Beyond the CrowdStrike-Related Outage: How NAKIVO Helps You Maintain Uninterrupted Operations
The recent CrowdStrike-related Windows outage resulting from a flawed software update was likely the largest tech failure incident in history. It affected 8.5 million Windows devices and disrupted air travel, healthcare, banking, and logistics worldwide. In comparison, one of the most devastating ransomware attacks, WannaCry, hit more than 200,000 computers in 2017, a figure over 40 times lower.
This incident highlighted the interdependence and fragility of the global digital landscape, leading many organizations to reevaluate their backup and recovery strategies and the solutions they use to maintain business continuity.
At NAKIVO, we understand today’s cyber risks and deliver a data protection solution that helps organizations easily respond to crises similar to the recent CrowdStrike outage. This blog post delves into the advantages of NAKIVO’s solution for faster recoveries and shorter disruptions.
1. Avoid Platform-Specific Vulnerabilities with Multiple Deployment Options
NAKIVO offers a broader range of deployment options than other data protection solutions on the market. NAKIVO Backup & Replication can be installed not only on Windows-based devices but also:
- Linux machines, including Ubuntu, Debian, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS
- Pre-configured Linux-based VMware or Nutanix AHV Virtual Appliances (VA) that can be imported directly into your existing virtual environment
- Pre-configured Amazon Machine Image (AMI) in Amazon EC2
- Direct installation on NAS devices such as Synology, QNAP, ASUSTOR, FreeNAS and Western Digital NAS
With various deployment scenarios, you can avoid vulnerabilities related to using a single platform across all your IT systems.
NOTE: If you have NAKIVO Backup & Replication installed on a Windows machine during a Windows outage, you can re-install an exact copy of the solution on an unaffected device in under two minutes. Import the backup repository with the self-backup file, which contains the solution configurations, including existing workflows, schedules, and inventory. Read more about Self-Backup in the NAKIVO User Guide.
2. Unified Protection for Multi-Platform and Hybrid IT Infrastructures
Regardless of your infrastructure’s complexity, NAKIVO has you covered. NAKIVO Backup & Replication supports a wide array of workloads, including:
- virtual environments like VMware, Proxmox, Hyper-V and Nutanix VMs
- physical servers and desktops on Linux and Windows
- Amazon EC2 instances
- Microsoft 365 apps and services like Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive for Business
- NAS data via SMB/NFS file shares
- Applications like Microsoft Exchange Server, SQL Server, and Active Directory
The solution also allows seamless integration of various storage types, including NAS devices, public clouds, S3-compatible platforms, deduplication appliances, and tape. This flexibility helps you diversify backup storage while aligning your business needs and budget constraints.
3. Stay in Control with the Centralized Web-Based Dashboard
During the CrowdStrike-related outage, many Windows devices crashed, displaying the blue screen of death. In such cases, you can still access NAKIVO’s solution from any other internet-connected device. The solution’s web-based dashboard allows you to manage backup and recovery workflows from anywhere and anytime, making it easier to quickly respond to incidents during outages.
4. Recover in Minutes: Flexible Point-in-Time Recovery
This recent outage was caused by a security software update from CrowdStrike. In a similar incident, the NAKIVO solution enables you to revert a VM or physical machine to its pre-update state.
NAKIVO’s solution supports a variety of recovery options, including:
- Instant VM Flash Boot. You can boot VMware and Hyper-V VMs directly from backups in seconds to restore critical business operations without downtime.
- Bare metal recovery. Quickly restore a full physical machine to a working state on the same or identical hardware, without lengthy OS and application reinstallation procedures.
Recovery options also include granular recovery of individual files and folders. NAKIVO Backup & Replication streamlines search across backups, allowing you to quickly locate the specific file you need, choose the recovery point and swiftly restore it to its original or a new location.
5. Enhance IT Resilience: Restore Across Platforms
NAKIVO supports cross-platform recovery, providing greater flexibility during IT incidents and enhancing recovery capabilities in hybrid infrastructures. You can seamlessly convert Linux and Windows physical machines into VMs or restore VMware VMs as Hyper-V VMs and vice versa.
6. Automated Disaster Recovery for Business Continuity
Take advantage of NAKIVO’s built-in disaster recovery capabilities. The solution supports replication of VMs and EC2 instances and enables you to automate failover to replicas located on a secondary site. Start the failover with a single click and let the solution automatically run the pre-configured sequence, map networks, and configure IPs. A quick failover can help you maintain business operations even during outages and failures.
7. Multi-Layered Ransomware Protection
Massive tech disruptions like the recent CrowdStrike-related outage leave organizations more vulnerable to cyberattacks, thus, fueling scams and phishing attempts. Amidst the chaos, malware protection should become one of the top priorities.
With NAKIVO’s solution, you can make backups immutable in local storage, cloud, and HYDRAstor systems, safeguarding data against changes and deletions. The solution supports end-to-end AES256 encryption of backup data (at source, during transfer, and at rest), backup malware scan, and various security features preventing unauthorized access, such as role-based access control and two-factor authentication.
8. NAKIVO Support: Always Here When You Need Us
All of NAKIVO’s subscription plans include 24/7 support via phone, chat, and email. Whenever you need assistance, NAKIVO engineers are standing by to provide technical support quickly and reliably.
Stay Ahead of Disruptions with NAKIVO Backup & Replication
Even tech giants can face outages and failures. By partnering with a reliable data protection provider like NAKIVO, you can ensure your business maintains high operational resilience against any digital threats.
