"Polaris Telecoms BDR - An Effective Solution"
The whole point of a backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solution is to help you get back into action, after a server outage, as quickly as possible.

That's why the Polaris Telecoms BDR package comes with an innovative Instant Virtualisation feature that gets you back up and running, in most cases, in less than 30 minutes after notification of a server failure.

Initial Configuration (BDR - How it Works)
BDR can be configured to backup multiple Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 servers.  At the heart of the BDR solution is a sophisticated network-attached storage (NAS) device.  Deployed onsite, it automatically performs fast disk-to-disk backups as often as every 15 minutes.

There are no file or folder exclusions.  A snapshot of the entire volume is taken at block level, capturing the actual 1's and 0's on the hard drive.  This includes database applications such as MS SQL Server and MS Exchange Server.

When an outage occurs, built-in virtualisation software in the NAS device enables you to create a complete virtual image of the failed server in minutes, using the NAS itself as host.  No further setup is required.

The virtual server retains the failed server's IP address and network settings, plus all software, configurations and data.  Then, as soon as the virtual server is online, the NAS device resumes its regular backup schedule.

Incremental Forever Methodology
The Incremental Forever Methodology is similar to backup procedures offered by other providers, whereby each incremental backup records only the changes since the last backup.

Where our BDR technology differs is that only one full backup or "base image" is required.  This greatly reduces the time it takes to perform a backup, since each Incremental Snapshot takes only seconds to complete.

When you no longer need the virtual server, you can use the BDR solution's virtual-to-physical recovery functionality to perform a speedy bare metal restore onto new hardware (even if it is different manufacture from the old hardware).

Recovering files and folders is a simple process where the entire server is mounted as a volume on the NAS.  The files can then be copied to the destination server over the network.  The NAS can also be configured so files, folders and Exchange mailboxes or messages can be restored.

Base Image
The base image is the first backup taken, covering all of the volumes intended for backup.  This image serves as the starting point for all following incrementals.  The incrementals collapse into the base image when a restoration is performed, providing you with a complete image of the server from the selected point in time.  All data is encrypted with the 256-bit AES encryption standard.

Synthetic Incrementals
Synthetic Incrementals are the result of collapsing multiple incrementals into a single file.  The Daily Synthetic is created at the end of a 24 hour period, giving you a single recovery point.  Daily Synthetics are collapsed into a Weekly Synthetic which, in turn collapses into a Monthly Synthetic and finally into an Annual Synthetic, allowing recovery from anywhere through a complete timeline.