Dell PowerProtect Data Domain Reviews

Our main use case for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is as a backup target.

The features that my customers and I like the most about Dell PowerProtect Data Domain are its data reduction capabilities, which are quite good.

We see data reduction by up to 60 times with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, but it depends on the backup application the customers use.

There are money savings connected to that with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, as it saves on disk space and rack space, along with power savings and cooling as well.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain impacts our data protection processes by allowing us to do data reduction at the source, which means we only back up the unique data, making it very efficient also in terms of network performance since you only need to transport what has changed.

In terms of improvement for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, I suggest that the licensing structure could be clearer, as it is difficult to understand how capacity relates to the license capacity, which is not very transparent.

I have been working with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain for about 10 or 11 years.

I find the stability and reliability of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain to be good; I cannot recall an issue that has caused downtime.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain scales well with the growing needs of my customers, allowing for expansion, but one should keep in mind that expanding the capacity also requires expanding the licenses, adding an extra layer compared to PowerStore, but it is still manageable.

I would evaluate the support for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain on a scale of 1 to 10 as an eight, as I haven't used support for a few years, but previously it was quite good; they resolved our licensing issues promptly, which is impressive for such matters.

Positive

Prior to adopting Dell PowerProtect Data Domain products, I don't think my customers used anything else to address similar needs.

My experience deploying Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is that it is quite easy; deploying is pretty straightforward. It used to involve using a serial cable, which isn't common anymore, so you need converters and cables, making it a bit challenging if you only have a laptop.

I don't have information on whether my customers have seen a return on investment in Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, as we don't get that information from our end customers.

I think the pricing and setup costs for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain used to be good, but I feel the prices have gone up a bit too much recently; however, end customers are still willing to pay.

I think Dell does a very good job with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, and I don't think there are competitors with similar performance and data reduction.

I purchase all of these products through a distributor, but for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, we buy them directly, and only all storage-related products are through a distributor.

The monitoring features of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain are helpful for operational decision-making, especially when we encounter issues concerning capacity being full; we can get rid of some old storage or restore points and free up space.

The primary reasons my customers are implementing Dell PowerProtect Data Domain are for data reduction and to have a full stack of Dell products, which offers maximum discounts when buying more products from Dell, and we also have a lot of knowledge about Dell PowerProtect Data Domain and all Dell products.

I assess the backup and recovery performance of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain as good; however, for some backup applications and models, they don't work quite well, specifically with instant restore—it is a rather technical issue where we face some problems. Generally, its performance is good.

I do use analytics and monitoring features of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain itself to see how performance is doing, including data reduction and all such things.

I rate Dell PowerProtect Data Domain an eight and a half; however, it could be a little more transparent about capacity related to license capacity. Overall, I have rated this solution an eight out of ten.

I use Dell PowerProtect Data Domain as a second backup repository. I implemented Dell PowerProtect Data Domain in the initial setup and some configuration, which is maybe the standard way to implement another backup for the virtual infrastructure.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain has impacted my data protection processes positively, and it remains the best solution for my needs. Since I use it as a secondary backup, I rely on it when I have lost some data and need to restore it from Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

The best feature is the deduplication capability. I appreciate the deduplication feature because it saves a significant amount of storage.

I use the product analytics and monitoring features sometimes. The data from the analytics and monitoring helps in my operational decision-making by providing me with analytics so I can solve future problems or predict what problems may arise and mitigate them proactively.

I believe the interface needs some improvement in Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. Specifically, the PowerProtect Data Domain System Manager needs improvement, such as adding new features or additional dashboards.

From a features perspective, I think Dell PowerProtect Data Domain would benefit from having a Windows application for system management in addition to the web application, which would add value to the product.

I have been working with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain for approximately two to three years.

Regarding stability and reliability, I would assess Dell PowerProtect Data Domain as having good stability and reliability. I have not experienced any downtime, crashes, or performance issues with it.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is sufficient for our current needs, but I believe it has more capacity available. If we need to upgrade, we can do so. We have a basic box of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain with another shelf for extending storage capacity, which has been sufficient for us, but I think there is additional capacity if we need to upgrade the storage further.

I needed to upgrade the operating system for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain once, and I called support during my first firmware upgrade. I contacted support to ensure I was following the standard process for upgrading so I would not miss anything or delete any data.

