Long simmering data protection technologies like virtual tape
libraries (VTLs) burst onto the scene with a vengeance,
dramatically easing their long-term backup and restore pains.
Beneath the covers, new
RAID technologies, like RAID-6, gave
SATA disk the boost it needed in
availability and reliability. This boost gave enterprises the
confidence to protect their data for an increasing number of
applications using SATA drives. But now, with 2006 nearly in the
books, other data protection technologies are percolating in the
background and should start to make their presence felt in 2007.
VTLs gained corporate acceptance in 2006, but in 2007 users will
see further refinement in this technology. Most users that I talk
to love disk
backups, but now that they have solved their
immediate day-to-day tactical problems of failed backups and
restores, they have freed up sufficient time
to think about their corporate data protection strategy from a
broader perspective. As they do so, they are finding that VTLs
contain shortcomings in two key areas -- inability to scale and
data portability.
VTL vendors are already laying the groundwork to address both of
these two problem areas in 2007. One topic that is getting a lot of
attention is data deduplication, which can deliver data
compression rates of 20 to1 or more. This
gives enterprise VTLs the infinite capacity users were
accustomed to seeing with tape. Data reduction also enables the
cost-effective
replication of data offsite since users need
to send less data over existing WAN connections.
However, it appears most shops are at least a couple of years
out from adopting deduplication technology. Many users are still
adjusting to backing up their data to disk, so they still view data
deduplication more in the realm of science fiction than science
fact. Though deduping will continue to gain momentum in 2007 and be
a good fit for certain applications, I doubt it will set the world
on fire like some expect.
Removable disk cartridges for VTLs are poised to take off in
2007. Major storage vendors seem to forget that the backup problems
small and midsized businesses (SMB) experience are just as painful
as the ones enterprises have, so they rarely receive the same level
of attention. Removable disk cartridges, such as those manufactured
by Prostor Systems Inc. and resold by Tandberg Data and Dell Inc.,
address some of the major concerns that SMBs have. They are lower
in price than enterprise VTLs; provide the performance boost in
backups and restores that SMBs are looking for; offer adequate
levels of reliability and, because they are removable, they allow
users to handle them and physically take them offsite. This negates
the need to introduce another VTL offsite to serve as a replication
target.
Another key technology that should come to fruition in 2007 is
the increased integration of data replication, continuous data
protection and backup software products. Each of these tools solves
different but distinct problems in the protection of data.
Acquisitions by the major storage players in the last six months
would indicate that major changes are inevitable in this space in
2007.
In 2006 alone, CA Inc. gobbled up XOsoft Inc. and their WANSync
and Enterprise Rewinder software EMC Corp. acquired Kashya Inc. and
its RecoverPoint software and, in just the last few weeks, Revivio
Inc. was swallowed up by Symantec Corp. and Topio Inc. become part
of Network Appliance Inc. (NetApp). The technologies of each of
these startups were fairly solid before these acquisitions but now,
under the software management umbrellas that these larger companies
can offer, expect these products to appear on a PowerPoint from
your local sales rep sometime soon.
Much of the impetus behind this trend toward integrating these
different types of replication software for data protection is the
continuing free fall in the price of disk. While the drop in disk
prices will continue unabated in 2007, it is giving companies the
opportunity to create anytime, anywhere recovery for almost any
application. With disk's varying price points and tiers,
organizations can now use different data replication schemes to
create numerous disaster recovery configurations that meet nearly
any application price point.
The market opportunity that these data protection software
vendors hope to capitalize on is to create a central console that
manages and administers these different data replication software
products. This will give corporations the ability to offer the
appropriate level of data replication for whatever an application's
disaster recovery scenario calls for, at a price point that will
not break the bank.
The year 2006 is closing on a high note. Corporations are
starting to solve their long-time tactical data protection
problems. This opens the door for users to think about their data
protection issues in a more strategic manner. Vendors recognize
this shift in customer focus is occurring and are making the
necessary changes in their product offerings to satisfy their
customer's' changing needs. As they do so, VTLs and data
replication management software may emerge as the big winners in
2007.
Jerome M. Wendt is the founder and lead analyst of The
Datacenter Infrastructure Group, an independent analyst and
consulting firm that helps users evaluate the different storage
technologies on the market and make the right storage decision for
their organization. Jerome contributes regularly to a number of
storage trade publications and is a regular speaker at industry
trade shows.