Efficiency Meets Resilience: Zero Compute Deployment in MST-Powered DR

In the animal kingdom, some birds and other migratory species instinctively travel vast distances to more optimized habitats. Similarly, data is something that requires mobility and migration capabilities to optimize storage and performance for infrastructure workloads.

Today’s hybrid multicloud infrastructure requires flexibility, security, compliance, and mobility for apps and workloads. That’s why Nutanix created the Multicloud Snapshot Technology (MST) solution. It optimizes storage by allowing you to easily move your data to objects storage like Amazon S3 and the Nutanix Objects Storage solution.

According to research from analysts at IDC, the global datasphere is expected to be 174 zetabytes in 2025 – up from 33 zetabytes in 2018* – with the next decade bringing a record-breaking surge in data and compute demands. This will necessitate robust, adaptable infrastructure solutions in the data center. In the digital age, data mobility is key to a resilient business continuity plan, and MST is designed to address this need.

MST allows customers to replicate their snapshots to S3 compliant objects storage to enable data mobility, optimize TCO using lower-cost storage, simplify management using same policies and plans as existing Nutanix disaster recovery (DR) workflows, and recover anywhere that the Nutanix Cloud Platform (NCP) solution runs.

MST DR with Zero-Compute Deployment

Typical DR solutions require compute nodes that are up and running, even when they are not being used. MST now enables a zero-compute deployment model by eliminating the need for perpetual compute nodes. With this new deployment model, snapshots can now be stored in Amazon S3 and Nutanix Objects Storage and are recoverable anywhere that NCP runs.

Maximized Storage Efficiency with S3-Compliant Object Stores

MST DR with zero-compute deployment enables you to leverage S3 buckets – Amazon S3 and Nutanix Objects Storage – to store workload snapshots. By offloading these snapshots to cost-effective S3-compliant object stores, you can free-up your primary storage for high-performance workloads.

These object stores optimize your storage performance with robust security features. By securely archiving snapshots in immutable, WORM-enabled S3-compliant object stores, MST DR assists  with protecting snapshots from malicious actors and complying with strict security mandates.

This diagram shows the MST microservice running in the on-premises cluster as a part of the zero-compute deployment model. Recent snapshots are kept on the primary cluster and the older snapshots are offloaded to a lower-cost objects store for long-term retention.

Optimized TCO and Maximized Budget 

In legacy setups, organizations maintain empty nodes that are paid for and run perpetually so they are ready in the event of a worst-case scenario. MST DR with zero-compute deployment eliminates the need to maintain a standby compute cluster and pay for something you are not using. This allows you to free-up your budget and reallocate it more efficiently. Additional cost savings can be realized by using a lower-cost S3-compliant object store in lieu of primary storage. 

Seamless Data Mobility for Reliable Recovery

MST DR provides seamless data mobility to S3 buckets, which minimizes procurement and setup time due to its cloud-based nature. MST enables application-centric snapshots to reside in object storage with the ability to recover anywhere NCP runs – cloud, edge and on-premises.

In addition to streamlined data mobility, failover management with MST is highly intuitive. After pairing the MST target with the primary location, you can effortlessly setup protection policies and recovery plans that direct snapshots to object stores. It’s also easy to configure failover by using familiar Nutanix DR workflows.

Unified Control with Nutanix Prism

MST DR is an ideal complement to the simplified management Nutanix already offers. It uses the same Nutanix Prism management control plane as other NCP solutions and easily integrates with existing Nutanix DR policies and recovery plans that are already in use. 

We’re thrilled to embark on this new era of highly customizable DR solutions, setting the stage for long-term success for our customers. At Nutanix, we go beyond technology, we are committed to enhancing your experience and evolving to meet your ever-changing needs.

Check out our new step-by-step guide to get started today, reach out to your account manager or contact mst-help@nutanix.com to learn more about MST DR.

*Source: IDC white paper sponsored by Seagate, Data Age 2025: The Evolution of Data to Life-Critical

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