Dell PowerProtect Data Domain Reviews

The solution is mainly used for backups and archiving.

DD's deduplication technology is valuable because it partially offloads deduplication on the client and backup server while the rest happens on the data domain. The deduplication is 65 times more than other products.

DD doesn't have Intel's air gap technology. Regarding the cyber technology area, we have to purchase another data domain to use CyberSense or other software packages, and that's a complex process. On ExaGrid, they do have a built-in air gap, so it's more secure. That's the only part DD has to improve.

I've been using Dell PowerProtect DD for two years now.

DD is a stable product, and we can trust it. There won't be any long downtime with it. It's always on.

I don't think any infrastructure requires more than one database of data backup. 9900 has around 1.5 petabits of capacity in a single rack, and that's huge.

My organization is small. We support other customers, with more than ten customers using the product.

I always contact Dell's technical support team for help with Data Domain. Their services are always excellent. You receive parts the next business day.

Our certified field engineers must do DD's initial setup because it's complicated. However, the initial setup is not complicated; everyone can do it. They just have to follow the procedure. It's always recommended to perform by engineers who are experienced.

Based on price, I can say you won't get 24/7 support from any other product like what Dell EMC provides. The price may be a bit higher than other products in the market, but you will receive ten out of ten support with next-business-day delivery on parts' availability. And on a product basis, DD is a good product. The product comes with a support contract, so DD will be a better option on that basis.

It's worth the money somebody is spending to use Data Domain.

I suggest people use DD because it depends on the requirement. If it's for backup purposes, you should go for it. It is the best product in the market.

I would like to implement Data Domain's virtual edition and take backups to the cloud at the cloud facility.

I rate Dell PowerProtect DD a ten out of ten because it meets all our requirements.

We use Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) for various projects, which is basically associated with the current project work. We procured it for an EHR activity.

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is expensive. Also, it has a sort of a big physical footprint that data domains have, and that's part of the problem. If we move one of the DR locations to the new project into a data center or Cylance facility, the footprint of the data domain is quite expensive, as well as the unit being expensive. That is the reason why I am looking at options in that area.

Apart from the pricing, there is also room for improvement in the speed of recovery. With the data domains, there is a limit to how much data I can recover and the visibility from a cyber perspective. The discovery at the time when your malware impact may have occurred is quite tricky to pinpoint what, where, and when it is potentially damaged. So, the recovery is harder to define because you don't want to recover more encrypted stuff. For example, there is a piece of work associated with that, which with ease, Rubrik can do quite well.

In addition, there is also some room for improvement with technical support.

I would also like it to be a little bit smaller. It is quite a large footprint. Also, a better interface would be good.

I have been using Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) for probably two to three years.

It is stable. I would rate the stability of the solution a nine out of ten.

I think Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is scalable. It is fine. In our company, indirectly, everybody uses the data domain. But it's probably two to three people regularly interacting with it.

The technical support has always been good. No fault with that. However, there is always room for improvement. I would rate its support a nine out of ten.

Positive

It is complex to set that up, and we have had trouble with that. It is not as straightforward as you necessarily hope it to be.

We have got it involved with the cyber vault as well, and that took a month or two to get up and running. But some of that was associated with delivery issues with parts and stuff.

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is not as intuitive as some other products. Other things out there provide better capabilities. The data domain has got a bit of catching up to do with Cohesity and Rubrik as well.

It is not an area that you necessarily see an ROI. You get recoveries in that, but it's not, like, something that you know. I wouldn't say it is a necessity as opposed to seeing any return on it. So, I don't think you ever would see any ROI.

The approximate license cost for Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is around 5,00,000. It is a physical license for the term of the product. Veeam has an annual license, and the rest are all tied together.

