Dell DR series Service manual

Dell DR Series System
Administrator Guide

Notes, Cautions, and Warnings
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the
problem.
WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
Copyright ©2014 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property
laws. Dell™and the Dell logo are trademarks of Dell Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names
mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
2014 - 03
Rev. A06

Contents
1 Introduction to the DR Series System....................................................................................11
About the DR Series System GUI Documentation.................................................................................................. 11
What's New In This Release.................................................................................................................................. 11
Upgrade Notes................................................................................................................................................. 11
Other Information You May Need...........................................................................................................................12
Source Code Availability.........................................................................................................................................12
2 Understanding the DR Series System....................................................................................13
About the DR Series System...................................................................................................................................14
Drive and Available Physical Capacities................................................................................................................ 14
Internal Drive Capacity.....................................................................................................................................14
External Drive Capacity ................................................................................................................................... 15
Data Storage Terminology and Concepts...............................................................................................................15
Data Deduplication and Compression..............................................................................................................18
Streams vs. Connections..................................................................................................................................19
Replication........................................................................................................................................................19
Reverse Replication......................................................................................................................................... 20
Reverse Replication: Alternate Method...........................................................................................................21
Supported File System Protocols............................................................................................................................21
NFS...................................................................................................................................................................22
CIFS.................................................................................................................................................................. 22
CIFS ACL Support............................................................................................................................................. 22
Access Control List Support in Containers...................................................................................................... 23
Unix Permissions Guidelines............................................................................................................................24
Windows Permissions Guidelines....................................................................................................................24
Rapid Data Storage (RDS): DR Series System........................................................................................................25
Rapid OFS (ROFS) API...................................................................................................................................... 25
OpenStorage Technology (OST): DR Series System...............................................................................................25
OpenStorage Technology (OST) API................................................................................................................26
Software Components and Operational Guidelines.........................................................................................27
DR Series System and Data Operations................................................................................................................. 28
DR Series Expansion Shelf...............................................................................................................................28
Understanding About Adding a DR Series Expansion Shelf............................................................................ 29
Supported Software and Hardware........................................................................................................................29
Terminal Emulation Applications......................................................................................................................30
DR Series — Expansion Shelf Cabling................................................................................................................... 30
Adding a DR Series System Expansion Shelf......................................................................................................... 32

3 Setting Up the DR Series System........................................................................................... 35
Interacting With the DR Series System.................................................................................................................. 35
Networking Preparations for the DR Series System........................................................................................35
Connections for Initializing a DR Series System.....................................................................................................36
Initializing the DR Series System............................................................................................................................37
Default IP Address and Subnet Mask Address................................................................................................37
Local Console Connection................................................................................................................................38
iDRAC Connection............................................................................................................................................40
Logging in and Initializing the DR Series System.............................................................................................41
Accessing iDRAC6/iDRAC7 Using RACADM.......................................................................................................... 42
Logging in Using a Web Interface.......................................................................................................................... 42
Registering a DR Series System.......................................................................................................................45
Enabling Active Scripting in Windows IE Browsers........................................................................................ 46
Disabling the Compatibility View Settings........................................................................................................46
Dashboard Page and Options.................................................................................................................................46
Understanding the Dashboard Options............................................................................................................47
Displaying System Alerts................................................................................................................................. 47
Events...............................................................................................................................................................47
Health............................................................................................................................................................... 48
Usage............................................................................................................................................................... 51
Viewing the Latest Range.................................................................................................................................51
Viewing a Specific Time Range........................................................................................................................51
System Usage...................................................................................................................................................52
Container Statistics..........................................................................................................................................52
Replication Statistics Page.............................................................................................................................. 55
Storage Page and Options......................................................................................................................................56
Understanding the Storage Options.................................................................................................................57
Containers........................................................................................................................................................ 57
Replication Page.............................................................................................................................................. 58
Clients...............................................................................................................................................................59
About the Schedules Page and Options.................................................................................................................60
Setting a Replication Schedule........................................................................................................................61
Setting a Cleaner Schedule..............................................................................................................................61
About the System Configuration Page and Options............................................................................................... 62
System Configuration Page and Options..........................................................................................................62
Understanding the System Configuration Page Options..................................................................................64
Support Page and Options......................................................................................................................................65
Understanding the Support Page Options........................................................................................................66
4 Configuring the DR Series System Settings..........................................................................69
Configuring Networking Settings............................................................................................................................69

