Quantum Unveils Data De-Duplication
Quantum Unveils Data De-Duplication
February 15, 2007: Quantum has capitalised on acquired local Adelaide technology, and will soon be eliminating redundant data in organisations through data de-duplication and replication embedded in its DXi3500 and DXi5500 appliances.
It’s the first release to come out of the ADIC acquisition and one that could provide a practical tool for disaster recovery, especially for remote office sites or in industries that might deal regularly with lengthy lapses of time between data use.
According to Craig Tamlin country manager for Australia and New Zealand at Quantum, data de-duplication has been on the Quantum radar for some years. It was eventually taken up by Quantum after its acquisition of ADIC who had two weeks prior to the buy-out, acquired the Adelaide based Rocksoft.
With a team of twenty, Rocksoft have spent years fine-tuning the algorithms associated with data de-duplication Their work can be found in the DXi3500 and DXi5500 appliances available in the United States tomorrow. and in Australia by the end of March.
Tamlin believes by combining technologies from Quantum, ADIC and Rocksoft, Quantum has significantly increased the “power of disk to support backup, data retention, and disaster recovery planning.”
By exploiting effective storage capacities, the system works to find variable-sized blocks in different locations or different files over a period of time. When it finds a block repeated, it replaces and stores it with a pointer. It’s a process that can effectively multiply storage capacity and could theoretically allow a one terabyte disk array to store 50 terabytes. It’s a cost effective method that could have users retaining 10 to 50 times more backup data on fast recovery disk and storing it for months instead of just days.
Quantum says that since the completion of the ADIC acquisition in August last year, they have been working to combine their key technologies and consequently develop the integrated software layer found in the DXi-Series solution.
Tamlin sees it as a new way forward for backup and recovery. “We’re excited by this and think it’s a great cornerstone for the future,” he says. “De-duplication is a brand new science. Our channel partners and sales will need to talk to their clients in a brand new way.”
According to the Enterprise Strategy group, data de-duplication is a powerful technology that’s gearing up to make a heavy impact on the storage market. Although the technology has only recently commenced finding its feet in the market, Tamlin puts Quantum ahead of the rest of the pack given its current portfolio of disk-based products.