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Atempo, a provider of cross-platform data protection and archiving solutions, today announced enhanced deduplication capabilities and expanded virtualization support for Atempo Time Navigator, the company’s flagship high-performance backup and recovery solution.

The new deduplication features offer further usability and performance in optimizing storage systems and supporting remote and branch offices, while customers operating on virtualization platforms benefit from Atempo’s growing roster of platform support.

The enhanced block-level deduplication in Atempo Time Navigator is featured in the new version of the software’s Atempo HyperStream Server module. New usability capabilities include an enhanced graphical user interface for easier administration and configuration of the product and a new interface that displays administrator statistics on backup and deduplication history. Performance improvements include enhanced automation in the movement of deduplicated backup data from disk to tape, replication of a HyperStream server over the WAN, as well as the ability to perform data restorations from the closest HyperStream server for optimal speed.

Atempo Time Navigator’s new virtualization support continues the Atempo tradition of providing the broadest support for platforms and applications. The software features an enhancement of the VMware agent with vSphere support, as well as new Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix Xen agents that will deliver full virtual machine backup and restoration capabilities.

Atempo HyperStream Server is a stream-oriented storage service that allows backup data to be sent to a storage server across high and low bandwidth connections, while performing block-level deduplication across and within the streams. The module effectively eliminates redundancy in storage media by identifying identical blocks of data on multiple systems and only backing up the changed blocks, significantly reducing both the amount of storage and the network bandwidth required. In addition, Atempo HyperStream Server supports extremely efficient block-level replication from one unit to another over local- or wide- area network connections, which combines the advantages of fast local restore and disaster recoverability for both data center and remote office backup.

Atempo Time Navigator is a secured, tiered and highly scalable heterogeneous data protection solution for complex, mission-critical environments. Through its unique time navigation feature, it supports high speed data restoration from any point in time, enabling quicker eDiscovery and improved business performance.

The software combines the best of data protection and storage security to enable companies to meet critical business requirements for data privacy, regulatory compliance and non-repudiated long-term retention of data. Its graphical user interface makes it easy to manage snapshots, replication, disk and tape backups, and recovery operations in addition to simplifying the management of multiple servers and remote sites.

The adoption of virtualization and outsourcing of infrastructure to managed hosting and cloud providers is driving demand for high performance and increased scale in the data center network.

Extreme Networks enables the migration to virtualized data centers and new infrastructure solutions that feature market-leading scalability, performance and simplicity.

Hosting companies and enterprises alike are scaling their data centers to realize the benefits of a virtualized infrastructure and cloud-based applications and systems. This new architecture enables resources to be dynamically managed and deployed and therefore delivers great organizational flexibility, agility and scale.

The physical network — providing essential interconnect and backbone within and between Data Centers globally — is the foundation for the new virtualized architecture and topologies. It is therefore essential that the network technology and systems be highly scalable, deliver powerful performance, capacity and capabilities to support large data center implementations. Whether these deployments are based upon Layer 2 or Layer 3 designs, the network must support a rapidly expanding number of virtual machines and a very large numbers of users within a limited power and physical footprint.

Extreme Networks today introduced new core and edge data center switching solutions that boost the physical network to deliver the scale and flexibility for a broad range of deployments. The BlackDiamond 8900-xl modules and Summit X480 stackable switches offer industry-leading data center solutions that allow for a variety of network architectures and topologies to be deployed by managed hosting companies and enterprises.

The BlackDiamond -xl modules for the BlackDiamond 8800 have a List price starting at U.S. $15,995. The Summit X480 switch has a list price starting at U.S. $11,995 for fiber and U.S. $9,995 for copper (Base-T). Both products will be available for shipment this quarter.

Vizioncore is introducing the Backup 2.0 campaign, offering to help educate administration teams on the advantages of using images to reinvent data protection in all environments.

This campaign is intended to assist organizations in transforming their environments and gaining significant cost-savings advantages in the process.

As data center deployments become more and more complex, Backup 1.0 methods are struggling to keep pace and are proving to be too expensive to operate and maintain.

Backup 1.0 methods also lack sufficient recovery options and are impractical in virtual environments.

In contrast, Backup 2.0 uses images to reinvent how data is collected, transmitted and recovered, and the images are used to make backup copies rather than individual files.

This approach leads to many advantages:

• Ease-of-use: capturing images rather than files is faster, easier and allows for more types of data to be protected;
• Improved recovery speeds: Backup 2.0 uses a single backup image to deliver all types of recovery quickly and with fewer resources consumed;
• Increased flexibility: Backup 2.0 can image all environments, both physical and virtual;
• Lower costs: With Backup 2.0, data protection infrastructure is streamlined, and backup agents as well as servers are eliminated, which lowers costs and simplifies operations.

In addition, Vizioncore studies show that the resulting ROI for image-based data protection is significant: Organizations adopting Backup 2.0 solutions can expect at least $15 returned for every $1 invested within the first year of deployment.

A popular Backup 2.0 method is Direct-to-Target, which delivers improved data compression, infrastructure consolidation and performance compared to proxy-based Backup 2.0 methods. In this market, Vizioncore’s vRanger Pro Data Protection Platform (DPP) solution is the leading Direct-to-Target Backup 2.0 product.

As a comprehensive backup and recovery solution for virtual infrastructures, vRanger Pro DPP complements existing data protection strategies such as Backup 2.0 to help reduce the backup window with minimal impact on IT resources.

