MSP, multi-tenancy technology, is a software architecture technology that explores and implements how to share the same system or program components in a multi-user environment and still ensure data isolation among users.
MSP technology provides a single system architecture and services in a shared data center to provide the same or even customizable services to most clients with a single system architecture and services, while still ensuring data isolation for clients. A system that supports MSP technology needs to be designed to virtually partition its data and configuration so that each tenant or organization of the system can use a separate system instance and each tenant can personalize the configuration of the rented system instance to their needs.
Three main options exist for SaaS MSPs for data storage, which are.
1.Independent database
This is the first option, i.e. one database for one tenant. This option has the highest level of user data isolation and the best security, but it is also costly.
Advantages:
Separate databases for different tenants, which helps simplify the design of data model extensions to meet the unique needs of different tenants.
In case of failure, it is simpler to recover the data.
Disadvantages:
Increases the number of database installations, with the attendant increase in maintenance costs and acquisition costs.
This solution is similar to the traditional one customer, one set of data, one set of deployment, differing only in that the software is deployed uniformly to the carrier. If you are dealing with a tenant that requires a very high level of data isolation, such as a bank or hospital, you can choose this model and increase the pricing of the lease. If the pricing is lower and the product takes the low price route, this solution is generally unaffordable for operators.
- Shared database, isolated data architecture
This is the second option, that is, multiple or all tenants share Database, but a Tenant a Schema.
Advantages:
Provides a degree of logical data isolation for tenants with high security requirements, and not complete isolation; each database can support a larger number of tenants.
Disadvantages:
Data recovery is more difficult in the event of a failure, as restoring the database will involve other tenants’ data.
There is some difficulty if cross-tenant statistics are needed.
- Shared Database, Shared Data Schema
This is the third option, that is, tenants share the same Database, the same Schema, but distinguish the data of tenants by TenantID in the table. This is the model with the highest degree of sharing and the lowest level of isolation.
Advantages:
Compared to the first two options, this option has the lowest maintenance and acquisition costs and allows the largest number of tenants to be supported per database.
Disadvantages:
Lowest level of isolation and lowest security, requiring greater development of security during design and development.
Most difficult to back up and restore data, requiring table-by-table, line-by-line backups and restores.
This solution is most suitable if you want to serve the largest number of tenants with the fewest number of servers and if the tenants accept sacrificing isolation levels in exchange for lower costs.
- MSP database backup and protection
How to choose an MSP database backup solution? Designed for MSPs, multi-tenancy mode from Vinchin Backup & Recovery works to help you deliver smart, agile and simplified backup and DR services for all clients. You can manage an unlimited number of tenants through a central location to have their data safely kept on-premises, offsite and on cloud, making data protection across multiple hypervisors easier than you think.