Freeing the LAN for faster backups

With over 320 branches, 1,000 ATMs, 1,000 servers and 10,000 PCs, HDFC Bank faces a formidable task in backing up terabytes of data everyday SHIPRA ARORA finds out how they do it

The backup for all mission critical applications is LAN-free, says Sambasivan

HIGH business volumes and vast data-handling requirements are inherent in a highly competitive banking environment where downtime is unacceptable to customers. Providing a wide range of banking services, covering both commercial and investment banking on the wholesale side and transactional or that branch banking on the retail side, HDFC Bank generates data that is both high-volume and mission-critical. Consolidating and centralising its backup processes through a SAN-based, LAN-free backup solution with software from Veritas has helped HDFC Bank to manage its data efficiently in a dynamic environment.

Backup crucial

HDFC Bank runs an array of mission-critical applications, that facilitate the smooth running of its day-to-day operations. The core banking applications are both provided by i-flex Solutions: ‘Finware’ for retail banking, and ‘Flexcube’, an application catering to all corporate transactions and activities, as well as net banking, treasury, retail assets, depository and custody applications and backend applications such as data warehousing. In addition, there are myriad supporting applications. The lack of an effective backup strategy can make these vital applications redundant. According to Ram Sambasivan, Assistant VP - Information Technology, HDFC Bank, “If backups are not there, then these mission-critical applications have a massive problem of retaining and recovering the data.” As a result, the bank has recognised backup as a key application.

Legacy system

Until mid-2003, information at the bank’s Chandiwali data centre in Mumbai was stored on over 200 Digital Audio Tapes (DATs). There were independent servers with independent tape drives. The process was manual, making the bank dependent on the operator to ensure that all the servers were invariably and regularly backed up. Having to backup 500 servers manually posed a daunting challenge in terms of human resources, cost, efficiency and maintenance. It was also difficult to adhere to the backup window of 8 pm to 6 am. Within the data centre, there were multiple server rooms on different floors, making it practically impossible to ensure a complete backup.

Valuable data was at risk due to the unreliability factor. “There is no way we could ensure that the data on these DATs was recoverable after a span of 3-4 years as tape degrades. Within that time-frame, the maximum reliability one can expect is around 80 percent,” explains Sambasivan. Apart from the operational requirements, the unreliability also posed the challenge of complying with statutory RBI guidelines, which require the bank to retain data up to 8-9 years from the time of backup.

Need for change

Ensuring data integrity and enabling a high degree of business continuance and disaster recovery warranted a new solution. As HDFC Bank forayed into multiple market segments and opened up new delivery channels, processing and storing the voluminous information generated at every transactional stage made it increasingly difficult for the bank’s IT team to continue with the legacy backup solution. Furthermore, the bank deployed a range of applications for release to end-users on an ongoing basis. What made the need even more imperative was the anticipated growth in data volumes, which the existing backup solution would not be able to cope with. In a day, about 3-4 terabytes of data is backed up on to the tape library and this was likely to go up to 10-15 terabytes in the next couple of years. DATs, the bank realised, were not the answer.

Centralised backup With both

the operational and statutory requirements looming large, HDFC Bank decided to go for a centralised backup setup, thereby doing away with the need for DATs on individual servers (the number of DATs has reduced from 200 to 23 after this implementation ). On the recommendation of Sun Microsystems, the bank opted for a SAN-based, LAN-free backup solution consisting of a StorageTek L700 tape library single-frame configuration with DLT drives and software from Veritas. Unicenter TNG 3.0 from CA provided event management integration. One of the reasons for selecting StorageTek was that downtime was insignificant. “StorageTek has the robustness to handle banking requirements and we had confidence in their hardware and technology in the backup area,” adds Sambasivan.

Taking into account the amount of data and the backup window, HDFC Bank implemented 14 tape drives as part of the SAN-based LAN-free backup solution. This solution meets the current needs of the bank. However, with growing data backup requirements as more servers are added, it is planning to acquire another six tape drives by end 2004.

Choppy handover

The transition from a distributed to a centralised setup was not smooth. There were challenges involved in backing up on to a centralised location through the LAN. The data travelling through the LAN on the tape library was immense. It was necessary to ensure that there were no scheduling clashes. While implementing, the team laid out a detailed backup timetable, with mission-critical applications taking priority over the others.

HDFC Bank's SAN consists of hardware from Hitachi that was implemented by Sun in September 2002. The StorageTek backup solution is connected to the SAN providing 'LAN-free' backup. Ram Sambasivan says that the back-up solution is basically LAN free. However, there are some instances when data backup is done through LAN. That said, the backup for all mission critical applications is LAN-free.

A much shorter backup window

Through streamlined, unified storage and backup operations, the StorageTek solution has resulted in operational efficiency and cost savings. “Post implementation, we have progressively lowered our IT costs and increased our overall productivity metrics making StorageTek a vital link in our value chain,” says Sambasivan.

Moving away from manually executed backups has brought down the IT staff from 67 to 50. It has also reduced the scope for operational glitches. According to Sambasivan, downtimes are negligible and ‘backup and restore’ operations are now seamless. Speed has been a major advantage, allowing the bank to meet its backup window deadlines. Backup time has been reduced by almost 80 percent and sometimes even higher at around 95 percent. Considerable savings have also been realised in terms of storage and operational costs through strong tape management and library features. The huge data volumes are now easily managed with a significantly higher data throughput. Furthermore, the auto naming feature has done away with the erstwhile cumbersome tape-labelling function, thus enabling faster and more reliable data recovery.

With a greater degree of reliability and assurance in its backup and restoration processes, HDFC Bank can now count on effective business continuity, which is integral its success.

shipra@expresscomputeronline.com