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Best practices for setting up Dell VTL Container or NetVault Backup native virtual tape library (nVTL)
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NetVault SmartDisk is a NetVault Backup technology that is occasionally considered for use
in conjunction with the DR Series appliance. NetVault SmartDisk is a post-process, target-
side deduplication technology that can be configured to perform deduplication while data
is being written to disk. Because the DR Series appliance provides deduplication of the
data coming into it, using both technologies generates a significant input/output (I/O) load
with minimal storage savings. However, you can disable SmartDisk deduplication if you
want to use the DR Series appliance to provide a disk-storage target for storing backups. In
this case, replication from the DR Series appliance is not available and you might prefer to
create and use a nVTL to retain use of replication. (Dell DR VTL Container technology does
not currently support Replication of VTL data.)
This document is intended for technical sales, solution architects, backup administrators,
system administrators, and IT managers who need to understand how to design and deploy
a DR Series appliance with NetVault Backup and a VTL. Readers should have a working
knowledge of the DR Series appliance and NetVault Backup, as well as related best practices
for backup and disaster recovery operations.