EMC Disk Library with EMC Data Domain

Deployment Scenario
Best Practices Planning






































Abstract
This white paper is an overview of the EMC

Disk Library with EMC Data Domain deduplication storage

system deployment scenario.

January 2010




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Part Number h6925
EMC Disk Library with EMC Data Domain Deployment Scenario
Best Practices Planning 2



Table of Contents

Executive summary ............................................................................................ 4
Introduction......................................................................................................... 4
Audience ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Terminology ................................................................................................................................. 4
Disk Library and Data Domain deployment overview...................................... 6
Supported environments.............................................................................................................. 7
Supported Data Domain systems ............................................................................................ 7
Supported EMC Disk Library systems ..................................................................................... 7
Physical connectivity.................................................................................................................... 7
Sizing the Disk Library with the Data Domain system................................................................. 8
Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 12
References ........................................................................................................ 12
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Executive summary
Todays IT environments are faced with the combination of data growth and shrinking backup windows.
Restore time objectives (RTOs) and restore point objectives (RPOs) are also becoming more stringent,
increasing the importance of a highly reliable, high-performance backup environment.
As a complement to tape for long-term, offsite storage, backup-to-disk and the EMC

Disk Library
products have emerged as powerful solutions. Customers seeking the advanced virtual tape library (VTL)
functionality of the Disk Library as well as the ROI benefits of deduplication can leverage a Disk Library
deployment with Data Domain. This enables customers to move data to Data Domain deduplication storage
systems for longer-term retention of data and network-efficient replication.
Replication of deduplicated backup data is supported with Data Domain deduplication storage
interoperability. The advantages of replicating with Data Domain are that you will be replicating
deduplicated data and significantly reducing bandwidth. Further, Data Domain Replicator software sends
only new and unique data segments to the remote location. In addition, all data is verified independently at
the remote site after copy.
Data Domain also offers flexible deployment options to meet a broad scope of data protection needs.
Replicator software provides a full range of replication options, including collection, tape pool, many-to-
one, bi-directional, and cascaded replication. Data Domain network-efficient replication is an efficient way
to satisfy vaulting requirements.
There are three Disk Library software options available to enable deployment with Data Domain:
Automated Tape Caching
Embedded EMC NetWorker

storage node
Embedded Symantec NetBackup media server
Any one of these software options will allow you to copy Disk Library virtual tapes to a Data Domain
system.
Introduction
This white paper provides an overview of the best practices involved with the interoperability of the Disk
Library and Data Domain deployment scenario.
Audience
This white paper is intended for EMC customers, EMC system engineers, and members of the EMC and
partners professional services community who are interested in incorporating EMC Disk Libraries and Data
Domain systems into a backup environment.
Terminology
Automated Tape Caching Licensable option that allows data to be temporarily stored on the Disk
Library. That data is eventually written to back-end physical tape, or a Data Domain appliance,
allowing space to be freed up on the Disk Library.
Deduplication Process of detecting and identifying the redundant variable-length blocks (or data
segments) within a given set of data to eliminate redundancy.
DD690 Data Domain DD690 system.
DD880 Data Domain DD880 system.
DL4000 Series EMC Disk Library 4000 series appliances.
DL5000 Series EMC Disk Library 5000 series appliances.
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Embedded media server A feature available on the Disk Library providing Symantec NetBackup
media server functionality embedded within the Disk Library engine(s). This allows for NetBackup
environment awareness of duplicate copies of virtual tapes that are exported to a physical library
connected to the back end of a Disk Library and controlled by the embedded media server.
Embedded storage node A feature available on the Disk Library providing NetWorker storage
node functionality embedded within the Disk Library engine. This allows for NetWorker environment
awareness of clone copies of virtual tapes that are exported to a physical library connected to the back
end of a Disk Library and controlled by the embedded storage node.
Engine A Disk Library or Data Domain deduplication appliance server.
Flex port Fibre Channel (FC) ports on the Disk Library server that can be configured as either
front-end (SAN client) ports or back-end (physical library) ports. Flex ports do not connect to the EMC
storage arrays. See also library port.
Library port Fibre Channel (FC) ports on the Disk Library server(s) used to connect to a back-end
physical library, another Disk Library, or a Data Domain appliance. These ports are also referred to as
initiator ports.
Remote replication Backup data residing on a Data Domain appliance is copied over a LAN or
WAN to another Data Domain appliance in deduplicated form for disaster recovery protection.
SAN client A backup server that connects through a FC SAN to a Disk Library.
SAN client port FC ports on the Disk Library server used to connect backup servers (clients of the
Disk Library). These ports are also referred to as target ports.
Server A Disk Library or Data Domain appliance server. Also known as an engine.
Tape migration The process of sending data from the Disk Library to the Data Domain system
using Automated Tape Caching.
TLU Tape library unit, sometimes referred to as a physical library unit (PLU).
Virtual tape library (VTL) Software emulation of a physical tape library system.
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Disk Library and Data Domain deployment overview
The Disk Library with the Data Domain deployment scenario is a 4000 or 5000 series Disk Library with a
Data Domain DD690 or DD880 system as shown in Figure 1. In this deployment scenario, data in the Disk
Library virtual tape cartridges is migrated or copied to the Data Domain system where it is deduplicated to
remove data redundancies, resulting in longer data retention capability than a stand-alone Disk Library.
The Data Domain system does not need to be dedicated to the Disk Library. While operations are occurring
from the Disk Library to the Data Domain system, concurrent NAS or VTL jobs can be occurring in
parallel on the Data Domain system.


