Backup Exec 2014 Technical White Paper - Deduplication Option

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Technical White Papers are designed to introduce Symantec partners and end users to key technologies and technical concepts that are associated with the Symantec Backup and Recovery product family. The information within a Technical White Paper will assist partners and customers as they design and implement data protection solutions based on Symantec Backup and Recovery products.

The attached white paper is intended to assist technical personnel as they design and implement Backup Exec™ 2014 and the Deduplication Option and make related decisions.

The attached white paper includes the following topics:

• Business Value
• Exchange Protection Methods and Technology
• Backup Exec and Exchange High Availability Configurations
• Exchange Recovery Methods and Technology
• Managing Backup Exec Rights and Permissions in Exchange Environments
• Example Backup Exec Configurations for Protecting Exchange
• Exchange Protection Notes and Best Practices
• Additional Resources

Modern Data Management and Protection Challenges

Customers of all types and sizes are seeking new and innovative ways to overcome challenges associated with data growth and storage management. While these challenges are not necessarily new, they continue to become more complex and more difficult to overcome due to the following:

• Pace of data growth has accelerated
• Location of data has become more disperse
• Linkages between data sets have become more complex

Data and storage management challenges are compounded by the need for companies to protect critical data assets against disaster through backup and recovery solutions. In order to maintain backups of critical data assets, additional secondary storage resources are required. This additional layer of backup storage must be implemented wherever backups occur, including central data centers and remote offices.

Storage Efficiencies through Data Deduplication

Backup Exec 2014 includes advanced data deduplication technology that allows companies to dramatically reduce the amount of storage required for backups, and to more efficiently centralize backup data from multiple sites for assured disaster recovery. These data deduplication capabilities are available in the Backup Exec 2014 Deduplication Option.

Backup Exec 2014 Data Deduplication Technology

The data deduplication technology within Backup Exec 2014 breaks down streams of backup data into “blocks.” Each data block is identified as either unique or non-unique, and a tracking database is used to ensure that only a single copy of a data block is saved to storage by that Backup Exec server. For subsequent backups, the tracking database identifies which blocks have been protected and only stores the blocks that are new or unique. For example, if five different client systems are sending backup data to a Backup Exec server and a data block is found in backup streams from all five of those client systems, only a single copy of the data block is actually stored by the Backup Exec server. This process of reducing redundant data blocks that are saved to backup storage leads to significant reduction in storage space needed for backups.

The deduplication technology within Backup Exec is applied across all backups managed by a deduplication-enabled Backup Exec server.

The Backup Exec 2014 Deduplication Option gives administrators the flexibility to choose when and where deduplication calculations take place. Three deduplication methods are supported by Backup Exec 2014. These are as follows:

• Client Deduplication

The client deduplication method is a software-driven process. Deduplication takes place at the source or protected client, and backup data is sent over the network in deduplicated form to the Backup Exec server. Only unique blocks of backup data are sent to the backup server and saved to backup storage; non-unique blocks are skipped.

• Backup Exec Server Deduplication

The Backup Exec server deduplication method is also a software-driven process. Deduplication takes place after backup data has arrived at the Backup Exec server and just before data is stored to disk (also known as inline deduplication). Only unique blocks of backup data are stored; non-unique blocks are skipped.

• Appliance Deduplication

The appliance deduplication method is a hardware-driven process. Deduplication takes place on the deduplication appliance (can be in-line or post-process deduplication, for example, ExaGrid or Quantum). 3^rd-party deduplication devices handle all aspects of deduplication.

Administrators can mix and match deduplication methods to fit their unique needs. For example, a single Backup Exec server enabled for deduplication can simultaneously use client deduplication for some jobs, Backup Exec server deduplication for others, and appliance deduplication for yet another set of jobs.

To read the full White Paper please download.