By Jerome Wendt, ComputerWorld.com,
The introduction of disk as the primary target in the backup process is prompting companies to breathe a little easier about their nightly backups. Prior to backup to disk, companies regularly had to troubleshoot the complications that arose from backup to tape. But as backup success rates climb and disk eliminates these recurring backup problems, companies may find new data and recovery management problems starting to appear.
Managing and recovering backup data stored on disk opens the door for companies to do so much more with the data that it creates its own set of problems. New challenges that companies face include:
Prioritizing which applications get recovered first. Deduplicating disk-based storage systems can store TBs of data in a small footprint. But when a disaster strikes, companies may need to recover data for multiple application servers from the same storage system slowing recoveries. So who makes the decisions about which applications get restored first?
Offsite data recoveries. Managing and tracking data that is replicated by storage systems to other sites requires some integration with the backup software for centralized data management. Copying the data to tape for offsite recoveries reintroduces the same tape management headaches that companies are looking to eliminate.
Using backup data for other purposes. Storing data on disk enable companies to use this data to meet some or all of their archiving, eDiscovery and legal hold needs. The problem now becomes which individuals are authorized to access to this data; in what circumstances; and can they recover or delete the data.
That's good. Because they are going to need their energy to solve the more esoteric problems that managing and recovering data backed up to disk now creates.
Jerome Wendt is the president and lead analyst at DCIG Inc. You may read his blogs at www.dciginc.com.
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