Figure 1. EMC Disk Library with the Data Domain deployment data flow

The EMC Disk Library:
Provides significant performance advantages over tape-based solutions since data is written to disk
Eliminates all single points of failure for a reliable solution with a high availability (HA) design with
redundant components and active engine failover
Presents itself as one of many standard, open-system tape library and tape drive formats to backup
applications

The Data Domain deduplication storage system:
Eliminates redundant data from backups to reduce storage requirements, enabling longer onsite
retention, and reduced replication costs
Performs sub-file, variable block length deduplication as data is ingested into the system
Includes built-in data compression that is additive to deduplication in the data reduction process
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The Data Domain Replicator software option leverages its deduplication and compression capabilities,
substantially reducing the amount of backup data that needs to be sent to a remote site. Data Domain
Replicator software provides rapid local and remote restore with the following benefits:
Permits bi-directional replication between Data Domain systems
Replicates deduplicated virtual tapes to reduce bandwidth requirements
Further reduces network traffic as only changed data is sent to the target Data Domain system
Automatically replicates tapes to the target system
Provides detailed replication reporting through the Data Domain GUI and CLI

Supported environments
The Disk Library with the Data Domain system supports the backup applications and versions listed in the
EMC Support Matrix on Powerlink

for the Disk Library.

Supported Data Domain systems
The following Data Domain systems are supported:
DD690 Version 4.7.3.1 or later
DD880 Version 4.7.3.1 or later
Supported EMC Disk Library systems
DL4000 Series Version 3.3 SP1 or later
DL5000 Series Version 4.0 or later
These Disk Library models have been qualified with the above Data Domain systems. All configurations require
an official EMC Request for Product Qualification (RPQ).
Physical connectivity
The Disk Library is comprised of one or two servers (engines) attached to one or two CLARiiON

arrays.
The Disk Library connects to the Data Domain system through a storage area network (SAN) using one to
four FC ports on each Disk Library engine (maximum of four connections to the Data Domain system
allowed) connected to one to four ports on a Data Domain system. For four-port connectivity, two FC HBA
cards must be installed in the Data Domain system. Direct-connecting FC cables from a Disk Library to a
Data Domain system is not supported.
Each Disk Library engine has four Fibre Channel library ports (4, 5, 8, and 9) for initiator mode SCSI
attach. Any one of these ports can be used for connection to the Data Domain appliance. With the Disk
Library system, any unused library ports are available for connecting a physical tape library or another Disk
Library for use as a back-end library.
Figure 2 shows one of the possible ways the Disk Library can be interconnected with the two Data Domain
models.
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Data Domain System
6A 5B
Ethernet Ports
for Replication,
Management
and Data
6B 5A
FC SAN
Disk Library Server A
1 3 7 11
4
9
8
5
0 2 6 10
FC ports available for SAN
connections to backup servers
Disk Library Server B
1 3 7 11
4
9
8
5
0 2 6 10
FC ports available for SAN
connections to backup servers
CLARiiON Array
1
2

Figure 2. Disk Library with four Data Domain system interconnections
Sizing the Disk Library with the Data Domain system
In order to properly size the Disk Library when configured with the Data Domain system, retention
requirements must be thoroughly reviewed and changed to accommodate the longer retention times
possible with deduplication technology. Each system must be sized separately according to the retention
scheme desired and data access needs to be anticipated to take full advantage of the features of that system
and may require backup policies to be re-evaluated. Storage capacity must be sized to adequately handle
the amount of data expected to be retained in both native and deduplicated format. Please contact your
EMC representatives to properly size the environment in which this interoperability will be used.
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Moving data from the Disk Library to the Data Domain
deduplication storage system
There are three methods for tape migration or copying data from the Disk Library to the Data Domain
system. These three methods use existing features within the Disk Library software.
Automated Tape Caching
With the Automated Tape Caching feature, the virtual tapes act as disk-based cache to physical
libraries such that data is first written to virtual tapes in a VTL and later copied to virtual tapes in the
Data Domain system based on user-defined policies. The movement of data over the SAN from the
Disk Library to a Data Domain system is done by a process called tape migration. Migrating data
causes a copy of the data to exist in two physical locations, one on the Disk Library and one on the
Data Domain system. All reads and writes of the data will occur with the copy of data present on the
Disk Library.
This data resides on both systems until a reclamation process is run on the Disk Library. Reclamation
removes the data in the virtual tape on the Disk Library and replaces it with a pointer (or tape stub) to
the data on the Data Domain system. After reclamation, the data is only present in its compressed and
deduplicated form on the Data Domain system.
This feature is the recommended feature to use when you are using a backup application that is not EMC
Networker or Symantec NetBackup and does require a Disk Library license key to activate.
For best practices planning and for more information on how to set up and use Automated Tape
Caching on the Disk Library, please see the EMC Disk Library Automated Tape Caching Feature
A Detailed Review white paper on Powerlink.

