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Award-winning Backup and DR for VMware Environments
 FalconStor Network Storage Server (NSS) offers intelligent storage virtualization optimized for VMware. VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) provides a DR framework for virtualized environments. Both products are tightly integrated and each has have been named "2008 Storage Product of the Year" by SearchStorage. With their synergy, FalconStor NSS and VMware Site Recovery Manager lead the charge in backup and disaster recovery solutions in the virtualized world.
Overview
FalconStor Network Storage Server (NSS) technology integrates storage virtualization and provisioning across multiple disk arrays and connection protocols for an easy-to-use, scalable SAN solution. From a small iSCSI virtual server lab to an enterprise-class Fibre Channel (FC) SAN running Tier 1 database applications, the FalconStor NSS solution meets the storage needs of your organization.
By virtualizing storage on any disk arrays, the FalconStor NSS solution lets you pool and tier your disk assets, simplifying provisioning, reducing allocation errors, and maximizing resource utilization. Stop wasting space and budget on over-provisioning of disk resources and bring new servers and projects online quick and efficiently.
Virtual server environments are exceptionally well-served by virtualized storage. With FalconStor NSS technology, it takes less than a minute to create a new disk resource to house virtual machine files, and disk resources are easily re-allocated to different servers or shared among servers to facilitate virtual machine high-availability (HA) operations that require shared disk.
FalconStor NSS is more than just a powerful provisioning tool. It incorporates a full set of application-aware data protection services, including real-time synchronous mirroring, volume snapshots, and site-to-site WAN-optimized data replication for disaster recovery (DR).
Key Benefits
Maximize Return on Assets (ROA) by virtualizing and unifying tiered storage
By supporting any disk system, the FalconStor NSS solution simplifies management and provisioning tasks. It also provides complete data mobility, allowing users to easily migrate data within systems and even across different storage arrays without any application downtime.
Eliminate unnecessary capacity purchases
Combine physical disk resources into a unified pool with defined tiers/roles, such as high-performance disk, snapshot disk, test disk, etc. Allocate space easily and accurately, using no more space than is necessary. Thin Provisioning simplifies server management while increasing disk savings. The end result is less power and space consumed, and more money saved.
Provision using any protocol required in any user environment
Make use of all major storage connection protocols from within a single system. Support for iSCSI provides simple, cost-efficient connectivity. FC support keeps up with enterprise performance needs. And for the ultimate in host connectivity, integrated InfiniBand or 10GbE support provides unmatched data throughput. Host support is provided for all major open systems platforms, including Windows, Linux, UNIX, Netware, and Macintosh.
Guarantee virtualization project success by enabling key virtual environment scenarios
With support for all major server virtualization platforms, FalconStor NSS technology complements server virtualization with fast and efficient storage provisioning. Shared storage enables key virtualization data availability tools, such as VMware VMotion, VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM), and Microsoft Windows 2008 multi-site clustering. It supports both physical-to-virtual (P2V) and virtual-to-virtual (V2V) recovery.
Optimize RTO and RPO by instant recovery of consistent data images
Application-aware data protection safeguards critical enterprise applications, including widely used database and messaging platforms.
Features
TOTALLY Open™ Architecture
Supports networked storage over iSCSI, FC, and/or InfiniBand protocols. Works with both physical and virtual server environments. Supports major enterprise operating systems, including Windows, Linux, Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, Netware, and Macintosh.
Synchronous and Asynchronous Data Mirroring
Data can be mirrored across disk arrays in both synchronous (real-time) and asynchronous (near real-time) modes. This offers the ultimate in comprehensive data protection; for instance, duplicating data across disk devices housed in separate buildings on a campus or within a metropolitan area. Sophisticated mirror monitoring and tuning ensure ongoing optimal primary server application performance.
Complete Data Mobility
Move data across any arrays in your SAN without any impact to application processing. This supports many uses, such as technology refresh, migration due to equipment coming off lease, or moving an application to a different class of storage. In this manner, the FalconStor NSS solution solves some of the most time-consuming and ongoing storage management tasks.
