EMC Unveils Data Domain Global Deduplication Array

EMC Corporation, the world leader in information
infrastructure solutions, today announced the EMC Data Domain
Global Deduplication Array (GDA), the industry's fastest inline
deduplication storage system for enterprise backup applications. The
Global Deduplication Array, based on a new multi-controller extension of
the Data Domain architecture, offers inline global deduplication and a
global namespace for all data stored in the dual controller system.
With throughput up to 12.8 terabytes per hour (TB/hour), it establishes
consistently high benchmarks across the spectrum of common data center
backup metrics. The Global Deduplication Array provides up to 14.2
petabytes (PB) of logical backup capacity, driving new levels of
simplicity for data center backup consolidation across workloads as
diverse as very large databases, VMware images, and unstructured data.

Unlike most multi-controller deduplication systems, the inline Global
Deduplication Array is tightly coupled with backup software, enabling
industry leading inline deduplication performance, dynamic distribution
of load and simplicity of operation. The Global Deduplication Array
distributes parts of the deduplication process to the backup servers to
reduce network load and increase the throughput performance of the GDA
controllers. It offers more than 3x faster backup throughput per
controller than competitive deduplication configurations and is the
fastest inline deduplication system available. This distributed
deduplication processing throughput is anchored by the native speed
advantages of the Intel Xeon multi-core CPUs in the GDA controllers
and the Data Domain SISL
(Stream-Informed Segment Layout) scaling architecture that minimizes the
number of disk accesses required in the deduplication process. At
initial release, the platform supports Symantec NetBackup and Backup
Exec through backup server-based OpenStorage plug-in software. Later in
2010, it will also support EMC NetWorker using integrated software.

The Global Deduplication Array presents a single inline deduplication
storage pool to the backup application across two EMC Data Domain DD880
controllers. Large datacenter backup jobs are dynamically and
transparently load balanced across the controllers, simplifying capacity
management, performance management and backup administration.

-- For backup environments with hundreds of terabytes to process, administrators can target their backup policies to a Global Deduplication Array and leverage a common deduplication storage environment for all data protected by those policies.
-- The Global Deduplication Array accommodates up to 270 concurrent backup jobs and up to 12.8 TB/hour of throughput, allowing more backups to finish sooner while putting less pressure on limited backup windows.
-- Global namespace minimizes the need to reconfigure complex backup policies, while innovative global deduplication technology dynamically load balances policies for performance and capacity management. Consequently, very large data sets can be easily protected with administrative simplicity while maximizing overall deduplication efficiency and therefore minimizing physical storage footprint.

"Figuring out how to get backups done within the allotted period of
time in the face of data growth is still the biggest data protection
challenge that organizations face according to our research," said Brian
Babineau, Senior Consulting Analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group.
"With their Data Domain Global Deduplication Array, EMC has far exceeded
the inline deduplication performance benchmark it set with its previous
top-of-line Data Domain system, but more importantly, the company has
given customers a way to protect more of their data in a shorter period
of time.