EMC Introduces Avamar 6.0

EMC Corporation announced Avamar 6.0 deduplication backup software. This new release provides the first integration with Data Domain deduplication storage systems and delivers new capabilities for the protection of VMware environments.

By combining  Avamar with the scale and performance of Data Domain, enterprise customers gain the flexibility to expand Avamar use into much larger production environments. The largest of enterprises can now leverage Avamar to design optimized and scalable recovery infrastructures, consolidate the management of their data protection processes and direct selected backups to optimal systems based on workload attributes. In addition, Data Domain’s inherent ability to support multiple workloads simultaneously can help users transition from legacy backup software and address nearline storage requirements. For VMware administrators, Avamar 6.0 increases speed and efficiency leveraging tVMware vSphere technology for up to 3x the backup speed of its nearest competitor according to performance tests done by EMC. 

Product Details and Highlights

Data Domain Integration
Integration of Avamar and Data Domain is delivered via EMC Data Domain Boost software, now embedded in Avamar clients on a per-policy basis. DD Boost allows Avamar to centrally manage backup, recovery and replication of data to Data Domain storage systems. DD Boost distributes deduplication load differently from Avamar’s standard deduplication and provides enhanced performance for larger streaming loads, such as full database backups or restores, while still minimizing client/server bandwidth. Avamar administrators now have the option of directing backups to either Data Domain systems or Avamar Data Stores based on application-specific best practice guidelines. Avamar 6.0 supports backup of Oracle, Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint and SQL Server and VMware images to Data Domain systems.

VMware vSphere Backup Enhancements
Leverage of the VMware vStorage APIs for Data Protection and integration with VMware vCenter Server enables Avamar 6.0 to provide industry-leading speed and simplicity at scale.

• Changed block tracking support provides faster backup and recovery.
• Virtual proxy server pooling drives faster backups.
• Flexible image level restore options simplify recovery.

Scale
Increased scalability is delivered through the introduction of the Avamar Data Store Gen 4, which more than doubles usable capacity to 124TB. In addition, multiple Data Domain systems (including the new DD890, supporting up to 285 TB of usable capacity) can be added to offer additional storage for selected workloads.

Corporate Express Pty Limited is one of Australia’s leading suppliers of office essentials, with a product offering including office products, IT solutions, business furniture, print management, canteen and catering supplies, promotional marketing, facility supplies and education products. Corporate Express Australia, and its wholly owned subsidiary Corporate Express New Zealand, were acquired by Staples Ltd, in September 2010. Corporate Express has been using both Avamar and Data Domain in its Sydney-based data center, but not in integrated fashion. "After participating in the Avamar 6.0 beta program, we can see a distinct value in the ability to backup additional environments using Avamar with Data Domain. Restores with Avamar are extremely simple, to the point where there’s never a reason for our infrastructure group to be involved with them. They are purely driven by our front line help desk team.  If we can consolidate other backups, such as Oracle and Exchange, using Avamar to backup to Data Domain we can avoid working with custom scripts and benefit from that same level of simplicity.  The integration of these two EMC products is a huge benefit to us," said Andrew Grech, Infrastructure and Operations Manager, Corporate Express.

Houston, Texas-based Loomis is a multi-billion dollar international cash handling leader whose U.S. operations include approximately 8,000 employees and a fleet of over 3,000 armored vehicles. Over the past year, Loomis completely redesigned its backup infrastructure using EMC Avamar, Data Domain and NetWorker products. The new infrastructure, which includes tapeless backup and replication of data from over 70 field offices using Avamar, has streamlined their backup processes, reduced operational costs and helped ensure exceptional recovery of their VMware virtual server environment. "Our EMC data protection system is light years ahead of our previous solution, yet we are still very excited about the integration of EMC’s Avamar and Data Domain products. Avamar and Data Domain integration presents us with more flexibility to decide how we want to assign workloads and evolve and optimize our infrastructure without concern over future capacity and performance limitations. It’s great to see EMC integrating these key backup products, and doing so in a way that allows customers to maximize the investments they’ve made," said Bill Homes, Director of Infrastructure for Loomis.

"As more organizations are deploying virtualization there exists a real and pressing need to implement a better backup methodology enabling the deployment of virtualized production applications. Avamar 6.0 and its integration with Data Domain systems via DD Boost software brings an entirely new level of scale and flexibility. With this latest release of Avamar, EMC has  raised the bar across the industry through innovation and integration for solutions protecting virtualized infrastructures," said David A. Chapa, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group.

"As customers continue deploying virtualization deeper into their environments on their journey to the enterprise hybrid cloud, the need for backup and recovery designed for VMware cloud infrastructure is increasingly important. EMC Avamar 6.0 is optimized for VMware environments, helping to ensure that virtualized mission-critical applications are efficiently protected and readily recoverable. Avamar 6.0 enables backup infrastructures that align to virtualized environments and their data protection requirements," said Raghu Raghuram, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Virtualization and Cloud Platforms, VMware.

"Virtual machine protection is emerging as a key consideration for users contemplating backup redesign as they move to cloud-based computing models. Avamar 6.0 addresses this consideration more effectively than any other product available, while integration with Data Domain systems broadens its application in the enterprise. EMC continues to integrate its data protection portfolio for the benefit of its customers. This announcement demonstrates the value of tightly integrating the industry’s leading deduplication backup software and deduplication storage systems," said BJ Jenkins, President, EMC Backup Recovery Systems Division.

EMC Avamar 6.0 is available.