Index Engines for EMC Data Domain

Index Engines, Inc. demonstrated at EMC World a new purpose-designed platform to index the content of EMC Data Domain backup images so user data can be searched and extracted for business relevance.

The Index Engines Collection Engine works with Data Domain deduplication storage systems and leverages the existing backup process to identify and extract specific files and email for regulatory, compliance and legal applications according to pre-defined policies.

"Backup data contains valuable corporate records that are required to support corporate information governance policies," said W. Curtis Preston, CEO, Truth in IT. "With Index Engines Collection Engine, EMC Data Domain backups can now archive specific user data based on these policies ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements."

Only a small subset of the data captured in the backup process is of value for long-term access. To filter down the volume of data that is archived, detailed knowledge of the backup images is required. Index Engines Collection Engine indexes backup images, identifies the useful content, collects what is relevant and writes it back to Data Domain storage making it available for compliance and litigation purposes.

"Many organizations have implemented a data protection process by backing up to EMC Data Domain deduplication storage systems," stated Jim McGann, vice president of Information Discovery, Index Engines. "Index Engines extracts records from backup, collecting and making available valuable user content, which expands the value of IT’s investment in Data Domain systems."

The Index Engines Collection Engine for Data Domain indexes the content of backup images (e.g. NetBackup, Backup Exec, etc.) so that they can be searched and analyzed for business relevance. These searches can be high-level metadata such as user mailboxes, or detailed queries based on file or email content, location and date ranges. Searches are saved as stored queries that run automatically once a new backup is executed. The relevant set of data that is identified within the backup image is extracted into a Collection image and written back to the Data Domain system. This allows a small subset, typically less than 5% of the backup data, to be retained for long-term access and also takes advantage of the Data Domain deduplication technology. Specific user files or email can be extracted, keeping all metadata intact, for compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.

Availability and Pricing
The Collection Engine for EMC Data Domain will be available for shipment beginning July 1st, 2011. The Collection Engine for EMC Data Domain is priced on a per user account basis. Index Engines provides support for accounts in Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Notes, and file system data within a single platform with full discovery and archiving capabilities. For 1,000 users the price is $50 per account or $50,000 with annual maintenance of 20%. The purchase of an Index Engines hardware platform is also required.