How can you use cloud-based RDBMS for disaster recovery?

Disaster recovery (DR) is the process of restoring critical data and applications after a disruptive event, such as a natural disaster, a cyberattack, or a hardware failure. DR is essential for minimizing downtime, ensuring business continuity, and protecting valuable information. One of the ways to implement DR is to use cloud-based relational database management systems (RDBMS) that offer scalability, availability, and cost-efficiency. In this article, you will learn how to use cloud-based RDBMS for disaster recovery, and what are the benefits and challenges of this approach.

1 Cloud-based RDBMS

A cloud-based RDBMS is a service that provides access to a relational database hosted on a cloud platform, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). A cloud-based RDBMS can be fully managed by the provider, partially managed by the customer, or self-managed by the customer. Depending on the service level, a cloud-based RDBMS can offer features such as automatic backups, replication, encryption, security, and performance tuning.

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Pavel S.

Skilled DBA | Microsoft SQL Server ☁️ Multi-Cloud Certified 4x AWS & 5x Azure & 1x GCP ☁️ Terraform ☁️ KCNA ☁️ Cybersecurity Specialist
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Cloud-based RDBMS can be offered in IaaS and PaaS models and each of them has its own pros and cons and is suitable for particular scenarios. Choosing between IaaS and PaaS for a Cloud-based RDBMS largely depends on the organization's technical expertise, level of control needed, scalability requirements, and flexibility preferences. Each model offers distinct advantages and trade-offs, catering to different business needs.

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Sunny Kichloo

Database Architect at Nutanix|Ex-Oracle ACE ♠|Database Migration Architect
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First you have to define your RPO/RTO and it has to be inline with business.Post that you have to choose desired strategy to attain those timeline it may be through replication or through automating backups.

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2 Disaster recovery strategies

When it comes to cloud-based RDBMS, there are various disaster recovery strategies that can be employed, depending on the business's recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO). RPO is the maximum amount of data loss that can be tolerated, and RTO is the maximum amount of time that can be taken to restore the system. A few common DR strategies include backup and restore, pilot light, warm standby, and multi-site. Backup and restore involves taking periodic backups of the database and storing them in a secure location. This strategy has a high RPO and RTO, making it suitable for non-critical applications. Pilot light keeps a minimal version of the database running in the cloud with only essential data and components. It has a low RTO but a high RPO, thus being suitable for applications that can tolerate some data loss. Warm standby involves keeping a fully functional replica of the database running in the cloud with regular data synchronization from the primary database. This strategy has a low RPO and RTO, making it ideal for applications that require high availability and consistency. Lastly, multi-site involves keeping multiple replicas of the database running in different geographic regions with synchronous or asynchronous data replication. This strategy has the lowest RPO and RTO, making it suitable for applications that require global scalability and resilience.

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Sunny Kichloo

Database Architect at Nutanix|Ex-Oracle ACE ♠|Database Migration Architect
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Every business may have different RPO/RTO it is better to define your own RPO/RTO so that you can design your disaster recovery strategy accordingly.Do proper testing also before so that you can crosscheck whether you are able to meet desired timeline.

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3 Benefits of cloud-based RDBMS for DR

Using cloud-based RDBMS for DR can offer several benefits, such as reduced costs due to lower hardware, maintenance, and power consumption costs, as well as pay-as-you-go pricing models. Additionally, cloud-based RDBMS can provide increased flexibility and agility compared to on-premises RDBMS, due to their ability to be easily provisioned, configured, and migrated. Moreover, cloud-based RDBMS can improve the reliability and availability of the database by leveraging the cloud infrastructure and offering features such as automatic backups, replication, encryption, security, and performance tuning.

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Pavel S.

Skilled DBA | Microsoft SQL Server ☁️ Multi-Cloud Certified 4x AWS & 5x Azure & 1x GCP ☁️ Terraform ☁️ KCNA ☁️ Cybersecurity Specialist
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The most important benefits to my mind: Data Redundancy and Backup - Cloud-based RDBMS often have built-in redundancy across multiple data centers or regions. This redundancy ensures data backups and replication, minimizing the risk of data loss during a disaster. Automated Failover and Recovery - Many cloud RDBMS services offer automated failover mechanisms. In case of an outage in one data center, the system can quickly switch to a backup instance in another location, reducing downtime. Geographic Flexibility - Cloud RDBMS allows you to replicate and store data across different geographic regions. This feature is valuable in the event of a regional disaster; you can ensure data accessibility from unaffected locations.

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4 Challenges of cloud-based RDBMS for DR

Using cloud-based RDBMS for DR can provide many advantages, but there are also some challenges to consider. Data sovereignty is a major issue, as customers need to be aware of the data privacy and security laws of the countries where their cloud providers operate. Network dependency is another concern, as cloud-based RDBMS can be affected by internet latency, congestion, or outage. Additionally, customers need to evaluate the compatibility and interoperability of their cloud providers to avoid vendor lock-in. To reduce the network dependency, customers should ensure they have a reliable and fast internet connection, and use techniques such as caching, compression, or offline mode.

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Devesh Srivastava

Top Voice Databases | Manager, Database Administration | Architecture
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In my experience, Cloud RDBMS DR is only successful for tier 1 applications when you have excellent network bandwidth connection otherwise the replication will slow down and it will impact your primary replica as well since it will impact the transaction log even if the secondary replica on cloud is on ASYNC mode. Direct connect or express route is highly recommended if you are thinking of incorporating DR on Cloud platform. We had to remove the secondary replica on Azure Cloud to release the TLog on primary since it was impacting on going replication via DMS service on AWS. It is a myth that ASYNC secondary replicas would not impact the TLog on primary.

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Pavel S.

Skilled DBA | Microsoft SQL Server ☁️ Multi-Cloud Certified 4x AWS & 5x Azure & 1x GCP ☁️ Terraform ☁️ KCNA ☁️ Cybersecurity Specialist
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From my experience most of the challenges of cloud-based RDBMS for DR are come into play when you have hybrid cloud architecture. With SQL Server 2022 there is a new dedicated cloud DR feature for hybrid cloud architectures called Link to Azure SQL Managed Instance. It allows to quickly setup cloud DR integration.

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5 Best practices for cloud-based RDBMS for DR

For effective use of cloud-based RDBMS for DR, customers must adhere to certain best practices. This includes assessing business requirements such as RPO, RTO, budget, performance, security, and compliance in order to select the appropriate cloud-based RDBMS service level and DR strategy. It is also essential to test the DR plan regularly to verify that the cloud-based RDBMS can recover from a disaster scenario such as data loss or corruption. Additionally, customers should measure the RPO and RTO of their DR plan and address any issues or gaps. Furthermore, customers need to monitor and optimize their DR process to ensure that their cloud-based RDBMS is functioning properly and efficiently. This can be done by utilizing tools and metrics to track the data backup, replication, synchronization, and restoration as well as optimizing resource utilization, cost, and performance of their cloud-based RDBMS.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you use cloud-based RDBMS for disaster recovery?

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1 Cloud-based RDBMS

2 Disaster recovery strategies

3 Benefits of cloud-based RDBMS for DR

4 Challenges of cloud-based RDBMS for DR

5 Best practices for cloud-based RDBMS for DR

6 Here’s what else to consider

Database Administration

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How can you use cloud-based RDBMS for disaster recovery?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Cloud-based RDBMS

2 Disaster recovery strategies

3 Benefits of cloud-based RDBMS for DR

4 Challenges of cloud-based RDBMS for DR

5 Best practices for cloud-based RDBMS for DR

6 Here’s what else to consider

Database Administration

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