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Tandberg trundles into virtual tape

Library is open for business

Tandberg Data, fresh from its transformation into a private company, has launched its first virtual tape library. The DPS1000 can support up to 100 hosts, each with their own separate virtual library.

McClain Buggle, Tandberg Data's disk and software business unit manager, said: "Each system can run a different backup application – there is no sharing conflict since each system believes they have their own tape library." The DPS1000 only allows the system that backed up the data to restore the data, this helping meet compliance regulations.

Tandberg envisages the rackmount DPS1000 being used in a disk-to-disk-to-tape scenario with its data being written to physical tapes for offsite vaulting. It says a stand-alone VTL has to have a backup application on a host server run a copy-to-tape process to achieve this.

Its DPS1000 directly connects to Tandberg physical tape libraries, streaming data to them at tape drive speed without starts and stops, and avoiding the use of host server cycles. Such transfers can be automated with policy-based scheduling. Physical tape media use is optimised through virtual tape stacking.

There are two models, with the DPS1100 1U entry-level system providing 3TB of raw storage and 110MB/sec throughput. The larger, 6TB DPS1200, a 2U version product, provides 220MB/sec throughput.

The DPS1000 is configurable as a single drive per library or up to eight drives within a single virtual library - the default is a single drive with ten tape reels. Its capacity can be scaled up, using 2U expansion modules, connected via SAS, and adding up to 45TB of raw storage in 4.5TB increments.

Each Windows or Linux host laptop, desktop or server system can be configured using a wizard. The DPS1000 automatically discovers, connects to and presents a virtual library and available tape media for each host system, including virtual machines inside a VMware server. Additional drive and cartridge creation takes one click.

The DPS1000 compresses data stored within it. There is a roadmap for its future development and deduplication is an item on it, as is the replication of data between DPS1000s to provide disaster recovery facities.

The product is for sale through Tandberg's channels and can be used by them to provide VTL facilities to tape-using customers concerned with extended backup and restore times to/from tape. Typical customers are envisaged to be small and medium businesses, and remote and branch offices.

The product becomes available this quarter, priced from $9,995 for the 1U, 3TB configuration. The 2U, 6TB model costs $17,995. Expansion modules are available in 4.5TB and 9TB versions for $9,500 and $12,600 respectively. ®

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