Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) Reviews

Dell PowerProtect DD is mainly being used for the backup repository, such as storing backup data.

The interviewee is "Nilesh Nn" but he passed the phone over to his colleague for the rest of the review at the negative point. I completed it as "Nilesh Nn" but I am not sure if it should qualify.

The most valuable features of Dell PowerProtect DD are reduplication and compression. It provides a lot of data savings for backups. Additionally, the Dell PowerProtect DD solution offers a bundled backup software and storage option. If desired, users can also connect to cloud technology to create an additional copy of their data in the cloud. This solution supports synchronization with various cloud vendors, including Azure and AWS.

Using Dell PowerProtect DD eliminates the need for multiple management consoles and devices to run a backup solution. Traditionally, a backup server is needed to install backup software and connect to a storage unit or tape library to store backup data. However, Dell PowerProtect DD includes the storage option and software, providing a consolidated solution in a single device.

The solution is designed for change. With new updates, it adapts to work with new edge applications, such as Kubernetes containers and can support these applications during the backup process. This means that users do not need to seek out alternative backup solutions for their Kubernetes and container applications in the future.

Dell PowerProtect DD should come out with its own system so we do not have to use Data Domain. For example, something similar to what Symantec has done.

I have been using Dell PowerProtect Data Domain(DD) for approximately three years. 

The initial setup of  Dell PowerProtect DD is easy. It is engineered with consolidated options in the system making it easy to manage it properly.

I rate Dell PowerProtect DD an eight out of ten.

Most cases are related to databases, such as Oracle and MySQL.

Dell PowerProtect DD does not have integration with the cloud and virtualization software.

I have been using Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) for 10 years. We are using DD6300 of the solution.

I do not remember any outage or software bug. I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

The solution is scalable. About five to ten people are using this solution. 

We are already transitioning to the cloud, and this solution is almost exclusively used for primaries. We do not intend to renew, purchase additional units, or increase capacity.

Customer support is pretty good.

Positive

The initial setup is very simple. I rate the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

We have the installation physically. In our data center, our team and Dell personnel came to us to make the first configuration. Since we already know the solution and have been using it for many years, so it's not very hard or difficult to setup.

Dell PowerProtect is a very efficient and very stable solution. It could have more integration.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

The main use case is for backup and mobile. My customers usually have a couple of authorizations and server and database. They are mainly using PowerProtect DD for backup purposes.

The most valuable features of PowerProtect DD are the immutable storage and the AI scanning. These features detect differences in backup versions and help in preventing any unauthorized changes, ensuring data protection. The AI scanning is also beneficial for prediction and protection, as it can scan locally without needing to connect to any external templates.

PowerProtect DD should improve the hypervisor support on the DD system. The system needs better integration with VMware to ensure full protection of the backup systems without leaving them vulnerable.

I have been working with PowerProtect DD for three years now.

There have been no issues with the stability of the tool. It has been very stable for use.

I rate the scalability as eight out of ten. It is easy to scale.

The support for PowerProtect DD is satisfactory. I have dedicated support from Dell for Vietnam, and they are responsive.

Neutral

The initial setup is not difficult. On a scale from one to ten, I rate the ease of setup as an eight.

The price for PowerProtect DD is not suitable for my customers. It is very high. However, the actual cost can sometimes depend on the relationship with Dell, where there may be discounts available for certain customers.

My advice for those looking to use Dell PowerProtect DD is that it is a solid product for backup and recovery. However, they should be aware of the high cost.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.

We use the solution for backup, data protection, and data encryption.

The most valuable features of the solution are recovery point, compression, and deduplication. Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a reliable solution.

The solution's cost, scalability, and licensing model could be improved. Nowadays, competition models offer higher capacity and scalability. The solution's marketing or awareness should be improved. Users need to buy additional Dell software technologies along with the solution, which is an additional cost.

I have been using Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) for more than ten years.

I rate the solution ten out of ten for stability.

Around 15 to 20 customers use Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain).

The solution’s initial setup is straightforward.

Around five to seven engineers were involved in the solution's deployment.

The solution’s return on investment is good, and we haven't seen any disaster with the solution.

Users have to pay a capacity-based licensing fee for the solution.

Since the solution's backup text is in encrypted mode, it protects us against ransomware attacks. Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a good solution for enterprise-level customers. However, it is not suitable for small and medium-level business customers. I would recommend the solution to other users because it is stable and reliable.

The solution's performance compared to other data protection products is very good.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

We use this solution to store and replicate data for back-up purposes.

Our clients like the wide range of features that are available within this single solution.

We would like to see the price of this solution brought down to be comparable with similar products currently on the market.

We have found this to be a stable solution in our experience.

This is an easily scalable solution.

The initial setup for this solution is very easy.

Our in-house team carry out all of the installations, deployments and implementations of this solution for our clients.

The licensing for this solution has a higher price point than comparable products on the market, and the licenses are payable monthly.

