The document discusses trends in cloud-based high availability and disaster recovery (HA/DR) systems for IBM Power Systems, emphasizing automation, multi-cloud strategies, enhanced security, and cost optimization. It outlines the features of Assure MIMIX for AIX, which provides reliable, real-time replication and flexible recovery options, enabling businesses to ensure business continuity with minimal downtime. Key aspects include the importance of automated disaster recovery workflows, the integration of AI/ML for predictive analytics, and the shift towards disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS).

1. Protecting Your
Power Systems with
Cloud-based HA/DR
Bill Hammond | Director, Product Marketing
Dan Simms | Product Management Director
John Gay | Director, Sales Engineering

2. Today’s Topics
• Trends in Cloud-based HA/DR
• Cloud HA 101
• HA/DR for IBM Power Systems
• Assure MIMIX for AIX
• Q & A
2

3. Trends in Cloud
Based HA/DR

4. Top cloud use cases
Presentation name
4
Production
• Run production
AIX, IBM i, Linux,
and Windows
with high
availability and
secure
connectivity to
on-premises apps.
Disaster
Recovery
• Run cold, warm,
or hot disaster
recovery
environments to
ensure business
continuity.
Dev/Test
• Increase
developer
productivity, test
coverage, and
accelerate
DevOps adoption
with on-demand
application
environments.
Virtual Labs
• Educate and train
customers and
sales teams with
on-demand
virtual training
labs.
Demos and
POCs
• Rapidly create
functioning demos
and proofs of
concepts that
prospective
customers can
test drive without
IT support.

5. 2024 trends in HA/DR in the cloud
• Cloud providers will invest
heavily in automating
disaster recovery
workflows.
• This includes automated
failover, failback, and
testing procedures,
minimizing human
intervention and ensuring
faster recovery times.
Focus on Automation and
Orchestration
• Organizations with
complex IT environments
will adopt multi-cloud or
hybrid cloud DR strategies.
• Replicating data and
applications across multiple
cloud providers or a
combination of on-
premises and cloud
infrastructure for added
redundancy and flexibility.
Multi-Cloud and Hybrid
Cloud DR Strategies
• Cloud providers will
prioritize robust security
features within their DR
offerings.
• Encryption of data at rest
and in transit, multi-factor
authentication, and
vulnerability management
tools to ensure data
security during disaster
recovery scenarios
Enhanced Security Measures
5
• We may see the use of
AI/ML for predictive
analytics within DR
• Enables proactive
identification of potential
issues, automated resource
scaling during peak
demand, and faster
recovery times through
intelligent decision-making
Rise of AI and Machine
Learning

6. • As data privacy regulations
continue to evolve, cloud
DR solutions will need to
adapt to meet stricter
compliance standards.
• Includes data residency
options and comprehensive
audit trails for recovery
processes.
Evolving Regulatory
Compliance Requirements
• Cloud providers will offer
more granular control and
flexible pricing options for
DR services.
• Businesses will pay only for
the resources they use and
optimize costs based on
their specific disaster
recovery needs
Growing Emphasis on Cost
Optimization
• Growing focus on disaster
prevention strategies.
• Includes proactive
infrastructure monitoring,
vulnerability management,
and comprehensive
security practices to
minimize the likelihood of a
disaster occurring in the
first place.
Focus on Disaster Prevention
6
2024 trends in HA/DR in the cloud
• Leverage the scalability,
cost-effectiveness, and
ease of deployment offered
by DRaaS solutions.
• Pre-configured disaster
recovery infrastructure in
the cloud, eliminating the
need for extensive upfront
investment and in-house
expertise
Increased Use of of Disaster
Recovery as a Service

7. Downtime is expensive
• Ironically, avoiding planned downtime for
necessary bug fixes and security updates results in
a greater risk of unplanned downtime
• On average, unplanned downtime costs 35%
more per minute than planned downtime**
• The cost per minute for small businesses lands
around $427 … for larger businesses, it'll be closer
to $9,000*
• The average revenue cost of an unplanned
application outage can exceed $500,000 per
hour for large enterprises in any sector
* SolarWinds Pingdom Blog – Average Cost of Downtime per Industry - 2023
** Forrester-The Real Costs Of Planned And Unplanned Downtime report – 2019

