IBM Real-time Compression and ProtecTIER Deduplication

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1 Compression and ProtecTIER Deduplication Two technologies that work together to increase storage efficiency Highlights Reduce primary storage capacity requirements with Compression Decrease backup data with Deduplication Combine both technologies to achieve even more compelling results The amount of data being generated today is unprecedented, and so is the storage challenge that this growth creates. When you consider all the data that an organization must retain and backup today whether to have it freely accessible for day-to-day operations, keep it long-term to meet regulatory requirements, or have it readily available for recovery in the event of a disaster the cost of storing that amount of information can be mind-boggling. And while storage costs continue to skyrocket, the budgets allocated for storage unfortunately are not keeping pace. To resolve this dilemma, organizations are increasingly turning to storage optimization as a way of increasing storage efficiency and reducing storage demands. Optimization technologies make it possible to get more out of a finite amount of storage, by manipulating the data in such a way as to reduce the amount of storage space it requires. Two paths to storage optimization from IBM Recently, two storage optimization approaches have been receiving significant attention: real-time compression for primary NAS data, and data deduplication for backup data sets. IBM offers solutions for both approaches. Each creates dramatic results in its own right; together, they have been demonstrated to deliver particularly compelling results. This solution brief describes Compression and Deduplication on their own merits, and then describes how the two together can enable dramatic gains in storage efficiency. Both have a role in the data optimization landscape within the overall storage architecture.

2 The data optimization landscape Compression Data compression reduces the size of data files so that less space is required to store them. Real-time compression, as the name implies, is the ability to compress primary/production data and reduce file size as you store files, in real time rather than after the data is written to the hard disk. This is what Compression is designed to achieve, and with no performance degradation. It works with any type of data that isn t already compressed, enabling a new level of storage efficiency. The primary benefits of the solution are to: Help slow the growth of primary and backup storage acquisition, reducing storage costs while simplifying both operations and management. Keep more data available for use rather than storing it offsite, supporting improved analytics and decision making. Seamlessly integrate with existing high-availability storage systems to make it easier to maintain service levels. Significantly enhance overall storage efficiency, since less data is written to disk and more data can be stored in cache. Reduces the size of every file by up to five times Designed to sit transparently in front of primary network attached storage (NAS), Compression offers the unique advantage of making it possible to shrink primary, online data in real time with no loss in performance. By compressing data up to 80 percent when it s first stored, the solution reduces the size of every file by up to five times, depending upon the file type. It significantly reduces the physical capacity required to store a file (or copies and permutations of a file) through the entire data life cycle, including backup. 2

3 Works in the background without disrupting access Compression has a feature called the Compression Accelerator that enables the nondisruptive, background compression of data that has already been stored on disk while users and applications continue to have random, read-write access to the compressed data. This capability can significantly enhance and accelerate the technology s return on investment by creating more available storage capacity without expanding the storage footprint. Extends the benefits of virtualization As more server workloads become virtualized, real-time compression becomes increasingly valuable as a tool for storage optimization in virtualized environments. As a result, many companies that have adopted file virtualization technologies are also exploring deployment of Compression in conjunction with virtualization. Compression solutions transparently integrate with virtualization solutions and enhance file virtualization functionality. With Compression, organizations can better leverage their existing virtualized, tiered storage infrastructure. Furthermore, the flexibility to deploy compression at selected tiers enables organizations to optimize their infrastructure based on their needs. Compression dramatically extends the cost reductions that file virtualization enables. Integrates simply into NAS environments Compression Appliances are designed to support multiple 10 GbE and 1 GbE connections with flexible port configurations for high throughput. They re designed to make integration into existing NAS environments as simple as possible, with no user changes, no software driver requirements and no server, application or storage reconfiguration. This solution is transparent to the IT environment. Deduplication Data deduplication is designed to reduce the physical storage requirements imposed by redundant data, through a process that removes the duplicate data and replaces it with a pointer to the main copy. This way, only one copy of the data has to be stored. It s a good choice for backup data, where there are typically multiple data sets of mostly redundant data. The more copies of redundant data in the environment, the higher the effective deduplication rate and, therefore, the more storage efficiency achieved. Deduplication features revolutionary and patented HyperFactor data deduplication technology. It provides enterprise-class performance, scalability and data integrity to meet disk-based data protection needs while enabling significant infrastructure cost reductions. Provides inline deduplication for faster processing An effective deduplication solution needs to be able to process data as fast as possible. Deduplication solutions provide inline deduplication that eliminates redundant data in real time as it is being received from backup servers. A single ProtecTIER solution can provide up to 2000 Mbps or more inline backup performance and 2,800 Mbps for restores. Scales easily to handle growing data requirements Deduplication enables the disk repository of a single ProtecTIER server to scale to as large as 1 PB of physical storage without negatively affecting performance. And unlike hash-based deduplication products, Deduplication can easily manage a petabyte repository. This nonhash-based approach also protects data integrity by reducing the risk of data loss due to hash collision. Performs without disrupting operations Deduplication as a post-process for backups adds a window to backup that can take an extended period to complete, bringing production operations to a halt. Because 3