We would rate this solution a 10 out of 10.

What I like about Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is that it is a performance technology.

One of the features I find very interesting in this product is deduplication.

I also find it valuable that it's very easy to communicate with just one vendor if you're using this product. Normally, with other security systems, CAP systems, etc., you have to use the server, some hardware, and some software. The server could be from one vendor, while the software could be from another vendor. When a problem arises, this means you have to communicate with more than one vendor, but with Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain), this is not the case. The only competitor I know that manufactures a similar product with this feature of one vendor communication is Symantec.

Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is not a product that's easy to install by customers. There are a lot of products, e.g. entry-level storages that can be easily installed by customers themselves, but this product and other IDPA solutions need to be installed by professionals.

Customers who buy Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) should not worry about its installation and deployment. It should be installed directly by Dell, or by a Dell partner for free, but the price of this product must include installation, so installation will no longer be a problem.

Installation and deployment for this product need to be improved. These processes need to become easier. The user interface could also be improved, but I did see that Dell now provides a number of products with very nice interface. We used to have Dell PowerEdge VRTX, but it reached its end-of-life (EOL). It was a small blade server with a small storage that's working, but it was equipped with a friendly interface for customer installation. Dell EMC and some other vendors should also sell entry-level to mid-range products that are more user-friendly, and make them out of the box products.

It's been a few years since we started selling Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain). Normally, we sell Dell EMC backup systems, but we started to sell IDPA products last year, but the Data Domains we've started selling years ago. We're still working with this solution.

I find this solution stable.

Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a scalable product.

The installation of this product is not easy, though it's easier to install than IDP and DP units. If you have knowledge on this product, then installing it will be easy.

We deployed this solution in-house. We have two certified staff for data protection products. We have also have two certified staff for data storages, and more people certified for other products, e.g. desktops, servers, etc.

Buying Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain), our clients don't have to pay for extra licenses. They can just buy any backup solution. For example, they can buy Dell EMC Avamar, or they can buy Symantec, Convault, etc.

When buying IDPA products, you don't have to buy anything, because you'll have an integrated solution: a data domain appliance plus software, the software being Dell EMC software which is a big package of software that allows you to do everything.

When buying Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain), you can just buy a very cool backup software with deduplication, and that's all. It's very perfect, very nice. You can buy the backup software, e.g. Dell EMC, Convault, Symantec, etc.

Pricing for this product could still be improved, though several years ago, its price was very high. When there are more competitors, though, the price becomes more attractive both for the customer and partner. Now we can get more discounts for projects. The price for this product will decrease, because more and more companies now produce integrated devices, e.g. deduplication is not a very new technology, but it was a feature that was limited to several market leaders.

My company MiroMIX United is a Ukranian company, and we are the platinum partner of Dell EMC. The majority of our solutions are based on Dell EMC products. We sell HP servers, but not too many, just 5%. We sell Cisco equipment, but we prefer selling Dell EMC networking products. We're partners of Cisco Systems, but we try to sell more Dell EMC products, because we know Dell EMC products best.

We sell Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) which is an integrated data protection appliance (IDPA). We have not sold many, e.g. just 10 or 15.

Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a promising product. It's very competitive. Last year, this product was sold and utilized into the most powerful banks here in Ukraine, but not by my company. My company sold these products to departments and segments in the government, though we were able to sell several Data Domains to a bank, but it was not a project worth millions of dollars. Our competitors were able to sell this product for millions of dollars. It's a very interesting, promising, and competitive product.

This solution is very promising and competitive, and we would like to sell more, but it's difficult. We can't predict how it will fare against the competition, for example: HP. At the moment, we have a POC in one bank here in Ukraine. It is a Hungarian bank, an OTP Bank, but it has a branch here in Ukraine. In the near future, there will be an official tender procedure announcement, but at the moment, they are testing Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain), while also testing the backup solution from HP. It would be very interesting to hear their conclusions, but at the moment, we don't have the results.

We have 15 clients who are using this solution. It would be great to expand our presence in this market. We have a service center certified by Dell, with 10 people working in it, and all of them are certified in various products, e.g. desktops, laptops, servers, data storages, and Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain).

We've been working with Dell for many years. Our company was founded 22 years ago, and during this period, we've been working with service and warranty, and the independent service in Ukraine is based on four service centers for private companies, with one of the service center being ours. In previous years, e.g. in the early 2000s, we had to keep spare parts at our stock room. We used to do this, but 10 years ago, Dell changed the strategy of service in Ukraine and they arranged the spare parts hubs located in all the regional centers.

I recommend Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) to other users who want to start using it because it's a very interesting product.

My rating for Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a ten out of ten, when compared to its competitors which are utilized in large accounts.

I'm an architect, so I only use Data Domain to design solutions for clients right now. I'm not using it so much as for management or administration. My clients all like it, and It's an effective storage system.