International Computerware, a global datacenter consulting firm, today announced the introduction of the vCube, the first partner driven datacenter solutions platform.

The vCube design was developed around ICI’s intellectual property and vast experience in datacenter architecture and integration utilizing their proven consulting methodology nCubed: Now, Next, Nirvana.

The vCube is a “process driven” modular architecture built upon “proven technologies” making it the complete datacenter solutions platform. It is comprised of servers, switches, unified storage, virtualization, monitoring, information protection, and other modular components creating a simplified, flexible, and customer configurable solution.

Through ICI’s extensive industry leading partnerships, the vCube’s design provides a tailor-made compute platform that can leverage clients’ technology preferences, skills, and relationships. Jamie Shepard, EVP of ICI, said, “During ICI’s collaboration with customers on design it’s not our intent to compromise a client’s existing datacenter partnerships; rather, our aim is to integrate their server and switch layers into our vCube design.” From the results of an nCubed assessment, existing HP, Dell, or Cisco servers and Brocade or Cisco switches can be incorporated. The foundation of the initial vCube offerings consists of VMware’s vSphere Virtualization Platform, Apparent Networks PathView Network Monitoring Solution, EMC Unified Storage, EMC Information Protection Modules (Avamar orData Domain), and APC rack and power equipment. All vCubes are racked, configured, and tested at ICI’s Innovation Facility in Marlborough, MA.

As of this announcement, there are two vCube offerings immediately available for datacenter deployments. The Infrastructure as a Service (I.a.a.S.) vCube and the Desktop as a Service (D.a.a.S.) vCube. Both vCube offerings allow organizations to easily and cost effectively manage their own internal private clouds; Furthermore, ICI has included two “Best-of-Breed” technologies such as Akorri’s BalancePoint for the Infrastructure as a Service (I.a.a.S.) vCube and Liquidware Labs’ Stratusphere and ProfileUnity for the Desktop as a Service (D.a.a.S.) vCube.

The I.a.a.S. vCube provides organizations with a complete datacenter solutions platform that incorporates the ability to run VMware Virtual Machines, provision EMC storage via multiple protocols while connecting everything with a robust multi-Gigabit network enhancing all advanced features of the vCube. Alongside the fundamental features of the vCube the organization has built-in monitoring and backup capabilities in a 1 or 2 rack configuration. The I.a.a.S. vCube comes in multiple size configurations based on the number of max supported Virtual Machines. The I.a.a.S. vCube models are: I-vCUBE-96, I-vCUBE-192, I-vCUBE-384, I-vCUBE-576, I-vCUBE-768, and I-vCUBE-1152 maximum Virtual Machines. These models are based on proven technical assumptions which can be configured differently for any organization. To be able to monitor the entire stack including storage through the application Akorri BalancePoint has been included.

The concept behind the D.a.a.S. vCube is to enable an organization with a complete datacenter solutions platform that is based upon the ability to deliver VMware Virtual Desktops to all end-users in the organization. To be able to do this the vCube incorporates the ability to provision EMC storage via multiple protocols while connecting everything with a robust multi-Gigabit network enhancing all advanced features of the vCube. Additionally, the vCube has built-in monitoring and backup capabilities in one, two, or three rack configurations. The D.a.a.S. vCube comes in multiple size configurations based on the number of maximum supported Virtual Desktops. The D.a.a.S. vCube models are D-vCUBE-256, D-vCUBE-512, D-vCUBE-1024, D-vCUBE-2048, D-vCUBE-3072, and D-vCUBE-6144 maximum Virtual Desktops. These models are based on proven technical assumptions which can be configured differently for any organization. To be able to monitor the entire stack including storage through the application LiquidWare Labs has been included.

Alongside the Virtual desktop component the D.a.a.S. vCube includes VMware’s ThinApp for Application Virtualization. Through the use of ThinApp, ICI will help clients optimize their desktop infrastructure management by installing and updating their desktop applications from a centralized repository.

3PAR, global provider of utility storage, announced two new 3PAR InForm software plug-ins for VMware vSphere and VMware vCenter Server which provide virtual machine (VM)-aware snapshots, rapid online VM recovery, and VM-to-storage mapping.

Together, 3PAR Recovery Manager for VMware vSphere and the 3PAR Management Plug-In for VMware vCenter Server enable joint 3PAR and VMware customers to simply, efficiently, and non-disruptively protect, recover, and manage virtual machines and related storage resources in their virtual datacenter and cloud computing environments.

3PAR Recovery Manager for VMware vSphere was designed to give VMware administrators the benefits of rapid provisioning of new virtual machines from VM copies, cost-effective use of storage resources for disk-based VM backup and rapid recovery, and superior granularity over the recovery process by enabling the creation of hundreds of VM-aware, point-in-time snapshots without the use of agents. Recovery Manager gives administrators automated protection and recovery of Virtual Machine Disks (VMDKs), VMware vStorage Virtual Machine File Systems (VMFS), individual VMs, and even individual files within VMware vSphere environments.

3PAR Recovery Manager for VMware vSphere and the 3PAR Management Plug-In for VMware vCenter Server are available immediately. The Management Plug-In is available at no charge to 3PAR customers. Recovery Manager for VMware vSphere starts at US $3000 per InServ Storage Server.