Networking Page and Ethernet Port Values.................................................................................................... 72
Managing the DR Series System Password...........................................................................................................73
Modifying the System Password......................................................................................................................73
Resetting the Default System Password..........................................................................................................73
Shutting Down the DR Series System.....................................................................................................................74
Rebooting the DR Series System............................................................................................................................74
Configuring Active Directory Settings.................................................................................................................... 75
Configuring Local Workgroup Users Settings........................................................................................................ 75
Configuring Email Alert Settings.............................................................................................................................76
Adding a Recipient Email Address................................................................................................................... 76
Editing or Deleting a Recipient Email Address.................................................................................................77
Sending a Test Message..................................................................................................................................77
Configuring Administrator Contact Information..................................................................................................... 77
Adding Administrator Contact Information...................................................................................................... 78
Editing Administrator Contact Information.......................................................................................................79
Managing Passwords.............................................................................................................................................79
Modifying the System Password......................................................................................................................79
Modifying Password Reset Options.................................................................................................................79
Configuring an Email Relay Host.............................................................................................................................80
Adding an Email Relay Host............................................................................................................................. 80
Editing an Email Relay Host..............................................................................................................................80
Configuring System Date and Time Settings.......................................................................................................... 81
Editing System Date and Time Settings........................................................................................................... 82
Creating Containers................................................................................................................................................ 82
Configuring Share-Level Security...........................................................................................................................83
5 Managing DR Series Storage Operations.............................................................................85
Managing Container Operations............................................................................................................................ 85
Creating Storage Containers............................................................................................................................85
Editing Container Settings................................................................................................................................89
Deleting Containers..........................................................................................................................................89
Moving Data Into a Container.......................................................................................................................... 90
Displaying Container Statistics........................................................................................................................ 90
Managing Replication Operations..........................................................................................................................92
Creating Replication Relationships.................................................................................................................. 93
Editing Replication Relationships.....................................................................................................................94
Deleting Replication Relationships.................................................................................................................. 95
Starting and Stopping Replication................................................................................................................... 95
Setting the Replication Bandwidth...................................................................................................................95
Displaying Replication Statistics......................................................................................................................96
Creating a Replication Schedule......................................................................................................................96

6 Monitoring the DR Series System.......................................................................................... 99
Monitoring Operations Using the Dashboard Page................................................................................................99
System Status Bar............................................................................................................................................99
DR Series System and the Capacity-Storage Savings-Throughput Panes....................................................100
System Information Pane...............................................................................................................................100
Monitoring System Alerts..................................................................................................................................... 101
Using the Dashboard Alerts Page..................................................................................................................101
Viewing the System Alerts............................................................................................................................. 102
Monitoring System Events....................................................................................................................................102
Using the Dashboard to Display System Events............................................................................................ 102
Using the Dashboard Events Option...............................................................................................................103
Using the Event Filter......................................................................................................................................103
Monitoring System Health.................................................................................................................................... 104
Using the Dashboard Page to Monitor System Health.................................................................................. 105
Using the Dashboard Health Options.............................................................................................................106
Monitoring System Usage.................................................................................................................................... 107
Displaying Current System Usage..................................................................................................................107
Setting a Latest Range Value......................................................................................................................... 108
Setting a Time Range Value .......................................................................................................................... 108
Monitoring Container Statistics............................................................................................................................108
Displaying the Container Statistics Page.......................................................................................................109
Monitoring Replication Statistics......................................................................................................................... 110
Displaying the Replication Statistics Page.................................................................................................... 111
Displaying Replication Statistics Using the CLI............................................................................................. 112
7 Using Global View................................................................................................................... 113
About Global Views...............................................................................................................................................113
Prerequisites.........................................................................................................................................................113
Configuring Active Directory Settings............................................................................................................114
Adding a Login Group in an ADS Domain.......................................................................................................114
About the Global View Page.................................................................................................................................115
Global View Summary.................................................................................................................................... 115
Appliance List.................................................................................................................................................116
Navigating in Global View.....................................................................................................................................118
Adding a DR Series System to Global View..........................................................................................................118
Removing a DR Series System from Global View.................................................................................................119
Reconnecting DR Series Systems........................................................................................................................ 119
Using the Reconnect Report.......................................................................................................................... 120
8 Using the DR Series System Support Options....................................................................121
Support Information Pane.....................................................................................................................................121

Diagnostics Page and Options..............................................................................................................................121
Generating a Diagnostics Log File .................................................................................................................122
Downloading Diagnostics Log Files............................................................................................................... 123
Deleting a Diagnostics Log File......................................................................................................................124
DR Series System Software Upgrade...................................................................................................................124
Software Upgrade Page and Options...................................................................................................................124
Verifying the Current Software Version ........................................................................................................ 125
Upgrading the DR Series System Software................................................................................................... 125
Restore Manager (RM)......................................................................................................................................... 126
Downloading the Restore Manager...............................................................................................................126
Creating the Restore Manager USB Key........................................................................................................127
Running the Restore Manager (RM).............................................................................................................. 127
Resetting the Boot LUN Setting in PERC H700 BIOS After Running RM........................................................ 128
Hardware Removal or Replacement.....................................................................................................................128
DR Series System: Proper Shut Down and Start Up...................................................................................... 128
DR Series System NVRAM.............................................................................................................................129
9 Configuring and Using Rapid Data Storage........................................................................ 131
RDS Overview....................................................................................................................................................... 131
RDS Guidelines..................................................................................................................................................... 132
Best Practices: RDS and the DR Series System...................................................................................................132
Setting Client-Side Optimization........................................................................................................................... 132
Adding RDS Devices in NVBU.............................................................................................................................. 133
Removing RDS Devices From NVBU.....................................................................................................................133
Backing Up Data on the RDS Container Using NVBU.......................................................................................... 133
Replicating Data to a RDS Container Using NVBU...............................................................................................135
Restoring Data From a DR Series System Using NVBU........................................................................................135
Supported DR Series System CLI Commands for RDS......................................................................................... 136
10 Configuring and Using OST..................................................................................................139
Understanding OST...............................................................................................................................................139
OpenStorage Technology (OST) API.................................................................................................................... 140
OST Guidelines..................................................................................................................................................... 141
OST Terminology...................................................................................................................................................141
Supported OST Software and Components..........................................................................................................141
OST Required Configurations............................................................................................................................... 142
Best Practices: OST and the DR Series System................................................................................................... 142
Setting Client-Side Optimization........................................................................................................................... 142
Configuring an LSU............................................................................................................................................... 142
Installing the Dell OST Plug-In..............................................................................................................................143
Understanding the Dell OST Plug-In (Linux)...................................................................................................143
Understanding the Dell OST Plug-In (Windows)............................................................................................144

