Zadara and Asigra announced a joint solution to provide an OpEx based Backup-as-a-Service solution that is available on-demand. The solution can be used in both public and private clouds.

The solution is formed out of a Zadara VPSA Storage Array along with a dedicated & a managed VM for running Asigra's Backup DS-System & Management Console.

Overview

This following article will cover the steps required to provision and get started with the Backup-as-a-Service solution. 

The process overview:

1. Provision a Data Service VPSA (Asigra Virtual Appliance along with a Zadara VPSA Storage Array)
2. Connect to the Asigra Management Console
3. Connect the Asigra Management Console to the Asigra DS-Client Client
4. Setup a backup job

Let's get started!

Provision a Data Service VPSA (Asigra Virtual Appliance)

From Zadara's Provisioning Portal, we will submit a request to create a new Data Service VPSA

1. Login to Zadara's Provisioning Portal (manage.zadarastorage.com -or- use your private on premise Provisioning Portal URL). 
2. Click on the "Create Zadara VPSA" button
   
3. In the creation Wizard select The Backup option, and from the drop down menu select "Asigra Backup" and click "Next".
   
4. Insert a name for the Data Service VPSA and click "Next".
   
5. Select the amount of Drives, and click "Next"
   
6. Proceed to the request overview window, review the details of your request and click "Create". 
7. The request is now submitted for administrator approval.

Connect to the Asigra Management Console

Upon successful provisioning, in the Provisioning Portal, the Data Service VPSA status should be set to "Created". In the Provisioning Portal click on the VPSA name; this will provide you with the below properties ....

1. The Asigra Management Address: this is the URL for accessing the Asigra Management Console (AMC).
2. VPSA Management Interface: this is the URL for VPSA Storage Management.
3. Public IP - each Data Service VM is provisioned with Public IP by default in order to allow:
   - Licensing and billing information submission.
   - Remote Clients connectivity (using Asigra's DS-Client)

Connecting to the Management Console

During the provisioning of the Data Service VPSA, the AMC (Asigra Management Console) will be configured for a quick start, the DS-System along with licensing information will be configured out-of-the-box.

1. Using the "Asigra Backup Management Address" URL open the Asigra MC using a browser of your choice.
   
2. When prompted for credentials use the default admin/admin combination, the system will enforce a password reset.
   
3. The setup wizard will go over the fundamental configuration for the AMC (as registering the DS-System) - this information will be pre-configured for you. Click Next. 
   
4. You may setup additional users for administration of the Asigra MC, in this example, for the sake of simplicity we will continue with the default user. 
   
5. You may setup Cloud Credentials & SMTP notifications for your Asigra MC in the following screen, if these are not required click on the "Next" & "Finish" buttons to complete the wizard. 
   
6.  Upon completing the first login, we are ready to start connecting our DS-Clients.
   

Connect the Asigra Management Console to the Asigra DS-Client Client

Using the Asigra Management Console, you will be able to configure and monitor your backup jobs from a central location.

Ensure you have a DS-Client installed in your compute infrastructure, for any Asigra related question please contact support@asigra.com.

Create a customer account

For each customer connected to the AMC, a valid account should be configured.

1. From the AMC navigate to the "Account Management" section.
2. Select the local DS-System
   
3. Insert the relevant customer information, and click on Add to complete the new account creation. 
   
4. After creating the account expand its properties and register a new DS-Client for the account using the "+" button
   

Connect to the DS-Client

1. From the AMC Upper navigation menu, open the settings section.
   
2. In the "DS-Client Connections", add a new DS-Client using the "+" button. 
   
3. Provide the connectivity information and click "Next"
   
4. Insert the Customer Account information as provided in the previous step.
   
5. According to your policy, configure the backup Encryption Keys, Click Next
   
6. Complete the wizard in the next step by entering your User information, click on Finish to complete.
7. The system is now ready for configuring its first backup job.
   

Setup a backup job

1. From the AMC, navigate to the "Data Management" section.
2. Click on the "+" sign to add a new backup job.
   
3. Using the Wizard, select your local DS System and customer information. Select the Backup set type and Create the backup job.
   

All backup data will be stored on your dedicated VPSA Storage Array!

If you have any question or you'd like to learn more - we love to help, contact support@zadarastorage.com.