As for the maintenance costing, I have included that in the capital expenditure on the data domain for the Veeam support maintenance contract associated with that as well. But for the hardware, we purchased., a five-year block as a one-off capital cost, whereas Veeam has a shorter lifetime. This is because it's more revenue-based expenditure. Although we normally buy that for three years. But it's sort of rolling. Whereas we replace the physical hardware for up to five or seven years, depending on limitations on that.

The recovery speed is the most important one for me. The data domain has a bit of a bottleneck on it, including its AI functionality. The data domain is sort of a target. It does not really have much intelligence. So, it depends on Veeam or another solution to do all the backup intelligence around it. It does have different kinds of functionalities to help speed up a backup from Dell SANs and storage and stuff. However, I think that it's not necessarily flexible with all their options for scanning the data that's being ingested and reporting on it.

Another piece of advice that I would give the users who want to use Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is to do your homework, I think. Making sure you look at all the alternatives and validate the speed with which you can recover is quite important, and knowing what you need to recover.

I would rate Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) an eight out of ten.

Dell PowerProtect DD is mainly being used for the backup repository, such as storing backup data.

The interviewee is "Nilesh Nn" but he passed the phone over to his colleague for the rest of the review at the negative point. I completed it as "Nilesh Nn" but I am not sure if it should qualify.

The most valuable features of Dell PowerProtect DD are reduplication and compression. It provides a lot of data savings for backups. Additionally, the Dell PowerProtect DD solution offers a bundled backup software and storage option. If desired, users can also connect to cloud technology to create an additional copy of their data in the cloud. This solution supports synchronization with various cloud vendors, including Azure and AWS.

Using Dell PowerProtect DD eliminates the need for multiple management consoles and devices to run a backup solution. Traditionally, a backup server is needed to install backup software and connect to a storage unit or tape library to store backup data. However, Dell PowerProtect DD includes the storage option and software, providing a consolidated solution in a single device.

The solution is designed for change. With new updates, it adapts to work with new edge applications, such as Kubernetes containers and can support these applications during the backup process. This means that users do not need to seek out alternative backup solutions for their Kubernetes and container applications in the future.

Dell PowerProtect DD should come out with its own system so we do not have to use Data Domain. For example, something similar to what Symantec has done.

I have been using Dell PowerProtect Data Domain(DD) for approximately three years. 

The initial setup of  Dell PowerProtect DD is easy. It is engineered with consolidated options in the system making it easy to manage it properly.

I rate Dell PowerProtect DD an eight out of ten.

We use PowerProtect to back up physical servers, virtual servers, file systems, and databases.

PowerProtect is a flexible solution that you can cover various cloud and on-premise environments. 

The downside of PowerProtect's flexibility is that you have so many options. It can be a little confusing. It's like having a car with too many buttons on the dash. You can do so much with it, but it takes some time to learn what everything does. 

I have used PowerProtect for about a year now. 

PowerProtect is a highly stable platform. 

PowerProtect can scale up and scale out pretty well.

I rate Dell support eight out of 10. 

I rate PowerProtect seven out of 10. Setting up PowerProtect is a little complex if you've never done it before. Some aspects aren't obvious because it isn't intuitive.

It's hard for me to rate PowerProtect on pricing because it's a large suite of products, with devices at various price points.  

I rate Dell PowerProtect Data Domain eight out of 10. My only advice is to prepare for a lengthy deployment. 

We use the solution as a backup and to restore applications. 

It's business continuance versus disaster recovery. Business continuance is you lose some data at your data site or maybe get data corruption, due to malware, or somebody deletes something by mistake, and you've got to restore it. You go to your backup to do that, and that's business continuance. Disaster recovery is if your whole site's gone down and you need to run at another site. For business continuance, you need a product like Data Domain Power Protect.

There are capital expense benefits that you get if you're running into issues where typically, you're charged by how much physical space you take up. Data Domain or PowerProtect will save you expenses as you have physically less space. In other words, what deduplication and compression do, is, if you have 100 terabytes of physical storage and you're backing that up, maybe you're only backing it up to 30 physical terabytes on the appliance, on the Data Domain PowerProtect device. So you're saving a lot of physical space in your rack.

