Can removable disk technology supersede tape, fixed disk and hybrid solutions? Today insurance companies are refusing to cover corporate IT security breaches in their insurance policies so it’s clear they recognize a growing risk and are now passing that responsibility to you. There are many ways to protect your data and at the forefront you may have security software aiming to prevent any malicious attacks from the outside world. Unfortunately, as we hear only too often, software can be compromised - which is why we see release upon release of software updates with the aim of keeping ahead of the hackers. The problem is that software protection is only good up to a point, and that point is where the outside world gains a foot hold which is one step ahead of the security experts. Your last line of defense is, and will always be, governed by the physical world and in the case of data security that’s your backup hardware. It’s true that data backup isn’t exactly new, but the fundamental technologies that build up your backup processes are changing to make it easier, simpler and more affordable while ensuring your data makes it through each and every day. TO PROTECT AND TO SAVE – THE FUNCTION WAR This function war is between hard disk and tape and while some companies have been promoting these as complementary technologies, it’s likely that this is only a temporary arrangement that will soon subside once hard disks catch up with the capacity and costs of tape, something that’s already starting to happen today. Within the Tape market there are multiple formats fighting to win the top slot, and slowly we see particular formats being massaged into pole position. To date, LTO is looking like the strongest contender. However this position is supported by new installation sales only and the proof will be to see what the current large install base of older DLT users do when they reach their next upgrade cycle. Will they remain with DLT or jump ship to LTO? Since Quantum’s recent acquisition of Certance, which included new access to their historical format enemy LTO (the competing format against SDLT) it’s possible that the earlier fight between Quantum’s own DLT technology against the conglomerate LTO format of IBM, Certance and HP might be less commercially and emotionally driven than before. THE OLD NEW KID ON THE BLOCK Commercially it’s simple, hard disk companies would like to expand their markets into the final areas of data storage which is backup and archiving and today they’re packing some serious advantages over traditional tape solutions which will hopefully win you over in the end. So now technically there is a reason to consider using disk instead of tape. It’s this fresh view of storage that’s delivering a more realistic approach to data security by removing many of the usage restraints of tape technology that have prevented fluid data security due to slow access times and high maintenance. These advantages are:- Faster backup and recovery Instant failover to maintain constant availability of your data Improved reliability Less maintenance - no more need to clean your tape drives Random access for single files Lower costs In addition, software companies have realized huge potential in the disk market to design and promote specific software features that maximize the use of disk technology. LIKE TAPE, BUT MORE LIKE DISK One fundamental challenge for hard disk technology is to prove its ability to provide cost effective off-site security, something of a hardship for a fixed disk technology. Unlike tape, disk technologies are traditionally not as removable as tape cartridges and have to be handled carefully due to the drive mechanics being transported with the media. Off-site security using removable hard disks might actually require strong arms or even a shopping trolley to drag disk systems out of the office each night; probably not the best use of resources. If disk based backup suppliers are to successfully promote their solutions to customers, they must first prove their ability to provide off-site security and the ability to archive, two fundamental requirements of any data security and migration process and which if not achieved can shadow any advantages of using disk backup technology over tape. Today disk can achieve remote security in 3 ways. Remote site Replication 3 stage backup through the addition of tape to provide remove-ability Removable disk technology By looking at these independently, we can shine some light on what the drivers in storage development are, and what is actually available to businesses based on their company type and budget. REMOTE SITE REPLICATION The setup and acquisition costs of a full disk-to-disk (D2D) backup and recovery solution with remote replication far surpass the cost of deploying a solution based on removable media due to 2 key additional expense areas: Purchase or rental of a high speed data link Firstly deploying a backup replication solution between two separate locations requires the purchase or rental of high speed data links between office locations that are fast enough to support your required backup window time. Even today’s highest broadband offerings are too slow to provide you with enough speed to backup and recover quickly in a time of need – therefore a high performance link is needed that matches your speed requirements, but unfortunately this does not always match your budget ability. Ensuring your company has levels of redundancy in place that are similar to what is provided by removable media, means that storage capacity must be increased regularly. This increase in storage must also support the multiple data sets usually delivered by removable media rotation schemes. As an example, if your company policy is to keep a full backup rotation scheme of 5 days, you will need, at minimum, 5 times the amount of secondary hard disk storage. Here you see where the costs can start mounting up. Finally, the financial and hardware challenge can continue with the need to archive data. A pure D2D solution doesn’t provide the ability to move data off-line. Archiving data onto a removable media platform can not only be less budget intensive due to lower primary storage costs, but it’s also easier to maintain since data stored on a cartridge requires little maintenance compared to online storage. The ability to free-up valuable primary storage space by archiving old data can also help keep your backup window within a manageable amount. It’s for this very reason we see hybrid solutions being offered today that allow you to first send data to a disk storage device for performance gains and then to a tape device to archive. This 3-stage backup solution is being promoted as a disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T) solution. 3 STAGE SOLUTIONS – DISK-TO-DISK-TO-TAPE (D2D2T) THE RELEGATION OF TAPE – AN OVERPAID PLAYER For the most part, tape is having a positioning makeover by the manufacturers to ensure its long term justification. If it’s only function is to provide remove-ability and archiving, how long exactly is it until disk technology can provide that very function and help dispense with tape altogether? A NEW ERA Removable disk technology If the only benefit of choosing disk technology over tape is to improve performance and reliability, and conversely the reason for choosing tape technology over disk is simply because of remove-ability, then why not provide a disk technology that’s removable? Enter REV™ For many years the natural method was to have primary storage and secondary storage. Primary storage was for online data and Secondary storage for backup, recovery and archiving. Now with the introduction of REV™ technology business can once again enjoy the economics of low cost media and the ability to archive data away from the primary storage in a most simplistic and more traditional 2-stage backup process. Disk-to-removable-disk (D2RD) technology is both more affordable and easier to manage than either disk-to-disk (D2D) or indeed disk-to-disk-to-tape solutions (D2D2T). Iomega’s challenge is to keep the capacities growing on REV to remain within the key capacity points of small and medium businesses, something that’s both on the roadmap for future products and immediately supported today by the REV 10 cartridge autoloader which provides up to 700GB’s of high performance backup, recovery and data archiving. In direct replacement of today’s overly complex hardware and high expenditure requirements being promoted to protect your data, Iomega believe REV takes a fundamental step forward in making backup easier, more reliable and higher performing than any of today’s competing choices. Andre Armstrong is product marketing manager EMEA/APAC, Iomega. Iomega is exhibiting at Storage Expo the UK's largest event dedicated to data storage, now in its 5th year, the show features a comprehensive free education programme, and over 90 exhibitors at the National Hall, Olympia, London from 12 - 13 October 2005 www.storage-expo.com
•Date: 9th September 2005 •Region: World •Type:
Article •Topic: IT continuity |
