Likelihood to Recommend We have huge data coming in from different sources and also from multiple organizations in our Data centres. This data had multiple copies of the same data and was huge in size therefore, we wanted to have a solution in place which can help us with a good amount of deduplication at the deepest possible level to make sure that our ecosystem does not have multiple copies of the same data and is also efficient at the same time. Having said this, we wanted this solution to be secure and reliable since it had to be exposed to a huge critical set of data in the market. To add, backup and restoration was something that we were also keen on evaluating so that once we have efficient data within our system, the time it takes to backup and restoration also reduces. And all this was justified by this solution when we signed up with them. From the pricing perspective and the implementation side, the solution needs improvement to make it more efficient and user-friendly.
Read full review Starwind VTL is a great solution for customers that want the benefits of a physical tape library without the hefty price tag and the manual intervention required when changing tapes as it is automated. In addition, Starwind VTL virtual tapes are "air-gapped" as they are in LTO format.
Read full review Pros The deduplication is fantastic. We are currently seeing total compression factors in the mid to upper 50s. The platform is very reliable and stable. It backs up a wide variety of enterprise apps (e.g. legacy applications, UNIX, iSeries, open systems etc) or your primary storage. Read full review Allows you to use Veeam and other software that uses Virtual Tape Libraries while getting rid of actual tape drives and tapes Backblaze B2 implementation is great - keeps storage costs low while automating backups to the cloud storage Low cost and great support by the Starwind technical team Feature-rich and in constant development Kevin Sipma Chief Technology Officer, Founder | We Help SMB Businesses Leverage Technology & Reduce Risk
Read full review Cons It is very slow to restore from. Backup times are great, restores can be terribly slow. It doesn't offload to cloud storage natively. You need to purchase an expensive license to enable this feature. The management interface is very basic, but it works fine. The new air gap solution seems to be just replication an on/off switch. I'd prefer to see them leverage AI on the existing device instead of requiring A second device is purchased and securing by toggling the connectivity off. Read full review Read full review Likelihood to Renew 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.
Read full review Their support is great and the interface is not as user friendly
Read full review Usability I have found PowerProtect DD to be very easy to use. The instructions are clear and the user interface is straightforward. I haven't needed to do any serious data recovery yet, however I found the process of backing up my data through PowerProtect DD to be relatively easy
Read full review The initial setup took some time, however, with the help of the Starwind technical team, we were able to set it up from start to finish including seamlessly adding it to our existing backup solution. After that, there was no need for any additional setup or troubleshooting.
Read full review Support Rating 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.
Read full review Great and reliable product with little need for support
Read full review Implementation Rating As far as I know, everything with the implementation went very smoothly
Read full review Alternatives Considered I have used
NetBackup ,
CommVault , Tivoli, and Actifio in my previous environments. With Data Domain I am not constantly babysitting my backup to make sure it is not choking and dying and we are not bound by the same channel lane path constraints most backup software and hardware works on. By far the initial cost has been more than made up for with the time not being dedicated to backup.
Read full review We've looked at physical tape backups, however, the infrastructure is too costly compared to Starwind VTL and it also requires manual changing of tapes that users will not want to do or forget to do. With VTL, it works exactly like a physical tape library with the same benefits and full automation.
Read full review Return on Investment Data Domain says 20+ hours per week when compared to using a tape library. Once the unit is configured it basically takes care of itself. With MTree replication we no longer need to send tapes to an offsite storage facility. Having a second data domain at our DR site allows us to perform recoveries from any of our replicated backups. We do not have to order and wait for tapes to arrive. Read full review ROI was immediate as we got rid of expensive sneakernet backups with hard drives in a Pelican case One-time cost of the product is very cost-effective Support contracts are reasonable and we received excellent support throughout We have much better peace-of-mind with our data being protected better Kevin Sipma Chief Technology Officer, Founder | We Help SMB Businesses Leverage Technology & Reduce Risk
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