Performance Acceleration
High-speed storage systems such as solid state memory devices can be incorporated by the FalconStor NSS solution and used as a shared storage resource. These resources can be easily provisioned as a cache area to boost performance of specific applications. Real-time monitoring can also be used to automatically migrate data from heavily used spinning disk sectors to higher-speed memory devices, providing a continuous boost to application performance where it is most needed.
Thin Provisioning
Maximizes disk utilization, reduces storage costs and power consumption.
Any-to-any Data Replication
Replicate data from any vendor's primary storage environment to any other storage device. Use any disk storage that meets your price/performance requirements without the vendor lock-in associated with array-based replication tools. Replication crosses SAN protocols. For example, you can replicate data from your production FC SAN to a stand-by iSCSI SAN, reducing DR site build out costs.
WAN-Optimized Data Replication
Patented FalconStor disk scanning technology dramatically reduces replication bandwidth utilization by 70-90% or more depending on application behavior. Built-in data compression further decreases bandwidth, minimizing WAN capacity consumption and allowing you to protect many more applications with your current bandwidth allocation.
VMware Support
FalconStor NSS is a VMware Storage Virtualization Device certified for support of VMware SRM. It provides support for VMware SRM to any disk array found in the VMware Hardware Certification List, whether or not the array itself is VMware SRM certified. It also provides a mechanism to support VMware SRM-controlled replication across different disk arrays, a feature unavailable in array-based solutions.
Windows 2008 and Hyper-V Support
Support for the latest Microsoft Windows virtualization solutions and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering provide instantaneous WAN-based DR in both physical server and Hyper-V virtual server environments.
Application Integration
Application-aware Snapshot Agents, including Microsoft Windows-certified agents, ensure 100% transactional integrity. Support is provided for major enterprise messaging and database platforms, including Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL, Oracle, Lotus Notes/Domino, Sybase, Informix, DB2, GroupWise, Progress, and SAP. The FalconStor NSS solution supports clustering software, including Windows clustering and Oracle RAC.
Highly Available Deployment
Deploys in a two-node active-active HA configuration for complete redundancy.
Central Client Manager
A Central Client Manager lets you configure and monitor protected servers from a centralized, single point of view.
Physical-to-Virtual (P2V) Recovery
Use snapshot images or replica volumes to quickly restart failed physical systems as virtual machines.
Large LUN Support
Supports individual LUNs up to 16TB in size.
Accelerate Backup to Tape
Where tape is required, FalconStor NSS technology enables host-free, SAN-based backup that eliminates the need for backup agents and imposes no impact on your production environment. Backup speed increases dramatically, by as much as 1000% (moving from a 1Gb LAN-based backup to a 10Gb SAN backup).
Virtual Applicance
The FalconStor® Network Storage Server (NSS) Virtual Appliance for VMware Infrastructure provides a cost-effective, feature rich virtual SAN solution for small and medium businesses (SMB) and remote/branch offices (ROBO). Deployed as a pre-built, pre-configured, TOTALLY Open™ and ready-to-run software application packaged with an operating system in a virtual machine, the FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance brings intelligent storage virtualization and a virtual SAN within reach of any organization.
The FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance creates a virtual SAN on a VMware ESX Server by turning internal or direct attached disk resources into a shareable pool of storage. Storage can be provisioned and securely allocated via the iSCSI protocol.
Enterprise—class data protection features are included with the FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance, including data mirroring, snapshots and WAN-optimized IP replication. By consolidating all the elements of a shared storage environment into a single server, the FalconStor NSS Virtual Appliance provides a cost effective solution for delivering highly available shared storage to a VMware ESX environment.
Highlights
- Deployable on a single VMware ESX Server or as a highly available pair on two VMware ESX Servers
- Up to 64 space-saving snapshots per volume
- Integrates with key enterprise applications for 100% data integrity and fast recovery
- WAN-optimized IP replication facilitates disaster recovery and deployment to remote or branch offices
- Built-in data encryption secures information during replication
- Mountable snapshot images speed-test lab and development efforts
- Thin Provisioning of disk resources saves on storage utilization and associated costs
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