Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) Reviews

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%.

Primarily we use the solution as data storage and as a backup solution.

The solution's most valuable feature is the integrated deduplication function. Another valuable feature is the possibility for replication between two devices on different occasions.

The pricing could be better but it's still not too expensive. We haven't used the solution for long enough to really know what might be useful in a new release. We haven't used the full functionality yet and I'm not sure if all the functions are working as expected. We are using it, but it's not fully implemented.

We don't use technical support from EMC, but we do get it from our reseller, and they have been just fine in terms of offering assistance.

The initial setup was straightforward.

We had a reseller assist us with the implementation. We're very satisfied with the experience we had with them.

We use the on-premises deployment model.

I would recommend the solution to someone considering it. 

I would rate the solution seven or eight out of ten.

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 primarily use the solution as a backup.

The solution is very stable.

The performance is good. 

It is easy to use. 

We do not have any specific issues. Nothing has gone wrong.

The price of the product is high. We'd like for it to be less expensive. 

The initial setup is a little hard to understand. 

We've been dealing with the solution for one year.

The solution is stable and the performance is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

We have 300 to 400 clients using the product.

Technical support is okay, however, it depends on the hard disc you put on the storage.

The initial setup is a little bit difficult. It needs some explanation before it makes sense. 

It took us about a day to set everything up.

The licensing is expensive.

We are resellers. 

I'd recommend the solution to other users.

I'd rate the product an eight 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.

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. 

Our customers have a lot of big data that they work with. The solution allows them to decrease the amount of data which can appear over the network and optimizes the bandwidth of the network itself.

The deduplication feature is the most valuable part of the solution.

The backup storage is also very good.

The solution could adjust the size of the discs. The processor or the cache on the Data Domain could be better.

Technical support is very good.

The initial setup is very straightforward. Deployment takes about a week. We needed two engineers to handle the initial setup.

EMC is very expensive for small customers. For enterprise-level companies, like banks, it offers a good price. 

We use the on-premises deployment model.

We're a reseller; we offer this solution to our clients.

I would rate the solution eight out of ten.