Installing the OST Plug-In for Backup Exec on Windows..............................................................................144
Installing the OST Plug-In for NetBackup on Windows.................................................................................144
Uninstalling the Dell OST Plug-In for Windows............................................................................................. 145
Installing the OST Plug-In for NetBackup on Linux........................................................................................146
Uninstalling the Dell OST Plug-In for Linux.................................................................................................... 147
Configuring DR Series System Information Using NetBackup.............................................................................147
Using NetBackup CLI to Add DR Series System Name (Linux)......................................................................148
Using NetBackup CLI to Add DR Series System Name (Windows)............................................................... 148
Configuring NetBackup for the DR Series System.........................................................................................148
Configuring NetBackup for Optimized Synthetic Backups............................................................................ 149
Creating Disk Pools From LSUs......................................................................................................................150
Creating Storage Units Using the Disk Pool...................................................................................................150
Backing Up Data From a DR Series System (NetBackup)....................................................................................151
Restoring Data From a DR Series System Using NetBackup.........................................................................151
Duplicating Backup Images Between DR Series Systems Using NetBackup...............................................151
Using Backup Exec With a DR Series System (Windows)................................................................................... 152
OST Plug-In and Supported Versions.............................................................................................................152
Installation Prerequisites for the OST Plug-In for Backup Exec....................................................................152
Configuring the DR Series System Using the Backup Exec GUI....................................................................152
Creating Backups on the DR Series System Using Backup Exec..................................................................153
Optimizing Duplication Between DR Series Systems Using Backup Exec.................................................... 154
Restoring Data from a DR Series System Using Backup Exec...................................................................... 154
Understanding the OST CLI Commands................................................................................................................155
Supported DR Series System CLI Commands for OST................................................................................... 155
Understanding OST Plug-In Diagnostic Logs....................................................................................................... 156
Rotating OST Plug-In Logs for Windows........................................................................................................156
Collecting Diagnostics Using a Linux Utility......................................................................................................... 156
Rotating OST Plug-In Logs for Linux...............................................................................................................157
Guidelines for Gathering Media Server Information............................................................................................ 157
NetBackup on Linux Media Servers.............................................................................................................. 157
NetBackup on Windows Media Servers........................................................................................................158
Backup Exec on Windows Media Servers.....................................................................................................158
11 Troubleshooting and Maintenance....................................................................................161
Troubleshooting Error Conditions.........................................................................................................................161
DR Series System Alert and Event Messages......................................................................................................161
About the Diagnostics Service............................................................................................................................. 179
Understanding Diagnostics Collection...........................................................................................................179
About the DR Series System Maintenance Mode................................................................................................180
Scheduling DR Series System Operations............................................................................................................182
Creating a Cleaner Schedule................................................................................................................................182
Displaying Cleaner Statistics......................................................................................................................... 183

12 Supported Ports in a DR Series System............................................................................ 185
13 Getting Help............................................................................................................................187
Before Contacting Dell Support............................................................................................................................187
Contacting Dell..................................................................................................................................................... 188

