Nakivo Backup, backing up VMs to Amazon Web Services for additional redundancy

Two ways to backup your VMs to Amazon Web Services

Currently there are two methods in which you can backup your VMs to AWS at the time of writing this, there maybe other methods? But for today's blog post we will focus on two known methods and will explain each method in  short detail.

So assuming you haven't signed up to any amazon web services, there are two instances of subscriptions that are available for you which are suitable, depending on your budget, environment storage needs and performance?
The first is backing up to Amazon EBS in EC2, the second is backing up to Amazon S3 via a storage gateway.

Ok, so let's talk about each backup, firstly, Amazon EBS in EC2 is the easier of the two when it comes to setup and deployment.

Amazon EBS - Method 1
This method you do not need any specific or additional virtual machines (Gateway appliance) for backing up. What you do need is to generate an access key in the Amazon web interface, which is pretty easy and straightforward. Then you add the AWS account to the inventory of Nakivo,  deploy the transporter in EC2 and then create a backup repository. Look at my post Setting up Nakivo Backups
Therefore the whole configuration is done through Nakivo Backup and Replication interface, again, there is no additional VM Gateway appliance to make the connection to AWS.

Costs Amazon EBS
Pricing model: Standard reserved instances, 1 year, no upfront costs.
1TB capacity
100gb /mth data transfer in, 100gb /mth data transfer out
Roughly costs $63-$70 USD per month

Advantages
Faster performance transfer in and out
No requirements of configuring and deploying an VM Gateway on your existing infrastructure

Disadvantages
More costly to run per month as opposed to the cheaper Amazon S3

Amazon S3 - Method 2
If you are not too fussed with the additional setup and configuration and want a bit more of a challenge, then the Amazon S3 method is a little more hands on. This is where you will need to deploy a VM Gateway to allow the connection to Amazon S3, in having said that, it also means you will need to babysit another VM in your environment, it may or may not be for you?

Costs Amazon S3
1TB Capacity
100gb /mth data transfer in, 100gb /mth data transfer out

Advantages
Cheaper than the EBS in EC2

Disadvantages
Requires configuration and deployment of an VM Gateway as a connector to Amazon S3 Cloud
Speed is much slower when backing up not ideal if you have a  sizable backup

So what's the security level like for these methods? Both method are quite high in terms of security as it is managed by you, you can set and create permissions in Amazon web interface. The authentication method which uses an access key and secret access key generated by Amazon is quite strong and should withstand any authentication concerns. Also note encrypted network traffic also is an added layer of security which protects your data when transferring your VMs backups, backup copy, replication etc.