Veeam – Immutable Storage Cost Estimator

Ransomware protection shouldn’t bankrupt your OpEx. Calculate the true “API Tax” of your S3 Object Lock architecture before you deploy.

Key Features
  • The “Hidden” API Tax: Standard cloud calculators only show you storage ($/GB). We expose the millions of PUT, LIST, and TAG requests required to lock your data against ransomware, which often accounts for 30% of the total bill.
  • Interactive Write-Amplification Modeling: We don’t just guess your storage penalty; we let you model it. When switching to 4MB blocks, use our Write Overhead Slider to simulate everything from a standard 10% dedupe loss up to a 100% “worst-case” scenario for random I/O workloads.
  • Immutability vs. Retention Split: We separate the “Cost to Keep” (Storage) from the “Cost to Lock” (API), allowing you to see exactly how much your ransomware protection strategy costs per month.
  • Strategy Simulation: Model the IOPS difference between “Periodic Synthetic Fulls” (High API Churn) and “Forever Incremental” (Low API Churn) to decide which backup method fits your budget.
FAQ

  • 1. Why is there a “Write Overhead” slider when I select 4MB blocks?
    Larger block sizes (4MB) significantly reduce API costs but can cause Write Amplification—where a small change forces a larger chunk of data to be rewritten.
    • Sequential Workloads (File/Video): Typically see low overhead (10-20%).
    • Random Workloads (Databases): Can see high overhead (50-100%). We added the slider so you can adjust this variable based on your specific dataset to find the “break-even” point between API savings and storage growth.
  • 2. What exactly is the “API Tax”?
    • Cloud storage bills consist of two parts: Capacity (how much space you use) and Operations (how often you touch it). When you enable S3 Object Lock for ransomware protection, Veeam must generate a unique PUT request to write the block and a TAG request to lock it. On a multi-terabyte dataset, this generates millions of requests. We call this the “API Tax” because it is a hidden operational cost that often surprises architects on “Day 2.”
  • 3. What should I set the “Write Overhead” percentage to?
    • Set to 10-15% (Default): If you are backing up standard VMs, file servers, or image-level backups. This is the industry standard “safe bet.”
    • Set to 50-100%: If you are backing up highly transactional databases, encrypted disks, or heavily fragmented data where deduplication efficiency is critical.
  • 4. Should I use Periodic Synthetic Fulls or Forever Incremental?
    • Choose Periodic Synthetic Fulls if your compliance standards require a fully independent restore point every week. Be aware this generates a massive spike in API calls (and cost) weekly as Veeam “synthesizes” the new full backup in the cloud.
    • Choose Forever Incremental if you want to smooth out your monthly OpEx. This method uses fewer API calls because it only writes changed blocks and relies on background merges.
  • 5. Why doesn’t Wasabi show an “API Tax”?
    • Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage operates on a simplified pricing model that does not charge for egress or API requests (PUT, GET, LIST, TAG). If you select Wasabi in the calculator, you will notice the “API Tax” bar drops to zero. This makes it a popular choice for high-transaction workloads like immutable backups, where metadata chatter is high.

Found an ‘API Tax’ you didn’t expect? We help Veeam users optimize their cloud architecture every day. Reach out for a quick configuration review to see if we can slash your monthly bill – E-Mail.