10

1
Introduction to the DR Series System
The DR Series system documentation contains topics that explain how to use the Dell DR Series system to perform data
storage operations and manage storage and replication containers. The DR Series system topics introduce and describe
the DR Series system graphical user interface (GUI) that you can use to manage your backup and replication operations.
A comprehensive set of GUI-based procedures allow you to access management features and capabilities using a
supported web browser.
The DR Series system graphical user interface (GUI) provides one method for managing the DR Series system, with the
other being the command-line interface (CLI). In some instances, the DR Series system GUI may provide additional
features and options that are not available in the DR Series system CLI and vice versa. For example, Global View is only
available in the GUI and the ability to add and remove clients in only available in the CLI. For more information about the
DR Series system CLI commands, see the Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide .
About the DR Series System GUI Documentation
The DR Series system documentation describes how to use the graphical user interface (GUI) and its menus, tabs, and
options to perform a wide variety of data storage operations, and to manage the related storage and replication
containers.
The documentation is written for an administrator end-user and introduces and provides procedures for using the DR
Series system GUI elements to easily manage your backup and deduplication operations. A comprehensive set of GUI-
based procedures allow you to access all of the key management features and capabilities using a supported web
browser.
NOTE: For information about the supported web browsers you can use with the DR Series system, see the Dell DR
Series System Interoperability Guide available at support.dell.com/manuals.
What's New In This Release
For a list of the features, enhancements, and changes in the latest release, see "What Is New In This Release" in the Dell
DR Series System Release Notes at dell.com/support/manuals.
Upgrade Notes
• If you are upgrading from software version 2.1 to 3.x and you have the OST plug-in installed, you MUST uninstall the
OST plug-in and then install the 3.x version of the OST plug-in. This is because the name of the OST plug-in changed
in 3.0.0.1.
• If you are upgrading from software version 2.1 to 3.x and you use NetVault Backup (NVBU), do not upgrade your RDS
standalone package. NVBU 9.x is compatible with the 2.1 RDS plug-in, but not the 3.0.0.1 RDS plug-in. For details on
RDS compatibility, see the NetVault Backup (NVBU) Compatibility Grid in the Dell DR Series System Interoperability
Guide .
• If you are upgrading to software version 3.0 and you use NetBackup, you must set the optimized synthetic attribute
flag on the disk pool if you want to implement optimized synthetic backups. This applies to containers created in 2.1
only. For details, see Configuring NetBackup for Optimized Synthetic Backups.
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Other Information You May Need
WARNING: See the safety and regulatory information that shipped with your system. Warranty information may be
included within this document or as a separate document.
• The Dell DR Series System Owner's Manual provides information about solution features, describes how to
troubleshoot the system, and how to install or replace DR Series system components. This document is available at
support.dell.com/manuals.
• The Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide provides information about managing DR Series system
data backup and replication operations using the DR Series system command line interface (CLI). This document is
available at support.dell.com/manuals.
• The Dell DR Series System Getting Started Guide provides an overview of setting up your DR Series system, and
includes technical specifications. This document is available at support.dell.com/manuals.
• The Setting Up Your Dell DR Series System provides information about network, initial setup, and user account
settings needed to initialize the Dell DR Series system. This document is available at support.dell.com/manuals
• The Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide provides information on the supported hardware and software that
can be used with the DR Series system. This document is available at support.dell.com/manuals.
• Any media that ships with your system that provides documentation and tools for configuring and managing your
system, including those pertaining to the operating system, system management software, system updates, and
system components that you purchased with your system.
NOTE: Always check for documentation updates on support.dell.com/manuals and read the documentation
updates first because they often supersede information in other documents, and contain the latest updated
versions of the documents.
NOTE: Always check for release notes on support.dell.com/manuals and read the release notes first because they
contain the most recently documented information about known issues with a specific product release.
Source Code Availability
A portion of the DR Series system software may contain or consist of open source software, which you can use under
the terms and conditions of the specific license under which the open source software is distributed.
Under certain open source software licenses, you are also entitled to obtain the corresponding source files. For more
information about this or to find the corresponding source files for respective programs, see the Dell
opensource.dell.com website.
12

2
Understanding the DR Series System
The DR Series system is a high-performance, disk-based backup and recovery appliance that is simple to deploy and
manage, and offers unsurpassed Total Cost of Ownership benefits. Features such as innovative firmware and an all-
inclusive licensing model ensure optimal functionality and the assurance of no hidden costs for desired future features.
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted, later references to "the system" or "DR Series system" are used interchangeably to
represent the Dell DR Series system.
The DR Series system has a simple installation process with full, intuitive remote setup and management capabilities. It
is available in many drive capacities and is ideal for SMB, enterprise, and remote office environments. For details about
specific drive capacities and types available in the DR Series system, see Drive and Available Physical Capacities.
NOTE: The DR Series system also supports using external data storage expansion shelves (also known as
expansion enclosures). An added expansion shelf enclosure must be equal to or greater than each DR Series
system internal drive slot capacity (0–11). For more information about expansion enclosures, see “Expansion Unit
Limits” in the
Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide and Installing an Expansion Shelf License, DR Series
System - Expansion Shelf Cabling, and Expansion Shelf Licenses in this guide.
Using Dell deduplication and compression algorithm technology, this system can achieve data reduction levels ranging
from 10:1 to 15:1. This reduction in data results in less incremental storage needs and a smaller backup footprint. By
removing redundant data, the system provides deduplication and compression that delivers:
• Fast, reliable backup and restore functionality
• Reduces media usage and power and cooling requirements
• Improves overall data protection and retention costs
The benefits of data deduplication can be extended across the enterprise—through the deduplicated replication
function—to provide a complete backup solution for multi-site environments.
The shorter Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and more attainable Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) can also be assured
as critical backup data remains on disk and online longer. Capital and administrative costs are diminished at the same
time as internal service level agreements (SLAs) are more easily met.
The DR Series system includes the following:
• Advanced data protection and disaster recovery
• Simple management interface (using the system GUI)
• Wide variety of data backup installations and environments
The Dell DR Series system contains data backup and management software preinstalled on a Dell hardware appliance,
which provides you with a robust disk-based data backup capability installed on a deduplication-enabled appliance.
The system supports two interface types, and the system software manages the storage containers using the following
interfaces:
• A command line interface (CLI)
• A graphical user interface (GUI)
13

