NetWorker 8,0 client direct backups
NetWorker 8.0 software allows “Client direct” backups to Advanced File Type Devices (AFTDs) or Data Domain (DD) Boost backup devices. Previously, no client backups could be written directly to AFTD devices and only the NetWorker Backup Server, Storage Nodes and specific database backup Modules could write directly to DD Boost devices. The ability for client backup data to bypass the Storage Node and write directly over the IP network to Data Domain eliminates the Storage Node as a bottleneck during backups.
With DD Boost, in addition to client direct backup, Distributed Segment Processing (DSP) allows parts of the de-duplication process to be offloaded to the NetWorker Clients resulting in only new unique data segments being sent from clients to the Data Domain, dramatically reducing IP network traffic during backup. This will usually result in decreased I/O load on those clients during backup due to the lower processing requirements of data segmentation and fingerprinting versus having to read and transfer large volumes of data.
DD Boost and DSP are also supported for NetWorker Module for Databases and Applications (NMDA), NetWorker Module for Microsoft Applications (NMM) and NetWorker Module for SAP (NMSAP) backups.
DD Boost, DSP and 10 Gb Ethernet removes the need for investment in Fibre Channel hardware as a means to improve backup performance.
NetWorker and Data Domain integration means all configuration, monitoring and reporting for DD Boost devices is completed via NetWorker Management Console.
A major benefit of DD Boost devices is the use of NetWorker Clone Controlled Replication, allowing the creation of NetWorker Clone jobs to automatically replicate backups to a remote Data Domain. Because this process is initiated and managed by NetWorker, the backup application is fully aware of the replica backup copy which can easily be used to recover from. An additional benefit of NetWorker being aware of remote backup replicas is that Cloning to tape for long term retention can be done either at the source or target site.
Integrating NetWorker 8.0 and Data Domain Boost delivers an optimised backup throughput solution.