Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) Reviews

We primarily use the solution for backup purposes.

The deduplication on the solution is great. It's elaborate but the companies already understand it. 

The hardware can operate in high temperatures, in case of any disaster. 

The scalability of the equipment and components of Data Domain are outstanding. We never go without Data Domain if we are talking about backup solutions. We always go with Data Domain.

It's a very reliable and consistent product. 

There's no match with any other product. It's outstanding. The performance of the hardware is improving day by day and new models are coming with more scalability.

In terms of backup software, NetWorker is a very, very good. However, it is very complex. If you want to export on a NetWorker deployment, usually you need to add more plug-ins. If you install Titanium, through the vCenter, you can directly backup all virtualized data. Using Titanium, you can backup Oracle data through the main directly or on the data lake.

First-time integrations are difficult in NetWorker. NetWorker software needs to be simplified. It's very complex. 

The technical support has gotten worse as of late. They could work to make it much better.

One feature which IBM has, and which I am unable to see in Data Domain (or on their optimum roadmap) is the utility-based backup solutions. There are no utility-based Data Domain models. 

We've been using the solution for more than five years now.

The solution is extremely stable. You just need to install it and then you can basically forget it. Our users have never complained about the performance and never complained about the consistency or reliability. There aren't any bugs or glitches at all. It's a very solid product.

The scalability is excellent and continues to improve with each new release. That said, a company needs to buy assuming a future scale, as it is physical hardware. If you only buy four terabytes, it's hard to just jump to 16.

In terms of support, Dell EMC support was outstanding. Right now, we've observed some changes in support. It's not as good. Whenever a log is up, we do not get immediate support. This has happened a number of times now. If I don't have a senior system engineer available at my company, and I have a server issue, or a backup suddenly stops due to some application restriction, I have problems. I've had a few incidents just this year, the year.

While the support is excellent, the experience of some delays is off-putting. From 2015 until now, we didn't really experience any type of support issues. The delays are kind-of new. Support is perhaps limited in our region. However, beyond the delays we experience, the service we get, and the advice, is excellent.

Banks will often have Lenovo or IBM. I always prefer, and my company always prefers, Data Domain. It's scalable and robust and far superior.

We've used Avamar as a backup software. However, we find Networker has more features.

The price point is high. That said, they're competing with other products like Veritas, so in that sense, the price is good, or, maybe typical. And yet, whenever we are competing with some legacy type of product, the price difference is huge.

It's a premium product and so the pricing is somewhat expected.

In terms of scaling, the price is difficult to pin down. IF you buy 4 terabytes, it's not so easy to upgrade to 16. YOu cannot add shells. So users should scale up, to avoid hitting limits down the road. The standard of Data Domain is typically 32 terabytes in terms of sizing.

We are doing multiple POCs right now. We have already installed it in the banks of Pakistan. We are providing solution architects, support, deployment, and residential services. 

In early deployments you need to size the backup solution properly and then design it, create it, and export it. Early on, we are sure to always have a delivery of that statement. After delivery, my engineers will be aligned with the Dell EMC CPU, who makes the PDQ chain. That way, we can always patch the required IPs and do those backups as well.

We always deploy the bank's backup software, and we'll do the patches for every requirement. Sometimes we use NetWorker and Avamar. We've deployed Data Domain using Veeam as well. 

We always do on-premises deployments, which are mandatory in our country. In Pakistan, you can't have any cloud-based deployments. Compliance and government rules are slowly changing. In a few years, we may also do cloud deployments as well.

That said, wherever we deploy Data Domain virtualization, it is a step towards cloud-based deployment as it's a virtual machine. You can always send the data from a virtual machine to any cloud, including Microsoft Azure, IBM, and ECS.

If a company is looking for an implementation partner, it's best to go with a tier-one partner - someone who is Gold, Silver, or Titanium. They will understand the product fully.

I'd rate the solution ten out of ten. There's no comparison between Data Domain and any other partner. It's solid and consistent. We'll continue to use them. They are excellent.

On-premises

The tool's performance is very good. DD Boost can improve its performance and backup. 

The tool's DD Boost is expensive. 

I have been using the product for ten years. 

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is scalable. I rate it a six out of ten. 

I rate the product a six out of ten. 

We are using Dell PowerProtect DD as a location for a backup repository.

The most valuable features of Dell PowerProtect DD are ease of use and deduplication.

Dell PowerProtect DD could improve by having better integration with other backup solutions.

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

I rate the stability of Dell PowerProtect DD a ten out of ten.

The solution is not scalable.

We have less than ten people using the solution.

I rate the scalability of Dell PowerProtect DD a two out of ten.

I have not used other solutions prior to Dell PowerProtect DD.

The setup of Dell PowerProtect DD is straightforward. The implementation process took approximately one day.

I did the implementation of the solution using the documentation provided with the help of the vendor.

