Dell PowerProtect Data Domain Reviews

The data domain is a backup solution.

The compatibility within the Dell PowerProtect DD portfolio makes data management more seamless. This integrated solution improves efficiency in our data center and simplifies operations by relying on a single company for servers and storage.

Support is essential, for clients using servers and storage. We have a backup solution, so if a company requires data backup, we can help. An improvement would be the ability to back up some of the databases or legacy applications used by IBM. 

I have been using Dell PowerProtect DD for two years.

I rate the solution's stability a ten out of ten.

350 users are using this solution.

Support takes a long time. In Bangladesh, we do not have a dedicated support team available for all products. For situations involving credentials, the first level of support is provided from a database, and additional support comes from either Malaysia or another support hub. This can cause delays.

I rate the product’s pricing an eight out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.

The client uses several servers and storage systems, so Dell PowerProtect DD does not add value in terms of efficiency and data protection. However, since it does not function as a primary storage solution, it could enhance the efficiency of solar technology applications.

Having a backup available in a disaster is crucial and makes recovery much more accessible. This is always a situational requirement; the backup is not utilized if my application or data center does not experience any attacks.

I recommend Dell PowerProtect DD. It's a perfect solution with high efficiency and numerous cost-effective security measures.

Maintenance is handled by the sales support team, and our organization has certified engineers. We strive to make as many features available as possible.

One server engineer is sufficient for initial support. Our team has certified engineers who are distinguished based on requirements and the complexity of support needed.

It is an appliance-based solution, so most of the insurance and volume stages are pre-installed from the factory. We need to activate the license and connect it to the environment where it will be used.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight 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.

We use Dell PowerProtect DD for all financial cloud and banking systems to back up critical workloads. It serves as a Data Domain product to back up their environment. Additionally, we offer a two-minute backup, which refers to the capability of the Data Domain. This requires using data protection tools, including Networker and PowerProtect Data Manager. Networker serves as traditional backup routers.

When utilizing Dell PowerProtect DD for backup systems, Data Domain offers fast performance with low latency, providing high throughput for quicker backups compared to other vendors. Additionally, the network component is suitable for backing up Dell infrastructure, particularly for managing MA workloads efficiently. Restoring data through the backup process is straightforward, especially for users with experience using the DPS software.

The Dell PowerProtect DD architecture offers several significant features. One is DD Boost, which is utilized at both the source and destination sites for application processing. By employing DD Boost, the backup process is offloaded to the server side, efficiently utilizing network resources. 

Additionally, the Data Domain incorporates a Global Deduplication feature. This feature allows Data Domain to deduplicate all data streams simultaneously, enabling more efficient utilization of backup space within the Data Domain system.

The solution's pricing could be cheaper.

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

The solution is stable.

The solution is scalable. 300 users are using this solution.

Dell PowerProtect DD's features and functionalities vary depending on the segment. Its advantages include cost-effectiveness, reduced footprint, and efficient management of backup services.

There are two types of licenses available for Data Domain. One is the capacity license, based on the amount of data stored. For instance, you would need a capacity license if you require one terabyte of storage in Data Domain. Additionally, if you need performance and optimization features, you would require a database license, a subset of the capacity license. Harmony licenses are also necessary for certain functionalities.

Data domain has two features. We also implement many customer tracking. We like a sum of customer tests, compliance, and regulations due to government systems and cybersecurity, and the retention length is a very useful solution.

I recommend the features for all customers.

According to benchmarks and customer feedback,  Data Domain is highly regarded for its excellent throughput and performance compared to other vendors. Customers have reported that Data Domain handles backup and restore processes exceptionally well, demonstrating quick response times and efficient performance.

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

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.

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.

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.

The data application compression is great. I also like Cyber Sense, Cyber Lock, fast parallelizing insights, and Sure Backup.

The initial setup is easy.

It is a stable solution. 

You can scale the product well. 

The interface is good. We are very familiar with it and are comfortable using it. 

The documentation is good. They are very accessible. 

The compatibility is very good. 

We would like faster instant recovery.

I've used the solution for around 20 years. 

It's very stable. I can replicate the Data Domain, virtual addition, to my local physical version. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

The product is scalable. If you want to expand it, you can. 

In my client's company they have about 1,000 people on the product.

We likely will continue to expand the solution. 

In my company, we handle the technical support on our side. We are an insured company for Dell also. We have about 100 technical people that can assist.

The product is very simple to set up. It's not overly complex or difficult. 

It takes about half an hour to compare all the data and for Data Domain to be set up in Azure. Also, I can see the source image and open Data Domain, and just share the source to my DPS solution, the networker. It works better.

You only need one person to maintain the solution. 

The price is reasonable. However, it varies from project to project. While we've tried cheaper options, the features just weren't as good. 

We just want to learn the difference between the DPS solution in Azure and Azure's own backup solution. I'm trying to measure for my customer if the DPS solution has different features for a better backup from an Azure site's backup.

I can compare the instructions in the also Azure site as well. I have a lot of mechanical Data Domain on my site. Also, I have got Data Domains on the Azure site.

I've been a consultant for 20 years. I'm a distributor. 

I would advise others to try it out. 

Our customers work with a solution partner, and we offer training. It's good to have some help and insights at first.

It's a market leader. I'd rate it an eight out of ten. 

This solution is deployed on-premises.

The most important feature is the level of data compression provided by Dell EMC. It's a leader in data compression and deduplication, and the level of compression isn't available with any other vendors in the market.

The only problem is that it's more expensive than any other vendors available in the market. Overall, the product has a very large portfolio, and even the support level is great, but the challenge is the cost.

I would like to see a direct cloud backup solution. I should be able to directly take a backup into the cloud instead of having another product in between PowerProtect. It should be flexible enough to support the cloud.

I have been working with this solution for almost six years.

It's very stable.

They have very experienced guys, and we have exchanged information with the offices in Singapore and Europe. I would rate them 4 or 5 out of 5.

For the initial setup, you need to involve some of the OEM or service providers. You need support from the vendors because the complete design should be perfect, otherwise the product will not be deployed as per the requirement.

For maintenance, it's very limited because automations are available, but we need people to keep track of all the backup jobs that are in progress. You need a team that has experience with these products, but it depends on how large your environment is. If you have multiple offices in multiple countries, you need a large number of staff who can support these products.

It has a lot of automation which is supported, and it supports cloud-based implementation as well. The cloud side of it is very easy to create. You don't need to build anything in the cloud. If you're using it on-premise, you need people to manage and maintain it.

The price is really high compared to other vendors. The licensing cost is huge. Normal, mid-tier companies or small-scale companies wouldn't be able to afford it easily. Only bigger organizations like enterprises can afford this kind of product.

I would rate this solution 8 out of 10.

We use the product to store data backups of instruments.

Dell PowerProtect DD’s most valuable feature is data deduplication.

We encountered data loss during the configuration process. We were not able to restore the information later. This particular area needs improvement.

We have been using Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) for seven years.

We have encountered stability issues only twice or thrice in the last year. It suddenly crashed the operating system, and we had to restart it.

The technical support team takes time to respond.

Neutral

The deployment process is difficult from a configuration perspective. We can always connect with the support team. It requires two executives to work on the implementation.

We took help from a service provider for installation.

The product is expensive.

I rate Dell PowerProtect DD an eight out of ten.

The tool's performance is very good. DD Boost can improve its performance and backup. 

The tool's DD Boost is expensive. 

I have been using the product for ten years. 

Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is scalable. I rate it a six out of ten. 

I rate the product a six out of ten.