Dell PowerProtect Data Domain Reviews

My use cases for it involve primarily backing up the on-premises servers, and besides that, we also provision CIFS shares and NFS exports on Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

These analytics and monitoring features have helped in our operational decision-making by providing a good prediction to plan our storage needs ahead and allowing us to reduce inefficiencies by tracking the number of failures and whether they are false alerts.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain has definitely impacted our data protection processes, giving us much better compression ratio and deduplication on the 9900 compared to the 9800, along with compliance features that help secure our backup and air-gap it.

The storage efficiency has definitely increased because we are seeing better compression and dedupe ratio.

What I appreciate about Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is its great compression ratio, very good deals, cost-effectiveness compared to others, and I found the PPDM backup software easy enough to implement as well.

We use the product's analytics and monitoring features, including its reporting, and we use Dell AIQ from where we get our reports on how it's filling up and everything, in addition to having regular meetings with our vendors and planning to deploy further analytics tools.

I would appreciate improvements primarily in the PPDM backup software because I still feel it's lacking the features of a proper backup solution and is a bit simplistic. Supporting restores for applications such as Oracle and SQL in a better manner would be great to see with more options and features.

I have been working with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain for a year since we started using these Dell products. Earlier, we used to have NetApp, Infinidat, and HP.

I would assess the stability and reliability of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain as pretty good, with a very low number of failures.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain can scale up horizontally to meet the growing needs of our organization.

I do not know much about the technical support or customer service team as I have not escalated any questions to them, but I would say support on the old Dell PowerProtect Data Domain was good enough.

On a scale of one to ten, I would rate the tech support a seven.

I rate it a seven because I observe different efficiencies in the support region-wise, and I would appreciate it be the same overall.

I found the deployment process of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain easy enough, although we did face some hardware hiccups because the specifications were not totally adhered to. Other than that, we did not face any issues in the deployment.

I find it cost-effective, and it does bring the return on investment.

Based on my experience, the key differences between Dell and Commvault products are that they are absolutely different. Commvault is a backup platform while Dell provides a cost-effective hardware solution focusing on compression and deduplication.

My advice to other organizations considering Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is that if you are looking for a cost-effective solution that provides a very good compression and deduplication ratio, then certainly you should implement Dell PowerProtect Data Domain as it integrates well with any backup technologies. I have rated this review a ten.

Hybrid Cloud

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

The use cases for clients include one for Cyber Recovery and another one for backup.

From my experience as an integrator, I can say the biggest advantage of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is the simplicity in terms of management and also the deduplication when it comes to data compression.

The deduplication feature does impact storage efficiency, as the customer was able to gain more space.

In terms of disadvantages, the only thing that can be improved is the number of years they keep the data domain. The number of years for the data to expire or for the support on the domain needs to be addressed. Additionally, they cannot reuse the disk shelf again, so a new disk shelf must be purchased. They should make it possible to reuse some disk shelves.

What could be better is the ability to reuse the existing shelf instead of buying another shelf if you want to upgrade. There is one implementation we are doing now where the customer has to buy another shelf for the upgrade, and the existing shelf must be removed from the rack.

My experience with the hardware solution, backup, and security is about 10 years.

The backup and recovery performance in terms of speed and reliability is quite good depending on the type of network being used. The customer has never complained that there is an issue with the backup or recovery, so the performance is quite satisfactory.

In terms of scalability, you need to populate the empty slot on the shelf. The scalability is quite impressive.

Regarding customer support, it is very helpful. The support is quite great from the customer perspective as well. They act proactively when it comes to support.

If I were to rate support from zero to 10 points, I would rate it a 10.

The experience with installation is easy and not that complicated.

I can see time saving from the product. The customer perspective is totally different, so it depends on the customer. I cannot quantify it to 10 percent as it depends on the individual customer.

Regarding the price of the product, it is very expensive.

I looked at similar products to Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, but for now, there is no similar product that I am certain of. The only one I can say is somewhat closer to it is Hyper-Scale.

