Today, as part of their “MegaLaunch”, EMC announced a new backup/data protection solution called ProtectPoint.
Storage administrators already use a combination of array-based snapshots and backups to another device (either disk- or tape-based) to protect their users’ data. ProtectPoint combines these two — formerly separate — concepts into one elegant solution.
EMC is billing it as “the functionality of backup with the performance of snapshots”.
ProtectPoint works by taking advantage of the array-based snapshots. It transfers data from these snapshots directly to the backup device (what EMC refers to as “protection storage”).
ProtectPoint provides integration with multiple applications and allows administrators the ability to safely give application owners full control over their own backups and recovery.
Because it’s working from the snaps, ProtectPoint backups should have no effect on the application or its performance, and because ProtectPoint transfers the data from the array directly to the protection storage, it does not require the use of a separate backup server.
At its launch, ProtectPoint will only work from EMC VMAX3 to EMC Data Domain. Expect support for additional EMC primary storage platforms to be added in the months ahead.