Dell PowerProtect Data Domain Reviews

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.