Running an RBS Server on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2)

The RBackup Server runs on Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud service. This brings an unprecedented level of reliability, flexibility, affordability, and profitability to online backup services using RBackup.

What does this mean to you as an Online Backup Service provider? You can start your service with no hardware to purchase or maintain, no data center contracts, no worries about bandwidth or drive space, and a 99.95% uptime guarantee from Amazon.

Hosting plans start at under $100/month with no initial fee! Amazon will charge your credit card monthly only for the resources you use, on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Amazon's redundant data centers are among the most robust on the planet. Now, even small Service Providers can get started in the Online Backup business with the same level of hardware and data center resources that would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Our RBackup Service Provider Edition software works the same on Amazon's EC2 Cloud service as it does in a regular data center. You manage it using Remote Desktop or our Version 11 Web Manager PlugIn. On screen it looks and works just like a stand-alone Windows 2008 Server computer.

The base price for running a small EC2 instance 24 hours a day is about $90 per month. There are additional charges for storage space that you allocate to your EC2 account, bandwidth you use, and "Transactions," which are reads and writes, server requests, and other things that use CPU time.

A typical 25 client Amazon EC2 small instance with all 25 clients backing up every day, and 1TB of storage space allocated for your EC2 instance might cost around $200/month plus or minus $30 or so, depending on your bandwidth usage and the activity of your customers.

To get started you will need a copy of our software and an Amazon AWS account. The Amazon account is free to start. They bill your credit card in arrears at the end of 30 days for the resources you use.

Remote Backup Systems will set up your Amazon EC2 account for you in about an hour at no charge.

What is EC2? Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud is a hosting platform that maintains virtual servers running in Amazon's data centers. Your EC2 account looks and works exactly like a stand-alone, dedicated Windows server with a static IP address. You manage it with Remote Desktop.

What operating system does EC2 run? We recommend Windows Server 2008 or higher for running an RBS Server. You can select Server 2008 when you set up your EC2 account. You will not need to purchase the operating system.

How easy is it to set up? It takes only minutes to set up an EC2 account. Click Here to download the instructions. For a small fee (or free with new RBS Server purchases) we will install your RBS Server for you. Call us for more information.

Do you have an AMI (Amazon Machine Image?) Yes. An "AMI" is a complete image of a configured and ready-to-customize RBS Server, already stored with Amazon. Bringing up a new fully operational, ready to use RBS Server in Amazon EC2 requires only a few mouse clicks and a few minutes.

How much does it cost? Amazon charges fees for various resources your RBS Server uses - bandwidth, storage space, computing time, etc. A typical account adequate for up to 50 clients, backing up 200GB (compressed size) per month, restoring 50GB, and storing 750GB costs about $198/month. Storing 1TB instead of 750GB costs about $223/month. These prices are estimates, based on Amazon's AWS Simple Monthly Calculator. An RBS sales consultant can help you determine the approximate costs based on your needs. Your credit card will be billed directly by Amazon.

How will I manage my RBS Server? Simply log into your static IP address using Windows Remote Desktop, sharing your local disk drives and printers when you do. Remote Desktop will automatically map your local drives to your Amazon EC2 account. You can then copy files to and from your EC2 account the same way you copy them around your local drives, and print reports to your local printer.

How do I back up my EC2 RBS Server? Easily. Amazon's Elastic Block Store (EBS) can automatically maintain a snapshot of your entire RBS Server, including client data, and the entire operating system.

Can I migrate my existing RBS Server to EC2? Yes. The procedure is the same as moving an existing RBS Server to any other computer. Here's a Knowledge Base article that will help.

I want a LOT more info than you have on this page. No problem. Click here.