage System.