StarWind VTL Data Sheet

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StarWind Virtual Tape Library Data Sheet

Improve Backup and Recovery Process and Reduce Tape Media Management Issues

Better Than Tapes

A virtual tape system is a storage system that uses fast disks to emulate physical tape drives. Virtual tape systems look just like tape drives to the Operating system (OS). Current backup and recovery solutions designed for tape environments are moving to disk-based storage using virtual tape technology. Disk is a better storage medium, not only because it is much faster than traditional tape drives, but because it is also more dependable and easier to manage. There are many challenges associated with antiquated tape systems, due to the limits of the technology, that impact business continuity and disaster recovery processes within an organization. With a StarWind VTL, you will never need to physically look for tapes in a warehouse again.

More Reliable for Business Continuity

When it comes to maintaining business continuity, a StarWind VTL gets you up and running in moments, not hours. That’s because disk drives write and read data faster than tape. The VTL becomes your backup repository. Since all of the company's data can be backed up to a single VTL appliance, the backup data can then be replicated to a remote site for disaster recovery and data protection.

Faster than competing VTLs

Not all VTLs are created equal. StarWind’s VTL delivers much faster speeds than competing VTLs by eliminating tape library-specific search and load commands that are no longer necessary.

Create a virtual tape library in minutes

Many IT departments cannot be certain that all their existing tapes, stored in a warehouse, are recoverable. That is why a disk-based technology is better - it is simpler, scalable and reliable. StarWind offers an affordable and easy-to-use virtual tape library (VTL) for companies that have already invested in a tape backup infrastructure. It’s aimed at organizations that want to take advantage of the high performance and low costs of disk drives without having to re-architect the way they carry out their backup and recovery procedures. Do you require faster-than-tape recovery in order to meet increasingly stringent business continuity standards? If so, a StarWind VTL is right for you. StarWind VTL takes only about 30 minutes to set up: the host automatically detects the appliance’s virtual tape drives and loads the correct driver. If you can operate a tape-based library, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that the StarWind VTL is much faster, allowing you to shorten backup windows to a fraction of what you’re used to with tape-based systems. When data is lost and you need it back in a hurry, StarWind simplifies and speeds disaster recoveries.

A real performance advantage

Many companies offer VTLs, and all of them claim significant performance advantages over tape libraries. But StarWind’s approach offers an additional performance advantage by cutting out all legacy overhead communications required to manage the movement of tapes within a library and eliminating the physical latency of the robotic library itself. It’s the StarWind advantage.

StarWind VTL Advantages

• Replaces inefficient tape devices
• More reliable than tape libraries
• Considerably improves backup and disaster recovery processes
• Speeds recovery by eliminating tape library changer device latency
• Scalable to 64 TB tape devices
• Allows direct attachment of VTL to tape drives for archival storage
• Allows configuration of an unlimited number of virtual tape cartridges
• No need to search for loose tapes