NAKIVO on Synology NAS Helps a Luxury Resort Achieve VM Backup Success Rate of 100%
Business Challenge
Enchantment Resort is located in Sedona, Arizona and is set on 70 acres of panoramic natural terrain. The hotel stands at the doorway of the secluded Boynton Canyon, surrounded by red rock formations known for inspiring the mind, body, and spirit. This unique southwest resort is a perfect stop for travelers enjoying a vacation at Grand Canyon or looking for a romantic getaway.
The Enchantment Group is a leader in the management of hotels, resorts, destination spas, and golf courses, while their portfolio consists of five luxury properties, with Enchantment Resort being one of them. Their virtual environment supports the entire Enchantment Group, and includes several standalone VMware ESXi hosts with approximately 150 VMs. The VMs fulfill various purposes: some VMware VMs are terminal servers, while others act as shared data servers, LAN users’ personal computers, various interface servers, or Point of Sale (POS) servers. For the Enchantment Group, VM backup is of the highest priority because if a system failure or any kind of physical disaster occurs, the Group could instantly suffer business losses. Luxury resorts must be operational 24/7, and there is no such thing as a holiday – except, of course, for their guests.
“We used a different VM backup solution for quite some time, but the product had several disadvantages. First of all, the user interface was not user-friendly. Secondly, the whole backup administration process was awkward and time-consuming. Finally, failed backup jobs were a common issue, and related to the storage medium. We really wanted to eliminate all the previously mentioned issues and have peace of mind,” says Bob Gassick, Director of IT at Enchantment Resort.
Solution
Bob focused on NAKIVO Backup & Replication after discovering the software as an add-on application for Synology NAS servers. By installing NAKIVO Backup & Replication directly on Synology NAS, Enchantment Resort now has high-performance VM backup appliance. With this installation, all VM data components are unified in one device, providing a single system for hardware, software, and storage. “Installing NAKIVO Backup & Replication on a Synology NAS could not be easier. Since we have multiple Synology NAS units, having NAKIVO Backup & Replication and Synology DSM manage the backup repository eliminates the need for setting up ISCSI on Synology NAS servers,” says Bob.
With NAKIVO Backup & Replication, Enchantment Resort can protect their VMware VMs and increase VM backup speed with the network acceleration feature, which uses traffic reduction techniques to speed up data transfer. “I have backup jobs scattered over a 24-hour period, based on the requirements of a particular VM. Most backup jobs are scheduled to run during the night time. With NAKIVO Backup & Replication, I get a “successful” email notification every day for the scheduled backup jobs. With the previous VM backup solution, failed backup jobs were the main issue, but with NAKIVO Backup & Replication, the success rate of finished backup jobs is 100%. I attribute this success to the fact that both NAKIVO Backup & Replication and Synology DSM manage the backup repository,” says Bob.
With network acceleration, the amount of data that is transferred over the network is significantly reduced, meaning that backup jobs can be completed much faster. By reducing the network load, network acceleration has sped up VM backup jobs by 40% for Enchantment Resort. “NAKIVO Backup & Replication does not seem to impact network load at all, and at the same time increases VM backup speed by 40%,” says Bob.
Results
NAKIVO Backup & Replication installed on Synology NAS provides Enchantment Resort with the ability to schedule VM backups and dramatically improve the success rate of finished backup jobs. With the network acceleration functionality, Enchantment Resort has managed to increase their VM backup speed by 40% over their previous VM backup solution. The Synology NAS installation option eliminated the need for them to set up ISCSI. “I love the web interface and dashboard, which provide ease of access and management, in contrast to the previous VM backup solution. Backup administration time is now minimal, as all backup jobs finish successfully and I receive email notifications every day. With NAKIVO Backup & Replication, we worry much less about our backup jobs and their integrity. Ultimately, we achieved peace of mind with NAKIVO Backup & Replication,” says Bob.
About the Enchantment Group
The Enchantment Group focuses on developing and managing all aspects of hotels, resorts, spas, and communities. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Enchantment Group provides highly personalized branded or customized resort and spa development and management services in ways that maximize performance and return on investment. Award-winning properties managed by Enchantment Group include Mii amo, Enchantment Resort, and Seven Canyons, all in Sedona, Arizona; and the Tides Inn and Golden Eagle Golf Club in Irvington, Virginia. Enchantment Group is part of the Montreal-based Dundee | 360 Real Estate Corporation, a real estate and hotel development company. For more information, please visit www.enchantmentgroup.com.