Entries categorized under “Replication”

Identifying a virtual machine backup software solution that delivers on the intangible new features that a small and midsized enterprise (SME) needs to backup and recover its virtualized environment is easier said than done. The DCIG 2013 Virtual Server Backup Software Buyer's Guide identified and evaluated over 20 virtual server backup solutions with more than 150 different features. The trick for SMEs is to identify which of these 150 features match their specific needs and then select a backup software solution that delivers on them. (read more)

Virtualizing applications such that it results in the use of fewer servers makes great sense. Applications are centralized. Hardware is more efficiently used. Data center floor space is freed up. Virtual machine (VM) loads may be more efficiently and non-disruptively redistributed between physical systems. But then the realization hits. You have put all of your proverbial eggs in one basket and unless you have a real or near real-time copy of this data off-site, should a major disaster hit, your goose is cooked. The question then becomes, "What is the best way to get this data off-site?" (read more)

Virtual backup appliances (VBAs) are the new hot ticket in backup. Providing an economical alternative to physical backup appliances, they are finding a new home as the preferred solution to backup branch, remote and small offices as well as serving as a replication target. But to fulfill these different roles results in the need for VBAs to take on their own personalities. The new Virtual Backup Software in Eversync 5.1 gives organizations access to a solution they have long sought: simplified backup and replication. (read more)

Enterprise backup has changed significantly in the last decade with disk-based backup and deduplication contributing largely to that shift. But as array-based snapshots emerge as the next big wave in how data protection is done, organizations should not assume that a choice between array-based snapshots and disk-based backup looms. Rather, array-based snapshots and disk-based backup are complementary technologies that change the decision from being "one or the other" to "how to make them work better together." (read more)

To say "All virtual machine (VM) backup software is the same" is like saying "All birds can fly." While VM backup software solutions can and certainly do protect VMs, the techniques they use, what hypervisors they support and how they manage backup and recovery vary greatly between them. Understanding and quantifying these differences becomes especially important for those organizations looking to select the best solution to protect the growing number of VMs in their environment. (read more)

To date, backup has been largely driven by a single business objective: creating a recoverable copy of data. But as business service level agreements (SLAs) continue to demand ever shorter application recovery times, creating backups - even if they are good backups - without having any visibility into expected recovery times is simply not enough. Now, the requirements of physical and virtual application recovery must align with these heightened business expectations. (read more)

The mainframe and virtual tape libraries (VTLs) are linked in ways in which most of the open systems world has never really experienced. While both mainframe and open systems have and continue to use VTLs as part of their respective backup and recovery strategies, mainframes may also store less frequently accessed data on VTLs using its hierarchical storage management (HSM) software. EMC's introduction of synchronous replication on its new DLm8000 means mainframe environments may continue and even expand their use of HSM while still achieving the same levels of availability to which they are accustomed on their Tier 1 storage systems. (read more)

Backup appliances are HOT right now with organizations of all sizes loving the flexibility and ease with which these appliances enable them to get backup up and running in their environment. But as DCIG's research into backup appliances uncovers, they are not all created equal with features like deduplication, SSD support and application integration emerging as key differentiators. It is these features and more that Eversync bundles in its new, recently announced line of data protection appliances. (read more)

Crawl. Walk. Run. That progression pretty well summarizes how most people look to take advantage of cloud service providers over time though, in cloud services terminology, the progression may be better summed up as: Archive, Replicate, Recover. Today I conclude my conversation with American Internet Service's VP of Network Engineering, Steve Wallace, as we examine how many of AIS' clients initially get their data into the AIS cloud and then expand their use of AIS cloud services over time. (read more)

Normally on Memorial Day DCIG's staff takes the day off from its normal routine to enjoy some time with friends and family. However today we make an exception to that rule as DCIG was saddened to learn this morning that IceWEB's chairmen and CEO, John Signorello, passed away late last week on Friday, May 25, 2012. On a personal note, this announcement hit me a little harder than most as John was both a friend who I spoke to just a couple of weeks ago and the same age (45) as me. (read more)

When Symantec shipped its first backup appliances in late 2010, it could arguably be said the primary intention of these appliances was to simplify the deployment of Backup Exec and NetBackup at customer sites by shipping both hardware and software as a single SKU. While that still holds true, these appliances also opened the door for them to offer specific features and assume their own unique identities. The new NetBackup 5220 begins to deliver on that promise as it now offers specific software and features that make it much more than just a "server with NetBackup software pre-installed on it." (read more)