Embedded storage node (EMC NetWorker)
The embedded storage node software treats the Disk Library emulated libraries and drives as if they
were physical tape libraries and drives. From a backup application point of view, the devices are
standard backup targets. Using the EMC NetWorker cloning operation, data is cloned from the Disk
Library to the Data Domain system based on user-defined policies. Data is also expired on the Disk
Library and the Data Domain system based on user-defined policies.
This feature is the recommended feature to use when you are using the EMC NetWorker backup application
and it requires a Disk Library license key to activate.
For best practices planning and for more information on how to set up and use the embedded storage
node on the Disk Library, please see the EMC Disk Library with NetWorker Best Practices
Planning white paper on Powerlink.

Embedded media server (Symantec NetBackup)
The embedded media server software treats the Disk Library emulated libraries and drives as if they
were physical tape libraries and drives. From a backup application point of view, the devices are
standard backup targets. Using the Symantec NetBackup duplication operation, data is duplicated
from the Disk Library to the Data Domain system based on user-defined policies. Data is also expired
on the Disk Library and the Data Domain system based on user-defined policies.
This feature is the recommended feature to use when you are using the Symantec NetBackup backup
application and it requires a Disk Library license key to activate.
For best practices planning and for more information on how to set up and use the embedded media
server on the Disk Library, please see the EMC Disk Library with VERITAS NetBackup Best
Practices Planning white paper on Powerlink.
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Using the Disk Library with the Data Domain system
The most common scenarios for using the Disk Library with the Data Domain system are discussed below.
These scenarios include the use of existing Disk Library software options - Automated Tape Caching,
embedded storage node, or embedded media server to copy data to the Data Domain system.
Copying data from the Disk Library to the Data Domain system



In this scenario, either one or two engines are writing data to the Data Domain system. Data is
migrated from the Disk Library (using tape caching) or is copied (using the embedded media
managers) to the Data Domain system. Data is sent to the Data Domain system through a Fibre
Channel SAN. This SAN can be either a normal SAN or can be an extended Fibre Channel SAN.
With the Automated Tape Caching feature, the backup application sees the local copy of data and data
access is through the Disk Library. With the embedded storage node or embedded media server, the
backup application is aware of both copies of data and data access is through the backup application.

Copying data from the Disk Library to Data Domain and to a physical tape library



In this scenario, data is copied to the Data Domain system and a physical tape library via the embedded
storage node/media server. In this configuration, the data can reside on each of the three units for
different retention periods. Each engine would have to see the Data Domain system and the physical
tape library since the data is seen by each engine individually. Multiple engines can be used in a dual-
engine configuration, with each writing to its own Data Domain system and physical tape unit.
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Copying data from the Disk Library to multiple Data Domain systems



Here, the two Disk Library engines write data to two separate Data Domain systems. Data can either
be migrated from the Disk Library (using Automated Tape Caching) or copied (using the embedded
media server/storage node) to each Data Domain system from its specific Disk Library engine. This is
well suited for environments that require the highest performance and wish to fully utilize the
performance capabilites of the Disk Library.

Copying data to the Data Domain and replicating to another Data Domain



In this example, data is written to the Data Domain system and then replicated to another Data Domain
system. Data can either be migrated from the Disk Library (using tape caching) or is copied (using the
embedded media managers) to the Data Domain system. The data is then automatically replicated to
another Data Domain system. Once the data is present at the target site, it can be recovered using Data
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Domain standard replication commands. A dedicated Disk Library on the target side is not required,
although in some tape caching environments, a Disk Library on the target side may be required.
Conclusion
The information presented in this white paper is intended to provide an overview of a Disk Library with the
Data Domain deployment scenario in common backup environments. For more in-depth best practices
planning and configuration suggestions, please see the associated white papers available on Powerlink.
References
EMC Disk Library and EMC Data Domain Solution Sizing Process Guide (for EMC employees only)
EMC Disk Library Automated Tape Cache Feature - A Detailed Review white paper
EMC Disk Library DL4106, DL4206, and DL4406 Version 3.2 - Best Practices Planning white paper
EMC Disk Library with NetWorker - Best Practices Planning white paper
EMC Disk Library with VERITAS NetBackup - Best Practices Planning white paper
EMC CLARiiON Backup Storage Solutions - The Value of CLARiiON Disk Library with TSM: A
Detailed Review white paper
Data Domain EMC NetWorker V7.4 Application Introduction
Data Domain VERITAS NetBackup 6.5 Application Introduction
Data Domain IBM Tivoli Storage Manager Integration Guide
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