Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) Reviews

We primarily use the solution for storage.

The solution integrates well with our VM.

I like the hardware and the software together.

Based on what we have achieved in our environments on the bank's telecom, it's the best product. We have it installed with Dell EMC protection suite, NetWorker, but also with VM. There are many cases where we integrated with IBM TSM as a VTL. 

The best point is the duplication encryption and disaster recovery replication. The network replication's software has network verification where the product can not offer it. We use nothing for Data Domain replication. And when we use NetWorker, we use prone console application. With VM, also we use replication under the Data Domain application instead of copying the data from the VM.

The solution is very scalable.

The product offers excellent security.

The price could be improved. 

Technically speaking, the solution is okay. It's not perfect. We have to remember that it's a backup appliance. A storage appliance is not primary service. Let's say in a standard configuration you have only one controller, you don't have high visibility. We have installations on higher-visibility on one environment when one bank says, "We want a controller, doesn't matter how much it costs." We explain that something that is not the main storage is not production. " It's not primary storage, however, it can be used for different environments. Let's say to use it as the NFS or VMware deployment. 

Dell is improving the product all of the time, actually. There were a lot of improvements from version 7.3 to 7.4 for example. 

I've worked with the solution on and off since 2009 and I've watched it evolved from a small backup appliance to what it is now. They've done very well with it. 

I've been working with the solution since at least 2009.

In terms of stability, it depends on who is using it. When our customers use it via IP, now, almost everybody has 10G. When they use the application, they have at least one gigabit for the application. Data Domain is capable of using smaller bandwidth and therefore I haven't had any complaints regarding how it's working. The main problem is not the backup, its costs vary. 

The data has to get duplicated in blocks and sent across the network. It's optimized in such a way where when you bring back the data there is a process that will take place in the memory or the system in order together that data and compose the file. Then it will take it back to the network to where it will need to be stored. We have a fiber cable, so we are okay. We don't have a problem with this. However, smaller bandwidths may face issues.

The scalability of the solution is excellent.

We can start from many minimal configurations for SMB customers and we can scale it out for big a environment, for example, for different bank clients. It's suitable for all environments. It works well with other solutions as well, such as VM or TSM. 

Any company can work with it and any company can expand it to fit their needs.

Dell works with partners in order to provide technical support, and as partners, we often troubleshoot for our clients. We are sent alerts the moment a ticket is opened and so we are able to see if there are problems happening right away. When it comes to hardware, we'll be able to see what parts get dispatched and we can follow everything. From a hardware perspective, support works very well and is very transparent. 

From a software perspective, that's handled by a different team. If we have problems we can't fix we can apply for help to the software team. They can release patches and can inform us if an upgrade is mandatory in order to fix an issue. They are also very helpful and responsive.

Overall, I would say we are quite pleased with the level of service we receive from Dell. 

The initial setup is not complex. It's very straightforward. If you have a serial port opened up, and you configure the management port fees, first on the licensing, then it's really straightforward. However, if you have a different configuration, it may be a bit more challenging. Even so, it's not that complicated. It's 90% straightforward. If somebody is not comfortable with the console, they can use a web interface and it's fine. 

Dell Avamar is a very good product. We've used it in the past when it was, let's say, one of the first solutions. I believe they offer duplication. Whenever Avamar came on the market, it was a revolutionary application. Right now, however, due to other software solutions not only for Dell EMC but for Avamar, it makes everything very good and also very bad from the sales point of view. 

With aggressive marketing of products, clients may request the wrong product. Avamar isn't well-positioned in Romania right now. Data Domain is better. When clients ask for certain other products, we try to steer them to Data Domain. 

Depending on the customer's needs, Dell can fit into all environments. If you want to have a very good backup appliance, then choose Data Domain because it will fit in almost everywhere. I don't think I know of another solution in which somebody can have a backup project or data protection where this product will not fit. 

Technically speaking, I cannot make a comparison with other products, as this solution can fit almost everywhere.

I recommend better sizing to the client. That's important. Customers need to take into consideration their needs very, very well so they don't end up with too small of a product. It's better to go a bit bigger if it will fit the budget. Of course, the technical requirements need to be addressed. Data Domain integrates well with other products. It's something to consider.

Overall, I would rate the solution nine out of ten.

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.

We are a solution provider and we use the Dell EMC PowerProtect DD to provide service for our clients. It is used to provide backups for VMware environments.

The most valuable feature is the performance because you can back up data really quickly.

I would like to see better integration and support for backing up to cloud providers such as Alibaba Cloud.

In the next release, they need some monitoring, not only of the backup but monitoring of the firmware and the applications.

I have been using this product for one year.

This solution is stable and I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.

It's a scalable product.

I have a team of two that maintains it.

