Storage Optimization through Data Deduplication from Dell
Faced with ever-growing storage needs, but not ever-increasing budgets, organizations are looking for more ways to optimize their storage infrastructure and data management by:
Alleviating the challenges of data growth, including expanding capacity, power, cooling and management costs,
Enhancing availability and protection through better and faster data back-up and restore, and
Relieving the back-up burden from remote offices and departmental work groups
Dell is committed to helping their customers understand the underlying problems that are preventing them from meeting their storage needs and to finding solutions that can help them address their current challenges while at the same time positioning themselves for what the future may bring. Data deduplication is one technology that may help you optimize your storage.
Deduplication Basics
Deduplication is a storage-optimization technology that reduces the data footprint by eliminating multiple copies of redundant data and storing only unique data. Copies of the redundant data are replaced by references to the original data, sometimes called “pointers”. Deduplication of redundant data can occur at the file, sub-file, or block level. At the sub-file and block levels, data commonly is divided into smaller segments which can be more easily analyzed for possible redundancies, as compared to using file level data, and more efficiently stored.
Deduplication can occur in primary storage, such as file sharing devices (NAS) like the Dell NF and NX products. For example, the Dell NX4 can help to reduce footprints for large File workloads with redundant or static data. However, secondary storage (i.e back-up data) with its vast amounts of redundant data, is currently receiving the majority of industry focus, such as in back-up to disk (B2D) implementations. B2D is especially attractive because of the nature of back-up data. Typically the bulk of the data in an organization has not changed considerably from the last back-up job, so storing copy after copy of the same file or data can unnecessarily consume resources – storage capacity, power, cooling and management. The information to the right provides more details on deduplication technologies and implementations.
Understand the Problem
Back-up to disk can help alleviate problems associated with the back-up window – not having enough time to complete a back-up job – as well as enhancing availability by finding and/or restoring data faster. Eliminating the duplicate copies of data that are stored can help make the cost of disk-based back-up approach that of tape while providing all the benefits of B2D that organizations are looking for, but haven’t been able to afford.
Deduplication itself is not a panacea. It is a technology that can be part of a solution to enhance your data management and protection processes, understanding your company specific needs and challenges is the best way to determine how to get the most value from this technology. Dell has services that can help.
Dell ProConsult Deduplication Services
Dell’s ProConsult Deduplication Services help our customers simplify their IT, better manage their data and make the most of their storage infrastructure with a comprehensive suite of Storage Optimization and Data Protection services. They can help you better understand overall backup performance and identify opportunities to leverage key technologies like deduplication. Dell’s end-to-end suite of consulting services help customers understand the details of deduplication and assess its potential benefits in their unique environment before recommending one of a range of potential solutions. Dell’s consulting services are structured as short-duration, high-impact projects to deliver practical action-oriented plans.
With the transition of deduplication functionality from primarily stand-alone appliances to a feature available in many software solutions there are a growing number of options that integrate the deduplication function into existing processes. Dell has worked to drive these technologies to market because we believe that the integration of deduplication into the software stack, such as in back-up software, applications and operating systems, will become the predominant implementation method as it can offer the greatest benefits – network optimization, management complexity reduction, lower costs, and increased performance. Dell currently offers the PowerVault DL2100 powered by CommVault Simpana 8.0 featuring block-level deduplication. Dell’s partnership with CommVault, including their Simpana 8.0 back-up software with integrated deduplication, is an example of how Dell is actively pushing deduplication technology into our products and with our partners. While Dell believes the future of deduplication will be one of integration into software throughout the IT infrastructure, some organizations may still desire a solution that leverages an appliance-based approach, particularly if they have a complex environment that uses multiple ISVs or are not ready to switch to a software-based approach, Dell can help in those cases with current and future products as well.
PowerVault DL2100 powered by CommVault
The PowerVault DL2100 – Powered by CommVault is designed to address data back-up pain points by delivering a disk based back-up solution with block level deduplication. It can help reduce storage and back-up costs while improving the recovery of lost data with easy-to-use management capabilities. The DL2100 has a built-in compression and deduplication capability that stores blocks of data only once, extending beyond disk to include deduplication to tape, eliminating redundant segments across consolidated back-up sets. By storing only unique instances on disk and maximizing the number of recovery points, you can save less redundant data and enable more rapid restores.
