Use Case Migrating a dual data center backup solution from IBM to Veeam Backup & Replication

Uninterrupted change of the backup solution on existing hardware – during ongoing operations

The REIFF Group has been using the Empalis Managed Service “Empalis Service Plus - ESPlus” for IBM Storage Protect Plus for several years. When it became apparent in 2023 that IBM would no longer support the product as before, the question arose: REIFF has been backing up Microsoft 365 with Veeam via Empalis for some time - wouldn't it be an option to switch the entire backup environment to Veeam?

Tobias Kliem-Kuster, who manages the service and data center team at the REIFF Group and is technically responsible for servers and storage as well as IT infrastructure, emphasizes the most important special feature for implementing the project with Empalis. "It was very important to us," says Tobias Kliem-Kuster, "to continue using the relatively new hardware without having to replace everything again. The opportunity to set up and test the new system parallel to the old one gave us the security we needed for the transition."

The challenge: Migrating data to new systems – with existing hardware

As a rule, new software is installed on the associated hardware so that the new architecture starts seamlessly and smoothly. However, purchasing new hardware was out of the question for the REIFF Group because it was only decided to purchase the hardware for five years with the IBM Storage Protect Plus solution in 2022. The Empalis team also understood this concern in terms of sustainability and cost-effectiveness.

The aim of the project was the challenge of making the switch to a new backup solution on existing hardware step by step and as uninterrupted as possible during ongoing operations. Empalis, who still knows the IBM world well, saw possibilities and was prepared to implement the migration during ongoing operations on hardware that already existed there. In order to transfer the existing IBM Storage Protect landscape to Veeam step by step, Empalis provided an individual concept.

It wasn't just the technical expertise in solving the question that got Empalis the contract. The reliable, good collaboration over many years also played a role: "The decision to go with Empalis was actually a completely logical consequence and was easy for us. She has been our constant contact when it comes to data backup for many years, basically our house and farm expert in the field. We have always been extremely satisfied with the collaboration and knew that we could rely on her - and working with the team is simply fun," says Tobias Kliem-Kuster.

In parallel to the IBM Storage Protect Plus operation, Empalis set up the new backup environment with Veeam at REIFF in late summer 2024. Empalis also supplied the Veeam licenses as a Veeam Cloud & Service Provider Gold (VCSP) partner."The prerequisite was to do a migration on the existing hardware so that the software rotates through and we have as few backup failures as possible. So we gradually removed redundancy, rebuilt, transferred loads, dismantled the previous, created redundancy again, ... and in this way gradually moved the data over," says Matthias Mrugalla, who was responsible for the project at Empalis and the Architecture set up.

Best practice: Like “open heart surgery” – risk-free migration during ongoing operations

"The special thing about the project was changing the backup software without losing data, i.e. transferring the data during ongoing operation. Because of this approach, the REIFF Group chose Empalis because no other provider could handle this type of migration in this way." Matthias Mrugalla explains the requirements that made a defined transition phase necessary, as at times only half of the hardware could be provided. If necessary, the hardware could be supplemented with additional adapters or additional hardware systems could only be purchased if necessary and to a limited extent. To implement hardening, the Veeam Backup & Replication Best Practice Guide should be followed. A verifiable DR restore test was required for acceptance.

The advice from Empalis was accompanied by tests and POCs in several steps: At the beginning there was the IBM Storage Protect Plus migration, i.e. the VMware backup of the virtual systems, as well as the IBM Storage Protect servers that were available in-house. This was done by breaking the redundancy of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, then installing the server as a Veeam server, completely taking over and testing the backup workloads so that it really works. "Once we had the approval, we also completely dissolved the second site of IBM Storage Protect and created redundancy in Veeam. Those were the first two steps, so that the complete VMware backup with two copies was in Veeam," says Matthias Mrugalla about the detailed steps.

In the second step, the Empalis team converted the hardware servers to Veeam, also in two steps: First, the agent backup (Windows, Linux, SAP) was converted and tested. Once everything was working, the entire workloads were switched to Veeam and tested, including restores. When everything was running smoothly, IBM Storage Protect was completely dismantled and the redundancy for Veeam, i.e. the agent backup and HW backup, was built up so that a copy could be made.

More efficient with Veeam Backup & Replication with the Empalis Managed Service “ESPlus”

Since the old environment with IBM Storage Protect Plus did not work properly after IBM discontinued the product, the future with the manufacturer was not possible due to the daily problems with it. The primary reason for the change was therefore the security of the systems and smooth processes. Since Empalis had already supported the customer with the IBM product, the imbalance caused by the discontinuation of IBM Storage Protect Plus had become noticeably unpleasant on both sides.

The project started on April 16, 2024 with July 1, 2024 as the deadline for the go-live for Veeam Backup & Replication at the REIFF Group. The day the IBM licenses expired. The last work was carried out at the beginning of November with final acceptance tests on October 31, 2024. With Veeam, the workload for the team at REIFF was immediately noticeably reduced, as the old solution had to be constantly reviewed. This has been completely achieved with Veeam.

The Empalis Service Plus contract, previously for IBM Storage Protect Plus, has since been continued with an extension - now with Veeam. This also turned out to be a good deal for the REIFF Group: the previous contract “ESPlus Bronze” includes ESA licenses, a package that included IBM Storage Protect Plus (ISPP) licenses for free. The original intention was to switch to a higher tariff, but with Veeam the “ESPlus Bronze” package turned out to be sufficient. Since the REIFF Group received the associated Veeam licenses from the Empalis-Veeam partnership VCSP, this was overall more cost-effective than the previous IBM package. This year we added Salesforce security with Veeam for the REIFF Group at Empalis. The REIFF Group thus secures its data via Empalis

• Veeam for M365
• Veeam Backup & Replication
• Veeam for Salesforce.

No “pain points” in the project – but a “pleasant collaboration”

"Real "pain points"? I have to pass. Of course, a little something comes up or a question comes up, that's normal with such technical changes. The nice thing was: At Empalis there was always a competent contact person who took care of the matter immediately and quickly found a solution," reports Tobias Kliem-Kuster in response to our inquiry. Thanks to weekly jour fixes, those involved at the REIFF Group and the Empalis team were able to plan and implement the project progress and success quickly and smoothly from both sides. Individual steps that the REIFF group took on themselves and that required good cooperation were easily handed over.

We at Empalis are very happy about the improvements that the project has brought for the customer and of course also about the high praise from the person responsible at the REIFF Group, Tobias Kliem-Kuster: “The colleagues are simply super competent and have done a first-class job from planning to implementation.”

We would like to thank the REIFF group and especially Mr. Kliem-Kuster for their kind support in creating this story.