Remote Site Replication

Network Replication for Disk Backup and Disaster Recovery — Eliminate Tapes on Trucks

Challenges

According to the research firm Enterprise Strategy Group, remote offices account for 30% of corporate data. This amount is comparable to the amount of corporate data in major data centers, however remote offices typically lack the skilled IT administration found in corporate data centers.

Today, most remote office data is backed up with tape, often through the efforts of a local employee who may not be an experienced IT system administrator. As a result, tape backup is often executed sporadically or improperly, putting 30% of corporate information at risk. Additionally, there is the added risk of the tapes being lost in transit on the way to the tape vaulting service provider.

Electronically vaulting or replicating the remote office data over a Wide Area Network (WAN) would be ideal; however, it is cost-prohibitive and operationally impossible to replicate large amounts of data without costly, high bandwidth connections and seasoned IT staff.

Solution

• High-speed, inline deduplication of backup data, using Data Domain Deduplication Storage systems at remote offices and a data center hub
• Data Domain Replicator software option
• Existing enterprise backup software
• Tape infrastructure for duplication and vaulting services for archiving at the data center hub

With Data Domain systems each remote office is protected in the event of a disaster. Data Domain's Global Compression™ technology reduces data to a fraction of its original size, making it possible to replicate the data over the existing network. This ensures fast and reliable backups, for example, along with local and remote recoveries that can be centrally managed by the standard backup software from the data center. The local tape infrastructure or tape vaulting services for each office is no longer needed.

Data can now be replicated to a central hub site (or sites) at the absolute minimum WAN cost, where a larger system can be used to store the remote backup data from several remote offices. Once the data has been written at the hub, it can then be moved to physical tape if required for longer term archiving — eliminating the hassle, costs, and data vulnerability associated with tapes being transported on trucks.

This solution delivers both centrally managed data protection and automated offsite disaster recovery for the remote offices while consolidating tape infrastructure.