Backup Still a Pain in the Neck

Many IT shops are planning to turn to disk-backup systems to deal with the increasing load imposed by daily backups, according to Byte and Switch's latest reader poll.

The results of our November survey show that 41 percent of respondents expect to introduce disk backup to augment their tape infrastructure, and another 16 percent said they expect to replace tape with disk backup systems.

And they seem ready to move quickly: One-third said they expect to deploy disk backup within the next six months, with another 36 percent promising to do so in six months or longer. Eighteen percent said they've already deployed disk backup, while 12 percent vowed "never" to do so. The main barrier for disk backup, according to respondents, is cost: 35 percent say IT budgets are still tight.

The survey, based on 52 responses, also reveals that fundamental aspects of data protection are still quite problematic for IT administrators.

The No. 1 issue is the sheer volume: 31 percent of respondents said their backup windows are "absurd" because of too much data. Meanwhile, 20 percent said their top difficulty is that they can't tell whether backups have been successful or not. Just 10 percent said they had no major problems associated with their backup processes.Overall, 35 percent said their backup windows are between three and six hours, with 29 percent picking six to 24 hours -- and a hapless 2 percent said it takes more than 24 hours to complete a regular backup.

To help companies deal with their mounting data protection needs, storage vendors have rallied around a new buzzword: information lifecycle management (ILM), which is supposed to let users manage data from its creation all the way through to its eventual disposal.

Disk-based backup, using low-cost ATA disk, is a part of the ILM strategies of many suppliers, including EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC), Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ), and Storage Technology Corp. (StorageTek) (NYSE: STK) (see HP Buys Archive Guys, StorageTek Adds More ILM, StorageTek Looks to Bag Buzzword, ILM Remains Illusory, and EMC Salivates Over Software).

The Editors, Byte and Switch