Three-tiered data backup for university

For institutions with a large amount of data spread across a number of devices, finding an efficient and compliant backup solution can be difficult. Learn how this university successfully implemented a comprehensive data protection workflow, complete with on-site, off-site, and cloud backup options.

Synology

About Butler University

Butler University is a nationally recognized university, ranked as the No. 1 most innovative school by U.S. News and World Report.

The university’s backup solution with Synology included:

  • Backup for 30 virtual machines and 10 Windows servers
  • Backup for 250 Microsoft 365 accounts
  • Offsite backup to cloud storage

About Butler University

Challenges of an LTO tape backup system

Butler University, previously relying on tape backups, had faced various pain points.

Limited backup capacity

Limited backup capacity

Due to service costs and storage limitations, Butler could not back up all available systems, leaving a portion of their data unprotected.

Labor-intensive process

Labor-intensive process

As tapes were housed offsite, data transfer required physical relocation. This involved excessive maintenance time and manpower.

Slow transfer speeds

Slow transfer speeds

While magnetic tape is a valid option for long-term data archiving, the transfer speeds were far too slow for the daily backups that the university performed.

A comprehensive 3-2-1 backup strategy with Synology

To address their storage needs, Butler University’s team chose a combination of Synology hardware, software, and cloud solutions to completely replace their tape backup system.

A comprehensive 3-2-1 backup strategy with Synology

Saving money and IT resources

Reduced
operational overhead

Intuitive UI saves Butler University hundreds of hours of setup and maintenance time per semester.

Reduced
licensing costs

Through Synology’s license-free software, Butler backs up as many devices as necessary without per-device costs.

Increased
storage capacity

Deduplication saves Butler University required storage space so they can back up more data in the long run.

Local endpoint backup

Using Synology’s license-free backup software, Active Backup, the university is able to schedule automated backups for all their endpoints, which are stored on their local Synology NAS for quick and easy recovery.

What is Active Backup?

Active Backup protects data from various platforms — PCs, VMs, servers, and SaaS — to a centralized Synology server without required extra software license fees.Request a demo


Backups made easy

Consolidated, easy setup

Manage backup tasks for fleets of devices through a single console.

Quick deployment

Bulk-configure settings for entire departments with backup task templates.

Cost efficient

Save on subscription costs and reduce your storage footprint.

Backups made easy

Recover quickly

Instantaneous

Spin up virtual machines or other systems without waiting for data to be transferred to replacement hardware.

Self-service

Employees can browse and recover single files without assistance from the IT team, speeding up the recovery process.

Full-system

Bare metal restoration allows users to get back to work without needing to completely set up replacement hardware.

Recover quickly

Off-site backup and failover

Using Synology’s Snapshot Replication, Butler automatically sends snapshots of their data to an off-site Synology NAS. If on-site operations were to fail completely, Butler can quickly perform a failover to the off-site unit and get services running without waiting for data to be transferred.

Off-site backup and failover

What is Snapshot Replication?

Snapshot Replication leverages the modern Btrfs file system to create point-in-time copies of your data, which can be replicated on another Synology NAS and quickly restored in case of data loss or disaster.Request a demo

Adjustable schedules

Adjustable schedules

Snapshots can be performed up to every 5 minutes, helping to reduce your recovery point objective (RPO).

Fast recovery

Fast recovery

Quickly restore snapshots to your original Synology NAS or failover a replication task and restore data access on another NAS in seconds.

Storage efficiency

Storage efficiency

Snapshots use less storage and computing resources than traditional backups, which can take hours to complete.

Cloud Backup with C2 Storage

Finally, the entirety of that off-site NAS is backed up to Synology C2 Storage, a cloud solution that integrates with their Synology hardware to provide a third tier of redundancy and satisfy compliance standards.

Cloud Backup with C2 Storage

What is C2 Storage?

C2 Storage is Synology’s cloud service, designed for Synology NAS. Add a layer of protection and ensure your data is available at all times by backing up NAS data to the cloud.Request a demo

Flexible, efficient backup

Flexible, efficient backup

Configure retention policies and schedule backup tasks. Minimize storage consumption with deduplication.

HIPAA-compliant storage

HIPAA-compliant storage

With encryption-at-rest, Synology protects all data on C2 servers from breach or physical theft.

Transparent pricing

Transparent pricing

Avoid hidden fees or additional costs for data transfer or download.

Synology

“We now have the capacity to store much more data, while providing three tiers of backup protection and isolation with off-site and cloud-based copies.”

Jim Patrick, Infrastructure Architect

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