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Network backup, also called remote backup, helps enterprises protect business critical data by centralizing the storage of key information and automating backup processes across multiple locations. This also leads to reduced capital expenditures, fewer operational headaches, and better security and compliance as data is stored in purpose built data centers or disaster recovery facilities.
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Remote backups typically involve the transfer of large amounts of information across significant geographic distances. As a result, the backup process is at the mercy of an enterprise's Wide Area Network (WAN), where limited bandwidth, high latency, and packet loss can adversely affect performance. By overcoming these challenges, Silver Peak’s WAN acceleration solution is an essential component to enterprise backup needs.
Common Backup Characteristics
- Large volumes of data.
Database files, control files, transaction logs, and other information must be transferred across the WAN when doing backups. As a result, WAN links are forced to handle hundreds of Megabytes (or Terabytes) of data at a time.
- High bandwidth requirements.
Backups are often performed during dedicated windows to ensure maximum protection with minimum disruption to business operations. These windows can be compromised when file transfers time-out across the WAN, which is often a result of limited bandwidth. This leads to database synchronization errors, that can compromise an enterprise's business continuity plans.
- Repetitive information.
A significant portion of information sent across the WAN during backups is repetitive. This can be somewhat solved by doing incremental network backups that update only those blocks of information that have changed since the last update. But, this often lacks the same granularity that can be achieved using byte-level data reduction and does not negate the need for regular full backups when recovering from a failure.
Silver Peak reduces the vulnerability gap
Poor WAN performance can compromise data protection by reducing the frequency of backups or compromising the integrity of a remote backup. It can also increase the cost of these initiatives as IT resources are required to troubleshoot and correct errors. Either way, enterprises can be exposed to a vulnerability gap that may compromise their business continuity plans. Silver Peak avoids these risks by providing the following unique advantages:
- Improve data transfer times.
Silver Peak’s Network Memory recognizes repetitive information and delivers it locally. In addition, silver Peak provides enhancements to accelerate TCP and CIFS, reducing the impact of latency on data transfers.
- Maximize WAN efficiency.
Network Memory can reduce as much as 99% of WAN traffic by eliminating the transfer of duplicate information. Network memory fingerprints at the byte level, enabling Silver Peak to detect and eliminate repetitive patterns even when the backup/replication solution is performing similar functions at the block level.
In addition, Silver Peak leverages advanced compression techniques to further reduce the amount of WAN bandwidth required for network backup and replication.
- Reduce packet loss and delivery errors.
Silver Peak reduces the impact of both packet loss and jitter that occurs when router links are oversubscribed and drop or re-order packets. Adaptive Forward Error Correction (FEC) for example, can reduce effective packet loss by an order of magnitude.
- Increase geographic distances.
By reducing the impact of latency, enterprises can extend the distances between data centers and disaster recovery locations, increasing operational flexibility.
- Ensure data security.
Silver Peak NX appliances use hardware-based AES encryption to protect network traffic and local content, ensuring that all data is protected from unauthorized access at all times.
- Cost effective scalability.
Silver Peak can support a full 500 Mbps WAN capacity in a single NX appliance, with several variants available that support over 45 Mbps. This enables enterprises to cost effectively support data center to data center links, as well as network-based backups across many remote locations.
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