ExaGrid disk-based backup - No licensing, no forklift upgrades, no complexity

ExaGrid's disk-based backup with deduplication appliances revolutionise how organisations backup and protect their data. By leveraging your current backup application (Netbackup, ARCserve, CommVault, BackupExec etc) and replacing tape in your nightly backup process, ExaGrid's simple, turnkey appliance can:

• Reduce the disk space required by at least 10:1, and up to 50:1
• Shorten your backup window by 30-90%, ensuring all of your data is fully protected
• Improve your disaster recovery plan through off-site disk-based retention of your data
• Reduce the amount of time your IT staff spends on managing backups
• Scale easily and cost-effectively with your data growth
• Fully protect your virtualized environment
• Reduce other costs associated with tape-based backup

ExaGrid’s deduplication appliances:

• Are self-contained: installs easily, reduces IT time and cost
• Run post-process deduplication to provide faster backups and restores
• Utilises GRID scalability
• Provides Off-site disaster recovery for backup
• Support Open Storage Option (OST)
• Include all licensing as standard - replication and OST are not additional costs

ExaGrid - Simple, Turnkey Appliances
ExaGrid's disk backup appliances work seamlessly with the industry's leading backup applications, and the appliance typically installs in about one hour. The product line's seven appliance models can be combined into a GRID configuration of up to 320TB raw capacity and allowing full backups of up to 130TB.

Because of ExaGrid's unique Landing Zone Architecture (described below), each model has roughly twice the amount of useable disk to the size of the full backup it can land and store

ExaGrid backup to disk appliances are comprised of Intel Quad Core XEON processors, enterprise SATA drives, RAID 6 hot spare, and ExaGrid software. Since each appliance includes the appropriate amount processor, memory, disk and bandwidth for the data size, as each server is plugged into the switch and virtualized into the GRID, performance is maintained and backup times do not increase as data is added. This combination of capabilities in a turn-key appliance makes the ExaGrid system easy to install, manage, and scale.

Post-Process Data Deduplication
The ExaGrid disk backup appliance uses post-processing to perform its deduplication. This means that the backup data is written directly from the backup server to ExaGrid's Landing Zone (disk) at the highest possible rate with no inline processing to interfere, resulting in the smallest possible backup window. Once the backup job is complete and off the network, the data is protected and immediately available for restore or tape copy. Then the appliance deduplicates (and simultaneously replicates) the data in the background.

Because ExaGrid's product allows each full backup to first land to the landing zone, it caches that most recent backup for rapid restore. Since over 90% of restores are done from the most recent backup, this approach avoids overhead incurred of undoing any deduplication during critical restores. As a result, restore times from an ExaGrid are 2x to 3x times faster than competitive solutions that do not preserve a complete copy of the most recent backup and store only deduplicated data.

ExaGrid's innovative approach minimizes the amount of data to be stored by using byte-level data deduplication across all received backups. ExaGrid's byte-level delta technology stores only the changed bytes from backup to backup instead of storing full copies. This unique approach reduces the disk space required by at least 10:1, and up to 50:1, delivering unparalleled performance for the fastest backups and restores, all in a solution that costs about the same as a new tape library.

Scalable GRID Architecture
ExaGrid backup to disk appliances include GRID computing software which allows them to virtualize into one another when plugged into a switch. As a result, any of the seven appliance models can be mixed and matched into a single GRID system providing up to 320TB raw capacity and allowing full backups up to 130TB. Once virtualized, they appear as a single pool of long-term capacity. Capacity load balancing of all data across servers is automatic, and multiple GRID systems can be combined for additional capacity. Even though data is load-balanced, deduplication occurs across the systems so that data migration does not cause a loss of effectiveness in deduplication.

For more information about ExaGrid, contact Infrasys – 0800 840 1001