About the DR Series System
The Dell DR Series system is a solution designed to reduce your backup data footprint using a number of comprehensive
backup and deduplication operations that optimize storage savings. Collectively, the DR Series system comes in the
following types:
• DR4000 system: This is preinstalled DR4000 system software on a Dell PowerEdge R510 appliance platform.
• DR4100 system: This is preinstalled DR4000 system software on a Dell PowerEdge R720xd appliance platform.
The DR Series system consists of the following components:
• Software — The system software supports record linkage and context-based lossless data compression methods.
• Hardware — Following are the appliance types that support the DR Series:
– DR4000 system: Includes twelve 3.5 inch SAS or Nearline SAS chassis drives that are hot-swappable, two power
supplies for power redundancy, and two cabled 2.5-inch SAS drives for the operating system. The operating
system is installed on two 2.5–inch internal drives that are in a RAID 1 configuration in the DR4000 system.
– DR4100 system: Includes twelve 3.5 inch SAS or Nearline SAS chassis drives that are hot-swappable, two power
supplies for power redundancy, and includes two 2.5-inch drives that are hot-pluggable in the rear.
NOTE: For slot locations for the twelve 3.5–inch drives in the DR Series system types, see DR Series System
and Data Operations.
• Expansion shelf—The system appliance supports the addition of external Dell PowerVault MD1200 data storage
expansion shelf enclosures. Adding an expansion shelf provides additional data storage for the DR Series system
and also requires a license. Each added expansion shelf enclosure must be equal to or greater than each DR Series
system internal drive slot capacity (0–11). For more information, see “Expansion Unit Limits” in the Dell DR Series
System Interoperability Guide and see Expansion Shelf Licenses in this guide. For more general information about
the supported storage enclosures, see “DR Series Expansion Shelf” in DR Series System and Data Operations.
Drive and Available Physical Capacities
Table 1 defines the internal system drive capacity and available physical capacity (in decimal and binary values) in the
DR Series system. The DR Series system comes in the following types:
• DR4000 system—which consists of preinstalled system software on a modified Dell R510 appliance platform.
• DR4100 system—which consists of preinstalled system software on a modified Dell R720xd appliance platform.
Internal Drive Capacity
The capacity values listed in Table 1 represent the internal drive and available physical capacities that have been
adjusted for the associated overhead in the DR Series system releases. Logical capacity assumes 15:1 savings ratio;
actual could be different.
NOTE: In Table 1, the abbreviations TB and GB represents Terabytes and Gigabytes in decimal values, and the
abbreviation TiB represents Tebibytes in binary values. Tebibytes are a standards-based binary multiple of the
byte, a unit of digital information storage.
14

Table 1. Internal Drive Capacity and Available Physical Capacity
DR Series Single
Drive Capacity
9 Drive Capacity (12
DRV RAID6 with Hot
Spare) (Decimal)
9 Drive Capacity (12 DRV
RAID6 with Hot Spare)
(Binary)
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
Savings Ratios
(Decimal)
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
Savings Ratios
(Binary)
3 TB (DR4100 only) 27 TB 24.56 TiB 405 TB 368.4 TiB
2 TB 18 TB 16.37 TiB 270 TB 245.55 TiB
1 TB 9 TB 8.18 TiB 135 TB 122.7 TiB
600 GB (DR4X00
only)
5.4 TB 4.91 TiB 81 TB 73.65 TiB
300 GB (DR4X00
only)
2.7 TB 2.46 TiB 41 TB 36.9 TiB
For more general information about the external data storage capacity supported by the expansion shelf enclosures, see
the “DR Series Expansion Shelf” section in DR Series System and Data Operations.
External Drive Capacity
The capacity values listed in Table 2 represent the additional storage capacity in the external drives that are available
when you add the supported expansion shelf enclosures to a DR Series system. Additional data storage can be added
using the expansion shelf enclosures in the following capacities. For more information on the expansion shelf
enclosures, see “Expansion Unit Limits” in the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide and Adding a DR Series
System Expansion Shelf, Installing an Expansion Shelf License, and DR Series System - Expansion Shelf Cabling in this
guide.
Table 2. External Drive Capacity and Available Physical Capacity
DR Series System
Drive Capacity
Available Physical
Capacity (Decimal)
Available Physical
Capacity (Binary)
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
Savings Ratios
(Decimal)
Total Logical
Capacity @ 15:1
Savings Ratios
(Binary)
1 TB 8.89 TB 7.9 TiB 135 TB 118.5 TiB
2 TB 17.9 TB 15.9 TiB 270 TB 238.5 TiB
3 TB (DR4100 only) 26.79 TB 23.8 TiB 405 TB 357 TiB
Data Storage Terminology and Concepts
This topic presents several key data storage terms and concepts that help you to better understand the role that the DR
Series system plays in meeting your data storage needs.
Data Deduplication and Compression: The DR Series system design draws upon a wide variety of data-reduction
technologies that include the use of advanced deduplication algorithms, in addition to the use of generic and custom
compression solutions that are effective across a large number of differing file types. The system uses a concept of
content-awareness where it analyzes data to better learn and understand the structure of your files and data types.
Once this is learned, it uses this method to improve your data reduction ratios while reducing resource consumption on
the host. The system uses block deduplication to address the increasing data growth, and this is well suited to providing
the best results for routine and repeated data backups of structured data. Block-level deduplication works efficiently
where there are multiple duplicate versions of the same file. This is because it looks at the actual sequence of the data–
the 0s and 1s–that comprise the data.
15