On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the technical support a nine.

Positive

Before Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, I did not use any different product for deduplication or backup purposes. We used Windows Deduplication previously.

The initial setup process of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain was straightforward and easy to deploy.

We were conducting a data center tech refresh and purchased Dell servers, Dell storage, and Dell PowerProtect Data Domain from Dell. The implementation involved two sites for my company, with one Dell PowerProtect Data Domain deployed at each site. After we implemented the virtual infrastructure, we had Dell servers and Dell storage hosting the infrastructure virtual machines.

I have not measured ROI at this point because no severe incident has occurred with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

I purchased Dell PowerProtect Data Domain through a local partner.

I decided to go with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain because I had heard about its features and performance. When we attempted to purchase it, we made some evaluations for other products, but we ultimately selected Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

The key differences that led me to select Dell were the price and features, which were better than the alternatives.

I have not observed any significant time savings, resource savings, or efficiency improvements with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

My recommendation for organizations considering Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is to select the suitable model for your organization. When we selected our model, we chose the mid-sized model because it fit our purpose in terms of capacity and features. After we purchased it, I discovered they have another version available; we have the DD6400, and I believe they now have a 9000 series with potentially better features or performance, but the 6400 was sufficient for our purposes.

I would rate this product an eight overall.

The typical use case for Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is for backup purposes; it is disk-based backup, which provides fast backup capabilities.

Additionally, data can be replicated from site one to site two, specifically backup data from backup device to backup device, not storage to storage.

Furthermore, deduplication and compression are enabled on the backup data, resulting in reduced bandwidth consumption. These are the three main functionalities.

The best feature of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is its deduplication.

The integration of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) with leading backup applications within the infrastructure is very good. It works with multiple backup solutions, not only with NetWorker or Avamar; it is also compatible with McAfee and NetBackup.

The security features of this solution, such as encryption and role-based access control, are included, and ransomware protection is also incorporated. The solution comes with security features by default.

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) can be improved in terms of price. While Dell is providing a proper device, other solutions, such as Symantec, can replicate their data through any NAS storage. Although their deduplication and compression might not be as effective, they can still accomplish the task.

Medium-level and SME-level businesses can easily utilize this feature, but Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a relatively expensive solution to propose to customers.

I have approximately 10 to 12 years of experience with Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain), which was previously known as Data Domain before PowerProtect.

This is a very stable solution.

The solution is scalable to higher models, both vertically and horizontally.

Technical support rates eight to nine on a scale from one to ten, with one being the worst and ten being the best.

Positive

The initial setup of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is very easy to install and administrate.

The return on investment from Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is visible for enterprise customers, but not for SMEs. For enterprise customers, its price point is appropriate, but for SMEs, it is not suitable because the cost of the solution is much higher than the actual solution.

The backup solution cost is higher than the actual solution.

The solution is more suitable for large businesses rather than small or medium-sized enterprises.

I have utilized Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) cloud-enabled capabilities to manage backups and recoveries with good results.

The on-site solution is most requested in the local market because it is a backup device, and most organizations prefer to host it in their own data centers.

On a scale of 1-10, this solution rates an 8.

I have been using Dell PowerProtect Data Domain for two years. One year has been for operational data domain specifically, and one year has been for implementation.

This first installation included racking and stacking, cabling, network configuration, license, and active file system setup.

My favorite feature on Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is the deduplication capability. This is a particularly good feature to have.

Regarding the downsides of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, I have not encountered anything negative about it at this time. Dell PowerProtect Data Domain will be integrated into all systems in real-time, and I have not seen anything bad so far.

The last downtime for upgrading the model 9410 took a long time, approximately two hours, which could be bad for production environments.

I rate the stability of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain at 8.5 out of 10.

I find Dell PowerProtect Data Domain to be very stable. I have been using it for up to three years with no upgrading or downtime.

I think it is a good achievement for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain to remain stable for three years with no downtime.

My rating for the scalability of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is an eight out of 10.

I find the scalability of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain to be very simple. You can expand, but you must ensure safety if you are facing a challenging environment. You must ensure the space you will use to expand the storage. It is very easy and simple because you just buy the product and deploy it by expanding with shelves or hard disks.

