October 2008 Entries
Disaster Recovery Planning for Small Business - October 17, 2008
Orlando Florida --- The United States Small Business Administration calls small businesses the heart of the U.S. economy. According to research by the Office of Advocacy, small businesses create the majority of the nation’s new jobs and bring innovative ideas, products, and services to the marketplace. In 2007, there were nearly 32 million such organizations.
Needless to say, small businesses differ from their enterprise counterparts in many ways, from funding to infrastructure and staffing. At the same time, they also share some common challenges, including the need to ensure business continuity even in the wake of a disaster. After all, statistics paint a grim picture: half of all businesses never reopen after experiencing a catastrophic data loss and 90 percent close within two years, according to research firm Baroudi Bloor International.
What might cause significant data loss for a small business? Anything from a natural disaster to hardware or software failure, or even a simple human error, states Brian McCarthy CEO and data protection expect for Sencilo Solutions in Lake Mary Florida. Every minute that vital information or services are not accessible can put a ruinous strain on the bottom line of a “lean-and-mean” small business.
As a result, a growing number of today’s small companies are establishing and implementing a disaster recovery strategy. With best practices in place to guard against data loss and system downtime, these organizations protect business continuity and ensure rapid recovery from system crashes and other potentially disastrous events.
Back It Up
Data drives small business, and the ability to keep it always available is critical for a business’ success. To that end, organizations must regularly back up their data, using a tiered approach that saves data to disk as well as to tape for short- and long-term purposes. For quick recovery, disk is often the preferred media. For long-term storage and data archiving, tape is an effective option. Both methods play a major role in the backup strategies for many organizations.
Today’s most advanced backup tools for small businesses provide continuous data protection for an organization’s most valuable information, whether that data is on a Windows file server, a desktop or laptop, or a Microsoft Exchange, SQL, SharePoint, or other application server. New cutting edge tools have revolutionized data protection by eliminating backup windows and enabling small businesses to recover data in seconds. For example, while traditional approaches for backing up Exchange required a full data base backup and “brick level” mailbox backups, these tools offer a full, incremental, or continuous backup of Exchange and enable restores to a granular level--including down to an individual email—from a single database backup pass.
Also, because many small businesses rely on users to manually backup business-critical data to a server, a number of backup tools extend continuous disk-based protection and recovery to desktops and laptops virtually anywhere, whether in the office or on the road. For example 12,000 laptops are lost in U.S. airports each week, and two-thirds are never returned reported by absolute.com. In addition to improving data protection and efficiency, this capability enables users to restore their own files and maintains synchronization between multiple desktops and laptop so that the most up-to-date file versions are available on each computer. Users can also specify the files, email folders, and email attachments to be excluded from backups.
On-demand and pay-as-you-go data backup and restore services are increasingly popular among small businesses and can be easily utilized from anywhere through a Web browser. Software as a Service protect all files that have been selected for backup, collecting only changes to files after the initial full backup, then encrypted them and send them to be backed up at a secure off-site facility. Data can be restored using an online browser-based interface. By using this model for backup and restores, small organizations obviate the expense and hassle of dealing with support contracts and software licenses and businesses can potentially forego on the physical infrastructure needed for backup, allowing focus on their core business.
Recover It Fast
After a disaster, businesses are often left with anxieties and pressures to recover data quickly. While prevention of data loss is a must, system recovery is equally important. Traditional recovery methods, however, are cumbersome, with manual system rebuilds from bare metal taking hours or even days. Small businesses must be able to recover from system loss or disasters in minutes. What’s more, they need to be able to recover servers, desktops, or laptops to dissimilar hardware and in remote, unattended locations.
Consequently, many small businesses are also deploying system recovery tools that capture the operating system, applications, system settings, configurations, and files of a live system in a recovery point that can be saved to a wide variety of media or storage devices. An administrator can schedule how often data recovery points are created and can retain specific recovery points for different time periods in accordance with business needs.
Virtualization can help small businesses better leverage their disaster recovery strategy. With server virtualization technology, multiple operating systems can be run on a single server, which enables organizations to consolidate servers and make better use of existing hardware resources. This is particularly beneficial for organizations such as small businesses that typically lack a spare system to which to restore data.
Better yet, a growing number of disaster recovery tools actually streamline the process of converting physical recovery points to virtual servers, and vice versa. With these solutions, small business can easily and reliably convert entire systems at once or selective volumes at a time.
Finally, small businesses often work with a value-added reseller in assessing the organization’s disaster recovery strategy. These trusted, tech savvy advisors can offer invaluable guidance in selecting the most appropriate tools to support their client’s disaster recovery efforts.
As today’s data-driven global marketplace evolves, information volumes will continue to increase. At the same time, natural disasters, power outages, application failures, system crashes, and other potentially damaging events will likely remain a challenge for businesses of all sizes. Human error will never be eliminated. And downtime will likely become less rather than more acceptable.
Disaster recovery planning, in turn, will become a greater priority for small businesses as well as large enterprises. By leveraging next-generation data and system protection tools and service offerings, small businesses can prepare for disasters, allowing them to minimize downtime, and ensure efficient and rapid recovery.
Sencilo Solutions suggestion of top 5 tips for developing a Disaster Recovery Strategy:
1. Document!
Every element of your DR process is important. Make sure everything is documented and ensure it includes the locations of system and other critical disks and data. Key staff members—within IT and other areas of the organization—should be familiar with these documented storage locations.