Despite the high cost, I see value here for the customer, and if not, the customer would not be buying it. They are seeing the value for the money, but it is very expensive.

Analytics and monitoring features in Dell PowerProtect Data Domain would be a great addition. I cannot say for now if they could add new features in the future or if new capabilities could be added.

I would rate this review a 10 overall.

On-premises

Other

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is predominantly used for the backup of data and recovery with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

Our daily backups are run through PPDM, our Power Data Protect Manager, using Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. Previously, it used to be Avamar, and it's backed up and retained for 30 days, and we also have long-term retention. In some cases, it's one year to multiple years. All of the data is basically stored in Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

The amount of data which we have is substantial with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. Relatively, we do have a daily change rate. However, if we go with any other traditional method of backups, it's occupying quite a significant amount of space on the backup storage. Dell PowerProtect Data Domain actually helps us to minimize that, and a large amount of data can be compressed into a single Dell PowerProtect Data Domain rather than having multiple backup storage systems.

The best features Dell PowerProtect Data Domain offers are the DD Boost, the latest DD Boost protocol, and it's also able to connect and provide a better compression ratio. Dedup and compression ratio are the best parts of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain has impacted my organization positively in multiple ways. The dedup and data compression actually benefit our floor space in the data center, and we are able to reduce our backup storage, which used to be a legacy large footprint, into something more concise.

One of the areas we are looking at is interconnects for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. I know Dell PowerProtect Data Domain connects with PowerStore, but we are also potentially looking at PowerStore and PowerScale connecting or interacting with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain directly, so that we can leverage writing NAS level backup into Dell PowerProtect Data Domain rather than utilizing any other software tools such as Networker or any other tools.

I have been using Dell PowerProtect Data Domain for about 10 years.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is stable.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain can scale up easily on the highest footprint up to 1.5 petabytes usable. That is a good amount of space which we will be looking for.

The customer support for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is good. We get a good response. We have dedicated support team members. We can basically connect with them easily.

Positive

We have other traditional enterprise backup tools with direct attached backup storage, which is actually significantly occupying a lot of space before switching to Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. That was actually one of the key reasons to switch, and the dedup and compression ratio and smaller footprint are compacting more data into Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is relatively reasonable.

I see a good return on investment with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain in a couple of ways. One is less floor space in the data center and the ability to pack more data into the backup storage on Dell PowerProtect Data Domain as compared to the traditional backup storage. That certainly represents a return on investment and money savings.

The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is relatively reasonable.

We evaluated between DXi, and that was another product which we equally evaluated before choosing Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. However, the relationship we have with the Dell product and PPDM and Networker, which is native integration with Data Protect and the DD Boost protocol, made our decision much easier to choose Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

You have to evaluate what your data point and daily change rate are and how your current backup methodologies are utilizing the backup storage for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. Based on that, you can analyze and compare it against Dell PowerProtect Data Domain while leveraging PPDM and Networker tools and see whether you can compress and reduce the footprint. That would be my recommendation and advice to any others looking at Dell PowerProtect Data Domain along with PPDM. I would rate this solution a 9 out of 10.

Private Cloud

Other

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is currently used to protect the environment backup. The major use case in this banking environment is that most of our data is expected to be 100% protected. The use case at the moment is the protection of the data being backed up to the CRS, and we have a special interest in the CyberSense part of it because we understand that if an environment has any issue, the first thing is protecting the destination file and data itself, and CyberSense is able to meet that requirement.

I have a few things that I enjoy the most about Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. One of them is the scalability, especially around the storage, and the other one is the data protection. We personally enjoy the feature of the data protection there with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

The aspect we do not enjoy the most about Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is the staging configuration. We have a kind of staging environment that will recover the data in case of any incident or special need. This is actually our own architecture because we have the flexibility to increase the staging environment capacity, but it would be better if the staging environment were a bit bigger. We want a situation where even if there is an issue, we can seamlessly work on the staging environment with all the combating applications that we are running.