The price of the solution and support for Dell PowerProtect DD is expensive. We have customers that cannot upgrade to a newer version of the solution because the support is too expensive.

Most people would rather buy a simple Synology hardware backup solution than
spend a lot of money on this solution. It's simple for us to operate, such as sharing
a drive or creating a drive, but it is not for everyone.

I rate the price of Dell PowerProtect DD a two out of ten.

One engineer is suitable to maintain this solution.

I rate Dell PowerProtect DD a six out of ten.

Very easy to setup and Data Replication for off-site storage of data.

Data restores and recoveries are so much faster and easier that before, we never have to wait to recall a tape from off-site storage; More Disaster Recovery options allows us to have a better DR process; We were able to remove all TAPEs from our environment.

Based on how we use the product, it does everything we need it to do.

We have been using the Data Domain product since 2008.

We encountered no issues during deployment. Their technical support is great and the product is very simple to manage.

Stability of the Data Domain has never been an issue. They have been rock solid since we have used them. One time we had one of our Data Domains down for 4 days because of a hardware issue. Once the Data Domain was repaired and came back on-line the system picked up right where it left off. It automatically started to replicate all of the data between its replication partner and re-synced the data without any actions on my part.

When we had to add more storage to the Data Domain, adding another shelf of storage was very easy and non-disruptive. When you reach the capacity limit of the model you are using, then you will need to upgrade to another model with more capacity. But moving the backups to point to the new Data Domain is very easy.

Customer Service: Data Domains customer support is very good. We have always received prompt responses to anything we have needed.Technical Support: Their technical support is top notch. They are very responsive and the support personnel are very knowledgeable. The Call Home support for their product usually has already opened a support case for us before I know there is a problem.

The setup is very easy. We had it up and running the same day it was installed.

We had the vendor work with us to install and setup the systems. Their level of expertise was very good. If the person I was working with did not know something he was able to get with his team and resolve anything quickly.

With any duplication product, the initial cost is not cheap. But, once the Data Domain was setup, it just runs. I have very little to no day-to-day maintenance tasks other that monitoring for alerts, which it sends an email to notify me if anything has alerted.

For our Technology Refresh we looked at three different vendors, Data Domain, ExaGrid, and Quantum.

Make sure you setup the Data Domains to use Active Directory authentication. When you are replicating your data to a replication pair, this will make using the replicated data easier to access from the off-site location. If you do not use AD and setup the same account on all of your Data Domains, then you will be using a local account on each Data Domain. The permissions on each side of the replication are for a different user SID even if the users are the same name. So when you try to access the replicated data with the same named local account, since the SID is different, you do not have access to the data without making the local account an “Administrator” on the Data Domain which is not a good idea.

We use the product to store data backups of instruments.

Dell PowerProtect DD’s most valuable feature is data deduplication.

We encountered data loss during the configuration process. We were not able to restore the information later. This particular area needs improvement.

We have been using Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) for seven years.

We have encountered stability issues only twice or thrice in the last year. It suddenly crashed the operating system, and we had to restart it.

The technical support team takes time to respond.

Neutral

The deployment process is difficult from a configuration perspective. We can always connect with the support team. It requires two executives to work on the implementation.

We took help from a service provider for installation.

The product is expensive.

I rate Dell PowerProtect DD an eight out of ten.

We use Dell EMC PowerProtect DD for backing up a target.

The most valuable features of Dell EMC PowerProtect DD are the duplication security and uptime.

Dell EMC PowerProtect DD works well with other solutions, such as NetWorker. It's really easy to pass over to Data Domain and vice versa. 

I have been using Dell EMC PowerProtect DD for approximately 10 years.

The stability of Dell EMC PowerProtect DD cannot be beaten, it is highly stable and reliable.

The scalability of Dell EMC PowerProtect DD is very good.

We have around 2000 employees and all the infrastructure that goes with it. We back up maybe 250 to 300 servers.

I have had excellent support because I am not using overseas support. I try to have support agents in Utah USA, and Canada.

The implementation of Dell EMC PowerProtect is straightforward. However, there are lots of options available. There are three different types of compression. It mainly dupes the data, and it also does local compression on the data domain itself. Once you choose the compression, you then have to decide whether you're going to do an entry backup or a straightforward input, big bucket type of backups, and only have one directory for your data.

When you purchase Dell EMC PowerProtect DD, you always have help from EMC. They will help you get familiar with whatever is new to you. 

When you spend the kind of money for this solution you do receive good support to help you through any issues, it is not complicated.

We have two people that manage the solution, but the two people are more to cover sickness, training, vacation time, et cetera. A single person can do the maintenance.

The price of Dell EMC PowerProtect DD could improve, it is expensive.

My advice to others is to ensure they understand the solution well so that when they do implement it, it is done correctly for the business. Lots of different companies use it in different ways. I was with EMC for 10 years and I have spent the last 15 years supporting EMC customers, every implementation is unique because everybody has different ways of doing things. They don't always follow best practices, they will follow their business best practice rather than the vendor's best practice. They want a different thing out of a backup environment.

