Encrypted VM Recovery via On-Premise Trust Anchor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional data protection systems face challenges in maintaining continuous data protection by keeping pace with high data transaction rates at production sites, leading to potential production site shutdowns due to backlog of un-logged transactions and limitations in recovery capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for immediate recovery of virtual machines in the cloud, utilizing a five-state journaling process and encryption, where data is replicated with metadata, allowing decryption at the on-premise recovery site using a private key not available to the replica site, enabling rapid access and recovery without relying on the replica site for decryption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If data is replicated to an off-premise replica site using conventional journaling, then data protection is improved, but the backup site cannot keep pace with high data transaction rates at the production site, leading to backlog and potential production shutdowns
Solution Approach 1:
The data is segmented into two parts: encrypted data parts and metadata parts. The metadata parts are replicated to the off-premise replica site without encryption, while the data parts remain encrypted. This segmentation allows the metadata to be processed and accessed independently, enabling the system to keep pace with high data transaction rates without compromising security or requiring the backup site to decrypt and process every data transaction.
Solution Approach 2:
A trust anchor component is introduced as an intermediary that manages encryption keys and enables decryption at the on-premise recovery site. This intermediary allows the system to maintain encryption security while enabling rapid recovery by providing decryption capabilities locally without requiring continuous communication with or processing power at the off-premise replica site.
2Reliability
If complete data recovery is waited for from the off-premise replica site, then data integrity is ensured, but recovery time increases, causing production downtime
Solution Approach 1:
The metadata parts are prepared and replicated in advance to the off-premise replica site without encryption. This preliminary action allows the on-premise recovery site to have immediate access to the metadata structure and begin recovery operations while data parts are still being transferred and decrypted, significantly reducing overall recovery time while maintaining data integrity through the trust anchor verification process.
3Ease of operation
If encryption keys are stored at the off-premise replica site, then decryption capability is improved, but security is compromised since the replica site gains access to private keys
Solution Approach 1:
The private decryption keys are extracted from the off-premise replica site and kept exclusively at the on-premise recovery site in the trust anchor. Only encrypted data parts are stored off-premise, while the critical decryption capability remains on-premise. This extraction maintains security by ensuring the replica site never possesses the private keys, while still enabling decryption capability where needed through the trust anchor mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
Example embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and a system for immediate recovery of virtual machines encrypted in the cloud. The method includes retrieving at least a portion of data from an off-premise replica site configured to store an encrypted first data part of an I/O as data at the off-premise replica site according to a second metadata part of the I/O. The first data part of the at least the portion of the data then may be decrypted at the on-premise recovery site according to a private key not available to the replica site and stored at the on-premise recovery site in a cache at the recovery site.