We started using it in 2023, and we completed the deployment for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain Cyber Recovery solution.

We have contacted customer support for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, and that is another good part because it makes the entire experience much more seamless. We have a response time of less than 20 minutes, and we get engineers contacting us immediately when we raise a support request. We feel that we are working with people who understand the technology and the historical patterns of this environment, and when we raise a support request, we have no doubt because it seems that we are working with a product engineer. Everyone we have interacted with in the support team is extremely skilled in this line of business, which is an additional bonus for us.

If we were to put the support for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain on a scale from one to ten, we would give them a ten, basically. The reason for giving ten is that we get what we need, and that is the most important thing. We are not running into any issues or complaints. However, we would legitimately give nine because sometimes when we raise a support request that involves Dell PowerProtect Data Domain or the entire Cyber Recovery environment itself, or that has to do with NetWorker, the request is not directly routed to the required team, necessitating movement to the right team, which could be a human error in submitting the support request. But aside from that, as soon as the request is assigned to the right engineer, it is considered done.

Positive

The initial deployment was not difficult at all.

The deployment of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain was a seamless experience for certain reasons. This is a kind of collaborative work where the network team needs to be involved, the infrastructure team needs to be available, and the database team needs to be available. The only aspect we had an issue with initially was the structuring of those resources, but immediately after that, the deployment was seamless because we had a site engineer, Muhammad Sohi, directly available on site with us from beginning to end. Even at some point when we needed assistance, he came physically to work with us to ensure that the product met the business requirement, so we can confirm that the deployment was seamless because of the site engineer. Ordinarily, we could not have done it on our own.

We feel that the pricing for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is flexible. We had the option to scale and analyze before finalizing the particular configuration that works for us. At the moment, we feel that the pricing is not much, and the only reason it impacts us so much is the currency conversion, so we think the price is quite flexible and not a disadvantage.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain requires maintenance. We do a kind of continuous maintenance, and we have a local support team that we usually reach out to for assistance. Whenever we need help with maintenance, we always get adequate support. Before consulting Dell directly for an engineer, we have local support residing in our region and city, so if there is any maintenance or assistance needed, they jump on a call with us, and if it requires their physical presence, they come on site to check. We do maintenance, and majorly it is quarterly. We also do some basic maintenance every month. Our overall rating for this solution is 8 out of 10.

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.

On-premises

Our main use case for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is to optimize backup timing and scheduling.

The most beneficial features in the product are compatibility, which is the most valuable function. The compression factor is very good. The solution is user-friendly. Single-click operations are also a key feature.

One area for improvement regarding Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is the support. We are in Pakistan and there is no physical support available on the software side. Every time, people engage remote support, and sometimes it is not feasible for us. Local support must be available in the country.

Reporting is a specific feature I would like to see added. The current reporting mechanism is not appropriate as per our management style. We need to improve the reporting mechanism in new features.

We have been using Dell PowerProtect Data Domain for about three years.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is reliable and stable. I do not see any glitches or latency; the solution is very stable.

Currently, what we are using does not have any limitations on scaling. Perhaps in the future, we may need to expand usage.

If local support is built in, I would give it a ten out of ten. If they do not build locally, then I would give it zero or one.

Positive

In the past, we were using Data Protector.

One problem we faced at the time of installation for upgradation was a port issue because the system uses networking with many ports. The ports should be restricted.

My experience with the implementation team was good.

This is not in my position to comment on the ROI since using Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

We buy Dell PowerProtect Data Domain directly.

Pricing factors influenced our decision. When we were migrating from Data Protector to Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, Commvault, and other solutions, management decided to move to this solution. Pricing factors played a role in that decision.

We are working on Dell PowerProtect Data Domain with a networker. Sometimes it is complex, but we use the vendor support and that is easily handled. The vendor shares features with us from time to time, and we implement features they may add to Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. I would rate this review a nine out of ten.

On-premises

Other

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.