2. Automate Processes
Establish an automated system to notify critical staff of a disaster by text, phone or email. Train your staff on the system to perform basic DR/back-up tasks unsupervised. Symantec recommends enterprises have a complete disk-based data protection solution across all environments, offices and hardware.
3. Back It Up
Backing up critical data seems like a no brainer. But if you neglect to do so, no matter how good your DR plan is it will be of no use. Don’t just back it up—test it!
4. Protect from the Inside
Internal theft is on the rise and usually undetected. Be sure to protect your company from random theft, vandalism and employee malice. Be aware of the data location, where it is sorted and where it is going. Place controls to automatically safeguard the data, according to corporate policy, like implementing a corporate policy that all traveling laptops are backed up.
5. Practice Makes Perfect…almost
Practice your DR plan on a quarterly basis, better yet, more frequently. This will strengthen your organization’s skills, help you figure out more efficient logistics, work out kinks in your system and give you the confidence that your plan will work in testing.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com/back-up-restore.php
About Us
Sencilo Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple manufacturers including VMware, Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Dell NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia Network Backup appliance Data Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts
HP and Ocarina Networks now offering Primary Storage Compression via Sencilo Solutions - October 17, 2008
Lake Mary, Florida -- Ocarina Networks today announced that it will implement its content-aware compression and deduplication for primary storage to optimize the storage capacity of the HP family of Scalable Network Attached Storage (NAS) platforms, including the HP StorageWorks 9100 Extreme Data Storage System (ExDS9100).
Ocarina's software stack for HP Scalable NAS offerings includes content-aware deduplication for primary storage, content-aware compression, as well as ECOsnap content-aware snapshots, allowing a customer to use the HP Scalable NAS offerings as a massive time-sequenced repository with as much as 200:1 data reduction over time. The resulting solution will include features unique for HP Scalable NAS products, including time-sequenced snapshots, metadata acceleration, and a global namespace that allows multiple HP Scalable NAS platforms to look like one larger pool of storage.
Ocarina is a leader in building storage features that use data reduction to deliver complete capacity optimized storage, says Brian McCarthy CEO and well known Storage Expert for more then 25 years. In customer implementations, Ocarina's storage optimization technology has helped customers store ten times more data on storage they already own, says McCarthy. Ocarina's award-winning self-optimizing, content-aware dedupe solution will support Scalable NAS products, offering customers comparable improvements in storage efficiency on a single integrated platform, unlike a Data Domain which requires propriety disks and complex electronics.
HP StorageWorks NAS is part of the Ocarina ECOsphere, Ocarina's optimized storage partner program for combining Ocarina technologies with partner storage offerings to create capacity optimized storage solutions for customers.
"Ocarina's content-aware offerings coupled with the HP Extreme Data Storage solution represents a major step forward in addressing storage needs for online and digital media businesses," said Murli Thirumale, CEO of Ocarina Networks. "The combination of our primary storage dedupe and compression solution with HP's ExDS9100 forms a true capacity optimized Scalable NAS solution."
Integrated Platform Nails Dedupe for Primary Data
Unstructured data -- rich media files, email, compound business documents and PDF files -- pose a problem for simple dedupe solutions. Ocarina's content-aware solution is able to achieve results on these and other image-rich file types where traditional dedupe may disappoint. As a result, Ocarina is able to address the capacity optimized storage needs of markets like large Web 2.0 sites, seismic archives for oil/gas companies, image archives for healthcare, post-production graphics for movie studios and game developers, as well as the needs of the broad file/print marketplace.
Ocarina's compression solution, which can run directly on up to all 16 blades of an HP ExDS9100 storage platform, offers up to 10:1 in initial data reduction on already compressed file types that are driving massive storage growth. When running Ocarina ECOsnap to create a time-sequenced repository, data reduction can climb to as much as 200:1.
"While data deduplication has transformed the way that backups are made and stored, the benefits of data reduction for archival and primary data could be significant as well," said Dave Russell, research vice president at Gartner. "The marketplace is ready for solutions that use data reduction techniques to address the capacity issues of all types of data. The idea of compression and dedupe integrated directly into the storage is one that many customers are going to find compelling."
The Ocarina-HP StorageWorks NAS Solution
Ocarina's technology will deliver three features for HP's Extreme Data Storage platform:
-- Ocarina ECOsnap: This time-sequenced hyper-compressed repository
snapshot feature means users can keep a once-a-day snapshot of all their
files for as much as ten years worth of data in a very small storage
footprint. ECOsnap can extend Ocarina's 10:1 data reduction on the first
snap of a set of files to up to 200:1 data reduction across a set of
snapshots taken every day over a period of time.
-- Ocarina NameSpace: This feature allows a set of file systems to appear
as one large volume, giving users a nearly unlimited pool of storage, which
will appear as a unified, self-optimizing repository.
-- Ocarina Metadata Accelerator: This feature accelerates metadata
performance for listing files and directories in a large repository.
Ocarina's relationship with HP includes a porting effort by Ocarina, as well as mutual support and escalation to ensure customers of the combined solution receive the support they need. Ocarina Storage Optimization solutions will be sold by Ocarina to be installed on HP Scalable NAS products, including the HP ExDS9100, as a validated application.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com/data-compression.php
About Us
Sencilo Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple manufacturers including VMware, Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Dell NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia Network Backup appliance Data Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts
