Disk-based backup

Build data storage reliability into a backup infrastructure

In today's market, there are a variety of data backup options. Here's how to make sure your organization's essential data will always be there when it is needed. Continue Reading

By

• John Edwards

Data backup tools: Users want to handle more data more easily

Businesses want data backup that handles more data than ever, but with software and hardware that's easier to implement and manage than what they're already using. Continue Reading

By

• James Alan Miller, Senior Executive Editor

Disaggregation enables on-demand resource pool management and creation

Disaggregation may not be a new concept, but it has become more important to IT in recent years. Here, it means breaking computers down to the core elements of compute, memory, I/O, storage, cache, network fabric and so on, to enable resource pool management and create more agile, cost-effective data centers. Done correctly, disaggregation lets you stand up and break down infrastructures almost instantly while better serving the needs of individual applications. Meanwhile, resource utilization soars, and resource pool management costs decline because of the automation that's enabled. Delve into the world of disaggregation and find out how vendors are applying the concept to their products.

Hybrid cloud storage can let you run, manage and move primary storage workloads between the cloud and on-premises data center. It can also improve IT agility and cut costs. Today, a number of products and services fulfill the promise of the hybrid cloud like never before, knocking down barriers that have inhibited wider adoption. Hybrid cloud products open new possibilities for deploying production applications, but you must choose wisely.

Pundits have predicted the demise of the hard disk for years. Not only is solid-state much faster than hard disks, the price differential between the two storage technologies is rapidly disappearing. Yet the HDD vs. SDD controversy continues with the death of the former still a long way off. The question shouldn't be when hard disks will disappear, but instead, how to best use flash technology within the memory-storage continuum that starts with tape and goes to L1 cache, the fastest and most expensive memory in a system.

 Continue Reading

Dell EMC IDPA changes vendor's backup strategy

The Dell EMC Integrated Data Protection Appliance is the vendor's first integrated enterprise backup target. What does this mean for physical Data Domain appliances? Continue Reading

By

• Dave Raffo

EMC launches DD VE, virtual edition of Data Domain

EMC unveils the virtual edition of its Data Domain disk library, DD VE, allowing the Data Domain operating system to run inside a VMware hypervisor and back up to any hardware. Continue Reading

By

• Dave Raffo

Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance

The Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance is integrated with RMAN and Oracle Enterprise Manager and is designed to drastically reduce data-loss exposure. Continue Reading

By

• Sonia Lelii, TechTarget

How to choose the right snapshot method

Snapshots and replication have become data protection tools of choice, but finding the right snapshot method for your data center can be challenging. Continue Reading

By

• George Crump

What is the best archival media type?

Many archival media types are available, including disk and cloud, but their level of reliability and storage density varies. Continue Reading

By

• Paul Kirvan

EMC World 2015: Expect backup, flash, future directions

EMC will roll out products in its Data Domain, XtremIO and ViPR platforms at EMC World 2015, but what about a CEO succession plan? Continue Reading

By

• Dave Raffo

What is Data Domain Boost and what is it used for?

SearchDataBackup Senior Site Editor Andrew Burton explains what EMC's Data Domain Boost software is designed for, how it works, and which products it supports in this Expert Answer. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Burton

Choosing the right data snapshot approach

Independent backup expert Brien Posey compares the various methods for creating a data snapshot in this Expert Answer. Continue Reading

By

• Brien Posey

How to dispose of unwanted backup media

Brien Posey looks at the inherent problems with backup media disposal. Because it contains sensitive data, you must dispose of it safely. Continue Reading

By

• Brien Posey

As a backup target, when is VTL better than NAS?

Eric Slack of Storage Switzerland says that, as a backup target, a VTL might be a better choice than NAS. Continue Reading

By

• Eric Slack, Evaluator Group

Backup challenges: Slow backup and recovery, growing capacity demands

Our recent survey data indicates slow backup and recovery, growing capacity demands and virtual server backup remain IT pain points. Continue Reading

Backup challenges: Slow backup and recovery, growing capacity demands

Our recent survey data indicates slow backup and recovery, growing capacity demands and virtual server backup remain IT pain points. Continue Reading

By

• John Hilliard, TechTarget
• Andrew Burton

Protecting petabytes: Best practices for big data backup

How do you protect the massive data sets? Learn the best practices and products used for big data backup disaster recovery. Continue Reading

By

• Todd Erickson

SAN backup and recovery

Moving data can complicate your backup efforts. In this tip, you’ll learn backup goals for SAN environments and backup methods to achieve those goals. Continue Reading

