On-Premise Backup with Storage Gateway - how does it impact normal SG use?

Question

I previously researched using Storage Gateway in VTL (Tape Library) mode to hook it up to Veeam, but now am curious if "AWS Backup" is a completely on-prem solution (not that I would dump Veeam).  
  
If so, I think I understand Storage Gateways, but how exactly do I set AWS Backup for a Storage Gateway?  Do I create a "Volume" storage gateway, then associate it with AWS Backup?  If so, does AWS Backup work on top of what Storage Gateway already does (stores data in S3)?  Is it basically a management layer on moving the data around (lifespan)?  Or does "AWS Backup" work different from standard S3 storage via a Storage Gateway?  
  
How do I get data into the volume on the Storage Gateway?  Mount iSCSI, use volume however I like, and "AWS Backup" will manage everything else?  
  
I guess I'm hoping that it's that simple... use Storage Gateway as you normally would (in volume mode), which provides a mirrored copy of all data up in S3.  If a file is deleted locally, it's deleted in S3, etc...  
  
My further hope is that "AWS Backup" sits on top of this, and once enabled, manages versions and archiving and lifecycle for that data... i.e. If a file is deleted locally, it still exists in AWS until the lifetime ages it out.  
  
Thank you!  
  
Edited by: Novox on Jan 21, 2019 7:05 AM  
  
Edited by: Novox on Jan 21, 2019 7:25 AM  
  
Corrected: "Volume" gateways support iSCSI, not SMB.

Accepted Answer

Hi Bill,  
  
I have answered below to your questions.  
>>>If I DO NOT use AWS Backup with Storage Gateway, then the data in Storage Gateway is always my current data, unless I take manual snapshots via the console.  
  
Bhavin>>> Data from your Storage Gateway running on-premises or in EC2 is asynchronously uploaded to the Storage Gateway service in the cloud. If you take manual snapshots, you will get a point in time image of your data and this data is stored in EBS as EBS snapshot. You can restore this snapshot if you ever had a need to go back in time.   
  
>>>If I DO use "AWS Backup," it works on-top of Storage Gateway to automatically manage the lifecycle of the data. This manages how long to retain data (when it should be deleted), when it should move to cold storage (transition to glacier), etc. Changes I make to my data between "backup windows" are committed when the backup runs (snapshot taken and lifecycle retention policy applied).  
  
Bhavin>>> Using AWS Backup you can set policy to take backups of Storage Gateway volumes at pre-determined times and automatically delete them also. These copies of data taken by AWS Backup are also stored as EBS snapshots. You cannot transition them however to a colder storage tier.  
  
Please let me know if I can help clarify anything else.  
  
Regards,  
Bhavin

Answer

Ok, so if I'm understanding you correctly, let's say I'm already using a Storage Gateway in "Volume" mode (with iSCSI connectivity).  
  
If I **DO NOT** use AWS Backup with Storage Gateway, then the data in Storage Gateway is always my _current_ data, unless I take manual snapshots via the console.  
  
If I **DO** use "AWS Backup," it works on-top of Storage Gateway to automatically manage the lifecycle of the data.  This manages how long to retain data (when it should be deleted), when it should move to cold storage (transition to glacier), etc.  Changes I make to my data _between_ "backup windows" are _committed_ when the backup runs (snapshot taken and lifecycle retention policy applied).  
  
Please confirm I have this correct.  
  
Thank you!  
~Bill

Answer

Understood.  If I may distill your response to a single sentence:  
  
AWS Backup, when used with an on-prem Storage Gateway adds the ability to schedule snapshot creation, schedule data expiration, and eventually... schedule transition to "cold storage" (glacier).  
  
Thank you,  
~Bill

Answer

Hi Novox,  
  
AWS Backup supports backing volumes of the Volume Gateway configuration of AWS Storage Gateway. The Volume Gateway presents block storage volumes to your applications using iSCSI connectivity. The data for these volumes is stored in Amazon S3 and you can take a snapshot of this data which is stored and can be accessed in the cloud as Amazon EBS snapshots.   
  
You can use AWS Backup to simplify taking backups of Volume Gateway volumes and set automatic retention to delete the backups. The backups taken by AWS Backup for Volume Gateway volumes are stored in Amazon EBS. Here is a link to Storage Gateway documentation chapter on backing your volumes using AWS Backup.  
  
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/latest/userguide/backing-up-volumes.html  
  
Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, please let us know.  
  
Regards,  
Bhavin

Answer

Hi Bill,  
  
Nice summary! On the last part, scheduling transition to Glacier is not available today for Storage Gateway volumes. If you could please PM me around your needs in that area, it will be great.  
  
Regards,  
Bhavin

On-Premise Backup with Storage Gateway - how does it impact normal SG use?

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