Networker

Re: [Networker] VTL or disk cabinet backup

2007-11-06 23:13:47
Subject: Re: [Networker] VTL or disk cabinet backup
From: Curtis Preston <cpreston AT GLASSHOUSE DOT COM>
To: NETWORKER AT LISTSERV.TEMPLE DOT EDU
Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2007 23:07:58 -0500
Capacity based licenses free you from the limitations of a slot-based
license.  For example, while you currently have an unlimited license,
you have that only for one library.  What if you had multiple networker
servers, or wanted to sure a (virtual) tape library between storage
nodes without dealing with DDS? You would need to buy such a license for
each server/storage node.  A capacity based license would allow you to
use the VTL/IDT with as many servers as you would like (although someone
said they're limiting to 4, which seems odd).  

But the capacity based license probably doesn't have an unlimited
option; it would be awesome if it did.  Pay $X and you can use all the
capacity and all the virtual tape drives and slots your little heart
desires.  That would be the equivalent of the unlimited slot license.
They probably haven't thought that far yet.  So you're stuck with the
capacity you pay for, and if the pricing is similar to the AFS pricing,
it will be about $1/GB -- a steep price considering that's about what
people are paying for dedupe VTLs/IDTs.  (Intelligent Disk Targets)

It looks like 7.4 offers a capacity-based license for VTL.  I don't have
any details on it yet.  Hopefully, they've taken the approach that it's
an option; either buy the tape library license and live with it, or buy
the VTL license and live with it.  Symantec chose to make it mandatory
for NetBackup; if you're buying a VTL, you have to use a VTL license.  I
personally disagree with that approach.  Hopefully EMC will go the other
way.

I'm hoping I can get someone at EMC to clarify the current pricing.

---
W. Curtis Preston
Backup Blog @ www.backupcentral.com
VP Data Protection, GlassHouse Technologies 

-----Original Message-----
From: Teresa Biehler [mailto:tpbsys AT rit DOT edu] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2007 2:32 AM
To: Curtis Preston
Subject: RE: [Networker] VTL or disk cabinet backup

Why "hopefully"?  Right now I can buy an unlimited license and not worry
about how much data gets added to our environment - I never need to buy
another tape library license.  If its capacity based, I'd need to
upgrade/purchase an add-on when our environment grows.  From what I can
tell about DBO licenses, there is no such thing as "unlimited".

Thanks.
Teresa

-----Original Message-----
From: Curtis Preston [mailto:cpreston AT glasshouse DOT com] 
Sent: Monday, November 05, 2007 6:35 PM
To: Teresa Biehler; EMC NetWorker discussion
Subject: RE: [Networker] VTL or disk cabinet backup

Today NW prices them the same as a regular tape library.  Hopefully a
capacity-based model will be coming.

---
W. Curtis Preston
Backup Blog @ www.backupcentral.com
VP Data Protection, GlassHouse Technologies 

-----Original Message-----
From: Teresa Biehler [mailto:tpbsys AT rit DOT edu] 
Sent: Monday, November 05, 2007 6:18 AM
To: EMC NetWorker discussion; Curtis Preston
Subject: RE: [Networker] VTL or disk cabinet backup

How are VTLs licensed?  At one point I thought NW considered a VTL to be
the same as a physical library, but I thought EMC was moving to a
capacity-based scheme here too.  So, we could not, for example, just
begin using our "unlimited-slot tape library" to license a VTL of
unlimited size.  Is this correct?

Thanks.
Teresa

-----Original Message-----
From: EMC NetWorker discussion [mailto:NETWORKER AT LISTSERV.TEMPLE DOT EDU] On
Behalf Of Curtis Preston
Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2007 11:24 PM
To: NETWORKER AT LISTSERV.TEMPLE DOT EDU
Subject: Re: [Networker] VTL or disk cabinet backup


>One other thing that's worth noting about diskbackup licenses for 
>networker is that the license puts restrictions on the actual amount of

>data on disk, compared to library based licenses, who put restrictions
on 
>the amount of slots instead. This means that unlike library licenses, 
>diskbackup licenses don't allow you to put more data in over time, as 
>technology evolves.

That's an interesting thought.  It's a drawback of capacity-based
licensing.

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