NetApp EV partition configuration

[superduper]

Hi Forum

Client Configuration:

The partitions have been configured as Network Share in Device Type (although its actually a NetApp)

NetApp is configured for Dedup and compression.

At the partition level - Device performs deduplication – unticked, Device performs data compression – unticked.

Question - Should the following apply?

If deduplication and compression is enabled on netapp - Recommended settings: Device performs deduplication – ticked, Device performs data compression – ticked.

If deduplication and compression are turned off on netapp - Recommended settings: Device performs deduplication – unticked, Device performs data compression – unticked.

Cabbing : Is this generally not required by NetApp and/or will it interfere with the dedupping and compression? (keeping in mind they may use a combination of file level and snapshot technology backups for their NetApp)

Additional info:

KB searching revealed the following: (however I am still unclear whether both should be ticked/unticked)

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH68542

In Enterprise Vault (EV) 8.0, there are additional options available to set how the NTFS storage device is configured.  

To change these settings after the Partition is created, perform the following:
1. Open the Vault Administration Console (VAC)
2. Expand Vault Store Groups => <Group Name> => <Vault Store Name>
3. Highlight the Vault Store => Open the Partition Properties.
4. Under the Partition Properties => Select the Volume Tab.

Under the Volume Tab are the following available options:

A. Device performs data deduplication
B. Device performs data compression

Details:

Device performs data deduplication.
Some devices can deduplicate data by storing a single copy of identical data blocks that different applications create. For example, Enterprise Vault and a backup application might create identical data blocks.

If this check box is selected, Enterprise Vault writes files in their native uncompressed format, which is a prerequisite for deduplication.

Because the environment loses the storage savings that Enterprise Vault compression normally provides, it is recommended to utilize this option only if all of the following conditions apply:

-The device is configured to deduplicate stored data.
-Multiple applications are likely to store identical data to the device.
-The device both supports data compression and is configured to perform compression.

Otherwise the storage savings are likely to be greater if Enterprise Vault writes the files in compressed format.

Device performs data compression.
Select the check box only if the device is configured to compress data.
If this check box is selected, Enterprise Vault does not compress data.

Notes:
   a. If both Enterprise Vault and the device perform data compression there may be a considerable waste of CPU usage, and storage sizes may potentially increase.
   b. These options do not affect Enterprise Vault (EV) Single Instance Storage (SIS) feature. Controlling how EV performs SIS is done using Vault Store Groups and the sharing setting on each Vault Store.

Functionality:
Select / De-select "Device performs data deduplication":
Overrides and disables the compression setting for email attachments and items archived via File System or SharePoint archiving. Other EV contents such as the DVS and Content Conversion files are still compressed to maximize space saving. This means that only items that are likely to already be stored on the storage device are not compressed and eligible for further deduplication

Select / De-select "Device performs data compression":
Turns compression on/off of all items archive/stored in Enterprise Vault.

[JesusWept3 · Accepted solution]

Well really if you read the documentation its suggesting that if you are just using the NetApp for EV alone, then theres no point, regardless of the deduplication features, because EV can do Deduplication AND compression, which is fine.

BUT if you use it for other applications, and possibly shares where people can store files, if someone has something like MyPresentation.ppt on their file share, and several other peoples file shares, and then it ends up being archived, then native de-duplication would be a good thing, as it wouldnt be just EV taking advantage, it would be anything else.

Also for Collections, if you're doing snapshots, you'll see no benefits in terms of backup speed, and as you mentioned it would negate the dedupe features, because its no longer one file but an entirely different file, regardless of its contents