If my business said that they were going to change to a different backup product, I'd be looking for another job because I wouldn't trust my data with anything else.

I rate Dell EMC PowerProtect DD a ten out of ten.

The primary use case of our customers is to do backup for their data.

One of the most valuable features is that it looks for the deduplication, which can reduce the amount of the data.

One improvement to the solution would be in the integration with backup software. They still have hardware different from the software.

We have been working with Data Domain for around 10 years.

The stability and performance of the solution is good.

Data Domain is suitable large enterprises. Because it's scalable, the solution is targeted toward medium to large enterprises.

The technical support is good. It's better than others, but if they are not familiar with the problem, they have to take their time. But in general, they are good.

I have a team that takes care of the deployment. They say it's easy but it takes some time, in terms of policies and integrating with infrastructures the customer already has. These are the challenges but it's easy to use.

A medium project takes around seven days to implement and integrate. A large project, 200 terabytes or 300 terabytes of data, will take around 15 days to 20 days to integrate with all the servers and backup software.

The solution comes with three years warranty and support from the vendor, but we have a lot of users with electrical outages, or unexpected errors happen. So we replace the hardware in terms of the hard disk or the controller, or we do maintenance in terms of upgrading the firmware on all of it.

The solution was cheap; now it's becoming more expensive. For example, if you buy it for 10 terabytes, you have to buy 10 terabyte also of software for it. It's called the capacity software. It increased our prices.

I've compared Data Domain to NetBackup Appliance. The pros for Data Domain are the starting capacity and the scalability, but the pro for the NetBackup Appliance is it's being integrated with their backup solution, which is NetBackup software. In terms of the integration with the software and the ability to have it, if you have a problem with your backup, you can restore it on the same machine. So, it's better in terms of NetBackup. 

Overall, whenever we integrate Data Domain with NetBackup software, it's been good.

I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. It's a good product that we recommend.

On-premises

We are using this solution with NetWorker. currently we are using it to back up our sap ERP. We have scheduled backup at intervals. We have two DDs, one Data Domain is on the Production Site while the second Data Domain is on the DR site. NetWorker backs up the SAP ERP to the Data Domain in the Production site and the backup is automatically cloned to the DR DataDomain.

Before we deployed the NetWorker, the process was to have the backup uploaded to an external drive, then the external drive would be transported from the Production Site to the site where we would then initiate the restore process. Now the backup is scheduled, and the entire process is automated

Restore is now done remotely to the recovery host over the WAN.

The feature that is most valuable is the Data Domain Boost. With the DD Boost, it takes minimal time to clone very large data over WAN to the DR site with a very reasonable bandwidth. Over 1.5 TB of data is cloned every day. The cloning process is seamless. 

With very minimal cost implications, we would want to have a real-time online backup solution.

It would be perfect to see EMC include real-time online backup option to significantly reduce RPO, if possible 0. Currently, backup is scheduled at intervals.

One other important feature to add to Networker is bare metal restore.

We have been using this solution for four years.

We have never had any issues with Data Domain. It has been very stable.

Data Domain is scalable, the appliance can be expanded at any point in time.

I admire EMC for their technical support. In general, they are very responsive, and in this case, it is no different. They supported the system without any issues. 

I think that the users needs some training before and after implementation for better understanding of the solution. I have gone for the training.

Previously, we tried deploying Tivoli Storage Manager. Tivoli was very complex. The backup and the restore procedures were complex, and the backup process took a very long time. 

There was an eighty percent improvement with EMC Data Domain.

The initial setup wasn't complex. It was straightforward. 

All that we had to do was to  install the application on the hosts, and provide all of the parameters for the database.

Understanding the customer's needs is what is most important. The implementation was not complex at all.

Everything from delivery of the server to implementation took between one to two months aside aside waiting time for hardware delivery. 

The deployment method was on-premises and took less than ten members to deploy it. 

EMC did the deployment. The deployment team was very experienced and professional

We had a major crash at the Production Site, which caused a failure to our server on the site. The restore process was good, and for that alone it goes a long way. We don't have to manually transport the backup to the site. It eliminates the transport costs, and the data integrity is huge, so we are fine with it. Hence, the return on investment is huge and its instant.

In Naira it was about twenty-seven million (approximately $75,000 USD) for the implementation and maintenance cost for three years. All that is needed now is the maintenance cost.

We tried IBM TSM and it didn't work. It was complex. Before IBM TSM it was a manual process, backup was done on external storage/ Tape and then transported daily from Production to DR Site. It was expensive, tedious and time consuming. In fact it was not a good experience moving the backup manually to the DR site.

The users should embark on the EMC NetWorker /Data Domain training before the implementation.

Considering past experiences, I will rate this product a seven out of ten.