Rubrik Deployment Hardware and Software Options Study Guide

Core Terminology and Definitions

• CDM (Cloud Data Management): This refers to the core software powering the Rubrik environment. While it was initially titled Converged Data Management, the name was transitioned to "Cloud" for marketing purposes.
• Brick: This is defined as a single Rubrik physical appliance. It comprises the rackable chassis and all internal hardware components.
• Node: This is the individual unit of compute within a brick. A single brick contains multiple nodes that collaborate to form a Rubrik cluster.
• FRU (Field Replaceable Unit) / CRU (Customer Replaceable Unit): These terms describe hardware components that can be exchanged or replaced on-site (in the field) rather than requiring the entire appliance to be sent back to the manufacturer.
• TPM (Trusted Platform Module): A tamper-resistant cryptographic chip integrated into the motherboard. It handles secure tasks such as generating cryptographic keys and protecting sensitive data, including passwords and keys.

Hardware Naming Conventions

Rubrik employs a unified numbering system to identify appliance specifications. Using the example R7408, the breakdown is as follows:

• Leading Letter: Signifies the appliance type.
  • R: Rubrik (standard).
  • F: Flash-based appliance.
• First Digit(s): Indicates the Product Family (e.g., $7000$ or $10000$ series).
• Middle Digit: Indicates the number of nodes currently installed in the chassis.
  • In an R7408, the "$4$" means all four available slots are filled with nodes.
  • All R7000 models are equipped with $4$ nodes.
• Last Two Digits: Represents the capacity of the hard disk drives ($HDD$) in Terabytes ($TB$).
  • In an R7408, the "$08$" indicates that the nodes use $8\,TB$ hard disks.

Secure Foundational Standards (FIPS)

• FIPS 140-3: All current Rubrik models include software-based encryption compliant with this standard. This is an upgrade from the previous FIPS 140-2 standard.
• Requirements: It establishes specific security requirements for cryptographic modules, mandating robust encryption and data protection.
• Mandates: This standard is required for government agencies and highly regulated industries.
• Enhancements: It incorporates additional testing and implementation requirements to ensure higher security assurance.

R7000 Series: Flagship Hardware Specification

The R7000 series is the current flagship platform for disk-based Rubrik deployments.

• Chassis: Build on a $2U$ form factor rackable chassis.
• Nodes: Each chassis contains $4$ individual nodes. Nodes are essentially commodity Intel-based computers in a $1U$ form factor.
• Node Internal Storage Components:
  • $2 \times M.2\,SSD$: Used for the operating system, metadata, and caching. These are non-FRU components.
  • $3 \times HDD$: Used for bulk storage capacity. These are FRU components.
• Brick-Level Total Storage:
  • $4\text{ nodes} \times 2\text{ SSDs} = 8\text{ SSDs per brick}$.
  • $4\text{ nodes} \times 3\text{ HDDs} = 12\text{ HDDs per brick}$.
• External Views and Maintenance:
  • Front View: Access to nodes and disks is gained after removing the bezel. This is where users power nodes on/off or activate the UID (Unit Identification) light for service location.
  • Rear View: Contains the $SFP+$ networking ports.
  • Internal View: Contains the CPU, Network Interface Card (NIC), and TPM chip.
• Disk Identification Warning: Within the R series, disk identification indexes can change after a node reboot. To reliably identify a failed disk, the command support find bad disk from the Rubrik CDM CLI guide must be used.

R7000 Networking and Connectivity

Each node in an R7000 brick features a hot-swappable quad-port NIC, available as either $SFP+$ or $10\,Gb\text{ Base-T}$.

• Bonding Configuration: Ports operate in Linux Mode $1$ (Active/Backup).
  • Bond 0 (Data Network): Utilizes ports $4$ and $3$. Connecting at least one port on Bond 0 is mandatory for the node to function.
  • Bond 1 (Management Network): Utilizes ports $2$ and $1$. This is an optional network configuration.
• IPMI (Out-of-band Management):
  • Port 5: Dedicated IPMI port.
  • Requirement: Configuration of IPMI is mandatory during the initial bootstrap process.
  • Alternative: If Port $5$ is not physically cabled, users can utilize Port $1$ (eth0) for IPMI via the RISC (Rubrik Internal System Controller).
• Network Flexibility: $SFP+$ models also support $10\,Gb\text{ Base-T}$ for operation in mixed network environments.

R6000 Series: Previous Generation Hardware

The R6000 is still widely used and follows a similar naming logic with extra suffixes for encryption type.

• Naming Example (R6408F):
  • R: Rubrik.
  • 6000: Product Family.
  • 4: Nodes sold/installed.
  • 08: $8\,TB$ disk capacity.
  • Trailing Letters (Encryption):
    • S: Software encrypted.
    • SE: Software encrypted enhanced (comes with a larger $SSD$).
    • F: FIPS compliant (Utilizes hardware-encrypted $SSDs$ and $HDDs$).
• Node Internal Storage Components:
  • $1 \times M.2\,SSD$: For the OS (Non-FRU).
  • $1 \times 2.5\text{-inch } SSD$: For metadata and cache (FRU).
  • $3 \times HDD$: For storage capacity (FRU).
• Networking Nuance: The system designates the fastest available port pair as Bond 0. If all ports (Copper or $SFP+$) have the same speed, the physical location of the bonds may switch based on hardware auto-detection. Reconfiguring these bonds requires consultation with Rubrik Support.

Mixed Hardware and Third-Party Support

• Intra-Cluster Mixing: R6000 and R7000 nodes can coexist within the same Rubrik cluster.
• Encryption Parity Rule: Every node in a mixed cluster must have the same encryption status. You cannot mix encrypted and unencrypted nodes.
• Third-Party Hardware: Rubrik CDM can run on certified servers from other vendors.
  • Categories: Standard and Dense.
  • Node Requirement: A minimum of $4$ nodes is required for a third-party cluster.
  • Compatibility: R6000 appliances can be mixed with all "Standard" category third-party hardware appliances.

Virtual and Cloud Deployments

Rubrik Edge

A single-node virtual appliance designed for remote and branch offices (ROBO).

• Hypervisor Support: vSphere, Nutanix AHV, Hyper-V, and Red Hat KVM.
• Capacity Scaling Table:

Cloud Cluster ES (Elastic Storage)

Allows CDM to run within a Virtual Private Cloud ($VPC$).

• Storage Model: Uses native platform object storage instead of block volumes, which reduces long-term retention costs and increases reliability.
• Configurations: Available in "Standard" and "Dense." Mixing these configurations in one cluster is prohibited; "Dense" is preferred for stability and scale.

ROBO Nodes (Dell and HPE)

These serve as replacements for the legacy E1000 platforms.

• Capabilities: Supports all Rubrik editions (Foundation, Business, Enterprise, Proactive) and runs full security workloads.
• Models:
  • Dell R660 XSXL Robo: Launched May $2024$.
  • HPE DL360 Gen11: $1U$ platform with two mirrored LFF drives; launched December $2024$.

Sample Architecture: Rubrik Security Cloud (RSC)

• Central Management: RSC acts as the "single pane of glass" for managing all environments.
• Primary Sites: Deploy physical Rubrik clusters for direct local backups.
• Remote Offices: Deploy Rubrik Edge virtual appliances; local backups are taken and then replicated back to the physical cluster at the primary site.
• Archival: Data can be pushed off-site to the public cloud or another physical location for long-term retention.
• Disaster Recovery: Facilitated via replication between clusters at different physical sites.
• Cloud/SaaS Protection: RSC natively protects workloads in the public cloud and SaaS environments like Microsoft 365.