The iSCSI-connected device runs tape emulation software developed in-house by HP on an HP Proliant server, and scales to a maximum of just 1.5TB usable capacity.
The self-referentially named HP D2D Backup System comes in two variants. At a list price of $1,999, the D2D BS 110 offers 750GB of raw capacity, while $2,999 buys a 220 version with 1.5TB usable capacity. The boxes will not scale any further than that, because they have a fixed number of disk drives, although HP will obviously will adopt larger drives as they emerge.
According to HP, those prices make the 110 and 220 half the price of comparable systems. Add $1,000, and HP will throw in a copy of its Yosemite-originated Data Protector Express backup management software.
Both boxes can be connected to up to four Windows servers, although HP says that any of those Windows servers could themselves be the backup target for other, non-Windows servers.
This is not HP’s first low-end, iSCSI-connected VTL. Last year the company launched a virtual tape iSCSI-talking VTL called the VLS 1002i. Carrying a list price of just over $6,000 the 1002i is a 1U rack-mounted device that supports up to 12 servers, and unlike the 110 or 220 features data compression that about doubles its effective capacity. This puts the VLS 1002i a notch above the 220, and means that it is not being replaced by the new box. HP said it is investigating a second generation of 1002i.
The purpose of a VTL or tape emulator is to allow businesses to switch to disk-to-disk backup, but continue using their existing tape-based backup management tools and procedures. Right now the BS 110 and 220 are qualified to work with Syamantec Corp’s Backup Exec management software, and with HPs DP Express. Other backup tools will be supported later.
HP itself recommends that customers backup data a second time, copying from 110 or 220 to tape for offsite storage. To do that, customers will have to create a second or duplicate tape image, but send it to a tape library and not to the VTL. Later this year they will be able to export the data from the VTL to tape directly, without re-involving host or media servers, HP said.