8. Cloud HA 101

9. Cloud Basics for Power Systems
Cloud Environments are Virtual Environments
• IBM i and AIX runs on virtual LPARs (a.k.a. VMs) configured
via cloud software consoles provided by the Cloud provider
• It is all about the LPAR, not the hardware!
• The LPAR will run on different hardware within the cloud
• Serial number may change, or Virtual Server Serial
Numbers (IBM i) may be in use
• Limited access to physical tape devices
• Limited access to hardware
• Performance fundamentals still matter!
• Cloud LPARS must have underlying processor, memory
and storage resources to support the application
processing requirements
SYS 1
LPAR A
SYS 2
LPAR B
Primary Backup
LPAR C

10. Cloud Environment Basics
Software Licensing needs to accommodate
cloud operating environments
• LPARs are Mobile within the cloud
• Physical Serial numbers will change
• Hardware features will change
• Capacity is the new licensing metric
Primary Backup
West
LPAR C
East
LPAR A

11. Sync-by-Wire
Physical Tape devices scarce in the cloud
• LPARs may be scratch loaded with an OS/TR/Cum level
• OS Maintenance is done by the user
• Full system restores take longer
• Shipping tape for restore operations may be impractical
• Start up the scratch installed LPAR and bring everything
over though the network!

12. HA/DR for IBM Power Systems

13. Migrate While Active to the Cloud!
Logical Replication enables a synchronized
Pre-Production migration target
• Migration Target LPAR in sync real-time with old production system
• Audits verify the integrity of the replicated objects
• Iterative cutover practice runs
Precisely Migration experts available to assist
• Migration approach planning
• Software installation and configuration
• Sync Point
• Verification testing on new system
• Final switch to your new system
• Coordination with your staff to ensure a successful migration
NEW
PROD
NEW
BACKUP
OLD
BACKUP
OLD
PROD
West East

14. Cloud based protection
for IBM i and AIX
After migration, use an Assure Availability solution from Precisely to
protect your new server from downtime and lost data
An Assure MIMIX product is already installed and configured
Makes implementation of an HA/DR strategy easy
NEW
PROD
NEW
BACKUP
West East

15. Production
DR
Possible Topologies
Production
Production on Premises, DR in the Cloud
Live Partition Mobility support for DR in Cloud Cloud to Cloud
Switchable Production on Premises, DR in the Cloud
Production
Local HA
or
query system
Production
DR
PROD
PROD PROD
PROD DR
DR DR
DR
HA

16. Advanced Topologies
Cloud to Cloud Active-Active Target Snapshots for Backup
Production
Production
Production
PROD PROD
PROD DR

17. Logical Replication enables Infrastructure
Flexibility
Technology highlights
• Hardware-independent replication technology enables
infrastructure choice and flexibility
• Mix of server models
• Mix of supported OS versions
• Mix of storage types
• Mix of physical, virtual and cloud servers
• Mix of network types
• Supports Managed Services and Cloud
• Ground to Cloud
• Cloud to Cloud
• Cloud to Ground
How it adds value
• Assure MMIX gives you the flexibility to replicate between the
IBM i environments that work best for you and your budget
Virtual
LPARs
Physical
Cloud

18. Assure MIMIX for AIX
Reliable, affordable disaster recovery for
critical AIX data and applications

19. Assure MIMIX for AIX
• Software solution that rivals the features of traditional SAN
solutions
• Reliable, Real-Time Replication
• Fast, Flexible Recovery Options
• Easy Browser-Based Management
• Ideal for cloud AIX HA/DR Solutions and Migrations
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20. Reliable, Real-Time Replication
Real-time change capture
• Each change is captured as it is made (block level)
• Sent in background across any IP network
• Applied at the recovery server
Efficient and reliable
• Bandwidth friendly replication
• Optional compression to further minimize bandwidth usage
• Optional encryption for added security of replicated data
• Write order consistency ensures data integrity
• Efficient resynchronization after lost connectivity
Flexible
• Supports replication across any distance
• Platform independent to enable replication between any
• Hardware models / Storage types
• OS versions
• Application / Database
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IP Network
Production
Server with
Protected
Storage
Local or
Remote
Recovery
Server

