Scale Datacom’s Data Storage Blog

File this one under BIG: Dell-EqualLogic has just announced their latest array, the PS-5500E (development codename: Sumo).  The PS-5500E packs 48 x SATA II drives into 4U of rack space making it one of the densest iSCSI SAN arrays around.

Certainly there are other arrays on the market that offer this level of density (Nexsan, Xyratex etc.) but no one offers the level and breadth of features and tight host-side integration that Dell-EqualLogic does.  And because its completely virtualized, it plays well with all the other Dell-EqualLogic PS Series arrays, allowing you to build a true end-to-end storage platform.

Due to its intended role (replication DR and disk backup target, near line and archival storage tier), there are some particulars on the PS-5500E that make it unique among the rest of the PS Series family.  It is SATA-only (for now), RAID 50 is the only RAID setting and PS-5500E’s can only be in a tier w/ themselves (altho they can be in the same SAN w/ all other arrays).  You can add up to 12 in a single SAN, giving you a raw total capacity of 576TB!

Adding this new, ultra-dense tier of storage fills out the PS Series line and makes it an even more attractive enterprise-class iSCSI SAN solution.

There will be 2 drive options for the PS-5500E initially: 500GB (24TB Raw) and 1.0TB (48TB raw).  Give us a shout if you’d like to discuss this or any of the PS Series arrays further.

More info and Quote Request

A few months back our friends at Exagrid released the aptly named “Exagrid Deduplication Gateway for iSCSI” and had closely aligned themselves with the market leader in iSCSI storage, EqualLogic.

A slight name tweak now knows this box as the Exagrid iSCSI Backup Gateway (Data Sheet) which has a nicer ring to it. Make no bones about it, these guys want tape GONE.  And lets face it, tape is a pain in the ass neck.

Exagrid makes a pretty good case:

• Eliminates failed backups and restores
• Greatly reduces your backup window
• Works with your existing backup app
• Perfect for environments w/ 1-60TB backups
• Compression and dedupe backups in one package
• Optional WAN-efficient remote replication for DR

So, if you one of the 6000+ organizations that already have an EqualLogic SAN or are thinking of implementing one, this would be a great add-on to tie everything together from a backup perspective.

If you’d like to discuss this product or deduplication in general, please drop us a line.

Exagrid announced on Tuesday (aka my birthday) that they are bringing to market the world’s first data deduplication gateway for iSCSI storage. The creatively named ‘Exagrid iSCSI De-Deuplication Gateway’ will cut back storage requirements for backup by 10:1 to as much as 50:1, while promising a 30-90% reduction in backup and restore times.

And since we’re talking about iSCSI, can you guess who they’re marketing this heavily with? One guess….Yup: EqualLogic. De-Dupe has been on our wish list w/ EqualLogic for some time now and this new partnership with Exagrid, one of the clear leaders in the field, fulfills that wish.

If you currently have or are planning on implementing a Dell/EqualLogic PeerStorage SAN and intend to use it for disk backup, this gateway is worth a serious look.

More Info or Pricing: Click Here

In a few years we may all be kicking back, drinking our lemonade on the front porch and reminiscing about the good ole days…..”Remember nightly full backups? Boy whatta pain in the a** those were…”. Until then, here’s a good article from Kevin Suttle from Storage Magazine on just that very thing…

I recently helped a Fortune 100 client evaluate continuous data protection (CDP) products and was asked if full nightly backups to tape were still needed given the advent of disk-based technologies like snapshots and CDP. Trying not to sound like a consultant attempting to please everyone, I answered “It depends.”

Snapshots and CDP provide excellent ways to recover data from a specific point in time when no known data loss or corruption existed. But it can take a while to discover a file or database error, and snapshots aren’t typically kept for a long time. That’s why full backups to tape are a vital complement to point-in-time backup tools, and will remain so in any comprehensive data protection strategy. The tricky part is to decide how to mix and match backup methods to best meet recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs), and stay within your storage budget. …full article

Source: Kevin Suttle - Storage Magazine - Dec 07

In the meantime, let us know if you’d like to dicsuss your options as far as CDP, snapshots and the like for 2008.

While we’re on the topic (see previous post) of data security, I thought I’d post about this article from DarkReading.  It recounts the 10 largest corporate data debacles in recent memory (altho there have been others since this was published in May).

Encrypting your data at rest is crucial in this day and age.  Put simply: if you don’t and data gets out, its your job.  Having a solid, high-performance encryption and key-management solution in place should be on everyone’s to-do list for 08.

Full article

Contact us today if you’d like to discuss which data encryption solution is best for your needs.

Our friends at NeoScale have gone and won themselves another award. This time the prestigious 2007 Tomorrow’s Technology Today Award from Info Security Products Guide in Silicon Valley for their encryption key management system, CryptoStor KeyVault.

Data encryption is one of the hottest topics in IT today and for good reason…there is big money to be made in stolen customer and company data and apparently no shortage of crooks. NeoScale is semi-uniqiue in that they are vendor-agnostic and an open system w/ readily available API’s…oh, and they’re FIPS 140-2 Level 3 compliant.

Here’sthe full press release

Contact us today to discuss how NeoScale’s CryptoStor line of encryption appliances can help safeguard your data.

Spectra Logic’s award-winning BlueScale AES-256 Encryption offered on their T-Series libraries do is now available in LTO4…this makes them the only tape vendor on the planet to offer this functionality inside the library at this level. Their BlueScale library management software handles all the key management giving you a single point of management for encryption and data backup.

This is a natural fit for government agencies, law firms and online retailers who are under increasing pressure to lock down sensitive data.

Spectra’s great 10-minute video BlueScale overview.

Contact us today if you’d like configuration or pricing information or would like to discuss in further detail.

E-mail archiving and recovery software has proved itself useful in the case of the American who flew to Europe even though he had tuberculosis (TB).

The Fulton County, Georgia, Department of Health and Wellness tried to prevent Andrew Speaker, of Atlanta, from traveling to Europe for his wedding and honeymoon in May because his drug-resistant form of TB could make him contagious to other airline passengers. …more

Source: Robert Mullins - InfoWorld - 7/10/07

Scale Datacom offers a variety of solutions from industry leaders and can tailor a solution to meet your needs and budget.
Contact us if you’d like to discuss your needs in further detail.

One of our partners, Messaging Architects, makes a very powerful Novell GroupWise storage, compliance and security software package called GWarchive. They’ve recently put up a great video on their site that details all the features and ease of use of GWarchive and is a must-see for any GroupWise administrator.

Here’s the video

Here’s the datasheet

Contact us if you’d like to dicuss how GWarchive can enhance your GroupWise environment.