HP StorageWorks D2D4000 Backup System review

The tests simulated a three-month backup period, using a standard cycle of weekly full and daily incremental or differentials as dictated by best practices for each application. After the first full backup was completed, controlled changes were made to the data prior to each backup and reports gathered on the amount of data sent to the appliance and how much was actually being stored on it.

For the file server test we saw ratios of between 22:1 and nearly 70:1, although the latter was achieved when we made small changes to all of the test files. Changing 60% of the files prior to each backup returned a ratio of 38:1. For the Exchange backup test, we saw the ratios range from 30:1 to more than 40:1. The SQL Server results were also above the minimum quoted rate, as we saw these range from 21.5:1 to over 24:1.

Of equal value were the storage savings we realised at the end of the tests. With a 4GB data set used in all three application tests, we saw savings of between 70GB and 229GB for the file server backups after three months. Exchange Server saw savings of between 156GB and 176GB, while the SQL Server tests returned savings of 52GB to 59GB.

The combination of dynamic de-duplication and data compression clearly delivered the goods in our real-world tests. Along with big savings in storage, the D2D4000 Backup System offers an excellent range of VTL features, it's very easy to deploy, and is the first solution to bring this new technology within easy reach of the SMB.

Author: Dave Mitchell