4 Deduplication uses inline deduplication, it helps to ensure that backup windows are met and that data is available for restore operations immediately. Better together: Putting the two technologies to the test Real-time compression and data deduplication technologies address different problems and sit at different points in the data life cycle. But more importantly, despite their differences, the two technologies are complementary. In fact, deploying realtime compression can significantly enhance the value and performance of data deduplication. This has been demonstrated in a series of performance tests in which Compression and Deduplication solutions were combined to optimize Oracle database physical backups in a Network File Storage (NFS) environment. The test environment The environment in which IBM tested the combined performance of Compression and Deduplication solutions included: Oracle Database running over NFS to IBM System Storage N5600 NAS storage controller. IBM STN6800 Real-time Compression Appliance. IBM TS7610 ProtecTIER Deduplication Appliance with virtual tape library attached to an IBM Tivoli Storage Manager server. IBM N5600-A10 IBM TS7610 ProtecTIER NDMP Backup Tivoli Storage Manager Compression Oracle Database LAN 3x DB Clients Quest Benchmark Factory The test environment 4

5 What the tests revealed To illustrate the benefits of data deduplication alone, the first test was to deduplicate seven 37 GB cold backup sets using the deduplication function of the IBM TS7610 ProtecTIER Appliance. This simulated one week of daily backups. Deduplication was performed during the time the data was copied using NDMP from an IBM N5600 storage controller to the TS7610 appliance. Then, to illustrate the added benefit of using real-time compression with deduplication, an IBM STN6800 Realtime Compression Appliance was installed in front of the IBM N5600 storage controller. Compression provided an immediate footprint reduction of the database file size from 37 GB to 6.6 GB, a reduction of over 82 percent. The introduction of Compression provided immediate space savings, too, since the compression was performed in real time, when the data was written to primary storage. No post-processing or configuration changes were required to realize these savings. When the data deduplication solution was used to backup the Compression compressed data, the seven compressed backup data sets were further reduced by an average of 39 percent for greater than 96 percent overall reduction in capacity required. In addition, backup of compressed data took an average of 68 percent less time than backup in the absence of Compression. Backup Time in Seconds Day of Backup Compression with Backup times for Compression combined with ProtecTIER Deduplication, compared to deduplication alone Combining the solutions for real-time compression and data deduplication resulted in: Greater than 96 percent overall data reduction. Less CPU utilization on the deduplication engine. Less disk activity in the deduplication subsystem. Less network traffic on the deduplication backup network. Used Space GB Day of Backup Compression with Business benefits you can measure Clearly, both data deduplication and real-time compression offer significant space savings over traditional, nonoptimized storage. However, the benefits of combining these technologies are even more compelling. Specifically, combining real-time compression and data deduplication optimizes the storage footprint by reducing data on primary NAS devices throughout the data life cycle. This maximizes data reduction, which in turn maximizes the return on investment and dramatically improves backup performance. Space used with Compression combined with ProtecTIER Deduplication, compared to deduplication alone 5

6 Why IBM? IBM has demonstrated the combined value of real-time compression and data deduplication, two technologies which address different problems and sit at different points in the data life cycle, but which are nevertheless complementary. In fact, deploying real-time compression can significantly enhance the value and performance of data deduplication, as revealed in a series of performance tests in which Compression and Deduplication solutions were combined to optimize Oracle database physical backups in a Network File Storage (NFS) environment. The results of these tests showed that the benefits of combining data deduplication and real-time compression are even more compelling than the benefits of using either technology alone. Both offer significant space savings over traditional, nonoptimized storage, but combining them was shown to optimize the storage footprint by reducing data on primary NAS devices throughout the data life cycle. The combination of the two maximizes data reduction, which in turn maximizes the return on investment and dramatically improves backup performance. For more information To learn more about using Compression and Deduplication solutions to optimize storage efficiency, contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit: ibm.com/storage/solutions/rtc Additionally, IBM Global Financing can help you acquire the IT solutions that your business needs in the most cost-effective and strategic way possible. We ll partner with credit qualified clients to customize an IT financing solution to suit your business goals, enable effective cash management, and improve your total cost of ownership. IBM Global Financing is your smartest choice to fund critical IT investments and propel your business forward. For more information, visit: ibm.com/financing Copyright IBM Corporation 2011 IBM Corporation Systems and Technology Group Route 100 Somers, NY U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America July 2011 All Rights Reserved IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, HyperFactor, ProtecTIER, and Protect More.Store Less are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. If these and other IBM trademarked terms are marked on their first occurrence in this information with a trademark symbol ( or ), these symbols indicate U.S. registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the time this information was published. Such trademarks may also be registered or common law trademarks in other countries. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the web at Copyright and trademark information at ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. This document could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. IBM may not offer the products, services or features discussed in this document in other countries, and the product information may be subject to change without notice. Consult your local IBM business contact for information on the product or services available in your area. Any statements regarding IBM s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice, and represent goals and objectives only. The information contained in this document is current as of the initial date of publication only and is subject to change without notice. All performance information was determined in a controlled environment. Actual results may vary. Performance information is provided AS IS and no warranties or guarantees are expressed or implied by IBM. Information concerning non-ibm products was obtained from the suppliers of their products their published announcements or other publicly available sources. Questions on the capabilities of the non-ibm products should be addressed with the suppliers. IBM does not warrant that the information offered herein will meet your requirements or those of your distributors or customers. IBM provides this information AS IS without warranty. IBM disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including the implied warranties of noninfringement, merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose or noninfringement. IBM products are warranted according to the terms and conditions of the agreements under which they are provided. Please Recycle TSS03078-USEN-00