Amazon Elastic Disaster Recovery copies on-premises and cloud-based server workloads to AWS so they can be recovered with reduced downtime and data loss. Recovery instances can start from the latest server state or from a selected earlier point in time. Teams can run non-disruptive recovery drills and use a failback process to return recovered applications to their source environment. Supported sources include physical servers, VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, other cloud providers, and EC2 instances being recovered to another Availability Zone or Region. Windows and Linux workloads include Oracle, MySQL, and SQL Server databases, along with enterprise applications such as SAP. The AWS Replication Agent installs on Linux and Windows source servers. After recovery launches, automated actions can run Systems Manager commands or automations, including predefined monitoring, connectivity, and volume checks. Network recovery can include subnets, security groups, route tables, internet gateways, and network ACLs. The console displays replicating servers, events, and metrics. Agent and replication-server communication uses TLS 1.2, and requests are signed with credentials associated with an IAM principal. Usage-based pricing is billed hourly per actively replicating source server. There is no free plan.
Who it is for
This service suits organizations that need to recover server workloads from on-premises infrastructure, AWS, or other cloud providers into AWS. It is relevant to teams running supported Windows or Linux workloads that need recovery drills, point-in-time recovery, or failback to a source environment.
What is good
- Recovers from the latest server state or a selected earlier point in time.
- Supports non-disruptive recovery drills and failback to the source.
- Accepts physical, VMware, Hyper-V, cloud, and EC2 sources.
- Can replicate AWS network configuration for recovery.
- Post-launch actions can run Systems Manager commands or automations.
What to know first
- There is no free plan.
- The replication agent does not support 32-bit systems or Windows on arm64.
- Linux arm64 sources are supported only for AWS-to-AWS recovery.
Verdict
Choose Amazon Elastic Disaster Recovery when server workloads need recovery into AWS with point-in-time options, recovery drills, and a failback process. Look elsewhere if the source servers require 32-bit support or Windows on arm64.
Get started with Amazon Elastic Disaster Recovery
- Open the Amazon Elastic Disaster Recovery website.
- Choose Linux or Windows source servers for the AWS Replication Agent, subject to the supported architectures.
- Configure replication for supported source servers, including physical servers, VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, other cloud providers, or EC2 instances.
- Use the console to monitor replicating servers, events, and metrics.
- Launch a recovery instance from the latest server state or a selected earlier point in time.
- Run a non-disruptive recovery drill and use failback to return recovered applications to the source environment when needed.
Limits to know first
The usage-based plan is billed hourly per actively replicating source server. The agent does not support 32-bit systems or Windows on arm64, and Linux arm64 source support is limited to AWS-to-AWS recovery.
Questions about Amazon Elastic Disaster Recovery
How much does Amazon Elastic Disaster Recovery cost?
Usage-based pricing is billed hourly per actively replicating source server. The pricing note is From $0.03.
Is there a free plan?
No. The pricing model is paid.
Which platforms are supported?
The listed platforms are API, Linux, self-hosted, web, and Windows. The replication agent installs on Linux and Windows source servers.
What source environments can it recover?
Supported sources include physical servers, VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, other cloud providers, and EC2 instances recovering to another Availability Zone or Region.
Does it support recovery drills and failback?
Yes. It supports non-disruptive recovery drills and a process to fail recovered applications back to the source environment.
What are the architecture limits?
The agent does not support 32-bit systems or Windows on arm64. Linux arm64 source support is limited to AWS-to-AWS recovery.
Amazon Elastic Disaster Recovery plans and pricing
All plansCompared on backup and disaster recovery software
- Free plan
- No
- Deployment model
- cloud
- Protected workloads
- servers
- Maximum retention
- 365 days
- Immutable backups
- No
- Recovery orchestration
- Yes
- Ransomware recovery
- Yes
