Storage Selection Criteria

Transparent Operations:

Many other VTL solutions present a virtual device and tape layer that is distinct and separate from physical devices and tape.

Problem: This method interferes with the ability of existing applications to directly access tape, and as a result can encumber backup processes with manual overhead, interfere with tracking of tape, require additional backup operations and time, and reduce the portability of tape.

Clareti Storage Director Solution: The enterprise-class Clareti Storage Director maintains direct access to tape and optimizes all tape and library operations.

Clareti Storage Director’s caching architecture demonstrates how to make VTL transparent. We focus on disk as a temporary staging and acceleration point for data that will be backed up to tape. This makes us distinct from the competition that seeks only to become a primary repository by emulating tape. We accelerate the data backup and retrieval process while preserving transparent access and interaction with tape, thus alleviating the struggles that come with retrieving archived tapes, ejecting media, or duplicating tape.

Our cache technique provides the distinct advantage of utilizing 100% of your disk cache at all times. Additional disk can be allocated on an as need basis. This provides the unique advantage of receiving 100% return on your disk dollars.

Unlimited Scalability:

Enterprise data growth demands a backup infrastructure that can scale without limits.

Problem: Complexity and limited mobility of terabytes of data.

Clareti Storage Director Solution: Clareti Storage Director accelerates data protection by backing up data faster and can scale performance and capacity upward without limits, and without downtime. In a single, logical system, Clareti Storage Director meets performance demands beyond the fixed abilities of a single or clustered controller architecture.

To increase Clareti Storage Director’s InfiniCache™ disk cache is as simple as adding more disks to a node. Additionally, performance scalability is delivered in the form of horizontal, scalable clustering or RAIN (random array of independent nodes) that join nodes together into a massive, highly configurable, single VTL.

Optimization of Existing Tape:

VTL customers often fixate on data capture to disk, while ignoring the optimization of underlying tape performance and management

Problem:It is a fact that data loss can occur with any type of storage media. While tape is very reliable and cost-effective, managing tape and any associated errors is critical to backup integrity and management efficiency.

Clareti Storage Director Solution: Clareti Storage Director increases tape performance by optimizing throughput and utilization, while mitigating the impacts of any abnormal or error conditions.

Clareti Storage Director leads the market in making the best use of tape - providing insight, efficient management, and optimizing utilization.

How?

InsightEngine™ provides a unique single point of view into the enterprise storage operations allowing administrators to dive deep into device and event data while maintaining a clear correlation between virtual devices and physical devices. InsightEngine delivers summary information and alert notification with detail to enable proactive troubleshooting and physical tape management. Organizations have access to better information with InsightEngine.

Additionally, a one-to-one correlation between virtual and physical tape media, we can track real tape markers and directly access partial tape segments for line-speed restore from tapes containing data that has been flushed from cache. Under the right conditions, we can also restore data directly from cache. Clareti Storage Director maximizes speed and capacity while avoiding the overhead that competitive products require in recalling entire physical tables to disk before data can be accessed.

High Availability:

VTL platforms create significant change within the backup infrastructure that can affect availability.

Problem: Multiple tape systems mean multiple paths of access, which can fail independently.

Clareti Storage Director Solution: Clareti Storage Director preserves and improves the level of availability within a backup infrastructure.

Our InfiniCache adds availability on top of scalability by maintaining cache coherency across all nodes acting as part of a VTL. Multi-node VTL solutions deliver resiliency that grows with the size of the VTL.

Ease of Implementation:

Implementing a VTL within an existing infrastructure can mean revamping the storage environment.

Problem: A VTL implementation typically disrupts the existing way media is accessed, or requires a parallel installation that subjects enterprises to significant licensing costs

Clareti Storage Director Solution: Clareti Storage Director provides a VTL platform that allows easy implementation without disrupting existing tape access or requiring complex migration or re-cataloging operations.

Our transparent, scalable and resilient platform simplifies implementation. Its complete synchronization with physical tape enables smooth implementation, gradual and/or partial virtualization, and easy back out.

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