"We need cheaper and simpler backups and recoveries for our remote and branch offices." That statement is repeated more often by mid-size companies as they seek solutions that take the pain and management overhead associated with backup and recovery out of their remote offices without breaking the budget or requiring heroic efforts to implement. This is exactly the type of scenario that the recently announced DXi2500-D appliance and version 3.0 of Quantum Vision™ Software from Quantum is designed to address. (read more)

Back in March I received a call from a records management provider in the upstate New York area who was inquiring, "How do I get started in providing disk-based backup for my current clients?" This records management provider currently only stores paper and tape in his company's facilities but rightly recognizes that there is a growing trend towards disk-based backup and did not want to be left out in the cold. But he was wondering what options were available in the market that he could offer his prospective clients. (read more)

Everyone is quick to tout the cost-savings that server virtualization provides - less server hardware, lower heating and cooling costs, smaller data center footprints, better utilization of existing hardware. In many respects, it's like a dream come true from a cost savings perspective for many organizations. But successfully implementing server virtualization is another story as it requires organizations do more than just remove the shrink wrap on the software, install it and then watch the savings pile up. (read more)

Organizations tend to give insufficient thought to the protection of an application before it is deployed. Too often it is only after the application is developed or purchased and put into production that the organization takes the time to consider the protection of the application's data and, even then, it is usually not a major problem to implement. As organizations look to virtualize more of their physical machines that are hosting these applications, waiting until the application is in production before deciding how to best protect it creates new sets of problems. (read more)

The folks at Quantum recently announced that they had cracked the code for Oracle RMAN, allowing their DXi deduplication appliances to screen out the metadata in RMAN files and greatly increase their dedupe results (read more)

While storage system vendors initially promoted the importance of deduplication to reduce disk capacities, more recent product releases show that their understanding of the value of deduplication is evolving to help address a broader set of data protection concerns that face IT departments in distributed environments. Yesterday's launch of version 1.1 of the Quantum DXi7500 provides a great example of this. (read more)

Recently a blog entry appeared on the Byte & Switch website that asks the question if tape will be cancelled due to a lack of customer interest. In short, the author of the article, George Crump, postulates that customers are losing interest in tape partly because tape manufacturers are taking more interest in selling disk than tape. As a result, more innovations are occurring in disk libraries while tape libraries languish. But has tape in fact outlived its usefulness? (read more)

One of the more elaborately crafted illusions that deduplication vendors have created over the last few years is that deduplication appliances are simply a "plug-n-play" proposition. In one respect, this is true. Companies can often introduce a deduplication appliance into their backup environment without substantially changing their existing backup configurations. Where the slight of hand comes in is when it comes to the vendor appropriately sizing the deduplication appliance for the client's environment. If it is too small or undersized, companies end up with a deduplication appliance that does not perform as anticipated; if it is too large, companies end up with an oversized appliance that costs them too much money. (read more)

Deduplication is rapidly becoming the new battleground in corporate backup and no technology vendor can afford not to enter this fray. Yet until recently, Dell, the world's third largest supplier of servers--and a leading supplier of data storage solutions - lacked any native disk-based backup appliance that was capable of deduplication. That changed earlier this month with its announcement that it will develop its own line of disk-based backup appliances that will use Quantum's software, of which deduplication and replication are primary features. (read more)

The focus of cost controls in the data center is often centered on easily identifiable and quantifiable items such as servers, infrastructure and personnel. But for those who track the data center's steadily growing electric and gas bills, these costs have become a much larger cause of concern. Granted, energy costs have abated somewhat in recent weeks but companies cannot assume that trend will continue. Besides, some parts of the country already report that the availability of power to meet their current data center demands is restrained and that is without even beginning to address their future power requirements. (read more)