It has a feature where, instead of having a separate media server for backup to run the backup software, Dell now provides a version that runs it all together, so you don't need a separate media server.

It has a feature called deduplication which saves you space in your rack. If you run somewhere else and you get charged for physical space. this avoids using extra space, and that's a big plus.

The compression aspect of the solution is great.

It is very reliable. They have 99.999% uptime.

The product is scalable. 

Nothing comes to mind in terms of improvement. It serves its purpose. That said, if they could develop higher algorithms to make it more efficient, that would be great. 

Usually, with the backup, the issue is how fast it can do it. As network speeds improve, the solution improves. It has to keep up with the available network speeds, however. For example, a 100-gigabit ethernet. They need to keep up with the advancements in network speeds, and ethernet speeds. If they keep up, instead of taking five hours to back up your daily workload, you may do it in three hours.

It can be complex to implement.

I've used the solution for five to six years. 

The solution is stable. The products are very, very reliable. They're designed for what they call 99.999% at least, which is less than an hour a year of downtime.

It is very reliable. 

They're scalable. The Dell and HPE solutions are all scalable, and they can have up to, nowadays, multi-petabytes.

You can go to the cloud as well to scale even further. You can have some of your data in the data center, and you're physically owning this product in your data center, and at some point in time, if you want to archive some of that, it goes to the cloud. That's usually through what they call an S3 interface, which is an Amazon AWS protocol. Amazon AWS has an interface to their S3 storage. All the vendors now have an interface regardless of whatever cloud it goes to; they have expandability scalability up into the cloud through this S3 interface that was made popular by Amazon Web Service, AWS.

We're a vendor that sells the solution. Our clients decide when and if they scale. 

I think it's a well-established product, and everybody understands the functionality.

Positive

We do deal with various other solutions. There are five others on the market. One is ExaGrid. IBM has another. 

If somebody writes an RFQ, like a government agency, that says, "You guys have to tell me what's best," all those companies will be competing against each other.

The setup can be complex. 

You only need one person to implement the solution. 

Usually, we recommend that professional services do the implementation. These solutions get more complex with all the different appliances and devices. We usually recommend that we include professional services to do it for the customer.

We have seen an ROI. You get the functionality, period. And whether you need something that's going to do the deduplication and compression is the additional benefit of this type of device. Companies can't run without a backup device. This is a backup target for your backup software, so you need to back up or lose your business.

There are many different licenses, so you pay for what you need. There are various aspects you can add on, like extra speed, or something just for reading data. There are licenses to do replication as well. You have a lot of options. 

We are dealing with the newest version of the solution. We sell it. We are not end-users. 

I'm an engineer that helps with the sales teams. I'm the one who recommends these products and puts them together as a solutions architect.

One client is going from two to three shelves, or 60 to 90 terabytes.

The solution is comparable to other offerings and vendors. However, I've been pleased with its capabilities. I'd rate it nine out of ten.

The main use case is for backup and mobile. My customers usually have a couple of authorizations and server and database. They are mainly using PowerProtect DD for backup purposes.

The most valuable features of PowerProtect DD are the immutable storage and the AI scanning. These features detect differences in backup versions and help in preventing any unauthorized changes, ensuring data protection. The AI scanning is also beneficial for prediction and protection, as it can scan locally without needing to connect to any external templates.

PowerProtect DD should improve the hypervisor support on the DD system. The system needs better integration with VMware to ensure full protection of the backup systems without leaving them vulnerable.

I have been working with PowerProtect DD for three years now.

There have been no issues with the stability of the tool. It has been very stable for use.

I rate the scalability as eight out of ten. It is easy to scale.

The support for PowerProtect DD is satisfactory. I have dedicated support from Dell for Vietnam, and they are responsive.

Neutral

The initial setup is not difficult. On a scale from one to ten, I rate the ease of setup as an eight.