21. Data Tap
• Supports AIX JFS, JFS2, RAW logical volumes, Oracle ASM and any
business application
• AIX uses LVM to virtualize physical storage
• Data Tap, a kernel extension resides in the volume manager layer at the
logical volume level
• Data Tap duplicates every data modification (add/change/delete)
operation at the logical volume level from business applications within
a ‘protected volume group’ to a ‘journal’
• The journal is a logical volume that is part of the same protected volume
group, a separate volume group or a separate disk
• LFCs contain before & after images of changed data blocks plus time
stamp and other metadata
Application
System Call Interface
Virtual File System
File System
Data
Volume Manager
Device Driver
User
Space
Kernel
Space
Protected
Volume
Group
Journal
Log File Containers
(LFCs)
Data Tap
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22. Extends and Enhances IBM PowerHA for AIX
Integration of Assure MIMIX DR and IBM PowerHA
provides
• Full-featured local clustering with IBM PowerHA
• Off-site disaster recovery protection with
Assure MIMIX DR
• Recovery to any point in time using RightTime CDP
• Ability to meet the aggressive RTO and RPO targets
• Same powerful failover capabilities in Enterprise Monitor
Integration Notes
• Assure MIMIX DR for AIX replication groups integrate
into PowerHA’s resource group configuration
• PowerHA 7.1’s “NFS-crossmount” feature is supported
• Seamless PowerHA failovers and DR recovery
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PowerHA
SystemMirror
for AIX
Assure MIMIX DR for AIX
Off-Site

23. Expandable Replication Architectures
Single source to single target
Broadcast to two targets
Many sources to a single target
• 2 targets only
• Local or remote
• Choose HA/DR
server at failover
time
Production
Server
HA/DR
Server
Production
Server
HA/DR
Server
HA/DR
Server
• Max of 16 replication groups (16-to-1)
• Each source replicates to its own
target LUN
• Requires target server to be recovered
after a failover (no failback)
• Ideal for service providers offering
DRaaS or central IT groups providing
DR service to multiple corporate
divisions
• Target sizing is key (processor, disk and
bandwidth) - compression is
recommended
HA/DR
Server
Production
Server
Production
Server
Production
Server
23

24. Failover, Intelligent & Automatic Re-sync, Failback
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Failover
Manually failover from Production
Server to Recovery Server in the
event of unplanned downtime
(e.g. server failure).
Failback
After data is re-synced,
failback to the original
Production Server.
1 2 3
Users on-line Hot stand-by
Out-of-service /
Being resynced
Server Status:
Resync
Once Production Server is
repaired, bring Production
Server up to date with
Recovery Server.
24
Normal Mode Failover Mode Resync Mode Normal Mode
Recovery
Server
Production
Server
Recovery
Server
Production
Server
Recovery
Server
Production
Server
Recovery
Server
Production
Server
Recovery
Server
BAM!

25. Pre-patchPost-patch
Database
checkpoint
Quarterly
close
Any customer
configurable event
Current
Time
Nightly Tape Backups
recover up to last good backup
Periodic Snapshots
recover up to last snapshot
RightTime CDP with Event Markers
recovers the most current data, points
in time beforehand, and to marked events
Replication with RightTime CDP
recovers the most current data and
all points in time beforehand
Basic Replication
recovers the most current data
Number of Recovery Points over Time
DR Technologies
Assure MIMIX DR for AIX with CDP and Event Markers
Provides the Most Flexible Set of Recovery Points
Continuous Data Protection (CDP)
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26. Fast, Flexible Recovery Options
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Assure MIMIX DR for AIX offers flexible recovery point
options
• Nearly instantaneous recovery at the push of a button
• Real-time replication lets you recover to the point of failure
• Continuous data protection (CDP) adds the ability to recover
from a past point in time
Continuous Data Protection (CDP) provides flexible recovery
points
• Choose the hour:minute:second to roll back to
• Event markers allow recovery to predefined point in time
• The most flexible recovery point options on the market
CDP lets you go back in time
• Go back in time to restore lost or damaged data
• Roll back the production server to a previous point in time
• Go back to the point before a rolling disaster began
Roll back a ‘crashed’ database
in minutes

