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Deduplication doesn’t make the news all that much anymore in the storage world. This is largely because most storage systems already have it included as a taken-for-granted feature, whereas in the past it was a high-importance option for which companies paid extra.
Data deduplication simply is the process of eliminating redundant data. Deduplication backs up only unique data at the sub-file level. In environments where storage needs continue to intensify and holding down costs remains a key issue, deduplication offers welcome relief for IT organizations.
Once familiar with data deduplication, it should not be a surprise that by eliminating redundant data, deduplication enables companies to reduce storage costs. What many do not know, however, is that deduplication has other useful benefits such as bandwidth savings, faster backups, backup consolidation and easier disaster recovery-depending on where and how it is used.
Quest Software has never taken for granted the importance of deduplication in data management. In fact, it has gone a full step further in innovating in this area—something storage IT has needed for a long while.
On June 15, the Aliso Viejo, Calif.-based company launched a revamped version of QoreStor, a next-gen deduplication platform used to accelerate backup performance, reduce storage costs and use the cloud for disaster recovery and business continuity.
Next-gen, Software-defined, Secondary Storage Platform
Quest QoreStor is a software-defined, secondary-storage platform based on Quest’s DR Appliance’s resilient deduplication and replication IP. It runs on any standard server, virtualization platform or cloud provider–so even an older legacy server can be re-deployed for this. It’s also fast; QoreStor has been clocked at a whopping 20TB per hour.
This isn’t your father’s deduplication controller; this one can run in any system, find the correct data of record and store it safely, leaving the chaff out in order to keep a system running optimally. When new data arrives, no repeat blocks are stored; only new blocks are added.
Shops using Docker containers and Kubernetes scheduling will like that QoreStor features multitenancy, in that users can easily create storage groups–and containers within those storage groups–to define separate storage policies and capacities within a single QoreStor system.
QoreStor supports a range of backup solutions (in addition to Quest’s solutions), storage devices, virtualization platforms and cloud services. QoreStor enables organizations to shrink replication time, improve data security and address compliance requirements.
“This is a no-brainer easy thing to use—it needs only one click to get going,” Quest Product Management and Lead Technology Evangelist Adrian Moir told eWEEK. “Then once you set the policies, you never have to think about it—it just works in the background.
“You can run it in a virtual machine in the cloud. You can use it any way you want.”
What’s in the Package
Key attributes of QoreStor 4.1 include:
• Reduces on-premises and cloud storage costs with new-gen deduplication and compression.
• Accelerates backup completion with protocol accelerators and dedupe.
• Shrinks replication time by transmitting only changed data.
• Improves data security to comply with FIPS 140-2.
• Maximizes return on investment for existing data protection technologies.
• Lowers total cost of ownership through all-inclusive licensing.
Features the CTO, CIO, CISO and CFO will want to see include:
• Hardware- and software-agnostic platform: Businesses can employ any storage hardware, backup software, virtualization platform or cloud provider to reduce costs, simplify the IT environment and maximize the return on investment (ROI) for existing technologies.
• Next-generation storage dedupe engine: QoreStor lowers backup storage requirements by an average of 20:1, and helps organizations advantage of enterprise class variable-block deduplication.
• Built-in protocol accelerators: Accelerate data ingest by up to 20 terabytes per hour to address ever-shortening backup windows with built-in protocol accelerators that speed write operations using optimized client-side deduplication. Only unique data chunks are sent to QoreStor.
• Remote replication for disaster recovery: Replicate only unique data to a remote site, reduce replication windows by 10 to 15 times, reduce network bandwidth requirements by 85 percent and shorten overall replication time.
• Backup to the cloud: Enterprises can back up directly to the cloud over their WAN but with LAN-like speeds through source-side deduplication where only the changes are transmitted. Achieve recovery point objectives (RPOs) that are typical of on-premises deployments, even over the WAN.
• Secure connect: Ensure complete backups, even over poor links that disconnect often. Links can disconnect many times, but backup will continue once connection is re-established. Organizations can be assured knowing that all data sent across the WAN is encrypted.
• Direct-to-target backup: Bypass the media server and back up directly to the target storage device.
• Data security: Address demanding security requirements with built-in encryption at rest, secure erase and FIPS 140-2 compliance. Encryption at rest uses industry-standard 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) keys, which are generated either one time or at set intervals.
• Data integrity: Businesses can count on data verification and file system health checks to overcome potential storage failures and help ensure recoverability.
Supported clients include NetVault Backup 11.4.5, 12.0, 12.0.1 (refer to the QoreStor 4.1 Interoperability Guide for more detailed information); vRanger 7.4, 7.6, 7.6.5 (refer to the QoreStor 4.1 Interoperability Guide); Backup Exec 16, 20; and NetBackup 7.6, 7.7, 8.0.
QoreStor 4.1 is a starter version of this new software. A more advanced edition, v5.0, will be coming out later this summer, but the company said it believes potential users should start with 4.1 first. For more information, go here.