Disk-to-disk (D2D) backup, combined with data de-duplication, is an emerging category within the data protection ecosystem that ESG believes has the potential to change the entire landscape. D2D backup with data de-duplication solutions minimizes the disk and/or the bandwidth capacities required to store and move data used for protection purposes. Data de-duplication solutions optimize physical storage and bandwidth by using less of each to protect your data.
Da ta De-duplication and Disk-to-Disk Backup Systems
Technical and Business Considerations
By Tony Asaro and Heidi Biggar July 2007
Copyright ?2007. The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. ESG Report Data De-Duplication and D2D Backup Systems
Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................................2 Data De-Duplication Defined ................................................................................................................................4 The Business Value of Data De-Duplication.........................................................................................................9 ESG's View ........................................................................................................................................................14
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Enterprise Strategy Group Page 1 ESG Report Data De-Duplication and D2D Backup Systems
Introduction Disk-to-disk (D2D) backup, combined with data de-duplication, is an emerging category within the data protection ecosystem that ESG believes has the potential to change the entire landscape. D2D backup with data de-duplication solutions minimizes the disk and/or the bandwidth capacities required to store and move data used for protection purposes. Data de-duplication solutions optimize physical storage and bandwidth by using less of each to protect your data. Why use less? Perhaps the first and most obvious answer is to reduce cost. By reducing capacity requirements, fewer disks are needed to store the same amount of effective data. This translates to less bandwidth being required to move and copy that data across the WAN. Beyond these cost reductions, there is perhaps an even more important reason to employ data de-duplication. By reducing the amount of storage and bandwidth required to protect data locally and remotely, organizations can significantly improve their levels of data protection and their ability to recover data quickly, reliably and cost effectively. Reducing the cost of the storage required for backup data in turn enables greater data protection and recoverability. For years, there has been a considerable disparity between the prices of tape and disk-based storage systems. As such, it was an economic "no-brainer" to store backups on tape. In fact, the cost delta between tape and disk was so dramatic that despite the inherent weaknesses of tape-which include complexity, unreliability and slow performance-it is still the preferred media for storing backup data today. Figure One: Disk-to-Disk Adoption US-based Adoption Rates Source: ESG Research September 2006 A major market shift occurred when storage system vendors began supporting low cost, high-density ATA drives and the cost delta between disk and tape started to shrink significantly. Although the capital cost-savings still favored tape, the gap narrowed to a point where the operational impact of tape including cost of management, unreliability issues and performance had finally moved the value dial from tape to disk for many end-users. The market responded, and the disk-to-disk (D2D) backup market was born. At first, end-users performed bac... [download for more]