The technical support is okay. We opened a case and the response was good. We did not have any issues.

Previously, we deployed Commvault HyperScale and the Veritas NetBackup Appliance, but the performance is better with Dell EMC PowerProtect DD.

The initial setup was a little bit complex after the initial configuration when we tried to integrate it with the firmware.

It took one week for the deployment, configuration, initializing the backup, and monitoring of the backup for one round.

In summary, this is a good backup product and we are happy with the performance.

I would recommend this product to customers. I think that it has better performance than Commvault HyperScale.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

We primarily used this product as a solution for backups.

This product improved our system of backup by reducing the time and effort required to manage the system.

The reliability of Data Domain was the most useful feature to me. Every piece of data is recorded multiple times in several devices in a cluster. If any hardware failure occurs, it does not impact the data and does not result in any data loss. Resilience and reliability under any circumstances are important to data security.

Spanning the time I worked with EMC Data Domain, I had no issues that suggested to me that it needed improvement. It was working fine, and anything I wanted to do with Data Domain, I could do it. So I had no idea that it might have needed improvement. That is just thinking from a technical perspective as a user. It did what it needed to do for backup.

In hindsight, I am aware that there is a feature that does not exist in Data Domain related to the security of the product and the data. A friend who works in another organization had a problem when his organization was infected with ransomware. The ransomware locked up the data in the Data Domain and disrupted the data system asking for something in return or it would delete all the data. The ransom was not submitted and the hack successfully deleted all the data. This is a big concern and no small issue where data is critical.

So I believe security measures are not strict enough in Data Domain. I would like to see something in place for better security.

In addition to this — which is related to security as well — there are regulations from the central bank that mandates that we need to keep backup copies that are not connected to the network. They must be completely isolated from the network. Data Domain does not have any arrangements to satisfy this requirement. For compliance, we need to use a secondary solution.

The only other issue is that the prices seem high in comparison to other products and they should consider restructuring their pricing plans.

It's very stable and reliable. I have never had an issue with stability.

This is a very scalable solution. Whenever we needed to we could add new nodes with minimal effort and keep the same data structure.

Defining the number of users for the system is a little tricky because only the backup administrators actually use the Data Domain solution to do the backup procedures for the whole bank as a company. So the actual number of users of the product — hands-on — is around three people. But these three people are doing backups for many systems that are centrally connected to Data Domain. These many systems have around 300 total servers which go through the backup process. Each one of those 300 servers contains data from many users and transactions. In a way, our implementation of this product is serving many thousands of customers, and it can serve many thousands more.

So, yes, I think it is very scalable.

Our experience with customer and technical support has been very good. For example, in one instance we had a problem with the hardware and technical support guy came and replaced the failed component. This was seamless from our operations because the system is highly available and redundant. So everything continued working even with some part failing. But the technical support people were knowledgeable, quick and on-premises.

Before using Data Domain, I was using a tape library. It was IBM Tape Library with LTO (Linear Tape-Open). We switched to EMC Data Domain because of the speed. Backing up data to a tape library is much, much slower than backup to Data Domain, which is based on hard disks. it's much faster in backup.

The system we switched to is actually EMC Data Domain as the hardware device for backup, while Veritas is the software backup. Veritas has its own hardware device. However, EMC Data Domain hardware is much better than Veritas. The golden combination as I see it is EMC Data Domain hardware with Veritas software. Going that way, I get the best of each in our backup solution.

The initial setup is straightforward. For the deployment, it took one day for the hardware implementation and a couple of days for integration with the software. For several days, I worked with IBM TSM (Tivoli Storage Manager) or Veritas. All of the parts came together well and I had no real issues.

The implementation was carried out by my team and myself with some input from EMC as well. That was a team was a total of two persons from EMC, one person from my team and myself. I just managed the team and oversaw the process. I think normally that a technical team of about three people can handle the deployment.

As far as having a return on investment, I see investing in Data Domain as having a positive return. It is reliable and it does a very good job when it comes to data compression and deduplication. It makes the backup size much smaller, which saves the company a lot of money because you are not buying tape cartridges for the tape library or even hard discs for temporary backup to store redundant information.

Another ROI which is less tangible is the time for recovery. If I have a problem and I would like to recover something, it is a much faster procedure working with hardware than with tape.

One thing that anyone considering this solution has to realize is that it is expensive. It is expensive for a reason, but it is expensive.

Anyone considering using this solution will first need to make a proper assessment of their need for the data storage because this is misleading. Sometimes managers just make a simple assumption that an organization has about 50 terabytes of data and that they don't need more than this for backup. This is not correct.

