Compute Engine

Scalability, elasticity, and robustness are the most important characteristics of any cloud-based application. An enterprise cloud computing architecture must be designed based on these characteristics. In particular, it must be able to cope with strongly fluctuating loads on the virtual systems and enormous amounts of data, while at the same time making sure the operations run in an efficient and economical manner. Redundancy, regular snapshots, and backups are mandatory.

Measures for building a cloud architecture at enterprise level:

• Availability at cluster level or even as a high availability application including fail-over and continued data consistency
• Distribution of entities including mirroring of the applications and virtual data centres, and also with the help of geographical redundancy (in parallel operation of both the infrastructure and the programming of an application)
• Scalability without interrupting ongoing operations and should be as vertical as possible to save resources; in addition, enable the development of shared-nothing systems
• Automation, which must be made possible with the help of microservices, especially in times of agile software development and CI/CD
• Configuration management, security design, access management including logging or multi-client capability
• Step-by-step migration and preparation of the cloud for hybrid or multi-cloud operation
• Prevention of lock-in through proprietary cloud technologies

Backup and disaster recovery strategies are essential for businesses in order to minimise the impact of system failures. The IONOS Cloud provides you with an effective tool for this in the form of Acronis Cloud Backup.

Disaster recovery

For the average company, data is crucial for working processes. Therefore, it should be backed up effectively so that it can be restored very quickly in case of an emergency. Successful disaster recovery means that efficient workflows can resume as soon as possible.

The advantages are clear:

• Short downtimes mean that a company can still be reached at practically any time, which leads to growing trust in the company and an improved brand image.
• A company's ability to conduct business is also maintained and financial losses are kept within reasonable limits.
• Helps companies comply with their obligation to keep accounting and financial data in accordance with data protection measures.

Business continuity and disaster recovery

Business Continuity Management comprises all measures that ensure that the ongoing operations of a company are affected as little as possible in extreme or catastrophic situations (e.g. power failure, pandemics, natural disasters) or can be restored to normal very quickly.

Disaster recovery strategies, on the other hand, refer to the rapid restoration of IT systems and stored data.

In order for disaster recovery to be successful, a plan for structured data recovery must be in place.

When deciding how best to proceed, the following questions could help:

• How much data may be lost? (Recovery Point Objective, RPO)
• Which data saving method do I choose and at what intervals should it be saved?
• How long can the system be down for before it becomes critical for the business? (Recovery Time Objective, RTO)
• What is the ideal location for backups?
• What types of backups are available and how are they best used?

1. Full backup
2. Differential backup
3. Incremental backup

Data backup with Acronis Backup Cloud and the IONOS Cloud

The Compute Engine mirrors a public cloud. But not all elements of an IT infrastructure need to be in the cloud: on-premises solutions are often combined with components in the cloud. Acronis Cloud Backup backs up all these components reliably. You can also use Acronis Cloud Backup for IT systems that are not in the IONOS Cloud at all.

The advantage is that it is easy to use: In the user interface and API of the IONOS Cloud, you will find a button to access the Acronis backup console. Here you determine which servers or VMs are backed up, and with which saving method. This will make your work easier even if you move your system from "real" hardware to the cloud at a later point or simply partially move it: Access to the Acronis Backup Console is always located in the same place, no matter how much your system changes over time.

Acronis initially performs a full backup and then saves changes incrementally. In the event of an incident, the entire data backup can later be restored as a full backup – all at the push of a button. With Acronis Cloud Backup in the IONOS Cloud, you have a powerful tool at hand that helps you to protect all components of your IT system appropriately.

Data management is the sum of all technical, conceptual and organisational measures and procedures for the collection, storage and provision of data. This is so that various processes in companies can be optimally supported. Data management includes measures to ensure…

• Data quality
• Data consistency
• Data security
• Data encryption
• Data archiving
• Data access
• Data deletion
• Data life cycle management.

The various aspects and elements of data collection, data access, and data storage are also taken into account as part of data management.

The IONOS Cloud Compute Engine provides virtual data centres that the customer can configure according to their own requirements and are able to use like conventional data centres. In the cloud, there are no limits when it comes to implementing an internal data management guideline or following external compliance guidelines.

IONOS Cloud is fully subject to the GDPR requirements and simultaneously offers maximum security against the US CLOUD Act in case this concerns your company.