Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) Reviews

We as a company use this product to protect our information. We have Data Domain combined NetWorker for our own company, and we also install and provide services around those solutions to our customers.

In our company, Dell Data Domain is used to protect our servers (on-premises), where the most important servers for us are the File Server and the eMail server. The Dell Data Domain we have It´s combined with Dell NetWorker as the backup software. The Data Domain works as the repository of the information, taking advantage of the duplication and all the features that it has. We are getting about 30x as the deduplication ratio. It is managed by the software NetWorker, where all the backup policies reside. We have clients in all the servers directing information from the server to the Data Domain taking advantage of the software client direct feature. We make backups on a daily basis, as incremental backups, and over the weekend we have full backups. We have about 14 servers in our office. Mostly Windows and Linux.

Yes, Dell Data Domain has improved our organization's backup strategy. As I mentioned, our infrastructure has different types of servers, all of them are virtual servers based on VMware. Once we had to make a recovery and we used the Instant Recovery feature where we started the virtual machine over the Data Domain instead of the VMWare server. Then we used VMotion to move the virtual machine from the Data Domain to the VMware server. We were able to minimize the service failure to 15 minutes approximately. 

The feature that I find the most useful is its data duplication. We had been having problems doing backups for the file server because we did not have enough space to store our backups. Data Domain solved that problem for us.

In terms of what could be improved, when you use Data Domain, you have to have at least 15% to 20% of free space so it can work properly. I understand that space is needed to process all the data, but it would be a big improvement if we could use that space too.

Just to give you a little background, I work for an integrator and we are also users of the technology. We have installed and used Data Domain for five to six years now. We also provide installation and support services for Data Domain for our customers. 

I think it is awesome. We've been using Data Domain for almost five years, and during this time we have only had one problem with one disk. We reported that to Dell and they sent us the replacement part and we only have to exchange the disk with the failure. 

We are looking at the scalability right now, because the family of Data Domain we have is already being replaced, so we are looking at changing the Data Domain. It seems that the upgrade will be easy, but we are still planning how to do the upgrade. 

Sometimes it's difficult to reach the real experts to get a solution. The escalation process is not that great, but in the end, it works.

Tape based backups

I installed the Data Domain and it was really easy. 

It is not a big Data Domain, so it was just mounted in our rack. We followed the initial setup where the IP and the name are configured. After that, most of the configurations had to be done over the software.

The complex part of the configuration is in the backup server (software part), it is not in the Data Domain. The Data Domain was really easy to set up. The Data Domain setup took us about four hours.

Our deployment plan was based on the installation of the hardware first, and after that, the software deployment, starting with the backup server.

I implemented it alone.

N/A

The licensing was not an issue because it is related to the software part. I'm not really sure about the price, because I think we've gotten a discount as we are partners.

Traditional Disk-Based backups 

The main consideration for anyone interested in Dell EMC Data Domain is to have a good initial sizing. The planning part at the beginning of the project is the most important. 

On a scale of one to ten, I would give Dell EMC PowerProtect Data Domain a nine.

The primary use is as a company backup.

The most valuable features are the DD Boost and the multiple applications and model platforms.

The solution needs a better cloud version. We need a solution that has a better understanding of the cloud.

The pricing model needs to be improved.

The stability is very good.

Scalability isn't the best.

The solution has excellent technical support.

The initial setup was straightforward. Deployment takes about two weeks with migration. You only need a few people for deployment and two or three people for maintenance.

We used an integrator to assist with the implementation.

I don't know the exact pricing, but I believe the solution is costly. You may also need to pay for extra features above the standard licensing.

We use the on-premises version of the solution. 

I would rate the solution nine out of ten.

We use this solution for various workloads for our customers. It is a backup solution for our banking customers' applications, farmer customers' farm assist applications, and manufacturing customers.

The most valuable features are that it is secure, reliable, and has officer support.

We have worked with this solution for about six years and deployed on-premises.

It is a stable solution with no issues.

It is a scalable solution, and we have more than 50 customers using this solution.

We have support within our company but leverage the technical support for backup support when required.

The initial setup was easy and not complex. It took about two to three houses to deploy.

The licensing is not cost-effective, and the pricing could be better. It is a costly solution compared to Veritas, but it has good performance, scalability and assurances.

I rate this solution a nine out of ten. I would recommend this solution to other companies.

We use Dell PowerProtect DD for different scenarios like database storage and backups.

I like the different features. We work closely with Dell on different products and features, which is why we use them all. 

It could be more secure.

I have been working with Dell PowerProtect DD for almost four years.

Dell PowerProtect DD is a stable solution.

Dell PowerProtect DD is a scalable solution. We have about seven customers using this solution.

It's ok because we have our own support and our own distributors for the vendor's part.

