Breaking Down Scalable Data Protection Appliances

May 2, 2019

Scalable data protection appliances have arguably emerged as one of the hottest backup trends in quite some time, possibly since the introduction of deduplication into the backup process. These appliances offer backup software, cloud connectivity, replication, and scalable storage in a single, logical converged or hyperconverged infrastructure platform offering that simplify backup while positioning a company to seamlessly implement the appliance as part of its disaster recovery strategy or even create a DR solution for the first time.

Three Features that Matter on All-flash Arrays and One that Matters Not So Much

March 1, 2018

In the last few years all-flash arrays have taken enterprise data centers by storm but, as that has occurred, the criteria by which organizations should evaluate storage arrays from competing vendors have changed substantially. Features that once mattered considerably now barely get anyone’s attention while features that no one had knowledge of a few years ago are closely scrutinized. Here are three features that organizations should examine on all-flash arrays and one feature that has largely dropped off the radar screen in terms of importance.

A More Elegant (and Affordable) Approach to Nutanix Backups

February 15, 2018

One of the more perplexing challenges that Nutanix administrators face is how to protect the data in their Nutanix deployments. Granted, Nutanix natively offers its own data protection utilities. However, these utilities leave gaps that enterprises are unlikely to find palatable when protecting their production applications. This is where Comtrade Software’s HYCU and ExaGrid come into play as their combined solutions provide a more affordable and elegant approach to protecting Nutanix environments.

Exercise Caution Before Making Any Assumptions about Cloud Data Protection Products

July 24, 2017

There are two assumptions that IT professionals need to exercise caution before making when evaluating cloud data protection products. One is to assume all products share some feature or features in common. The other is to assume that one product possesses some feature or characteristic that no other product on the market offers. As DCIG reviews its recent research into the cloud data protection products, one cannot make either one of these assumptions, even on features such as deduplication, encryption, and replication that one might expect to be universally adopted by these products in comparable ways.

Deduplicate Differently with Leading Enterprise Midrange All-flash Arrays

April 18, 2017

If you assume that leading enterprise midrange all-flash arrays (AFAs) support deduplication, your assumption would be correct. But if you assume that these arrays implement and deliver deduplication’s features in the same way, you would be mistaken. These differences in deduplication should influence any all-flash array buying decision as deduplication’s implementation affects the array’s total effective capacity, performance, usability, and, ultimately, your bottom line.

Data Visualization, Recovery, and Simplicity of Management Emerging as Differentiating Features on Integrated Backup Appliances

October 7, 2016

Enterprises now demand higher levels of automation, integration, simplicity, and scalability from every component deployed into their IT infrastructure and the integrated backup appliances found in the DCIG’s forthcoming Buyer’s Guide Editions that cover integrated backup appliances are a clear output of those expectations. Intended for organizations that want to protect applications and data and then keep it behind corporate fire walls, these backup appliances come fully equipped from both hardware and software perspectives to do so.

The Architecture, Database Storage Efficiency and Performance Tools of Oracle ZS4-4 Hybrid Storage Array Give It a Decided Edge in Oracle Database Environments

December 3, 2014

Hybrid storage arrays, which dynamically place data in storage pools that combine flash memory and HDDs, are rapidly expanding their market share in the enterprise space. These arrays use the latest generation of hardware – including multi-core CPUs and DRAM and flash caches – to offer high levels of performance and inline data optimization. However, the ZS4-4’s underlying architecture and its unique ability to integrate with Oracle Database 12c make it a superior storage platform to accelerate Oracle Database performance and reduce storage capacity requirements.

The New Business Case for Deploying Deduplicating Backup Solutions as Virtual Appliances

October 29, 2014

Physical, purpose-built deduplicating backup appliances have found their way into many enterprise data centers as they expedite installation and simplify ongoing management of backup data. However there is a growing business case for virtual appliances that offer the benefits of deduplication without the associated hardware costs. To determine when and if a virtual appliance is the correct choice, there are key factors that enterprises must evaluate to arrive at the right decision for a specific office or environment.

The Challenges of Delivering Inline Deduplication on a High Performance Production Storage Array

June 10, 2014

The use of data reduction technologies such as compression and deduplication to reduce storage costs are nothing new. Tape drives have used compression for decades to increase backup data densities on tape while many modern deduplicating backup appliances use compression and deduplication to also reduce backup data stores. Even a select number of existing HDD-based storage arrays use data compression and deduplication to minimize data stores for large amounts of file data stored in archives or on networked attached file servers.

The Cloud, Deduplication and Replication are Must-Have Features on Backup Appliances; Interview with STORServer President Bill Smoldt, Part III

May 1, 2014

There is backup and then there is backup. To meet the backup and recovery needs of today’s organizations, they need to verify that the selected backup appliance includes the features needed to protect their environment today and positions them to meet their needs into the foreseeable future. In this third installment of DCIG’s interview with STORServer President Bill Smoldt, he describes the new must-have features that backup appliances must offer.

Category: Data Reduction

Breaking Down Scalable Data Protection Appliances

Three Features that Matter on All-flash Arrays and One that Matters Not So Much

A More Elegant (and Affordable) Approach to Nutanix Backups

Deduplicate Differently with Leading Enterprise Midrange All-flash Arrays

Data Visualization, Recovery, and Simplicity of Management Emerging as Differentiating Features on Integrated Backup Appliances

The Architecture, Database Storage Efficiency and Performance Tools of Oracle ZS4-4 Hybrid Storage Array Give It a Decided Edge in Oracle Database Environments

The New Business Case for Deploying Deduplicating Backup Solutions as Virtual Appliances

The Challenges of Delivering Inline Deduplication on a High Performance Production Storage Array

The Cloud, Deduplication and Replication are Must-Have Features on Backup Appliances; Interview with STORServer President Bill Smoldt, Part III

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