By

• Brien Posey

Quantum plans source-side dedupe for DXi

Quantum's CEO Jon Gacek revealed that the company plans to add source-side data deduplication to its DXi disk backup platform during a quarterly earnings call this week. Continue Reading

Data archiving methods and best practices for small businesses

Improper data archiving methods or improper use of archiving software can lead to legal problems in your business. Find out how to avoid data archiving problems with these top six articles on data archiving. Continue Reading

Solving common data deduplication system problems

Still not getting the deduplication ratios vendors are promising? Learn about the most common problems with deduplication systems and how to fix them. Continue Reading

By

• W. Curtis Preston

As the WORM turns: The pros and cons of WORM disk vs. tape

Learn about how WORM disk is still an important option for data retention, and about the pros and cons of using WORM disk vs. tape. Continue Reading

By

• Alan R. Earls

Virtual tape libraries vs. disk-to-disk backup in small business storage environments

SMBs have several disk backup options to choose from. Which is more popular, VTLs or disk-to-disk backup? Continue Reading

Data backup and recovery FAQs

Check out our FAQs for information on a variety of topics from tape backup to data deduplication to CDP and more. Continue Reading

Fail-in-place systems: Avoiding hard disk drive failures

Fail-in-place storage systems, such Atrato's V1000 and Xiotech's Emprise 5000 or ISE, can virtually eliminate hard disk drive replacement service calls. Continue Reading

By

• Marc Staimer, Dragon Slayer Consulting

Virtual tape libraries: A tutorial on managing VTL technology

In this tutorial on virtual tape library technology, learn about buying and managing a VTL, VTLs and data deduplication, and virtual tape library vendors and products. Continue Reading

By

• Todd Erickson

Symantec Veritas NetBackup best practices: Using the maximum jobs per client setting

This is the second in a multi-part series discussing Symantec Corp. Veritas NetBackup best practices to help you make the right choices for your data backup system. Continue Reading

By

• W. Curtis Preston

Backing up your virtual environment

Learn all about backing up your virtual environment, whether with traditional backup and backup scripts in this except of Eric Seibert's new book "VMware VI3 Implementation and Administration." Continue Reading

Symantec Backup Exec troubleshooting performance tips

If you're using Backup Exec and your performance isn't what it should be, some troubleshooting may be in order. Here's a list of potential things to look out for. Continue Reading

By

• Rick Cook

Understanding data deduplication ratios in backup systems

Data deduplication ratios can be very confusing. Learn about how to estimate a data deduplication ratio in your backup system and how to evaluate a dedupe product in this tip. Continue Reading

By

• Lauren Whitehouse

Data backup and recovery technology tutorials

Learn about the latest data backup and recovery technology trends in our technology tutorials. Continue Reading

The true role of a backup administrator

When asked what they do on a daily basis, some data backup administrators often opt for the short answer and reply, "I look after data backups." While this is not necessarily the wrong answer, it is not the full answer. Continue Reading

By

• Pierre Dorion

Four ways to streamline your data backup process

Are your data backup operations out of control? Here are four tips to help you streamline your data backup and recovery process. Continue Reading

By

• Russ Fellows, Evaluator Group

The cost of tape vs. disk data backup

Here's how to determine the cost of disk vs. tape in your data backup environment. Continue Reading

By

• Russ Fellows, Evaluator Group

Five tips for creating a backup service-level agreement

Learn how to write a backup service-level agreement that will keep the peace between IT and information users. Continue Reading

By

• George Crump

IBM Tivoli Storage Manager vs. traditional backup

Learn about the architectural concepts behind IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager backup software and the main differences with what are often referred to as "traditional" backup products. This piece is the first of a series of four on Tivoli Storage Manager. Continue Reading

By

• Pierre Dorion

All-in-One Guide: Backup

This All-In-One Guide covers a lot of ground from traditional tape to emerging technologies such as continuous data protection and content-addressed storage. Get started learning now. Continue Reading

Resource guide to disk-based backup

Our resource guide to disk-based backup is the place to start when looking for the most up-to-date content on what the experts have to say. Continue Reading

How to do hybrid backup

Traditionally, backups have been usually targeted to tape drives, but more and more disk storage is being incorporated into the backup process. One common approach with disk-based backups is using disk as a staging area before copying data to tape, which is known as a two-stage backup architecture. Continue Reading

Can disk speed up lethargic backups?

Backup to tape is fraught with problems, not the least of which is that it's time-consuming. Storage managers already use cheap ATA disk to store secondary copies of data because it's more reliable and easier to restore from than tape. Can disk also help you reduce the amount of time it takes for you to do your backup in the first place? Continue Reading