Abstract: Automatically provisioning a data backup and recovery system by a storage vault controller involves receiving specification of a number of end points to use for storing user data in one or more cloud-based storage systems, receiving a distinct name for each of the end points, receiving cloud storage credentials for a plurality of pre-configured cloud storage buckets, receiving a mapping of the end points to the pre-configured cloud storage buckets, mounting the end point names, automatically associating each end point with a corresponding pre-configured cloud storage bucket and cloud storage credentials in accordance with the mapping wherein user data written to a mounted end point name is automatically written securely to the corresponding cloud storage bucket, and generating a plurality of successive immutable incremental snapshots of the data in the cloud storage buckets.

Abstract: A method on a computer system for facilitating management of virtual machines in a private data center over a communications network can be provided. The method can include receiving, by a first computer in the private data center, a request via the communications network from a user for access to a subset of a plurality of virtual machines in the private data center. The method can further include executing a first authentication process by proxy between the user and the first computer and executing a second authentication process by proxy between the user and a second computer at the private data center. The method can further include establishing a secure, out-of-band connection between the user and the subset of the plurality of virtual machines in the private data network and restricting access of the user to the subset of the plurality of virtual machines according to permissions associated with the user.