27. Snapshots and Virtual Role Swap
27
Snapshot
• A “view” of the recovery server data at a specific point in time
• Can be rewound to a point in time, down to a second
Snapshots allow you to
• Perform virtual role swaps with no production server downtime or
impact to your RPO/RTO SLAs
• Test Migrations to the cloud before going into production
• Perform consistent hot tape backups
• Validate data before saving to permanent storage
• Perform point-in-time data mining (CDP)
• Generate point-in-time reports (CDP)
• Recover specific point-in-time data items (CDP)
• Create archives
Disk space-efficient snapshots have their own snapshot journal
and work independently of the replica
Replica
(up-to-date
copy)
Recovery
Journal
Snapshot
(point-in-time view)
Snapshot
Journal
Recovery
Server
Data Tap
Production
Server
Snapshots improve productivity and ROI
by making data available for backup,
reporting, testing and more with no
downtime or production system impact

28. Easy Management with the Assure Unified Interface
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Convenient, easy management
• Browser-based graphical user interface
• Mobile-friendly, color-coded summary dashboard for at-a-glance
status
• Email and SNMP notifications for lights-out operation
• Integrated procedures for planned and unplanned failover, tailored
to DR and business continuity needs
Highly customizable
• User-defined views
• Configurable to match your working style
• Custom pages portlet for tailored dashboard
Centralized Enterprise Management
• Multi-instance, multi-product, multi-platform
• Supports Assure MIMIX for AIX and IBM i products in the same UI
Reduces administration
time to minutes a day!

29. Wizards Simplify Snapshot & Rollback
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Snapshot Recovery Wizard
• Quick creation of a snapshot to any point in time – to any
second in the rollback window
• Mounts file systems so they are ready for application use
• Can also specify a file system consistency check
Production Server Rollback Wizard
• Undo changes on the Production Server Mounts file
systems so they are ready for application use
• Useful when the production database becomes corrupt
because of logical corruption check

30. Guided wizards make disaster recovery simple and reliable
• Allows easy failover from production to the recovery server
• Recovery to any point in time
• If a DB corruption propagates to the recovery server, recover to an
earlier point in time when data had business-level consistency
• If failure occurs during routine processing (e.g. end of month), restore to
before the failure and re-run the process.
• Align RPO with business process lifecycles
• Planned or Unplanned failover options
• “Digitized” DR Runbook: Prompts the administrator at logical
verification points during the failover procedure
• Use snapshots to verify desired recovery point
• WAN-optimized Resync process ensures minimal amount of
replication
• Planned Failback procedure
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Wizards – Disaster Recovery Failover

31. Command Line Interface Available
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Command Line Interface (CLI) Commands
• rtattr – Manage product attributes
• rtdr – Manage disaster recovery failover & failback
• rtmark – Set an event marker
• rtmnt – Mount all file systems associated with specified context
• rtstart – Load data tap and start replication process
• tstop – Stop replication and optionally unload data tap
• rtumnt – Unmount all volumes for specified context
• sclist – Provide information about product containers
• scconfig – Manage data tap and drivers
• scsetup – Make or remove logical volume with specified context
• scrt_ra – Create clone on recovery server
• scrt_rc – Enter restore client shell
• scrt_vfb – Create virtual full backup
• sccfgd_cron_schedule – Schedule a virtual full backup
• sccfgd_putcfg – Load failover context configuration
Allows control via CLI commands
when all you have is
an SSH/Telnet connection

32. Assure MIMIX HA for AIX
All the benefits of core Assure MIMIX HA for AIX technology
• Reliable, real-time replication
• Flexible point-in-time recovery and rollback options
• Non-disruptive failover readiness testing
• Easy management and monitoring
Automated HA eliminates downtime
• Intelligent server, application and network heartbeat monitoring
continuously verifies the health of cluster resources
• Failover automatically or in an automated but prompted fashion to
local or remote physical, virtual or cloud servers
• Customizable procedures automate failover of an application and its
resources
• Release of storage resources
• IP address switching
• Reestablishing replication
• File system mounts
• Application switching
Simple Assure MIMIX HA for AIX with
Point-in-Time Recovery
IP Network
Production
Server with
Protected
Storage
Local or
Remote
Recovery
Server
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33. Wizards – Sizing Assistant
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• Captures I/O statistics to ensure that sufficient buffer
space is provided to meet business requirements
• Runs with Xwindow and CLI options
• Collects logical volume-level I/O data
• Size for bandwidth requirements and Assure MIMIX
DR for AIX buffer space requirements
Sizing Assistant helps you understand
technical needs to meet business
requirements such as RTO, RPO, &
rollback window
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34. Q&A