EMC: Not CDP, But Close

Enterprise Storage Forum content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

As a preemptive strike ahead of major storage announcements next week from Symantec and Microsoft, EMC said it has rewritten its RepliStor software to execute several point-in-time copies of data from files and applications.

Version 6.1 of RepliStor, which EMC took over when it purchased Legato Software, copies files housed in Microsoft Windows systems, avoiding data loss at remote offices or central locations.

The software makes identical sets of data available to servers over a network, creating Exchange 2003 snapshots on a secondary server without impacting the system.

To do this, it integrates with Microsoft’s Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), providing consistent snapshots and making data available on the secondary server. This enables data recoverability in case of a disaster or file corruption on the primary server.

RepliStor 6.1 will be available in the fourth quarter, starting at $1,650 per server.

CDP is a rapidly emerging area of data protection in which vendors promise customers that they can save data without losing a single file. CDP is designed to fend off outages from natural disasters, malicious attacks on computers or simple file corruption.

Fine-grained recovery across great distances is why CDP is so immensely popular. Thanks to tough corporate record retention regulations, companies fear misplacing, losing or destroying even a single document that may be subpoenaed in litigation.

By adding point-in-time capabilities to RepliStor 6.1, Rob Emsley, product director for EMC Software, said EMC has achieved near continuous data protection (CDP) on Windows servers.

“We believe continuous data protection is a term that seems to be getting used very broadly by the competition,” Emsley said. He said EMC would announce a more fleshed out CDP vision next month, which is rumored to include a reseller deal with CDP startup Mendocino.

“We absolutely believe that as we go forward into the fourth quarter, that what we intend to deliver to the market fits a little more with the more educated definition of what continuous data protection is,” Emsley said. “Our belief is that RepliStor today is very much that for that Windows-based, commercial SMB market.”

EMC will face a host of competition.

In New York next week, Symantec will launch its new Backup Exec software, configured for CDP and code-named Panther, while Microsoft will launch the complete version of Data Protection Manager (DPM).

Both products have been in beta for months, and IBM and several startups already have products on the market.

Emsley admitted that EMC wanted to get the new RepliStor 6.1 out before rivals Symantec and Microsoft unveil their CDP vision in New York next week.

Article courtesy of InternetNews.com

Clint Boulton
Clint Boulton
Clint Boulton is an Enterprise Storage Forum contributor and a senior writer for CIO.com covering IT leadership, the CIO role, and digital transformation.

Get the Free Newsletter!

Subscribe to Cloud Insider for top news, trends, and analysis.

Latest Articles

15 Software Defined Storage Best Practices

Software Defined Storage (SDS) enables the use of commodity storage hardware. Learn 15 best practices for SDS implementation.

What is Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)?

Fibre Channel Over Ethernet (FCoE) is the encapsulation and transmission of Fibre Channel (FC) frames over enhanced Ethernet networks, combining the advantages of Ethernet...

9 Types of Computer Memory Defined (With Use Cases)

Computer memory is a term for all of the types of data storage technology that a computer may use. Learn more about the X types of computer memory.