Design and implement an Azure Site Recovery strategy for SAP infrastructure

In this article, we will explore the process of designing and implementing an Azure Site Recovery strategy for SAP infrastructure. Azure Site Recovery is a disaster recovery solution provided by Microsoft that enables the replication and failover of virtual machines and physical servers to another location. Implementing a robust disaster recovery solution for your SAP workloads is crucial to ensure the availability and business continuity of your critical systems.

1. Assess your SAP infrastructure requirements:

Before designing your Azure Site Recovery strategy, you need to assess your SAP infrastructure requirements. Identify the critical systems that require disaster recovery protection and determine the recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) for each system. RTO is the maximum acceptable downtime for your SAP systems, and RPO is the maximum acceptable data loss in the event of a disaster.

2. Choose the appropriate Azure Site Recovery deployment model:

Azure Site Recovery supports different deployment models based on your SAP infrastructure. For an SAP landscape running on physical servers, you can use Azure Site Recovery with SAN replication. This model utilizes storage area network (SAN) replication to replicate the data from your on-premises SAP servers to Azure. Alternatively, if your SAP landscape is virtualized using VMware vSphere or Hyper-V, you can leverage Azure Site Recovery with replication to Azure Storage.

3. Design your Azure Site Recovery architecture:

Once you have determined the deployment model, you need to design your Azure Site Recovery architecture. Start by creating a recovery services vault in Azure, which serves as the main configuration and management container for Azure Site Recovery. Within the vault, you will configure the replication settings, recovery plans, and networking.

Next, set up the replication settings for your SAP systems. This involves selecting the source and target locations, configuring the replication policies, and establishing the connection between on-premises and Azure environments. Ensure that the bandwidth between the source and target sites is sufficient to handle the replication traffic.

4. Configure replication and failover for SAP systems:

After designing the architecture, you need to configure replication for your SAP systems. This involves installing the Azure Site Recovery provider on your on-premises SAP servers and configuring the replication settings. The provider facilitates the communication between your on-premises infrastructure and Azure.

Once the replication is set up, perform a test failover to validate the replication and failover process. This step is crucial to ensure that your SAP systems can be successfully failed over to Azure in the event of a disaster. During the failover test, verify the integrity of the replicated data and the functionality of the SAP applications running in Azure.

5. Monitor and maintain your Azure Site Recovery environment:

After implementing your Azure Site Recovery strategy for SAP infrastructure, it is essential to monitor and maintain the environment to ensure its ongoing effectiveness. Azure provides various monitoring tools, such as Azure Monitor and Azure Security Center, to track the replication health, network connectivity, and overall performance of your protected SAP systems.

Regularly review the replication reports and alerts generated by Azure Site Recovery to identify any issues or potential bottlenecks. Additionally, perform periodic failover drills to validate the failover process and identify any areas for improvement. Update the recovery plans and replication policies as necessary to align with the changing requirements of your SAP infrastructure.

In conclusion, designing and implementing an Azure Site Recovery strategy for SAP infrastructure is crucial for ensuring the availability and continuity of your critical systems. By assessing your requirements, selecting the appropriate deployment model, designing the architecture, configuring replication, and monitoring the environment, you can effectively protect your SAP workloads and minimize the impact of a disaster.