Sony Bundles Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions

Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony Monday unveiled several new products for the enterprise storage and backup markets.

Sony made the announcements at the ASIS Security Conference opening in New Orleans.

The company has created what it terms a “heterogeneous backup” solution that makes up its new Corporate Data Protection bundle. The enterprise storage solution combines Sony’s StorStation specialized server with NetVault 7.0 backup software from BakBone Software, along with Sony’s “2U slim Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) library.”

“Our new StorStation Data Backup and Recovery system (StorStation DBR) tackles data protection from every angle, from monitoring backup jobs and media use, to load balancing across a network,” says Steve Baker, vice president of storage solutions for Sony Electronics’ Business Solutions Division. “Users can simply install the StorStation DBR system, set the backup policies, and feel confident that their digital knowledge is secure.”

The StorStation DBR system can virtualize diverse data storage configurations into pools — tape, optical, and SAN included — to simplify management and make the most of available storage space. By sharing tape drives and other hardware resources, users can increase availability and protect their data through failover of backup files from the preliminary drive to a standby drive.

The system is also able to “create block-by-block disaster recovery images of clients without re-installing their operating systems,” according to Sony. It even allows users to perform file system replication to tape at a local or remote site.

Sony says its DBR solution includes the FSV-M5 specialized server with 720 GB capacity, gigabit Ethernet connectivity, and hot swap HDD RAID protection, along with the 2U AIT library, which offers up to 4.1 TB of native storage capacity.

The included NetVault 7.0 software delivers the added benefits of extensive reporting and unique Application Plugin Module (APM) features. When administrators select a specific application for backup scheduling, the APM automatically tailors the GUI on the fly, mirroring the application’s own GUI characteristics.

“NetVault is known for simplifying data protection policies across networked storage environments, while delivering time-to-data recovery performance,” says Peter Eck, BakBone’s vice president of marketing. “The fusion of Sony’s StorStation DBR system with our NetVault 7.0 synthesizes storage, server, client, and network resources to provide corporate users with unparalleled backup and restore performance.”

The line of Corporate Data Protection bundles will be available starting in October with prices around $20,000. Sony said its solutions will work with a variety of operating systems, including Linux and Microsoft Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, and Server 2003.

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