If you look into the whole backup strategy, you will see how frequently you will do backups, how many copies we will need to retain, and the period of days that the data is retained — It will be a specific period of days and the backups will rotate. There should be a retention strategy and a rate of change of the data backups. All of these are parameters that affect the sizing of the data domain device. It could be many times the initial size depending on the strategy and how critical the data is. So assessing the proper sizing is very important and key for the success of the backup strategy.

It is important, as well, to assure that the software and the hardware work seamlessly together because you can mix and match software and hardware solutions to come to the ultimate package. Making sure that every feature in the software would work with the hardware is really imperative before making any decision.

On a scale from one to ten with one being the worst and ten being the best, I would rate EMC Data Domain as 7.5. The reason why it is not higher than 7.5 is mostly because of the cost. It is a very expensive solution. The lack of better security features to protect the data is really another big issue.

Our primary use for this product is for backup purposes and compression.

There are a number of ways that it improved our organization with the processing of backups and saving disk space, but the costs are somewhat prohibitive.

The most valuable feature, beyond simply backing up our servers, is the data compression capability.

There are several things that can be improved with this product even though it is not bad. 

The biggest concern for us is the licensing model. In terms of feature capability, there are too many separate modular features that require licensing. I would like to see a Data Domain license for one cost that contains what we need to utilize the product to its full capability. I don't like the idea of having to worry about buying another license to do something else and add functionality. So I am suggesting that it would be good if they made the product more integrated and adaptable.

If I choose not to use only EMC products, it should allow me to make whatever integration I choose to do with ease. It is not so easy to do this.

The technical support after the initial deployment and having the service account manager on site was not so good. They should have better means of support while you are using the product to encourage success with the product and that you remain a customer. 

During the period where you have resident, live support to take care of issues the product remains stable because they help with any issues. Without a service account manager after the initial deployment, the support is poor. Because of this, stability starts to become a problem.

The solution is centralized to the company or business process, so I don't really have users using it as an application. I've got one division — a team — that takes care of data protection which makes use of Data Domain services.

The initial, on-premises EMC technical support is pretty good. I have no complaints about them. Although we did have some initial support issues with Data Domain during the implementation, we always had that EMC account manager available. He dealt with most of the support issues when they arose and he was resident on-site. He was there only for as long as he was required to be there. He was very good. So we didn't really have support issues with EMC product initially as they addressed problems fully. However, when we did not have the service account manager resident on-premises anymore, the level of service changed. The regular channels for support are poor and not so responsive or they don't come back with good with solutions.

EMC is a solution we are starting to move away from because of the cost more than anything. We are evaluating it along-side a Veritas product currently.

The installation and initial setup of the program was a straightforward process.

We did use EMC services for that initial implementation and had a service account manager on site.

I can't say I am very happy with the cost of the EMC product because we also have got a Veritas product. The comparison is that the EMC Data Domain solution is more expensive than the Veritas and they have similar capabilities.

We were satisfied at the time we made the purchase of the EMC product, but subsequently, we went in a different direction. We added another product because we decided the price was too high for the original solution and to continue to add licenses. We are running both environments now.

Anyone who is considering this as a solution should study the availability of the features and caveats surrounding the licensing. You will want to make sure that you are covered for all the capabilities that you require. Then, if you choose to go with the product, I suggest adding a service account manager as part of the initial scope of the project and implementation as that was very helpful to us. That sort of guarantees you will definitely have a more controlled approach to implementation and better continuity from your experience with EMC.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate the product about seven or eight. For us now it is a little closer to a seven.

A lesson that we learned in using the product is that its CPU capability does not match its storage capacity. These two things should be more in synch to enhance performance.

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 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.

The Data Domain serves as our primary backup device used with Veeam. It is used for all service backups and restores.

This allows our organization to send more data to this device compared to others. It also allows us a fast recovery of files or Virtual Machines if needed being on-premise.

I would rate it at 5/5 as the deduplication and compression of the device for backups are outstanding. We have about 55TB of total space in the Data Domain which we send Veeam backups to, and we have sent over 200TB to the array.

The Deduplication and Compression are the most valuable as they allow us to back up a lot more data to the device knowing it will compress it well.

The processing capabilities I believe could be improved, however, we have an older unit DD670 and newer units may have already improved upon this.

I have been using the solution for more than five years.

We had no issues with stability.

No issues were encountered as we added a second shelf of disks without bringing the head unit down.

Customer Service:

Customer service for this unit is top notch and they are fast to get back to you with a Support issue.

Technical Support:

Technical Support is also top notch and are quick to respond to queries or tickets.

Positive

I was not involved in the initial setup of the array.

It was implemented through a vendor as well as in-house personnel.

It has been very good especially with the expansion shelf added.

Review the newer versions of the device and evaluate them if possible. You will get great benefits for backups.

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.