Objective

Managed Backup for VMware protects your backups against loss, human error and ransomware attacks.

This guide describes the security measures in place, what each Backup plan guarantees, and how responsibilities are shared between you and OVHcloud.

Requirements

• None: this guide is an overview of the guarantees of the service.

Instructions

Encryption

• On all three Backup plans, without exception: all backups are encrypted. Encryption cannot be turned off.
• Before leaving the backup server: data is encrypted on your VBR, before it is written to the backup storage.
• One key per service: each protected infrastructure has its own key, never shared with another service or another customer.
• A key managed by OVHcloud: it is generated and kept in OVHcloud's database. You never hold it or see it: it does not appear in any interface, any email or any API response.
• The backup of the server itself is encrypted in the same way.

Immutability

On the Advanced and Premium plans, each restore point is immutable for 14 days from the time it is written. It cannot be modified or deleted, by anyone.

This also applies to OVHcloud, and to an attacker who has obtained your credentials.

• Immutability is active by default, from the first backup, with no action on your side.
• It relies on object storage locking, not on a VBR setting.
• Any attempt to delete a restore point under immutability fails.

Copy to a secondary site

Advanced and Premium backups are replicated to the secondary site you choose when you order, in an OVHcloud region other than that of your infrastructure.

• The copy never leaves its geographical area: an infrastructure in Europe replicates in Europe, an infrastructure in Canada replicates in Canada.
• If the primary site is unavailable, contact support: OVHcloud rebuilds your backup server, and you can then restore from the copy.
• OVHcloud monitors replication lag.
• The secondary site cannot be changed after the order.

You choose the secondary site when you order, among the regions offered for the location of your infrastructure. The region recommended by OVHcloud is preselected:

Long-term retention (Premium)

The Premium plan also keeps 11 monthly points, about one year of history. Use them to recover a state from several months ago, or to meet a retention obligation.

Isolation and access

• A dedicated backup server: each infrastructure has its own VBR, never shared with another customer.
• An account with limited rights: your VBR account lets you back up, restore and view. It cannot modify jobs, change the configuration or delete an immutable backup.
• A password you choose: the initial password is only sent through a single-use link, and must be changed at first login. OVHcloud does not keep the password you then choose.
• A temporary support account, if needed: when support steps in, OVHcloud can create a temporary support account on your VBR. It is separate from your VBR account, limited to your service and deleted when it expires, and every request is logged.
• No direct access to storage: OVHcloud provisions and operates the backup storage, and gives you no storage credentials.

Platform recovery

OVHcloud backs up your backup server itself, in your secondary site. If the server is lost, OVHcloud rebuilds it.

The rebuilt server reads all your existing backups again, with no loss of restore points. Its jobs resume according to your tags, with no action on your side.

If the region that hosts your backup server is lost, OVHcloud restores your backup and restore capacity. The recovery time objective (RTO) is 24 hours. The recovery point objective (RPO) is 24 hours, that is, at most one scheduled backup.

Who is responsible for what

Go further

Getting started with Managed Backup for VMware: the three Backup plans in detail.

Backing up and restoring from the VBR console: test a restore.

Join our community of users.