I contacted technical support when a product failure occurred in NVRAM or DEMS while powering on the system. This happened to me during new installations of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

The quality and speed of the responses from their support are perfect. Many products take many days to reply, but with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, the response time is fine.

When I first deployed Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, it was easy.

It took me 45 minutes to check the configuration and see how it was installed, just to have the information recorded.

I require just one person as a technician for basic deployments.

The number of technicians needed depends on what the expansion shelf will be. If it is just one controller of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, I need just one technician. If there is another shelf, such as the DS16 or something similar, I need more technicians.

For new users starting to use Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, you just need to check some comments to know what the configured ports, IPs, and domain you have. You just need to manage the cleaning and the file system and check the storage, or if you have a disk failure, check its number.

I execute all the checks after leaving, and the system is up and continues to be monitored for just one day, or for safety, I will monitor it for one week to ensure the garbage collection will run. I rate this product an 8 out of 10 overall.

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is an integrated backup appliance-based solution, and our installed base in Pakistan is substantial. We possess high expertise in both pre-sales and post-sales activities for this.

It can operate at high temperatures. Even in disaster situations, you can recover your backups. The technology has advanced significantly, and the software that operates the environment of PowerProtect is excellent. It truly is remarkable. In every instance where we've proposed and won a project based on PowerProtect, the customers have been highly satisfied and confident in their backup processes.

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is highly consistent, durable, easy to install, scalable, and compatible with any software today. The deduplication and compression ratio is unmatchable through DD Boost software. 

There is a challenge when it comes to data recovery; the recovery window can exceed four to eight hours if you're dealing with backups older than five or ten years. The encryption and decryption processes take longer than those of all-flash technologies. This is the only challenge I see.

It also cannot provide an active-active infrastructure since you can have only a single controller in one appliance. If you want to implement a dual controller setup, you need to connect another appliance with a single controller. This limitation can be a drawback, especially because competitors offer dual controller architectures with end-to-end NVMe and Rocky-based back-end network infrastructure. Their IO systems can achieve faster recovery of backups, while Dell PowerProtect DD do not provide such high throughput.

We have been working with Dell solutions for more than 20 years. We are a Titanium partner of Dell Technologies, and we are working on the complete portfolio of Dell and Dell EMC.

The support services Dell is providing are excellent.

Positive

We are working with Dell Technologies, VMware, Microsoft, and Huawei. Due to huge costs, there is competition from companies such as Huawei, Veritas, and other OEMs. Dell EMC is experiencing high competition in terms of financials.

Customers go for Dell PowerProtect DD because of the support services that Dell is providing and good architecture.

People have been using it for over a decade to backup their data. It provides good data duplication and ratio. MTree mechanism allows for seamless transfers of backups between different systems, whether it's from one Data Domain (DD) to another DD or from one PowerProtect to another PowerProtect. Additionally, there are many features available. However, it's important to note that similar features are now also offered by competitors.

It typically takes one to two hours to complete the installation, depending on the infrastructure and the size of the project. For example, if you are dealing with a backup solution of 100 to 200 terabytes, it will generally take one to two hours at most.

As for the installation team, I am not the only one involved. We have a team of specialists, particularly when it comes to customers in the Financial Services Industry (FSI) or mission-critical environments. Dell Technologies manages a highly skilled set of expert engineers with decades of experience. We offer professional services through Dell, and we also have a certified Dell EMC team available on the ground.

Due to the critical nature of the data, the choice of implementation services that we propose to our customers depends greatly on the specific requirements. In tenders, we strive to offer both competitive pricing and high-quality service. Our deployments are typically carried out by our team members, but for Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and Requests for Quotes (RFQs), we always bring Dell Professional Services on board. Their service is exceptionally professional and unmatched in my country.

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain)'s licensing cost was excellent in 2023, but after 2023, the operating environment licensing cost is huge. It is almost four times the earlier price.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

My use case for this solution is for protecting or backing up data to safeguard against hacking or for disaster recovery. I utilize it in more projects on the governmental side, the non-governmental side, and in the banking sector since they usually need to back up their data.

Retention for data, deduplication, and replication between sites are valuable features. The solution syncs immediately.

The model 3330 may need improvement. Then we have another model, 6300. In my opinion, the 6300 model is better. It is suitable for more customers since it is small, cost-effective, and a good start for any customer to know about Data Domain and DBS solutions.

I have been using it for between three or four years.

