Store-accounting systems are Oracle databases, spread over three large servers with direct Fibre Channel attached arrays, each with
10 TB of capacity.
Inventory-management systems are hosted on servers with SCSI-attached 8-TB XIOtech arrays. This data is considered critical.
Data warehousing and data mining are performed in a workstation cluster sharing a common 10-TB HDS array. This data is also deemed critical.
Data backup is conducted via Gigabit Ethernet and NDMP to three high-end tape libraries that are providing a barely acceptable 2-TB to 4-TB per hour backup speed. Darwin wants to migrate away from tape and into disk-based data replication, preferably platform-agnostic.
If setting up an in-house disaster-recovery plan is too intimidating, there are a number of providers ready and willing to do it for you. We spoke with representatives of two such providers, SunGard Availability Services and LiveVault Corp. Not surprisingly, John Lindeman, vice president of product development at SunGard, says most companies now find it exceedingly difficult to assess their needs and roll out disaster-recovery programs without outside help.
"Missing in most of these analyses is a realistic recognition of the scope and depth of the problem," Lindeman says. "Change management is a major problem. Most people do not understand what is involved in running an availability solution and how to ensure that all aspects are being addressed, or that a necessary quality of service will be provided when required."
In the past, Lindeman observes, most data replication came in the form of stovepipe systems with proprietary vendor lock-ins. "Today, given the heterogeneity of open-systems environments, finding a 'one size fits all' solution is difficult," he says. "IT is required to deliver support for an increasing proliferation of business services."
As for costs, Lindeman says SunGard's managed services rival the TCO advantages of do-it-yourself approaches. The company offers not only the infrastructure for data protection, but the resources and skills, plus the reporting structures that enable clients to view trends affecting data-protection provisioning and to validate mirroring and tape-vaulting operations on demand.
The complexities and lack of resources Lindeman cites are all the more daunting in small and midsize businesses, says LiveVault CEO Bob Cramer. LiveVault, in which information management services provider Iron Mountain holds a 12 percent stake, is garnering more than 200 customers per quarter, he adds.
A major driver, Cramer notes, is that the failure rate of tape, pegged by Gartner at 40 percent to 50 percent, increases significantly when you move outside Class A data centers, such as those operated by Fortune 500 companies. LiveVault's alternative is to provide an Internet link to a secure off-site facility where data can be replicated in a controlled setting. LiveVault is activated by loading software onto the dominant server in the customer's LAN, then providing the server with a secure link to the LiveVault facility.
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