Dell has upgraded its disk backup box bundled with Symantec Corp.'s Backup Exec software for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), adding a data deduplication option.
The PowerVault DL2100 Powered by Symantec Backup Exec 2010 includes the newest version of Backup Exec that started shipping in January. The new model joins Dell's range alongside a model that includes CommVault Simpana 8 with a dedupe option.
Dell senior product manager Brett Roscoe said the DL2100 is qualified to work with Dell's EMC and EqualLogic storage arrays. He says Backup Exec is also integrated with EqualLogic system snapshots.
The Backup Exec 2010 version also has a lower capacity starting point – the DL2000 with Backup Exec started with 3 TB usable capacity.
"With dedupe, you can get more for your disk drive," he said. "It made sense to drive some of the hardware costs down."
Roscoe said he expects dedupe to be a popular option. He estimates about 60% of the CommVault version is sold with dedupe licensed.
Roscoe said while Dell doesn't necessarily push the Symantec or CommVault versions to different markets, Backup Exec tends to be more of an SMB product while Simpana usually appeals to larger organizations.
The new device is the latest in Dell's range to offer deduplication: the company also resells EMC Avamar and Data Domain deduplication backup products, and offers dedupe for primary storage with EMC Celerra unified storage systems. It lists ExaGrid Systems as a deduplication partner for EqualLogic, and its website offers deduplication backup devices from Quantum and Overland Storage.
Garnter analyst Dave Russell said at one point he counted nine dedupe products sold by Dell. He says he expects Dell to whittle that list, and perhaps eventually develops its own dedupe technology.
"If they don't offer just one, they're likely to at least collapse the list," he said. "Right now, the list is too exhaustive. It's a large potpourri of possibilities. I believe that like all storage vendors, Dell will think this is a critical enough capability that they have to eventually come out with their own capability for dedupe."
Quantum starts shipping LTO-5
Quantum has announced it is shipping LTO-5-capable tape drives and autoloaders, along with "limited availability of LTO-5 technology in Quantum’s Scalar tape libraries as part of an early customer adoption program."
The company has announced three products:
- TC-L51AN-BR: LTO-5 FH, Internal Bare, 6Gb/s SAS, black bezel: US$5,334 (pictured)
- TC-L51BN-AR: LTO-5 FH, Tabletop Kit, 6Gb/s SAS, black: US$5,634
- TC-L53FN-AR: LTO-5 FH, 3U Rackmount, 6Gb/s SAS, black: US$5,784
Australian and New Zealand pricing have not been announced.
Synology releases DiskStation Manager 2.3
Synology has released the DiskStation Manager 2.3 (DSM), a network-attached storage (NAS) product for SMBs. New features in the DiskStation Manager 2.3 include RAID and volume management, data protection with cloud backup, data encryption, a surveillance station feed on iPhones, easy access to DSM from the internet and customizable management UI.
QNAP adds rack-mounted turbo NAS servers
QNAP Systems Inc. and Video Players expanded their Business Series Turbo NAS lineup by adding two 1U rack-mounted, 4-drive models. The TS-459U-RP and TS-459U-SP models can hold up to 8 TB of storage and are compatible with VMware's vSphere4.
Imation licenses RDX removable disk through 2020
Imation extended its RDX removable disk license agreement with ProStor Systems. Under the terms of the agreement, Imation will have a license to manufacture, market and sell RDX removable hard disk systems through 2020. ProStor InfiniVault is a data management and retention storage system that integrates RDX removable disk technology. RDX includes a 2.5-inch hard disk drive cartridge and docking station with USB and SATA connections, and is available in 160 GB, 320 GB, 500 GB and 640 GB capacities.
NetApp claims 30,000 SAN customers
NetApp Inc. announced that it has more than 30,000 storage area network (SAN) deployments worldwide. NetApp's growth can be attributed to the fact that in the past two years, it has provided customers with a list of data backup technologies including thin provisioning, deduplication on primary storage, RAID and it strengthened its partnerships with other data storage companies.