Dell Storage and CommVault Simpana: Ease Adoption of Microsoft Windows Server 2008

feature section:MICROSOFT WINDOWS SERVER 2008
Dell Storage and
CommVault Simpana
Ease Adoption of
Microsoft Windows
Server 2008
By K. E. H. Polanski Migrating data associated with Microsoft® operating systems, applications, and other software can be a challenge administrators overlook when planning system T T Tupgrades. Dell PowerVault and Dell EqualLogic storage and CommVault® Simpana® data management software enable flexible data migration and transparent, release-specific data object recovery and backup to help simplify upgrades in enterprise environments.
hen migrating to updated versions of Handling the complexities Microsoft operating systems and of data and systems migrationapplications, a key challenge admin- Updating typical enterprise environments based on Wistrators often overlook is how previous versions Microsoft software can be a complex process. As of this software-and even UNIX® or Linux® operat- Microsoft evolves its product lines, those products ing systems-handle data. Although this challenge can become interdependent within enterprise is not always taken into consideration, it can derail, systems-Microsoft Exchange servers, for example, Related Categories: delay, and add significantly to the cost and com- require the Microsoft Active Directory® directory ser-CommVault plexity of upgrades. Difficulties with handling data vice (see Figure 1). Microsoft Office SharePoint® Dell EqualLogic storage in previous migration efforts can cause anxious IT Server, which relies on Microsoft SQL Server® data-Dell PowerVault storage departments to hesitate in providing access to base systems, can also serve as the public folder Microsoft updated application features and decide to live system for Exchange. Components in an enterprise Microsoft Windows Server 2008 with a "good enough" environment, because their system based on Microsoft software require Windows® Operating system migration environment lacks a method for easily handling file systems, and the environment also likely includes Storage management existing data. client systems running the Microsoft Windows Vista® Storage software Combining Dell PowerVault and Dell EqualLogic or Windows XP operating systems.storage with CommVault Simpana data manage- Adopting an updated version of a Windows file Visit DELL.COM/PowerSolutions for the complete category index. ment software can help administrators overcome system or a Microsoft application can create a cas-these challenges. By providing a simplified cading effect in which systems and software must be way to rapidly migrate data between different upgraded simultaneously to continue to work prop-versions of Microsoft operating systems and erly. Also, administrators should keep in mind that applications, CommVault Simpana provides a almost all 2007 and 2008 Microsoft software can powerful, flexible tool to ease adoption of the benefit significantly from a 64-bit architecture-and Microsoft Windows Server® 2008 OS and other some, such as Exchange Server 2007, even require Microsoft software. it. For this reason, IT departments may consider
46 DELL POWER SOLUTIONS | May 2008 Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, May 2008. Copyright © 2008 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.upgrading the network topology and stor- technical requirements typically necessary example, recovering an entire database age architecture at the same time. to support rapid, flexible data migration. may be advantageous for test purposes, When thinking about the proper han- These requirements include comprehen- to help ensure that the latest version of dling of data within a complex, inter­ sive data management capabilities such Exchange is running well before it is dependent systems environment, several as backup and restore for the types of moved into a production environment. challenges can confront IT departments, data that Microsoft software can gener- Integration and awareness of Active any one of which could derail a successful ate, combined with granular handling of Directory at the object and attribute level upgrade: individual data objects. This combination through systems migration can be critical makes it possible to easily recover indi- for handling virtually any type of Microsoft ?? Legacy data archive... [download for more]