# The Mythical Use Cases: Traffic Engineering for Data Center Backups

DevFeed: [The Mythical Use Cases: Traffic Engineering for Data Center Backups](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/the-mythical-use-cases-traffic-engineering-for-data-center-backups-11022.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.ipspace.net/2024/06/mythical-use-cases/>)

Published: 2024-06-11T10:41:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [ipSpace.net blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/ipspace-net-blog.md>)

Topics: [networking](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/networking.md>), [datacenter](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/datacenter.md>), [Disk image](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/disk-image.md>)

Tags: [backups](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/backups.md>), [cisco](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/cisco.md>), [data-center](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/data-center.md>), [fabric](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/fabric.md>), [ipv6](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ipv6.md>), [network](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/network.md>), [routing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/routing.md>), [server](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/server.md>), [storage](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/storage.md>), [tcp](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/tcp.md>), [traffic-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/traffic-engineering.md>)

## AI overview

This commentary argues that high-volume in-band backups are an overstated justification for complex traffic-engineering features in data center fabrics. It explains that backup-server and storage performance, TCP session distribution, link ratios, dynamic load balancing, and routing can limit or spread the resulting traffic.

## Source excerpt

Vendor product managers love discussing mythical use cases to warrant complex functionality in their gear. Long-distance VM mobility was one of those (using it for disaster avoidance was Mission Impossible under any real-world assumptions), and high-volume network-based backups seems to be another. Here's what someone had to say about that particular unicorn in a LinkedIn comment when discussing whether we need traffic engineering in a data center fabric. When you're dealing with a large cluster on a fabric, you will see things like inband backup. The most common one I've seen is VEEAM. Those inband backups can flood a single link, and no amount of link scheduling really solves that; depending on the source, they can saturate 100G. There are a couple of solutions; IPv6 or eBGP SID has been used to avoid these links or schedule avoidance for other traffic. It is true that (A) in-band backups can be bandwidth intensive and that (B) well-written applications can saturate 100G server links. However: Read more ...