Virtual TapeServer 8.3 Configuration Guide

4 | Virtual TapeServer Configuration Guide
convert the data to LTO-4 format, you could mount each virtual tapes in a VTD that emulates
an IBM TD4 drive and restore them to a host.
l Scan/Cleanup, which enables VTS to scan pools and virtual tapes to identify virtual tapes that
are past their retention period. Scan/Cleanup can erase old virtual tapes to recover disk
space. You can also schedule virtual tape erasures when the overall disk space falls below a
specified threshold. Finally, Scan/Cleanup can erase tapes after they are exported to physical
tape.
The following VTS features enable you to simplify and streamline tape operations from the host
server, reduce costs for storage, automate backup and restore operations, and increase flexibility in
managing backed-up data:
l Flexible and extendable, enabling you to create any number of virtual tape pools that “contain”
any number of virtual tapes
l Compatibility with TMF Backup and Restore
l Compatibility with Mediacom and DSM/TC
l Support for migration through the use of backup management applications
Optional features that further enhance the benefits of VTS include the following:
l Global File System (GFS) support — Offers enhanced access to shared vaults and eliminates
single points of failure by deploying multiple VTS systems into a set of clustered nodes. In the
event of a failure, GFS enables any active VTS system in the cluster to have access to the data,
ensuring uninterrupted service to host systems.
l Stacked Tape Export — Enables you to export a virtual tape to one or more physical tapes in
an external tape library or drive. The entire virtual tape, including its header information
(metadata), is exported by a backup management application. This is also referred to as
“migrating” a virtual tape.
l WAN Acceleration — Provides 300Mb, 1Gb, 2.4Gb, and 5Gb options to overcome bottlenecks
associated with TCP and to enable replication and data synchronization over the WAN
regardless of distance and network conditions. WAN Acceleration enables end-to-end data
transfers at near maximum bandwidths, ensuring scalability, network efficiency, security, and
bandwidth control when replicating data between sites and SPHiNX systems. This feature is
for use with Data Replication only.
l Data Replication — Enables the creation of a disaster recovery plan by efficiently copying or
synchronizing backup data between a local VTS server and one or more remote VTS sites. This
allows for maintaining one or more copies of backup data at a remote site. After the initial
backup is copied to one or more remote locations, only that portion of the backup data that
has changed since the last backup is transmitted from the local site to the remote site.
l Data Encryption— Encrypts and decrypts backup data written on disk from one or more host
servers. Compliance regulations and organizations highly recommend the encryption of