Dell is more stable than any other device. After Dell, HPE follows, then IBM, and then any other device. Dell is especially more stable in the enterprise product.

I usually don't worry about scalability or upgradability for a device like PowerProtect, VRTX, or any Dell product. 

I can buy any Dell device in Egypt and they offer strong after-sales support. We have a call center, and they call us continuously to ensure satisfaction. I have encountered an issue before with other brands that would not have occurred with Dell.

Neutral

I sold HPE servers to PepsiCo due to their global agreement. I faced issues with HPE's support. Dell resolved similar issues much quicker.

I'm aware of Huawei's scalability, which, in comparison, surpasses Dell's. Huawei's storage device can be upgraded with another 16 devices, while Dell and HVE talk about only three devices that can be scaled up.

The price is also a disadvantage. Price is a disadvantage with the PowerProtect as it needs to be cheaper. The cheaper device costs around $70,000, which is a big sum to pay for a device like this.

Price is a major factor. Replication and data deduplication ensure there is no duplication for backing up data. The technology it uses is the shortest and minimized. The size of the data should be backed up every time. The customer needs to know about data duplication and data replication. This is the tool I recommended to customers. 

Overall, I rate the product eight out of ten.

I use Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) for archiving and storage for the server. It is also used for daily backup purposes.

The solution is valuable for its security purposes and good support. It securely protects data against threats like Trojans. The solution has been awesome over the last ten years, offering stability and reliability, which I recommend for stable storage. 

Additionally, it supports new technologies and offers a fantastic after-sales service, with engineers responding within 24 hours to solve issues, proving crucial for our operations.

If I were a manager for this infrastructure, I would look into load balancing for cost, maintenance after sale, and improving Dell PowerProtect DD. It is important to consider features you need or don’t need.

I have been using the Dell PowerProtect DD solution since 2008.

The solution is very stable. Over the past ten years, it has been an awesome project.

In my plan, I renew the support every three years, and it is scalable. The scalability depends on the IT department's strategy.

The customer service after sale is very important. They respond within 24 hours of case submission, which is crucial for maintaining the solution. Technical support is rated nine out of ten.

Positive

Before Dell PowerProtect DD, I used Veeam Backup, which is easy to manage and offers a reasonable backup solution.

The initial setup is for archiving and daily backups. It is set up on premises with virtual machines.

Occasionally, there are significant monetary savings and time savings.

Pricing is sometimes reasonable depending on the discounts provided by the company.

I advise potential users that Dell PowerProtect DD is a good product, but it has to be aligned with your strategy, capacity, and budget. Rating for the overall solution is nine out of ten. The considerations should be to focus on price and on your strategy for your environment.

The primary use case for Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is for deduplication and archiving, including achieving efficient archiving. We sometimes use Veeam backup with Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) and other times with Dell PowerProtect to extend retention periods of our backup jobs.

The most valuable feature of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is its deduplication capability. This feature is crucial for our customers as it allows them to have more storage space for backup jobs. 

Additionally, the integration with Dell EMC arrays and storage snapshot backup functionalities are key elements, enabling efficient daily and nightly backups of sensitive ERP or applications.

Improvement is needed in terms of telemetry and high availability as the high availability feature is only present in the higher models of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain). The entry-level and medium-level models, such as the 6000 and 4400, lack this feature. 

Moreover, integration with cybersecurity measures can be enhanced, particularly with ransomware protection.

I have been working with Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) for about ten years.

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is stable in terms of software performance. However, problems arise during the software upgrade process from version to version.

Scalability is mainly constrained by hardware limitations. The software has good scalability, however, there is an issue with high availability in entry and medium-level models.

Customer service from Dell is good. We buy the product with a 24-hour onsite response support in Tunisia, and we face no issues with the support quality.

Positive

The initial setup of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is not easy compared to other solutions like Veeam or Commvault. It is moderately difficult and sometimes complicated due to the large number of products involved in the DPA suite.

An experienced engineer is essential to handle the complicated implementation process of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain).

The pricing has become higher since July, and the license costs are more expensive compared to the past. It now uses a different licensing model, which is calculated based on the number of virtual machines instead of storage or processors.

I recommend Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) for its integration with Dell EMC solutions and its superior compression and application ratios. This makes it more interesting compared to other products. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a six out of ten.