The initial setup doesn't take too long—just one or two days. You need two people to deploy and maintain this solution.

We are integrators, and we implement this solution ourselves.

We usually buy products at the end year, and the license is included.

I will recommend this solution to potential customers because it's one of the top brands and it's good.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) a nine.

We use it for backup.

It is very fast as compared to the other competitors. Its simplicity and bit rate are also valuable. It takes less time if we compare it with the old solution that we have.

Its management can be improved.

I have been using this solution for five years.

It is scalable. It gives the possibility for extension. You can add to the existing units.

They are excellent. We have access to them, and they respond immediately and provide the required solution. Their solutions are valuable and effective.

Its price is reasonable.

I would recommend this solution. I would rate Dell EMC PowerProtect DD an eight out of ten. To be able to rate a solution as ten, one must be very proficient and should know several products to compare them all, which is not true in my case.

My primary use case is as the backup storage feed application.

The most valuable features of this product are its guaranteed reliability and its duplication capability.

The size and scale of the product are limited and could be improved.

I have been using this solution for about five years.

I would say this is a fairly stable solution.

My experience has been that the tech support is pretty responsive.

This is a great product and should definitely be considered when comparing solutions. I would rate this product as seven out of ten. 

Efficient De-duplication, highly efficient replication, Data Domain BOOST for enabling a level of 'Source-Side’ De-duplication.

For many clients it has provided a Backup & Archive tier of storage separate from primary storage systems, replicated so as to eliminating the need for tape and has enabled organisations to achieve backups within backup windows and provide an appropriate place to tier and archive inactive data too whilst ensuring it is protected, secure and recoverable.

Tighter integration with certain storage arrays or software for even more seamless data tiering perhaps, however the system is quite hard to fault as it ‘just works’.

I have used Data Domain for over 4 Years, designing, implementing and integrating it as part of a solution for many clients with diverse needs of all scales.

Watch out for getting the sysadmin default password wrong more than 5 times, it will lock you out and requires a hard reset which has to be done via serial connection and is time consuming. My best advice is to create at least another admin account immediately at deployment time with a simple password as a ‘backdoor’ and then remove this account once configuration is complete.

No, the product (both hardware and software) is very stable and robust.

In some of the entry level models (DD2200, 2500) you have to be aware of the scalability limitations and ensure you purchase a large enough controller if you foresee growth and scaling beyond its recommended operating parameters as typically the controllers cannot be upgraded in place or without data migration. It is important to get a qualified EMC storage professional to size and design the solution for your purposes up front. However, the DD2500 can scale to 3 x Expansion Shelves (130TB Raw) and the larger models can scale well beyond this up to multi-petabyte scale so typically there are no real scalability issues. You have a LOT of backup and archive data if you fill one of the large systems, however proper planning and design should prevent this ever occurring in the first place.

EMC Support provides a high quality service, however I have encountered very few technical issues with this particular product. When a customer did have an issue due to their backup product filling the Data Domain system (backup application mis-configuration issue) EMC Support worked tirelessly to resolve the issue with a high quality and faultless approach.

I have seen other software based and hardware based De-duplication storage products, so far none has lived up to the efficiency, scalability and integrity of Data Domain.

Very simple, just follow the prompts for the ‘config system’ command from the CLI. The only issue is with the new generation systems initial configuration is via Serial connection, there is no VGA port or pre-configured IP address, however after initial configuration all is very straightforward.

I have implemented this solution for clients working for a Partner/Integrator many many times, I have also designed solutions with Data Domain for EMC… therefore I cannot answer this question without being biased. However the Data Domain system is relatively concise and not monolithic to configure in a short space of time, typically the more time will be spent tweaking and tuning backup applications to write to it in the most efficient manner.

Fantastic product that really is the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of backup/archive/bulk storage products, so usable and can save significant $ and can save many headaches with data management, the more you store on it the better De-duplication and greater ROI you get. If you archive inactive data to this product you can reduce primary storage (SAN/NAS) use by an average of 70%.

We use Data Domain to back up the SAP ERP system, and it worked very well.

We are moving to a public cloud.

We are very satisfied with this solution. It's easy to use and efficient.

The price is expensive, so that could be improved. The interface and dashboards could also be improved.

We have some problems with backing up on the Power Platform. PowerServer is an IBM product, and it forces us to back up over LAN, which is not suitable for us.

It needs some added features to back up the AIX OS or the old applications running on AIX OS.

10 years ago, we used the network backup, but we have upgraded our devices many times.

It's 99% stable.

It's 99% scalable.

Technical support is very good.

Setup was very easy.

The cost is expensive.

I would rate this solution 8 out of 10.

I would recommend this solution to anyone who wants to use it, for an enterprise of any size.