Data Domain is an excellent repository that's compatible with a lot of different solutions. Even Veeam Backup recommends sending backup to Data Domain. Space optimization is great. Currently, it guarantees 50-to-1 compression of the application in the same device. In all these years, I never had a client who was unsatisfied with Data Domain. It is a solid appliance with VMware integration, instant access to restore and search, and analytics.

Data Domain lacks compatibility with fiber channels and tapes. We can't use it with a tape library. That's an issue in Latin America sometimes because a lot of clients still use tapes for budget reasons. Maybe they have a lot of archives. In North America and Europe, they do a lot of archiving, but they use the cloud more than we do. Sometimes we have to put together a Frankenstein where we connect another server to the tape library and send all the data there. 

I understand why integration with tapes isn't possible because they are designing these applications for the future. In the next decade, all the information will be sent through private and public clouds. It's a great way to send data. It can be software-defined, so you have lots of paths to send information, and it's it's not too slow, so I guess that's why they don't support tapes. When we have challenges with other providers, maybe an internal ID would help.

Also,Dell's backup software comes in a lot of flavors, and there's a bundle that gives you all the functionality. You use this software to do this and another to do that. There isn't a single application that can do everything, and sometimes that makes some struggles.

I got my first Dell certification in Data Domain about six or seven years ago, but I've been working on it for maybe two years. 

We use other products, but it's not a one-to-one comparison with Data Domain because they're software solutions. For example, competitors like Veeam Backup have only one software solution that you can't license to other users. You have to buy the license for Veeam Backup for a socket, but it involves all the the functionalities. Maybe you have to buy a part of the instances for taking the backup for the databases. 

It's a perpetual license, but you pay monthly for support. If you're integrating with the cloud, you have to pay for using the cloud. That's the only recurring cost you have with this tool.

Data Domain is a 10 for me. It's a great storage device.

We are a solution provider and this is one of the products that we implement for our customers. We do pre-sales activity, configuration, migration, integration, and more.

We have a Data Domain on-premises in our business, and we also provide it to our customers. The entire suite contains lots of backup software.

The Data Domain is the only backup appliance that we are proposing to our customers. We sell it in conjunction with the Data Protection Portfolio from Dell EMC.

Data Domain will not work without backup software. It integrates with Veeam and other products from other vendors, but the most beneficial backup process is when it's used with the Dell EMC Data Protection Suite.

The only concern that we have about the Data Protection software from Dell EMC is the interface. There needs to be some sort of enhancement. Veeam has the number one backup GUI in the world and although Dell EMC has a good interface as well, it is not like Veeam. If Dell would further improve the interface then it would be very hard for others to compete.

Dell has their own backup engine, which is remarkable. It is integrated with many enterprise applications, like SAP/HANA, Oracle eBusiness, Oracle Database, Hadoop, and more. However, because of this integration with complex enterprise applications, it comes with a complex interface. If they enhance this interface, it will be great.

This product has a lot of good features.

It has the most powerful deduplication and compression for data backup. Data consumes a lot of storage capacity, but with Data Domain, it splits the data into many chunks. The data is managed with smart architecture and algorithms, saving between 80% and 90% from the target capacity. This means that for every tier of capacity, it may reflect 20 times that, which is remarkable.

Data Domain has good data regulation features to prevent data corruption. Frequently with other products, users face data corruption. Data Domain always generates a hash from the target backup data and compares it with the hash of the data in production. This is done to make sure that the data is identical. If it detects a problem then it will rebuild the data on its own. This is why I recommend people make sure that they have a valid backup. In case of a crisis, it will restore and things will continue to function well.

This solution has a feature called Domain Boost, which allows for source deduplication and compression. Backup data consumes a very heavy amount of traffic because you are transferring almost all of your production data across the network to the backup appliance. By using Domain Boost, it supports source deduplication and compression, so you are only transferring a very slight amount of data across the network. This will assure very rapid data backup, guaranteeing RPO and RTO.

The software from Dell that can be used to operate Data Domain needs to have enhancements made to the user interface. It is too complex.

We began working with Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) approximately five years ago.

This is a very stable and durable product.

This product is backed by very powerful support from Dell. If there are any concerns then they become engaged very quickly. The support is very fast and very helpful.

We began working with this solution before the migration between Dell and EMC.

I have some experience with Veritas, and they offer backup appliances as well. However, they have nothing that can be compared to or compete with Data Domain. This solution from Dell EMC is the number one backup appliance.

The initial setup is very straightforward. Even the integration with different backup vendors is a straightforward process.

Although the price of this hardware backup appliance is expensive, it comes with its benefits.

The price of the backup appliance is slightly expensive. Compared to other vendors, the pricing will be slightly higher.

The backup software from Dell that you can use to operate the Data Domain is very cheap, and there are many different plans that can be purchased as a subscription or full license. 

My advice for anybody who is implementing Data Domain is to use the backup software from Dell EMC. Combined, you will get a very powerful package for backup that includes both software and appliance. These together come at a very affordable price against any combination from any other vendor.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.