The price for PowerProtect DD is not suitable for my customers. It is very high. However, the actual cost can sometimes depend on the relationship with Dell, where there may be discounts available for certain customers.

My advice for those looking to use Dell PowerProtect DD is that it is a solid product for backup and recovery. However, they should be aware of the high cost.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.

We use the solution for backup, data protection, and data encryption.

The most valuable features of the solution are recovery point, compression, and deduplication. Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a reliable solution.

The solution's cost, scalability, and licensing model could be improved. Nowadays, competition models offer higher capacity and scalability. The solution's marketing or awareness should be improved. Users need to buy additional Dell software technologies along with the solution, which is an additional cost.

I have been using Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) for more than ten years.

I rate the solution ten out of ten for stability.

Around 15 to 20 customers use Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain).

The solution’s initial setup is straightforward.

Around five to seven engineers were involved in the solution's deployment.

The solution’s return on investment is good, and we haven't seen any disaster with the solution.

Users have to pay a capacity-based licensing fee for the solution.

Since the solution's backup text is in encrypted mode, it protects us against ransomware attacks. Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is a good solution for enterprise-level customers. However, it is not suitable for small and medium-level business customers. I would recommend the solution to other users because it is stable and reliable.

The solution's performance compared to other data protection products is very good.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

The main use case for PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is that it serves as a backup at our company. We use it to protect production data as a secondary backup. Additionally, the solution can be used for long-term storage of data that is not required for six months, one year, or longer. This data can be moved from the solution to a cloud or peer-to-peer network. So, as a long-term archiving solution, we can use it. We can use this solution even for the data moved to cloud archiving solutions. For instance, in AWS, there is something known as an S3 bucket, and if we want to move data from Data Domain to an AWS S3 bucket, Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud, or Cloud Block Storage, we can move the data.

Deduplication and compression are the best features of the solution, which are popular and very effective.

Looking at Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain), there is a need for improvement, especially in terms of protection from cyber resiliency, cyber recovery, or man-in-the-middle attacks. Enhancing the cyber resiliency feature is particularly crucial.

It would be beneficial if the solution had an inbuilt virus scanning feature in the future. Some scanning feature, like a vulnerability scanning feature, is essential for all the data we store inside the solution. So, instead of installing the solution on some third-party vulnerability software like Symantec, if they come up with some inbuilt virus scanner, that would be very helpful.

I have been using Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) for eight to nine years. Also, presently I am still using it. My company has a partnership with Dell.

Stability-wise, I rate this solution an eight out of ten since, from a stability point of view, it is a good product.

About the solution, there is PowerProtect DD Virtual Edition and PowerProtect DD Physical Edition. So, I rate PowerProtect DD Virtual Edition a six out of ten since, scalability-wise, many improvements are needed. I rate PowerProtect DD Virtual Edition as a nine out of ten. Considering my clients as users and my previous company, around 5,000 clients were using this solution.

I would rate the technical support a nine out of ten since they offer good support. They assist with fixing bugs or issues and provide help with troubleshooting.

Positive

I have very good exposure using Dell Avamar, Data Domain (DD), PowerVault, and PowerProtect Data Manager.

The solution's setup process is simple and user-friendly. The solution can be deployed on-premises or hybrid cloud. So, it can be deployed both ways.

In our environment, we have integrated Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) with Dell's backup protection software, HPE Data Protector, and Veeam, a vendor.

On a scale where one represents high price, and ten represents low price, I rate the solution a five, which means that the solution is of medium pricing.

When comparing Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) to its main competitors, such as HPE StoreOnce, it is important to note that the internal features, like deduplication and compression algorithms, are significantly different. Also, the deduplication ratio in Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is more reliable when compared with other vendors like StoreOnce or any other disk-based devices.

I can confidently recommend this solution to those intending to use it. It is a good solution for customers to protect their backup. Overall, I rate this solution a nine out of ten.