Data is the most important asset of any organisation, and the access to the right information at the right time is a critical issue for most businesses. To solve the problem of data storage, archiving and data retrieval, Quantum has come up with some innovative technologies for protecting that data. We take a look at various technologies developed at the company's R&D labs.

Data management has taken centre stage in today's competitive business environment. Today, data storage, archiving, and retrieval is a critical issue in verticals like telecom, manufacturing, ITeS and BFSI (banking, finance, service and insurance). Data requirements are constantly increasing, as new breeds of applications arrive; maintaining consistent and correct data is the most daunting task for storage managers. The R&D team at Quantum is constantly working towards developing solutions for secure data storage that is easier, and cost-effective for enterprises.

Over the last 40 years, Quantum has evolved into a company that specialises in back-up, recovery and archiving of data. It provides a range of disk, tape and software solutions that take care of growing storage needs, while maintaining data integrity and availability. The company has traditionally utilised tape devices, which have been a successful, efficient and secure back-up technology. Twenty per cent of the data is accessed 80 per cent of the time, while 80 per cent of the data is very rarely accessed. However, storing that very-rarely-accessed data over long durations, and providing access to it easily, is one of the major roles that tape technology plays in data centres. Tape plays an important role in disk-to-disk-to-tape strategies, which are cost-effective and secure media for migrating back-ups.

The focus moves from hardware to software

"As the volume of data is growing, the biggest challenge companies face today is of backing up and archiving that data, and to solve that issue, tape is the best solution," says Steve Dalton, senior vice president, engineering, Quantum Corp. He continues, "Today, the scenario has changed from device-based solutions to software-based solutions. Software is a multi-faceted solution to address the issue of continually-increasing data."

Quantum India Development Centre's (QIDC) hottest patent is for a data de-duplication technology. This technology dramatically reduces the storage requirement for back-up. Data de-duplication, although a very complex technology, is based on a very simple idea: it is a data reduction technique that examines back-up streams, and eliminates repeated blocks of data from the back-up volume.

"We look at data at the block level, and when we recognise that we have blocks already stored, then we do not store them again. It is similar to the concept of single file store, but is far more effective. Under single file store, if someone changes one letter in a PowerPoint file, then the entire changed file must be stored. But, with data de-duplication, we would need to store only the new blocks," elaborates Ravi Kollipara, managing director of QIDC. "We back up the same data again and again, and as the data comes in, it gets reduced, and the back-up gets smaller. For instance, 20 terabytes of data can now be stored in only 2 terabytes," Dalton further explains.
Apart from data de-duplication, Quantum has also developed some other interesting solutions in the storage arena.
- Storage growth follows data growth: The biggest challenge companies face today is the exponential growth of data that grows with the business. Automated tape libraries (ATLs) are automated back-up solutions for enterprise servers, SAN (storage area networks) and data warehousing. ATLs seamlessly manage and protect the critical data of any business. From flexible and stackable PX500 series to enterprise-class PX720, Quantum offers solutions that suit the needs of small and mid-sized businesses (SMB) all the way up to data centres. These libraries grow with the business, optimising the initial investments in them.

- To err is human, therefore, automate!: Human error is the biggest reason for data loss. To minimise this, the company has developed autoloaders, which automate the back-up process. Reliable and affordable, these autoloaders, also known as stack-loaders, use a robotic mechanism to load cartridges in a specified sequence. Super-loaders from Quantum have the capability to manage 8-16 cartridges, with remote management capabilities.

- The top Echelon: Quantum's Echelon disk platform provides functionality like snapshots, replication and virtual tape, which were previously reserved for only data-centres. The platform is easy to integrate into the existing environment, and allows you to monitor storage at no additional cost. It helps in faster and reliable recovery of data.

- Tape technologies: Quantum offers a full line of storage media for all back-up, recovery and archive needs. Designed to ensure that your valuable data is protected, it provides DLTtape, Super DLTtape, DLTtape VS, DLTtape S4, LTO Ultrium, DAT/DDS and Travan media lines. DDS (digital data storage) evolved from DAT (digital audio tapes), and is an ideal solution for small businesses. It has a storage capacity for up to 24 GB to 72 GB (compressed data). It provides compression rates between 8 GB/hr and 25 GB/hr.

Travan is a reliable and cost-effective solution for backup and archiving for SMBs. It provides storage capacities of 20 to 40 GB (compressed data), with a compression rate of 7 GB/hr to 14 GB/hr.
The tape drives come with DLT (digital linear tape) and LTO (linear tape open) tape technologies. While DLT tapes can store between 80 GB to 1600 GB of data, LTO stores data between 200 GB to 800 GB in compressed form, and provides a large-volume solution for archiving and back-up.

- Care for storage: Apart from providing various hardware solutions for storage, QIDC also provides enhanced services and support with StorageCare Guardian. This software enables proactive monitoring and diagnosis of autoloaders, disk-based back-up systems, and tape library products. It allows you to access systems over the Internet, and remotely administer the equipment if the need arises.