Octane Catalog Engine by Index Engines (Starting at $25,000)

Despite the better features, lower prices and reduced complexity offered by newer backup software platforms, many companies have been locked into current providers over fear they will lose access to valuable data required for legal and compliance purposes.

Index Engines, Inc., in enterprise information management and archiving solutions, announced an Octane Catalog Engine that simplifies conversion and consolidation to a new backup platform while maintaining access to legacy tapes without the original platform.

"Backup storage systems have basically become entrenched, and while in theory you can change vendors at any time, the complex platforms and the loss of access to your old data have made it near impossible," Index Engines VP Jim McGann said. "Now we’re offering IT departments the freedom to choose a platform that makes sense to them."

The Octane Catalog Engine manages the legacy catalog and delivers a search view into the tape contents allowing individual files and email to be found and extracted without the original backup software, enabling the retirement of legacy applications and providing immediate transition to a new backup platform.

This new product initially supports IBM’s Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) and Symantec’s NetBackup with additional platforms to follow.

"The Octane Catalog Engine is an essential element for enabling businesses to sidestep proprietary backup application lock-in," Storage Switzerland senior analyst Colm Keegan said. "Its ability to seamlessly port indexes across disparate backup applications allows organizations to make an immediate, wholesale transition to their new backup platform without maintaining a costly legacy backup application footprint, which potentially may never be used.

"This results in lower costs, improved operational efficiencies and vastly enhanced flexibility for choosing next generation backup solutions that best meet business technical and financial objectives."  

Using the Octane Catalog Engine, the legacy backup catalog can be ingested from the existing media server and managed, moving forward, through the Octane platform. When specific user files or emails are required from legacy tapes to support file restoration, eDiscovery, legal and compliance requests, Octane provides detailed search of the catalogs metadata fields for specific files and email databases.

Once the relevant data is located and the tape and backup set identified, Octane processes the backup set, allowing for the file and email contents to be searched and accessed. Individual files and email can then be extracted from tape as necessary. No restoration using the original backup software is required.

The Octane Catalog Engine starts at $25,000, which includes the engine and ability to process up to 2,500 backup tapes.

McGann added: "I expect this technology will give IT organizations the freedom to make the best decision with regard to their backup strategy."