Whenever a document is repeatedly backed up, the 0s and 1s stay the same because the file is simply being duplicated.
The similarities between two files can be easily identified using block deduplication because the sequence of their 0s
and 1s remain exactly the same. In contrast to this, there are differences in online data. Online data has few exact
duplicates. Instead, online data files include files that may contain a lot of similarities between each file. For example, a
majority of files that contribute to increased data storage requirements come pre-compressed by their native
applications, such as:
• Images and video (such as the JPEG, MPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG formats)
• Compound documents (such as .zip files, email, HTML, web pages, and PDFs)
• Microsoft Office application documents (including PowerPoint, MS Word, Excel, and SharePoint)
NOTE: The DR Series system experiences a reduced savings rate when the data it ingests is already
compression-enabled by the native data source. It is highly recommended that you disable data compression
used by the data source. For optimal savings, the native data sources need to send data to the DR Series
system in a raw state for ingestion.
Block deduplication is not as effective on existing compressed files due to the nature of file compression because its 0s
and 1s change from the original format. Data deduplication is a specialized form of data compression that eliminates a
lot of redundant data. The compression technique improves storage utilization, and it can be used in network data
transfers to reduce the number of bytes that must be sent across a link. Using deduplication, unique chunks of data, or
byte patterns, can be identified and stored during analysis. As the analysis continues, other chunks are compared to the
stored copy and when a match occurs, the redundant chunk is replaced with a small reference that points to its stored
chunk. This reduces the amount of data that must be stored or transferred, which contributes to network savings.
Network savings are achieved by the process of replicating data that has already undergone deduplication.
By contrast, standard file compression tools identify short repeated substrings inside individual files, with the intent of
storage-based data deduplication being to inspect large volumes of data and identify large amounts of data such as
entire files or large sections of files that are identical. Once this has been done, this process allows for the system to
store only one copy of the specific data. This copy will be additionally compressed using single-file compression
techniques. For example, there may be cases where an email system may contain 100 or more emails where the same 1
Megabyte (MB) file is sent as an attachment and the following shows how this is handled:
• Without data deduplication, each time that email system is backed up, all 100 instances of the same attachment are
saved, which requires 100 MB of storage space.
• With data deduplication, only one instance of the attachment is actually stored (all subsequent instances are
referenced back to the one saved copy), with the deduplication ratio being approximately 100 to 1). The unique
chunks of data that represent the attachment are deduplicated at the block chunking level.
NOTE: The DR Series system does not support deduplication of any encrypted data, so there will be no
deduplication savings derived from ingesting encrypted data. The DR Series system cannot deduplicate data
that has already been encrypted because it considers that data to be unique, and as a result, cannot
deduplicate it.
In cases where self encrypting drives (SEDs) are used, when data is read by the backup application, it is decrypted by
the SED or the encryption layer. This works in the same way as if you were opening an MS-Word document that was
saved on a SED. This means that any data stored on a SED can be read and deduplicated. If you enable encryption in the
backup software, you will lose deduplication savings because each time the data is encrypted, the DR Series system
considers it to be unique.
Replication: Replication is the process by which the same key data is saved from multiple storage devices, with the goal
of maintaining consistency between redundant resources in data storage environments. Data replication improves the
level of fault-tolerance, which improves the reliability of maintaining saved data, and permits accessibility to the same
stored data. The DR Series system uses an active form of replication that lets you configure a primary-backup scheme.
During replication, the system processes data storage requests from a specified source to a specified destination (also
known as a target) that acts as a replica of the original source data.
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NOTE: The DR Series system software includes version checking that limits replication only between other DR
Series systems that run the same system software release version. If versions are incompatible, the administrator
will be notified by an event.
NOTE: It is important to distinguish the difference between data that has been processed by backup and data that
has been processed by replication, since backup saves a copy of data that remains unchanged for a long period
of time.
Targets with replica data are read-only, and are updated with new or unique data during scheduled or manual
replications. The DR Series system acts as a form of storage replication where the backed up and deduplicated data is
replicated in real-time or via a scheduled window. In a replication relationship between two DR Series systems, this
means that a relationship exists between a pair of systems, one acting as the source and the other as a target in the
replication pair (for example, with acme-west and acme-east). When this type of replication relationship exists between
distinct containers on two distinct DR Series systems, it can be considered bidirectional in the sense that:
• West1 container on the acme-west source system can replicate data to a separate East1 container on the acme-
east target system.
• The East2 container on the target acme-east system can also replicate data back to the West2 container on the
source acme-west system.
This form of replication involves separate containers on two distinct DR Series systems. Target containers in replication
must always act as read-only, while source containers can act as read-write. Unlike NFS and CIFS containers, OST and
RDS container replication is handled by the two supported Data Management Applications (DMAs) on media servers.
For more information on OST, see Understanding OST. For more information on RDS, see Configuring and Using Rapid
Data Storage.
NOTE: OST and RDS containers are categorized as Rapid Data Access (RDA) containers in DR Series systems.
Replication for these protocols is done via the backup software rather than using the DR Series system to
configure the replication relationship.
The DR Series system supports the 64:1 replication of data (32:1 if on the DR4X00), whereby up to 64 source DR Series
systems can write data to different individual containers on a single, target DR Series system. This supports the use
case where branch or regional offices can each write their own data to a separate, distinct container on a main
corporate DR Series system.
NOTE: Be aware that the storage capacity of the target DR Series system is directly affected by the number of
source systems writing to its containers, and by the amount being written by each of the source systems.
If the source and target systems in a replication pair reside in different Active Directory (AD) domains, then the data that
resides on the target DR Series system may not be accessible. When AD is used for authentication for DR Series
systems, the AD information is saved with the file. This can serve to restrict user access to the data based on the type of
AD permissions that are in place.
NOTE: This same authentication information is replicated to the target DR Series system when you have
replication configured. To prevent domain access issues, ensure that both the target and source systems reside in
the same Active Directory domain.
Reverse Replication: The concept of reverse replication is not supported on DR Series systems. This is because replica
containers are always in a R-O (read-only) mode on the DR Series system, thus making write operations a non-
supported operation. Under very specific conditions, it might be possible for replica containers to support a type of write
