Large US Municipal Government
Strengthens Data Protection with
a Seamless Shift from Legacy
Backups to a Resilient,
Hybrid Cloud-ready Platform
Key highlights
100% backups migrated
Moved every backup scheduled in the legacy tool to Rubrik and tested restores.
Zero tape dependency
Replaced tape-based backups with a modern, tapeless platform for faster backup and recovery.
Hybrid cloud coverage
Protected on-premises VMware, VMware Cloud on AWS, native AWS, Solaris, and SAP HANA workloads.
Summary
The client's legacy TSM backup environment had reached end of life and struggled with long restores, complex scripting, and weak cloud support. The team replaced it with Rubrik, using discovery, a parallel-run strategy, and SLA-domain policies, moved all backups, tested restores successfully, and then extended protection to cloud and SAP HANA workloads.
Client overview
Supporting essential city services with a diverse, hybrid IT landscape
The client, the administrative body of a large US city, provides public safety, utilities, libraries, parks and recreation, and general administration services. Thousands of employees operate across a central office and multiple satellite locations.
The client's backup infrastructure, built on TSM, needed a hardware refresh and had reached end of life and support. At the same time, its environment spanned Solaris databases, on-premises VMware Cloud Foundation, VMware Cloud on AWS, and native AWS.
Challenges
Legacy backup architecture unsuited to hybrid cloud
Legacy complexity: TSM required extensive scripting and manual configuration to operate.
Slow recovery: The tape-based architecture caused long restore times, especially for large files and virtual machines.
Limited cloud support: Cloud coverage needed add-ons or third-party integrations, and TSM was not built for hybrid or multi-cloud estates.
Diverse platforms: Solaris databases, WebLogic, multiple storage platforms, and cloud footprints complicated the transition.
Modern threats and hidden costs: Ensuring immutability was difficult, and complicated licensing created hidden storage, agent, and maintenance costs.
Solution
Phased, parallel-run move from TSM to Rubrik for faster recovery and unified hybrid cloud protection
The project ran in phases: discovery and assessment, Rubrik deployment, parallel backup, TSM decommissioning, and optimization. Discovery classified TSM workloads, retention policies, and RPO/RTO needs. We deployed Rubrik appliances and integrated them with vCenter, NetApp, Solaris, and native AWS, with SLA-domain policies and pilot backup and restore tests.
Because Rubrik cannot import TSM backups, legacy TSM was kept for historical restores while workloads moved over, least critical first, before full cutover. Optimization added VMware Cloud on AWS coverage, S3 archiving, and tailored recovery plans for large SAP HANA workloads.
Discovery and assessment
Inventoried TSM workloads, retention policies, storage types, and RPO/RTO requirements.
Rubrik deployment
Deployed the cluster, integrated with vCenter, NetApp, Solaris, and AWS, and defined SLA domains.
Parallel backup strategy
Ran dual backups during transition, migrating lower-criticality workloads first.
Optimization and expansion
Added cloud-hosted VM coverage, S3 archiving, and faster-restore plans for SAP HANA.
Business outcomes
Accelerated data recovery, strengthened cyber resilience, and simplified backup operations
All backups scheduled in TSM were successfully moved to Rubrik, and backup and restore testing for all workloads succeeded. The client now has a modernized, tapeless backup infrastructure with faster backup and recovery cycles, reduced risk of data loss and ransomware impact, and improved compliance and audit readiness.
The engagement built the team's Rubrik expertise, strengthened the client's confidence in future projects, and enabled other sites to adopt the same platform.
