SPHiNX for Power Systems is a dedicated virtual tape appliance, delivering optimized data protection while dramatically decreasing the operational costs of maintaining a backup and recovery solution. With SPHiNX, storage administrators can improve performance and storage capacity while leveraging existing investments in disk and tape backup infrastructures.
Key Features & Benefits
Dedicated Appliance
SPHiNX is a purpose-built appliance dedicated to provide data protection for Power System environments. SPHiNX, as a disk-based system, is capable of backing up and restoring data typically 10 times or greater than traditional tape drives and libraries with no physical tape to handle, mount or rewind. Providing near immediate access to stored data, SPHiNX drastically reduces recovery time to meet increasingly stringent Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO). As a dedicated appliance, standard RAID arrays, hot swappable drives and redundant power supplies are supported to ensure high availability of data. Additionally, SPHiNX can be designated as an alternate IPL device in order to migrate data to a new system or restore an entire image of an old system.
Seamless Integration
SPHiNX supports the IBM® i5/OS™ save commands and Backup Recovery and Media Services (BRMS) utility with no disruption to current backup policies and processes. Tivoli Storage Management infrastructures are also supported for seamless integration with AIX™ environments. Existing tape devices and libraries can be attached to the back end of SPHiNX without supplemental software on the Power Systems server. Data can be written to attached physical tape drives at full streaming rate, maximizing capacity, utilization and physical assets. Most storage vendors’ disk arrays can be leveraged and connected to SPHiNX for capacity expansion, further accelerating ROI.
Flexible Tape Management
Management of virtual tape operations is provided via a web-based graphic user interface (GUI). SPHiNX can be remotely managed using a standard browser. Also, SPHiNX includes flexible options for writing to physical tape. Stacked format provides the ability to stack multiple virtual tapes onto a single physical media cartridge reducing tape media costs. Native format keeps the data in the same format that the backup application wrote, supporting of offsite disaster recovery, where the physical tape can be directly restored to the Power Systems server.
Scalable
SPHiNX is not limited to any specific configuration and supports dynamic virtual tape sizes and an unlimited number of cartridges. Easy additions of storage on an “as needed” basis can leverage existing disk from mainstream third-party external storage arrays. Data reduction, typically ten to one or greater, allows files to be automatically compressed as they are written to disk. SPHiNX can connect multiple i5/OS™ or AIX logical partitions and multiple virtual tape drives per partition. Additional logical partitions on the Power Systems server or virtual drives and storage capacity on SPHiNX can be added as needed.
SPHiNX for Power Systems Architecture
Remote Replication (Option)
SPHiNX replicates backups remotely by synchronizing data copies over the WAN between a local SPHiNX and one or more remote SPHiNX systems. Replication can reduce offsite storage or eliminate tape handling altogether while enabling immediate access of data. SPHiNX only transmits the delta changes, optimizing available network bandwidth.
Data Encryption (Option)
SPHiNX provides complete data encryption by using AES-256 encryption and robust key management to satisfy regulatory compliance and company policies regarding security of data at rest on disk and as it is written to physical tape.
Why is SPHiNX from CIBER the best VTL option?
Virtual Tape Libraries speed data replication and recovery from unplanned outages. The availability of near-online data, in conjunction with a complete DR plan, provides your company with the speed it needs to respond to demand for access to archived information.
Virtual tape drives and cartridges are the basic building blocks of the SPHiNX solution. Virtual tape cartridges are logically equivalent to physical tape, but unlike tape, they can be created in any size and pooled together into virtual tape libraries — including silos or automatic cartridge loaders. The solution is highly scalable with the ability to support an unlimited number of tapes and dynamic sizing of tapes.
With CIBER’s ability to fully architect an infrastructure solution, and to address the complete information life cycle, from creation to archiving to reuse, our clients’ know that the solution they select is the one that will not only fit their needs, but meet future challenges as well.
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