operation whose sole function is to restore data from an archival target. For example, data could be replicated back to
the remote site where a data management application (DMA), also known as backup software, is connected to allow
this data to be restored directly.
This specific case applies only to configurations where data is backed up from a remote location to a local container,
and then replicated over a WAN to a replica container that is backed up to tape backup. The data needs to be restored
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from the tape backup to the original location; first, restore the data back to a DR Series system replica container, and
then restore it back to the original source location of the data on the other side of the WAN link.
NOTE: If you choose to use this alternate workaround method, you must set up a new data storage unit in the DMA
and import the images before a restore to the original location can occur.
To support this effort to leverage deduplication across the WAN to allow this scenario, complete the following:
1. Make sure that the replication operation has completed (between source and target).
2. Delete current replication relationship, and re-create replication relationship (reversing the source and target
roles).
3. Restore data to the original source container (now the target).
4. Make sure that the replication operation has completed.
5. Delete replication relationship and re-create replication relationship (restoring original source and target
destinations).
Under this scenario, a fraction of the data to be recovered is sent across the WAN link. This could speed up a remote
restore significantly. However, there are some downsides to this type of scenario:
• If step 1 is not followed correctly, any changes not fully replicated are lost.
• During steps 2 and 3, any data that is written to the original DR Series system source container may be lost.
• During step 4, if the data is not fully replicated back before the switch is made, it may be lost.
Alternatively, you still could support this effort by completing the following:
1. Create a new container on the target DR Series system.
2. Set up replication from this container back to the source DR Series system container.
3. Set up a new disk storage unit in the DMA and make sure that the DMA is aware of any new images.
4. Import the old images back into the DMA from the target DR Series system (the original source location).
5. Use a new disk storage unit in the DMA, and then restore the data back to the original client.
Data Deduplication and Compression
The DR Series system design uses various data-reduction technologies, including advanced deduplication algorithms, in
addition to the generic and custom compression solutions that prove effective across many differing file types. Data
deduplication and compression is addressed in the following areas:
•DR Series System — The DR Series system backup and recovery appliances provide both efficient and high-
performance disk-based data protection to leverage the advanced deduplication and compression capabilities in the
DR Series system software. The DR Series systems provide a key component that performs backup, recovery, and
data protection operations.
•Deduplication — This technology eliminates redundant copies of data and in the process it decreases disk capacity
requirements and reduces the bandwidth needed for data transfer. Deduplication can be a major asset for
companies that are dealing with increasing data volumes and require a means for optimizing their data protection.
•Compression — This technology reduces the size of data that is stored, protected, and transmitted. Compression
helps companies improve their backup and recovery times while helping reduce infrastructure and network
resource constraints.
In general, DR Series systems are disk-based data protection appliances that offer advanced deduplication and
compression capabilities to reduce the time and cost associated with backing up and restoring data. Based on
deduplication and compression technology, the DR Series systems eliminate the need to maintain multiple copies of the
same data. This lets customers keep more data online longer and reduce the need for tape backup dependency.
Using its deduplication and compression technology, DR Series systems can help achieve an expected data reduction
ratio of 15:1. Achieving this reduction in data means that you need fewer incremental storage operations to run and it
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provides you with a smaller backup footprint. By removing redundant data, DR Series systems deliver fast reliable
backup and restore functionality, reduce media usage and power and cooling requirements, and improve your overall
data protection and retention costs.
You can extend the benefits of data deduplication across the enterprise as well–using the DR Series system
deduplication replication function–to provide a complete backup solution for multi-site environments. With 64:1
deduplicated replication (32:1 for DR4X00), up to 64 nodes can be replicated simultaneously to separate, individual
containers on one node. The DR Series systems use compression with replication to shrink the data that is needed to be
moved across the wire to a container.
Replication can be scheduled based on your settings to occur during non-peak periods. The replication schedule you
create can be set and prioritized to ingest data over replication data to ensure the most optimal back up windows based
on your needs. The DR Series systems are Symantec OpenStorage Technology (OST) certified to provide tight
integration with NetBackup and Backup Exec DMA products to allow them to control when backup images are created,
compressed, duplicated, and deleted, so that customers using these products can leverage the DR Series system
appliance as a disk.
The DR Series systems also provide seamless integration with a number of data management applications (DMAs),
including Dell NetVault Backup, CommVault replicated disk libraries, IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM), and others.
Ideal for SMB, enterprise, and remote offices, the DR Series system provides data deduplication and compression
support for multiple data capacity points. For a complete list of supported DMAs and data capacity points, see the Dell
DR Series System Interoperability Guide .
NOTE: The DR Series system does not support deduplication of any encrypted data. So, there will be no
deduplication savings derived from ingesting encrypted data. The DR Series system cannot deduplicate data that
has already been encrypted because it considers that data to be unique, and as a result, it cannot deduplicate it.
Streams vs. Connections
This topic describes the differences between data streams and application connections.
Streams can be likened to the number of files written at the same time to a DR Series system. The DR Series system
tracks the number of files being written and assembles the data into 4MB chunks before processing that section of the
data. If the stream count is exceeded, the data is processed out of order and overall deduplication savings can be
affected. For details on maximum stream count, see the Dell DR Series System Interoperability Guide .
Connections are created by applications; within a single connection, there can be multiple streams depending on the
application and how many backup jobs are running in parallel over that single connection. Replication can use up to 16
streams over a single port using one connection.
For example, suppose you are running backups using Backup Exec and using DR4100 and the CIFS protocol. If you have:
• One Backup Exec server connected to the DR4100 over CIFS and one backup running, you have one connection and
one stream.
• One Backup Exec server connected to the DR4100 over CIFS with 10 concurrent backups running, you have one
connection and ten streams. This means that Backup Exec is writing ten different files to the DR4100.
Replication
Replication is the process by which the same key data is saved from multiple storage locations, with the goal being to
maintain its consistency between redundant resources in data storage environments. Data replication improves the
level of fault-tolerance, which improves the reliability of maintaining saved data, and permits accessibility to the same
stored data. The DR Series system uses an active form of replication that lets you configure a primary-backup scheme.
During replication, the system processes data storage requests from a specified source to a specified destination (also
known as a target) that acts as a replica of the original source data.
19

