I'm currently working on improving the data replication speed between two data centers: one in Vancouver, BC (Western Canada) and the other in Newark, DE (Eastern USA). The primary data center runs on a traditional VMware setup with Veeam for backups and daily asynchronous replication to the DR site. The current replication takes about 6 hours to transfer 250GB, and while bandwidth isn't an issue, the latency due to the distance is a limiting factor since it's only able to fill part of the available bandwidth. Both locations use SonicWall firewalls connected via IPSec over the public internet, with average ping times of about 70 ms. I'm seeking advice on what options might be available to lower this latency and enhance our replication speed without disrupting the existing setup. If cost isn't a concern, what technologies or connections should I consider?
1 Answer
Latency doesn't seem too bad for that distance. However, have you checked if your SonicWall firewalls can even handle the data rates efficiently? Some lower-end models might not be capable of the speeds they claim over IPSec.
Yeah, it sounds like the SonicWalls are likely your bottleneck. I can achieve near full gig line rates from Vancouver to eastern Canada over IPSec, so you might want to look into upgrading.