As the volume of data continues to increase 30% per year in every aspect of an organization’s business and operation, this becomes a critical issue with information technology executives. These factors result in increased data storage costs and the significant data management issues. Storage is a strategic element in achieving operational success. To service the organization’s growing data needs, information technology must increase the availability of data, decrease “backup windows” and ensure data recovery. Storage virtualization technology can be applied to solve these issues.

Virtualization is a software layer, enabling different hardware and software technologies to work together. Without storage virtualization each operating system manages a single host’s specific storage. In a virtualized environment, it is not necessary for the host and applications to know where the data resides physically. Logical devices that are emulated in software replace a hosts’s physical drives, enabling the software to dynamically map these logical devices on to the target physical devices. Storage virtualization allows an organization to add new storage, reassign existing storage, use media more efficiently and migrate and secure data in various locations without modification to the host server or backup software application.

These benefits would be the following:

• Reduce tape storage cost and total cost of ownership
• Improves backup / restore performance
• Supports business continuity
• Enhances tape media utilization

Traditional Tape vs.: Virtual Tape

Most of the core legacy business systems found in large enterprise accounts were developed in the 1960’s and 1970’s. These used tapes as an integral part of the systems. Tape systems are inefficient, prone to error, slow, and costly to manage. Tape for the majority of customers is an unprotected media.
Diligent Technologies, VTF Mainframe (VTFM) virtualizes tape on Symmetrix systems, reducing cost, improving performance, delivers high availability, and provides for automatic vaulting with SRDF. Eastern Computer has the knowledge and first hand experinence to help customers realize the benefits of utilizing VTF Mainframe in their environments – large or small.

• Tape-based applications often can’t meet service levels and exceed back-up windows; Symmetrix performance and parallel access shrinks back-up windows by 50-90% typically
• Fully transparent to end-user applications without changes to JCL
• SRDF provides automated e-vaulting; versus expensive copying and vaulting of tapes
• SRDF provides BC with remote copy and fast recovery
• Symmetrix is the most reliable storage product in the world; tape is problematic, tapes fail from contaminants, physical damage, and physical handling.
• 1990’s tape technology takes up space; Eastern recovered 5,000 sq. ft. with 6 floor tiles of Symmetrix
• 100,000 plus tapes require many tape librarians; VTF Mainframe reduces headcount
• Operators can use their current tape management systems from CA, BMC, and IBM; no re-training cost
• Parallel Access Tape – PAT. Provides shared user access to tape datasets.
• Symmetrix parallel performance WINS

• How much tape infrastructure is needed to justify a VTF Mainframe solution: full, progressive, or partial replacement?
• Are service levels being met with current tape-based applications?
• Are BC/DR plans tape based and inadequate to meet today’s business continuance requirements?
• Is tape technology taking valuable floor space that could be used more profitably or avoid additional expansion?