Quantum vmPRO 4000, Integrated Solution for Protecting Virtual Servers

Quantum Corp. announced the vmPRO 4000, an integrated solution for protecting data on virtual servers that offers turnkey simplicity, advanced technology and market-leading value.

The vmPRO 4000 includes both backup software and integrated storage with deduplication in a single solution that is designed for SMBs and remote offices. Following Quantum’s acquisition of Pancetera Software in June, today’s announcement reflects Quantum’s strategy of building on its data protection expertise by combining technologies and adding unique value to meet customers’ evolving storage needs.

"In recent years, Quantum has been at the forefront in helping users overcome the limits of traditional backup approaches with innovative new products that provide more efficient and affordable data protection across sites, environments and time," said Rob Clark, senior vice president, Backup Product Group, Quantum. "The most notable example is our DXi-Series disk-based backup and deduplication appliances, which are recognized for their industry-leading performance and value. The vmPRO 4000 is the first in a new line of Quantum solutions to address data protection needs in virtual environments and further demonstrates our commitment to delivering a comprehensive range of options for our customers’ physical, virtual and mixed environments."

Turnkey Simplicity
The vmPRO 4000 is an all-in-one data protection solution designed to simplify backups in virtual environments. Its high-speed backup application writes data directly to disk, leveraging deduplication technology for long-term retention and fast restores. For DR protection, the vmPRO 4000 includes replication software that automatically migrates deduplication datasets between vmPRO systems or to a Quantum DXi-Series appliance in a remote data center.

Advanced Technology for VM Protection
The vmPRO 4000 optimizes VMs and accelerates performance by filtering out unassigned, expired and inactive data to reduce overhead on servers, networks and storage. The system’s backup application runs on a guest virtual appliance, eliminating the need to load agents or deploy separate, dedicated physical servers. The vmPRO 4000 presents a direct file system view of all the VM backup copies in native format, providing fast access for restores and enabling alternative, non-backup uses of backup datasets such as testing, archiving or discovery.

Market-Leading Value
With the vmPRO 4000’s integrated product approach, users what they need to protect their VMs at one affordable price, with no hidden costs or extra charges. The deployment process includes automated discovery of VMs and offers scheduling options. For distributed office environments, multiple vmPRO 4000s can be administered from a central data center, reducing overhead and streamlining management. For customers using conventional backup applications for portions of their VM data, the vmPRO 4000 improves the effectiveness of legacy backup applications, providing consolidated support for protecting both physical and virtual servers.

"As virtualization reaches the SMBs and remote office/branch offices, IT must continue to provide critical data protection functions to this growing market," noted David A. Chapa, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. "The Quantum vmPRO 4000 addresses these needs by simplifying backup for VM environments at a very affordable price point. This looks like a very strategic product from Quantum targeting this important market segment."

"The combination of Quantum Pancetera software and DXi deduplication appliances has enabled us to drastically reduce our backup window and essentially eliminate our replication lag," said K. Mitch Goldenberg, associate director of IT, Concert Pharmaceuticals. "Without increasing our costs, we reduced the complexity of our backup solution which now has the scalability to grow with our business needs."

The Broader Strategic Context
This announcement follows Quantum’s acquisition of Pancetera Software in June and reflects the company’s strategy of further extending its business beyond traditional backup. Over the last several years Quantum has established itself as an innovator in the disk-based data protection market. Its high-performance DXi-Series deduplication products leverage patented, variable-length block technology to reduce storage, bandwidth and backup/recovery time requirements. In addition, DXi appliances offer a combination of replication across multiple locations, direct tape creation from disk-based backup systems, and distributed deduplication supporting remote site backup over WANs to deliver automated disaster recovery and secure long-term retention and compliance.

By integrating virtualization, deduplication, and replication technologies in a single solution with the vmPRO 4000, Quantum is combining technologies to solve specific data protection problems. Quantum now adds backup for virtual machines to its stable of offerings that address different datasets, support multiple sites for backup, recovery, DR and retention needs, and can integrate with a wide range of independent software applications.

Pricing and Availability