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For Remote Agents that cannot use Client Deduplication (Remote Agent for Linux and Unix [RALUS], Remote Agent
for Mac Server [RAMS], Remote Agent for NetWare [RANW], etc.) there is no change to the system requirements as
outlined in the Backup Exec 2010 Administration Guide. This also holds true for Windows Remote Agents that do
not choose to use Client Deduplication.
Memory Utilization with Client and Media Server Deduplication
With both Client and Media Server deduplication, the majority of memory consumption takes place on the Media
Server. This design is primarily for performance optimization, allowing for fast and accurate calculation of
deduplication fingerprints. On the Media Server, both client and Media Server deduplication requires 1 GB
(gigabyte) of physical memory for every 1 TB (terabyte) of deduplicated data stored by the Media Server. For
example, if 8 TB of deduplicated data is stored, the Media Server would require at least 8 GB of physical memory.
Memory requirements for clients using Client deduplication are not stringent. Symantec requires 1 GB of physical
memory on each individual client that uses Client Deduplication.
Remote System Requirements for Deduplication
Remote Agent Requirements
For Windows Remote Agents configured to use Client Deduplication the following minimum system requirements
must be met:
• Processor: For Client Deduplication, a Windows Remote Agent must have at least one dual-core processor
• Physical Memory: For Client Deduplication, a Windows Remote Agent must have at least 1 GB of physical
system memory.
Note that Remote Agents can be either 64-bit or 32-bit versions of the platforms that Backup Exec supports.
The Media Server has other detailed requirements listed in the Backup Exec 2010 Administration Guide. Be sure to
refer to the Administration Guide before configuring Deduplication Storage Folder.
Note: When adding Remote Agents With Direct Access to the Media Server, or when the Remote Agent service on
the client stops or is restarted for whatever reason, all of the BE Services on the Media Server must be restarted in
order to enable direct access to the Deduplication Storage Folder.
Which Type of Deduplication to Use?
After a thorough walk-through of various deduplication methods available in Backup Exec’s Deduplication Option,
Administrators should have a good idea of how each type work in their environments. The table below breaks out
possible use cases and environments and Symantec’s recommendations for deduplication methodologies. Symantec
recommends using deduplication as follows: