Networks & Servers

As backup windows shrink and system availability requirements increase, IT organizations must find ways to protect and manage their ever-growing data with limited staff and hardware resources. Tape has been the traditional media of choice for backup and recovery, but it comes with a variety of disadvantages, including a lack of flexibility and time-consuming data recovery. Although cost-effective disk technology has been available for some time, only recently has it become practical to implement disk-based backup as part of an overall data protection strategy.

Although tape has made significant improvements in throughput and capacity, its sequential-access nature typically makes it inflexible compared with disks. Backing up to and restoring from disk is faster than using tape, and disk snapshot technology makes disk backups and restores virtually instantaneous. These high levels of performance and efficiency enable administrators to schedule frequent backups, helping reduce the risk of data loss.

To help organizations deploy simplified, cost-effective disk-based backup, Dell and Symantec® have partnered to develop the PowerVault™ DL2000 — powered by Symantec Backup Exec™. This appliance can provide a variety of key benefits, including the following:

• Integrated solution: The appliance provides an integrated disk backup solution that also supports backing up to tape. Dell and Symantec have created and tested the components as part of a solution designed to be ready for deployment right out of the box.

• Simplified setup: The appliance comes factory-installed with Symantec Backup Exec as well as automated wizards that guide administrators through the process of configuring the system name, login credentials, appliance IP address and other items — helping them quickly get the system up and running.

• Simplified disk management: Integrated hardware and software management capabilities provide a simplified way to manage disk resources alongside backup and restore operations.

• Central management console: A single management console serves as the launch point for appliance operations. The console is designed for simplicity, centralizing key tasks such as backup and restores functionality, configuration utilities and management in a single location rather than burying them in sub-folders.

• Disk usage analysis: The appliance can use statistical information based on previous backup performance to predict disk space needs and help ensure the necessary space is available to complete backup operations. If additional space is needed, the system can notify administrators in advance and provide suggestions to help remedy the situation without affecting future backups.

• Simplified alerting: Administrators no longer need separate interfaces to evaluate component health — instead, a single console provides integrated alerting for backup destinations.