I use Dell PowerProtect Data Domain for backup storage and target storage backup.

The biggest advantage of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is that it is integrated with leading backup solutions such as Commvault, Veritas, and Veeam. Additionally, it offers very good deduplication and compression capabilities available with the hardware.

My favorite features of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain are the deduplication and compression capabilities. These provide a very good function with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, delivering the highest deduplication and compression in backup.

In terms of analytics and monitoring features, Dell PowerProtect Data Domain acts as a backup storage appliance. Backup solutions such as Veritas or Commvault have the AI capability, while Dell PowerProtect Data Domain stores the backup data effectively.

The only improvement I see for Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is pricing.

The issue I experienced is primarily with support rather than the product itself. The product is rugged and runs smoothly, but if I encounter security vulnerabilities or bugs in the firmware, or if my backup software upgrades require specific firmware for compatibility with the storage, I may face certain issues.

I started using Dell PowerProtect Data Domain more than ten years ago.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is highly scalable, as they have multiple products, including a highly scalable product and a fixed-configuration product, allowing customers to choose based on their roadmap and future requirements.

My impression of customer service is that it sometimes could be better. Normally, Dell is very good at providing services, but there are occasional hiccups, so I would give it ninety marks out of one hundred.

The hiccups I faced with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain include certain bugs or firmware upgrade updates requiring substantial support from the Dell team.

The installation of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is easy and not complex.

Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is worth buying and provides value for money because it delivers the highest deduplication and compression in the backup storage industry.

It is not completely justifiable to quantify the return on investment with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, but I can justify that if I have ten TB, twenty TB, or maybe one hundred TB of data that I am going to back up and store, I can achieve almost thirty percent to forty percent deduplication and compression, whereas with other backup storage solutions, I might not exceed ten percent deduplication and compression, allowing me to save around twenty percent in higher capacity for data storage.

Comparing Dell PowerProtect Data Domain to other vendors, it is one of the leaders in backup storage solutions and is recognized as a leader.

Dell is considered a leader because it provides a rugged product with main deduplication and compression, high-speed backup and restore, and many features, including replication, native cloud integration, and immutable storage solutions.

There are certain products more expensive than Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, as it is in-between in terms of pricing.

I assess the speed and reliability of backup and recovery with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain as excellent, and there is no doubt about it. It has been a leading product in backup storage for many years.

The installations I do are basically a hybrid model, with the majority of customers using on-site solutions. For some customers requiring an immutable copy, I can use the cloud solution of Dell PowerProtect Data Domain.

I have never deployed Dell products on AWS Cloud. I have not purchased Dell products from AWS Marketplace because we are not receiving any credits, which is why we are not pitching it.

I would rate this review nine out of ten.

Hybrid Cloud

Other

I use Dell PowerProtect Data Domain to take backups in the Data Domain.

The best features I have observed in Dell PowerProtect Data Domain are the exception handling capabilities. For example, if any file is marked as quarantine or is suspicious, it can be excluded from the backup so the backup is not interrupted, allowing me to use the backup applications without any exceptions. Exceptions can also be excluded from the backup process, and that is one of the good components that I have seen.

The graphical interface has been quite easy to understand for people who are beginners and even for those who have good experience in backup applications. The method that Dell uses for the proxy servers and proxy application appliances is a good technology. The graphical interface and options that they are providing, as compared to other backup applications, have a more advanced level of functionality that I can utilize.

In terms of areas for improvement, I have not observed any significant issues with the product. The product is very good, and there are multiple options that I can use to utilize it in a perfect manner. If there would be any room for improvement, AI is one of the leading technologies in the market, so AI implementation should be considered. I would recommend that in the future, AI could diagnose any bugs or problems and provide recommendations. If this AI integration were integrated with this product, it could provide further enhancement.

I have been using the solution for around one and a half years.

Since I deployed it six months ago and until now, I have not observed any major issues. It is a very stable product, so I would rate it around eight to nine.

I assess the scalability of this solution as a nine.