NOTE: The DR Series system software includes version checking that limits replication only between other DR
Series systems that run the same system software release version. If versions are incompatible, the administrator
will be notified by an event.
NOTE: It is important to distinguish the difference between data that has been processed by backup, and data that
has been processed by replication. This is because backup saves a copy of data that generally remains
unchanged for a long period of time.
Targets with replication data are read-only, and are updated with new or unique data during scheduled or manual
replications. The DR Series system can be considered to act as a form of a storage replication process in which the
backup and deduplication data is replicated in real-time or via a scheduled window in a network environment. In a
replication relationship between two DR Series systems, this means that a relationship exists between a pair of systems.
One system acts as the source and the other as a target in this replication pair (for example, acme-west and acme-east).
When this type of relationship exists between distinct containers on two distinct DR Series systems, it can be
considered bidirectional in the sense that:
• The West1 container on the acme-west source system can replicate data to a separate East1 container on the
acme-east target system.
• The East2 container on the target acme-east system can also replicate data back to the West2 container on the
source acme-west system.
This form of replication involves separate containers on two distinct DR Series systems. Target containers in replication
must always act as read-only, while sources containers can act as read-write. Unlike NFS and CIFS containers, OST and
RDS container replication is handled by the two supported Data Management Applications (DMAs) on media servers.
For more information on OST, see Understanding OST. For more information on RDS, see Configuring and Using Rapid
Data Storage.
NOTE: OST and RDS containers are categorized as Rapid Data Access (RDA) containers in DR Series systems.
The DR Series system supports the 64:1 replication of data (32:1 if on DR4X00), whereby up to 64 source DR Series
systems can write data to different individual containers on a single, target DR Series system. This supports the use
case where branch or regional offices can each write their own data to a separate, distinct container on a main
corporate DR Series system.
NOTE: Be aware that the storage capacity of the target DR Series system is directly affected by the number of
source systems writing to its containers, and by the amount being written by each of the source systems.
However, if the source and target systems in a replication pair are in different Active Directory (AD) domains, then the
data that resides on the target system may not be accessible. When AD is used to perform authentication for DR Series
systems, the AD information is saved with the file. This can act to restrict user access to the data based on the type of
AD permissions that are in place.
NOTE: This same authentication information is replicated to the target DR Series system when you have
replication configured. To prevent domain access issues, ensure that both the target and source systems reside in
the same Active Directory domain.
Reverse Replication
The concept of reverse replication is not a supported operation on DR Series systems. This is because replica
containers are always in a R-O (read-only) mode on the DR Series system, thus making write operations a non-
supported operation.
Under very specific conditions, it might be possible for replica containers to support a type of write operation whose
sole function is to restore data from an archival target. For example, data could be replicated back to the remote site
where a data management application (DMA), or backup software, is connected to allow this data to be restored
directly.
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