NEC Announces HYDRAstor Integration with Symantec NetBackup OpenStorage

NEC Corporation of America, a provider and integrator of communications, networking and IT solutions, announced the availability of NEC HYDRAstor's OpenStorage (OST) Suite for Symantec NetBackup. The HYDRAstor OST Suite introduces Dynamic I/O, which delivers adaptable front-end load balancing with efficient inline global deduplication, as well as Optimized Copy, which creates WAN-optimized backup images for storage at remote systems and features optimized bandwidth utilization. The company said customers utilizing NEC HYDRAstor enterprise grid storage platform in conjunction with Symantec NetBackup maximize storage capacity utilization, prevent I/O bottlenecks and optimize overall workload processing productivity.

OpenStorage Dynamic I/O for Symantec NetBackup adjusts to workloads and available capacity due to HYDRAstor's scale-out grid storage platform. Dynamic I/O enables NetBackup to automatically distribute backup jobs across front-end nodes to adapt to changing workloads, while optimizing storage responsiveness and capacity utilization on the backend via NEC's DataRedux inline global data deduplication. NEC HYDRAstor's OpenStorage Suite for Symantec NetBackup is available immediately. The HYDRAstor OpenStorage plug-in along with the Dynamic I/O capability are available at no additional charge for existing HYDRAstor customers and early adopters with an active support agreement. The Optimized Copy functionality can be licensed on a per Accelerator Node basis.

"With rapid data growth and the need for additional data protection, businesses are looking for a solution that can offer this increased protection without incurring additional bandwidth and capacity costs," said Benjamin S. Woo, vice president of research firm IDC's enterprise storage systems research. "The partnership between NEC HYDRAstor and Symantec OST will help companies maximize storage and network capacity while reducing cost and bandwidth. The intelligence built into solutions like NEC's HYDRAstor will make it possible for Symantec NetBackup customers to improve operational efficiency and enhance availability."

OpenStorage Optimized Copy leverages HYDRAstor's RepliGrid WAN-optimized replication technology to copy backup images to remote systems. Optimized Copy automates the copy process and updates the NetBackup catalog, while helping minimize required bandwidth and simplifying administration workflows. Multiple systems can leverage the Optimized Copy capability to aggregate disaster recovery protection to create a single scalable system.

"We looked to extend the capacity, scalability and flexibility of NEC HYDRAstor and Symantec NetBackup solutions, to provide an opportunity for our customers to better leverage their data protection investments," said Gideon Senderov, director of product management and technical marketing for NEC. "With HYDRAstor's unique grid architecture, Symantec NetBackup customers can now benefit from unprecedented scalability, which provides the assurance of effective and efficient data protection for years to come. Our partnership also delivers intelligent front-end load balancing for NetBackup users, which maximizes backend capacity optimization. Customers will realize immediate cost savings, greater operational efficiency and bottleneck prevention - these powerful benefits are realized exclusively with the HYDRAstor solution."

Earlier this week NEC announced the fifth-generation server in its premier line of enterprise Intel-based servers, the Express5800/A1080a. The server offers flexibility, capacity and configurability, exploiting the inherent functionality of the Intel Xeon Processor 7500 series. Building upon the performance of the Express5800/1000 series, the Express5800/A1080a server exploits the functionality of Intel's QuickPath Interconnect (QPI) technology, which NEC said delivers more than 300 percent improvement in thread per one unit (1U) density compared with the previous-generation server while offering modular partitioning within a single chassis.