Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) Reviews

Deduplication and VTLs.

As the cost of tapes start to mount, using the DD box for daily and weekly backups, and just keeping monthly backups on tapes, has greatly reduced the cost of backups.

It is an extremely useful tool to use for example in my case, in a redundant environment, as I manage duplications through Netbackup with Storage Lifecycle Policies. I keep my daily and weekly backups on the DD boxes replicated on both sites, and download the monthly backups for archive purposes.

That way I get the instant recovery that the DD unit provides, and in case I need to go live on the secondary environment, I can restore any vmware server in a matter of hours.

1 - Adding tapes to the VTL is a complex task.

2 - If DB backups could be somewhat compressed it would just be the dream product.

5 years on different versions of DD.

None on basic deployment for CIF usage, the VTL and virtual tapes is more complex to setup.

None at all, I have hardly had to reboot the boxes aside from a firmware update.

None, I am adding a second disk box and it is pretty much plug and play.

Excellent, when there is a new firmware update, EMC will call me to do the upgrade without even having to ask.

I have had a couple of hard drive fail, and they sent a replacement right away.

Very good, I had only had to deal with first level support for firmware updates, had some minor discrepancies with the steps to follow, after reading the instructions on how to do the firmware upgrade, the tech wanted to jump a couple steps.

No, we had regular backups to tape and a staging area, but no deduplication.

Initial setup is pretty straightforward, VTL configuration is a bit more complex.

Implementation was done through a vendor, their level of experience was very good. At the time of implementation I have had experience with the technology, but had not participated in the initial setup of the product.

With the increasing amount of data handled every year, the money we save on tapes, plus the speed that the DD allows backups to be done and having instant restores, makes this product the best investment a backup environment can add.

At the time of purchase, there was no other solution that was able to perform the same tasks.

We use the on-prem deployment model of this solution and sometimes the public cloud. Our primary use case is for on-prem backup and for replication servers. 

The most valuable features are the deduplication and compression and the Data Domain Boost feature. It's compatible with other backup software. 

We have had deduplication and replication issues. When we used another backup software we noticed that it didn't have the same issues. 

Our customers would like to enhanced deduplication and compression features with Veeam software. 

It's stable. 

In terms of the scalability, I would rate it a ten out of ten. It's better than average. 

Their technical support is good. I would give it an eight out of ten. It could use enhancements. 

The initial setup was straightforward. It only takes around fifteen minutes or less. We required five staff members for the implementation. 

We used a service team for the implementation. 

There are a lot of different models and each one has a different price. Some models require spending more on additional fees. 

I would rate it 9.5 out of ten. 

Deduplication

Features of Archiving 

*) Thanks to deduplication, backups take less capacity in Data Domain than traditional storage devices. 

*) Backups to VTL take less time to finish than traditional tape backups (the time traditionally allowed to mounting/seaching tapes is avoided).

*) Using DDBoost improves DataDomain system throghput up to the double and Network usage during backup will be reduced.

DDBoost function is not compatible with IBM TSM. Since DDBoost is one of Data Domain key options  (it enhance its performance up to the double), it wil be great if in the next future Tivoli Storage Manager can support it!

< 1 year

The deployment is very easy. No problem encountred.

No

10/10

Initial setup is easy: After hardware installation (which is well documented) you just have to power up the data domain device then run a script which configure your device.

Then you can configure backups devices using webgui and this is really easy.

The EMC Data Domain product is a real success and customers which have never bought EMC products are now buying Data Domain...

We've primarily been using the solution as a backup. What we understand is that we can create it with Veeam where Veeam backs up the network into Data Domain.

It's very easy to use Data Domain once it's been set up. The interface is also user-friendly.

The firmware upgrades could be simplified. I'm in the process of struggling to upgrade right now.

The dashboard could be more interactive.

The solution is very stable.

The solution isn't very scalable from what I understand, but I haven't attempted to scale the solution myself. We only have about ten IT personnel on it.

Technical support is good. I'm satisfied with them.

The initial setup was straightforward. I was finished with the setup after two to three hours.

We implemented the solution ourselves.

We are using the on-premises deployment model.

I would recommend the solution. I would rate it eight out of ten.

DD Boost.

It makes working with backup solutions very easy.

None that I see yet.

3 years.

No.

No.

No.

5 out of 5

5 out of 5

A vendor team, they were excellent.

The company chose this product not me, so no.

Stability, replication,

Could fully automate backup process with 1500 backup clients (machines).

Smarter & better deduplication, CLI shell should have more options for managing this product.

4 years.

Yes, but it related to hard disk manufacturer, not product itself.

No.

Haven't scaled it yet.

4/5

4/5

Before we used EMC VTL, an awful and nasty product from EMC with lots of manual work.

Initial straightforward.

Via vendor with excellent support.

100%.

We have special discount from EMC.

Would recommend.

Fast backup for complex and huge size data.

My Organisation provides Backup as services. DD useful for shared platform for customers.

From a technical point of view, all EMC products have to improve the troubleshoot feature like, log should be in human readable format.

Past 5 to 6 years.

Easy to deploy.

Wrong integration is always the

Not yet.

3.5/5

3.5/5

I used Sympana commvault and CA Arcserve. Both the products are good for small organisations but not up to the mark for enterprise level.

Through vendor team; try to just know how to fix the hardware and plug the networker cable. Rest of the things we had to do remotely.

For enterprise level backup solution – No .

I recommend EMC products due to their stability.

It's useful in the enterprise and commercial segments, like the banking and hospital sectors. We aim to get Fortune 500 quotes to afford debt solutions.

It's very competitive in terms of price and technology.

Also, the development team continuously makes updates.

The data reduction feature is very useful.

The price could be a little cheaper than it is now.

We have been working with Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) since 2004.

It's a cloud infrastructure safety and data protection solution.

The solution is stable.

If you know how to do it, the initial setup is straightforward. It takes one day to install and configure all the components.

The yearly subscription is very affordable for our customers, but the price could be a little cheaper overall.

I recommend this solution for every environment and rate it a ten on a scale from one to ten.