Tributary Updates VTL Software’s LTO Tape Compatibility
June 18, 2013 Alex Woodie
|
Tributary Systems last week announced a new release of Storage Director, its storage virtualization software used to create virtual tape libraries (VTLs) in IBM i environments. With version 4.1, Storage Director can now input data into the VTL through new LTO-5 and LTO-6 emulation connections. It also gained support for outputting data to LTO-6 drives and NFS repositories. Tributary markets Storage Director as an “any-to-any” storage virtualization tool that can move data from practically any computer in the data center to just about any form of storage. Loaded onto a VTL or disk-based backup appliance, Storage Director can speed up backups from Power System or System z servers (Tributary’s primary targets), while maintaining compatibility with tape and other storage devices (including IBM, HP, Oracle-StorageTek, and Quantum tape libraries) for long-term archiving. The software also brings 256-bit AES encryption and WAN replication capabilities, giving customers additional protection against data loss. With version 4.1, Tributary has bolstered the innards of the software by adding support for LTO-5 and LTO-6 emulation on the front end. This allows a data protection solution based on Storage Director to be a plug-in replacement at sites that are currently using LTO-5 or LTO-6 gear for primary backups. The new LTO emulations keep Storage Director current with IBM, says Glenn Grundstrom, vice president of development at Tributary. “Adding LTO-5 and LTO-6 emulation ensures that Storage Director supports the latest IBM Power Systems hardware, operating systems, and backup technologies,” he says in a press release. This release also supports LTO-6 and NFS on the back end, providing customers with more options for long-term storage. NFS support will be especially beneficial because it gives Storage Director customers the capability to use any NFS-based data de-duplication devices. “Release 4.1 reflects Tributary’s commitment to keep Storage Director aligned with new and existing technology,” Tributary CEO Shawn Sabanayagam says in a press release. “We provide multiple options so that customers can put their data where it makes business sense and is cost effective.” A Storage Director-based backup device delivers close integration with IBM i and Power Systems. The device, which appears as an IBM 3584 tape library (LTO) to IBM i servers, performs exactly as that LTO library would, including the capability to deliver bare-metal restores; support for multiple LPARs and data streams; and the capability to write to physical tape on the backend in IBM i’s native format (eliminating the need to have the Storage Director device on hand to perform a restore). Storage Director devices attach to Power Systems servers via standard Fibre Channel connections, and require no changes to existing backup processes, Tributary says in its IBM i solution brief (pdf). The devices can utilize native IBM i utilities and third-party products, like BRMS, Tivoli Storage Manager, and LXI‘s MMS, as well as backup commands (SAVLIB). Storage Director supports i5/OS V5R3 through IBM i 7.1, in addition to VIOS, Linux, and AIX. Storage Director VTL appliances can work with data de-duplication appliances from Quantum among others. It can execute backups and restores at speeds up to 1.4 Gbps, the company claims. For more information, see the company’s website at www.tributary.com. RELATED STORIES Tributary Brings Storage Director to IBM i 6.1, 7.1 Environments Tributary Gets Closer to Quantum with Hardware Deal Tributary Extends NonStop Legacy to IBM i Quantum Adds Fibre Channel to Midrange De-dupe Boxes Gresham Sells ETL Software and IP to Tributary Systems Gresham Sells ETL Software and IP to Tributary Systems
|
