DataCore Software, the industry’s premier provider of storage
virtualization software, announced today the addition of a
specialized business continuity solution to its portfolio of
virtualization technologies. The DataCore STAR HA (high availability)
solution is primarily aimed at the large installed base of Microsoft
servers running lines of business applications as well as Exchange, SQL
Server and SharePoint, eager for better data protection and performance.
Many of these IT organizations realize they must move their data from
internal server disks to shared storage area network (SAN) to meet
growth needs, improve uptime, and enhance productivity. However, some
have concluded that this migration could add more risk, disruption, and
cost than they can currently afford. Thus, they seek a solution that
minimizes these obstacles. They need a simple way to enhance the
performance and resiliency of their application servers, while providing
easy access and a transition path to the compelling advantages of shared
SAN.
The DataCore STAR HA solution is tailored for these IT organizations
seeking the benefits of a SAN, while allowing their data to remain
safely stored on their servers. DataCore also offers alternative,
high-availability, high performance packages for architecting solutions
using redundant, two node configurations, and scale-out grid designs.
The new business continuity solution enhances the resiliency and
performance of Windows server farms enabling those systems to stay up
longer, their applications to run faster, and shorten the time to
recover from unexpected situations. It is most appealing for customers
wishing to keep their data distributed across their server disk drives,
while at the same time gaining many of the centralized and advanced
services made possible by a SAN.
Star Topology Leverages Central Server for Faster Recovery from
Failures
Rather than migrate server data to an external SAN, the DataCore STAR HA
software automatically mirrors the data drives on each Windows server to
a central DataCore STAR server for safekeeping. In addition, the
Window’s host-resident software speeds up applications by caching
repeated disk requests locally from high-speed server memory.
If an application server in the farm goes down, another server can
resume its operations by retrieving a current copy of its data drive
from the central DataCore STAR server. The DataCore STAR server also
offloads replication requests across the farm. It can take centralized
snapshots of the data drives and remotely replicate all critical data to
a remote disaster recovery site. The solution has the added benefit of
automatically redirecting requests to the central DataCore STAR server
when a local server data drive is inaccessible.
Compatible with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Hyper-V
Physical machines hosting standalone applications under Windows Server
2008 R2 as well as systems hosting multiple virtual machines under
Microsoft Hyper-V can take advantage of the data protection and
performance enhancement benefits. The DataCore STAR HA software is
compatible with, and completely transparent to Windows server
applications including Exchange, SQL Server, SharePoint, and line of
business applications.
The business continuity solution is centrally managed from a Microsoft
Management Console (MMC) plug-in which can run directly on the DataCore
STAR server or on a separate PC. Once installed, the DataCore STAR host
software runs transparently across all the application hosts and
automatically discovers their data drives, implements caching, and sets
up the mirror protected copies.
“The DataCore STAR HA solution helps customers improve business
continuity across their Windows server farms without taking on a major
irreversible overhaul of their systems,” said Augie Gonzalez, director
of product marketing, DataCore Software. “Additionally, when using the
DataCore STAR HA solution, they will experience a noticeable boost in
overall performance and functionality.”
DataCore STAR HA has several additional benefits including:
-
Enables other servers in the Windows server farm to independently
access mirrored copies when authorized;
-
Restores a replacement drive using the mirrored disk copy;
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Replicates the mirrored disk offsite for disaster recovery purposes;
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Generates point-in-time snapshots of the mirrored disks; and
-
Thin provisions replicas to occupy less disk space on the central
DataCore STAR server.
SAN-Averse Customers Can Take Advantage of Business & Financial
Benefits
“While many IT managers are eager to exploit the benefits of centralized
and shared data that SANs deliver, they also often worry that migrating
to a central storage system could prove to be risky and disruptive,”
said Mark Peters, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. “The STAR
HA software from DataCore provides a solution to this conundrum by
combining the comfort and familiarity of distributed data with the
attractive attributes of a central SAN in an efficient manner that is
both unobtrusive and cost-effective.”
Pricing and Availability
The DataCore STAR HA software supporting multiple servers is available
now, starting at $9,000 U.S.D.