As small and midsize businesses (SMBs) virtualize their servers at an increasing pace, many fail to consider the impact this change has on how they do backups - or that it impacts their backups at all. However since many IT administrators who are responsible for backups in these environments would freely admit to not being backup gurus, here are some tips on what features to look for in backup software in order to properly protect and recover your newly virtualized environment. (read more)

Server virtualization has effectively broken the one-to-one relationship between servers and applications, enabling more efficient use of the host's physical resources. But this is not without its drawbacks, as applications like backup software that took advantage of these idle resources no longer have access to them. (read more)

Multiple interfaces, multiple products, and multiple systems to learn and become an "expert" in each one - such is the life of a backup administrator. Every administrator has at times longed for the day when he or she might be able to manage all of their backups and recovery operations, as well as virtual machine and replication snapshots, from a single, integrated interface. That day may be coming sooner than you think. (read more)

Using a common console to manage servers and storage coupled with a roadmap to automated disaster recovery (DR) are becoming almost prerequisites in VMware vSphere deployments. Key to delivering on these emerging requirements is employing a midrange array that (1) integrates with and is managed by vCenter Server, and (2) facilitates the implementation of VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager (SRM). (read more)

Using array-based snapshots for virtual machine (VM) protection and optimizing storage efficiency are two sought after features in VMware deployments. However, this does not mean that all midrange arrays deliver on these capabilities equally. If anything, the differences in how midrange arrays support them may be quite substantial. (read more)

One of the more revealing findings out of the recent DCIG 2012 Midrange Array Buyer's Guide was the gap between those midrange arrays that integrate with the VMware vSphere storage APIs and those that do not, as it was almost a case of the "Have's" and the "Have-not's." But among the "Have's" there are still levels of differentiation in vSphere integration that the Buyer's Guide did not examine in depth. (read more)

On the surface, the idea of transitioning from tape-based to disk-based backup sounds relatively straightforward. But managing backups across multiple sites takes on a life of its own with virtualized machine (VM) backup adding yet another level of complexity to the mix. It is when the Daughters of Charity Health Systems (DCHS) considered this mix of variables and who was in the best position to ensure success that it opted to roll out Data Domain in its environment. (read more)

DCIG regularly talks to organizations that are confronted with continuing data growth, ongoing tape problems, saturated WAN links and overworked IT staff who recognize that changes to their existing backup environment are needed. However non-profits such as the Daughters of Charity Health Systems (DCHS) with limited funding for new technology purchases are particularly challenged as they have no margin for error. (read more)

Today there are more open system arrays with more features from more vendors from which organizations may choose. Yet what is emerging as an obstacle to organizations considering some of these arrays as viable options is their inability to leverage these snapshot capabilities. That obstacle may be short-lived thanks in part to the CommVault IntelliSnap Connect Program. (read more)

Implementing and then managing DR is still no "gimme." It requires that SMBs select a solution that offers the right five features so they can successfully execute on a DR initiative in their environment for 2012 and beyond. (read more)

About a month ago I started to put some thought and research into what might emerge as the top trends of 2012 by keeping a notebook next to my keyboard so as ideas struck me I could jot them down. Now as I look at the four trends that made today's short list, they ended up being on the surface ones that I hear, write and talk about every day. (read more)

Enterprises have been hearing about the value and veracity of public cloud for years even as Symantec has been getting feedback on its value proposition from its public cloud customers. The message that Symantec has received is that "ripping and replacing" is not an option. Rather enterprises want and need revolutionary infrastructure with evolutionary products and prices. (read more)

You may be wondering what a backup website, a WAN optimization technology and a blog entry have in common. Under normal conditions, probably nothing. But on a rather slow news week and me finally being in the office for more than two consecutive weeks in about 3 months, I finally had a chance to catch up with both Quantum and a new company called Infineta regarding some recent announcements from both of these companies. (read more)

It is no secret that virtualization is changing everything about how organizations think about and manage their data centers. But perhaps one of the more dramatic changes in thinking that still needs to take place is in how they should approach disaster recovery (DR). The odds of this shift in thinking occurring sooner rather than later just got a boost as a result of the announcement of a new replication software solution from a new company called Zerto that emerged from stealth mode this week. (read more)