Disaster Recovery in the Axcient Continuity Cloud
In the event of a disaster, you might need to temporarily run critical servers and workstations in the Cloud. Private Cloud Vaults can directly virtualize Protected Systems just like the Appliance, letting you quickly restore business-critical systems while giving you the extra time you need to repair or replace hardware.
Direct Virtualization is disabled on Axcient Cloud Vaults, and recovery is instead performed on our dedicated Continuity Cloud environment. The Continuity Cloud provides you with exclusive access to a dedicated Hypervisor node for Cloud Recovery operations.
You must complete the following steps to recover in the Axcient Continuity Cloud:
Submit a ticket with Axcient Support. Axcient provides a two-hour SLA for configuring your Continuity Cloud node and virtual firewall for critical server-down situations.
Export a Snapshot from the Vault Web interface.
Configure your network and firewall settings.
Create a Virtual Machine with your exported Snapshot.
To recover in the Axcient Continuity Cloud:
Submit a ticket with Axcient Support requesting a Continuity Cloud Node (or CCNode) where your backup image will be virtualized. In the ticket, specify:
The Vault name, and
The specific Customer name.
Wait to hear from Axcient Support. Axcient provides a two-hour SLA for configuring your CCNode for critical server-down situations.
After you are contacted by Axcient Support, log in to your Vault Web interface with the specific Customer account credentials.
In the left-hand navigation menu, click the Protected Systems tab.
In the Protected Systems page, find the Protected System that needs to be recovered and click the Protected System name.
In the Protected System Details page, find the appropriate Snapshot and click the Export button.
In the Export Settings pop-up window, use the checkboxes to select the volume you would like to recover.
Select the VHDX radio button.
Click the Start button. You can monitor the export process in the Jobs tab of the Vault Web interface. A green checkmark will display when the job is complete.
While you are waiting for the conversion job to complete, launch RDP on a local machine and connect to the CCNode using the credentials provided by Axcient Support.
When you are connected to the CCNode, open a Web browser and navigate to the pfSense console, which is what you will use to configure your virtual firewall and network settings. CCNode and firewall settings will be provided by Axcient Support when your Recovery environment is created.
In the pfSense console, you will need to configure:
The LAN interface of the firewall,
The DHCP server,
Access rules or NAT translations to support your restored environment,
OpenVPN configuration for user access, and
Remote user accounts. For instructions, please reference the Knowledgebase or visit pfSense Documentation.
When your virtual router and firewall policies are configured, open the Hyper-V Management console.
In the Hyper-V Management console, click the Action menu, point to New, and select the Virtual Machine option. The New Virtual Machine Wizard displays.
In the Before You Begin screen, click the Next button to start the wizard.
In the Specify Name and Location screen, enter the name of the system.
Click the Next button to continue.
In the Specify Generation screen, select the generation of your virtual machine:
For BIOS/MBR systems, click the Generation 1 radio button.
For UEFI systems, click the Generation 2 radio button.
Click the Next button to continue.
In the Assign Memory screen, use the Startup Memory field to adjust the amount of memory required for startup.
Click the Next button to continue.
In the Configure Networking screen, use the Connection drop-down menu to select your preferred network connection.
Click the Next button to continue.
In the Connect Virtual Hard Disk screen, select the Use an Existing Hard Disk radio button.
Click the Browse button to navigate to the x:\share , which is where you will find your exported VHDX file. Select the VHDX file and click the Open button.
Click the Next button to continue.
In the Summary screen, review your settings and click the Finish button to complete the process.
The Virtual Machine is now ready to boot. If you need to add additional virtual drives or any other system changes, right-click the Virtual Machine and select the Settings option.
To power on the Virtual Machine, right-click the Virtual Machine and select the Connect button.
Cleaning Up
When you have finished with the CCNode, we suggest that you use Windows Explorer to delete your data from the X drive.
You can then submit another ticket to Axcient Support indicating that you are finished with the CCNode. Axcient will wipe and re-image the machine from bare metal, so please ensure that you have already retrieved all data from the CCNode before submitting this ticket.