I would rate Dell technical support as a nine because they are very good.

I deployed Dell PowerProtect Data Domain at the on-premises level, but the cloud solution is also easy to implement. There are simple options for the cloud deployment, and to enable the cloud feature, I only needed to define my subscription details and bucket details so that all files can be stored at the cloud level as well. It is not very complex.

For deployment, if starting from scratch where the Data Domain boxes are mounted into the rack, I needed to perform the cabling and then deploy the appliances. If deploying it granularly, it may take a maximum of two days, but not the entire day. I spent just two to five hours to deploy everything.

When comparing Dell PowerProtect Data Domain with other solutions or vendors, I can provide a detailed comparison. I previously used the Veeam backup solution, and the graphical interface in Veeam is very small, but in Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, its graphical dashboard and the other components are very visible and easy to understand.

In terms of efficiency, the backup application functionality is almost the same regardless of which company's backup application I use. However, when switching to Dell PowerProtect Data Domain, compared with others, it has more granularity, allowing me to utilize features in exception handling. The deployment procedure, which I deployed myself, is not very complex. The job scheduling can be defined based on my requirements, whether I need bare-metal backup or file-level backup.

Regarding the data reduction capabilities of the all-flash DD solution, I have not noticed much difference, and I cannot commit to any specific observations on that aspect.

About pricing and costing, these are considerations that were not at my level, so I cannot comment extensively on those aspects.

Regarding advice for others looking to implement this product, I highly recommend Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. If any organization is looking for a backup solution, this one is a really good solution from Dell. In terms of users, counting the virtual machines, I have taken backups of around 200 machines. I work with multiple customers, so it is not about 200, 500, or 300 machines in isolation, but the maximum backup I have taken is from approximately 200 machines. My clients are all medium to enterprise level, not small organizations.

The solution does not require complex maintenance. It is very easy to manage, and if any update or upgrade has been released, those managing the application conduct health checks every three to six months. During that period, if any upgrade has been released by Dell and if it is part of the warranty, I can raise the case to them, and they will help with the upgrade or any patching solution. I would highly rate this solution a 10 and recommend it to anyone considering implementing this product.

On-premises

Other

The central purpose for which my clients are using Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is for backup. Dell PowerProtect Data Domain is used for backup purposes in case any issues occur.

What stands out to me is that if we have a backup, we don't need to lose data. If production is gone or if something is accidentally deleted, we can recover that from the backup.

For storage, I am using Dell EMC Unity, Isilon, and XtremIO. I am also going to be certified for the Azure cloud.

Most functionality is valuable with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. The data in the backup is easy to handle. It is not complex to implement or deploy. We also get very good support from the support team. Regarding functionality, I don't think we require any improvement in terms of features. I'm trying to deploy new things on Dell PowerProtect Data Domain and Unity, and once it gets successful, I will definitely let you know about it.

In general, for improvement purposes, I can say that the features are not easy to understand to customers with Dell PowerProtect Data Domain. These features must be explained in an easier way. In Dell PowerProtect Data Domain or in Unity, we can use cloud snapshots for recovery purposes or we can use cascade replications. We need to implement these things in the storage and backup.

I have used the solution for around six years.

Since it's an operating system, I cannot say that it's 100% stable, but it is good regarding Dell PowerProtect Data Domain around eighty to ninety percent of the time.

It is scalable.

From the support point of view, sometimes the support team gets stuck somewhere, but the support team is always available at that time. We can't predict everything, but I can say the support team is available 24/7. Getting support from the Dell support team is quite helpful to us.

I would rate the support between eight to nine.

I've been using an HP product for around two months only, and I love that product. It was Alletra, I think. It's been quite a long time since I used it, from the previous year.

The installation process is very easy.

On-premises is where I usually deploy it for my clients.

The costs are quite affordable as per the company or market standard.

HP has more features compared to these other products. They have chunks of data in one GB, but here it is in KB or MB. HP is much faster than others.

On-premises

Microsoft Azure