NetApp SnapMirror vs PowerProtect DD (formerly Dell EMC Data Domain)

Likelihood to Recommend

NetApp SnapMirror is a no-brainer when it comes to retaining an offsite backup for disaster recovery purposes. The backbone of the product is the Snapshot technology built into NetApp technology. In my experience, the Snapshot/SnapMirror software has been flawless and very dependable. The only piece that I can see adding in the future is potentially connecting SnapMirror to the cloud as an additional backup destination.

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Brandon Burch

Coordinator of Network and Technical Services

Hudson Falls Central School DistrictEducation Management, 201-500 employees

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When used as a backup target PowerProtect DD models offer incredible density and can efficiently replicate to another cloud-based or offsite unit. Most complaints about these have been addressed in software over the years and they are now a intuitive and easily managed backup system. You are not buying a Swiss army knife, you are getting a machine designed for a purpose, use it for that and you will not be disappointed. While they have the ability to serve as a CIFS server, they are not a filer and lack many of the features inherent to filers and are a poor substitute.

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Verified User

Technician in Information Technology

Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Company, 5001-10,000 employees

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Feature Rating Comparison

NetApp SnapMirror

PowerProtect DD (formerly Dell EMC Data Domain)

Universal recovery

Live recovery

Recovery verification

Business application protection

Multiple backup destinations

Incremental backup identification

Backup to the cloud

Deduplication and file compression

Snapshots

Flexible deployment

Management dashboard

Platform support

Retention options

Encryption

Pros

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity are strong areas where NetApp SnapMirror exceeds by providing multiple recovery options without the need for additional software or degrading network performance.

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Hospital & Health Care Company, 11-50 employees

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It writes backups quickly. DDBoost add-on is very useful as well for improving backup speeds.
DD is very efficient in its use of capacity. It dedupes and compresses very well.
It spans to large capacity amounts.

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Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Insurance Company, 5001-10,000 employees

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Cons

The volume size on the destination partner always has to be bigger than the source. This can get annoying. Not sure if they have made this automatic in future releases.
When you break a SnapMirror to use the destination volume you have to redirect all requests to the new volume. This isn't really a con but it is something you need to think about.

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Brandon Burch

Coordinator of Network and Technical Services

Hudson Falls Central School DistrictEducation Management, 201-500 employees

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It can be expensive to implement, especially when used in conjunction with other applications/hardware such as Avamar.
The TCO can be high, especially when it needs its storage expanded.
Recovery speeds can be slow (compared to other solutions) for when recovery is time sensitive.

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Sam Majam

Systems Administrator

TBC CorporationAutomotive, 10,001+ employees

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Likelihood to Renew

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

PowerProtect DD (formerly Dell EMC Data Domain) 10.0

Based on 1 answer

DD has performed flawlessly for almost 10 years as our backup/recovery storage with offsite replication. Given its track record and great support from EMC, we're unlikely to look elsewhere any time soon.

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Verified User

Administrator in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 201-500 employees

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Support Rating

NetApp SnapMirror 10.0

Based on 1 answer

NetApp support has always been great. With the NetApp Auto-support system/web portal, the visibility into your NetApp storage is incredible. There have been times when I've been contacted by them for an issue that I haven't even discovered yet. For example, I received a call 20 minutes after a drive failed in our filer. I hadn't checked my email at that time and therefore didn't see the alert.

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Brandon Burch

Coordinator of Network and Technical Services

Hudson Falls Central School DistrictEducation Management, 201-500 employees

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PowerProtect DD (formerly Dell EMC Data Domain) 5.6

Based on 2 answers

Customer support has had some ups and downs here. We've had several issues with EMC support before and during the acquisition by Dell, but in the last 18 months support has been top notch. Quick and knowledgeable help is but a chat away, or they will call you back so you don't have to wait on hold. The team supporting us is responsive and is quick to assist with any request or issue.

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Verified User

Technician in Information Technology

Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Company, 5001-10,000 employees

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Alternatives Considered

Over the years we have transitioned to NetApp SnapMirror for all our storage needs. However, due to the short life cycle of support, it is cost prohibitive to maintain after support is ended. The main reason we have liked NetApp SnapMirror due to the many options and standardized management capabilities and flexible options for provisioning and setup of storage.

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Hospital & Health Care Company, 11-50 employees

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We selected Data Domain due to its integration with our backup software. The Data Domain works well for what we need it to do.

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Higher Education Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Return on Investment

Great for Growth and the price points are not bad. My IT Dept relies on NetApp SnapMirror as our primary leg in BCDR for data replication as well as application and data protection integration capabilities.
Short SDLC and Support Cycle
Support is desirable
Stable and flexible

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Verified User

Director in Information Technology

Hospital & Health Care Company, 11-50 employees

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We were able to immediately discontinue our remote tape storage and TBU maintenance.
Reduced backup footprint in the data center.
It is costly to expand so buy it with a purpose.

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Verified User

Engineer in Information Technology

Retail Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Rating Summary

NetApp SnapMirror

PowerProtect DD (formerly Dell EMC Data Domain)

NetApp SnapMirror

PowerProtect DD (formerly Dell EMC Data Domain)

NetApp SnapMirror

PowerProtect DD (formerly Dell EMC Data Domain)