Data deduplication has had a profound effect on backup operations, enabling companies to store more backup data than ever on easily accessible disks. This allows fast backup restores, and has allowed companies to significantly reduce their use of and dependence on tape.
A few vendors are attempting to bring deduplication technology to primary and nearline storage, so that data can be reduced where it resides before it ever reaches the backup process. Several approaches have been taken, including building dedupe capability right into a storage system's operating system and providing deduplication services in an in-live appliance that sits between servers and storage arrays.
In this TechTalk, W. Curtis Preston, Executive Editor for TechTarget's Storage Media Group and independent consultant, discusses the state of deduplication for primary storage, the pros and cons of the different approaches, and what we should expect to see in future systems.