Very interesting to see a “standard” (ahem) emerge. DDboost started as a pretty basic idea:
“if you’re thinking end to end for data protection flows – you would embed some stuff in both the client and the target, and would leverage the architecture of the target itself”.
Hey, it would accelerate backup, restore, and drive a lot more efficiency!
Thus was born Data Domain Boost (DDBoost). Generally, customers dug it – and so it began to spread. It quickly became ubiquitous in the EMC backup software portfolio (for example making Avamar work better with large databases). It integrated with Symantec NetBackup via OST and also with BackupExec.
Then, it appeared in vSphere Data Protection Advanced, Oracle RMAN and more. Today, support was added for SAP HANA – so a bunch of enterprise apps have embedded DDBoost support:
It’s a reflection of that when something is great (and Data Domain – and the original, foundational SISL innovation that makes it possible – is great!), a lot of customers say “YES”, and something becomes more and more pervasive, eventually a defacto-standard (particularly where there isn’t a formal standards body).
It’s also a reflection of the strategic level thinking at least in EMC. I know that the crew there shares my belief that ultimately backup/recovery/protection will move to a model of “app owner manages in their app context” (vs. a backup adminstrator”). If you look in the diagram above, there isn’t an intermediary “media server” or “backup appliance” for those enterprise apps. I know SAP themselves were one of the first customers, I’ll work to add their experience with the application suite and with HANA to this blog post.
One particular piece stuck out to me on the broadening of DDboost – today an old friend and colleague, now at HP (Stephen Spellicy) pointed out to me that for months, the HP Data Protector team has been collaborating with the EMC Data Protection and Availability Division, and they would be supporting the launch with their own native DDBoost support. The interesting element here is that clearly we compete (HP Data Protector competes with elements of EMC’s data protection software portfolio, and HP StoreOnce appliance competes with Data Domain – and if you use both, they work together directly), we collaborated. Why? Stephen says it well here – for YOU, the customer.
That’s cool, if you ask me.
BTW – like my post on VPLEX Virtual Edition – there’s so much that little parts often get lost in all the noise:
- Data Domain got platform-level multi-tenancy (logical data isolation and administration, new roles for tenant and admin, and the associated management and reporting)
- Data Domain got increased file support (up to 1B!) for cases where it gets pressed into longer term archive duty.
Have fun Data Domain customers!!!
Comments