CDP Gets Broad Makeover

With users clamoring for vendors to beef up their CDP offerings, EMC, InMage Systems, and Mendocino are all busy overhauling their data protection software.

InMage got this ball rolling today when it unveiled a slew of enhancements to its DR-Scout product, adding support for VMware, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, and 64-bit processors. (See CDP + Replication = DR.)

The startup, which was co-founded by Kumar Mallavalli, one of the founders of Brocade, is attempting to tap into user demand for protecting virtualized applications and software running on 64-bit hardware. (See Exchange Issues Spawn Services, VMware: The Charging Bellwether, and VMware Stirs Virtual Controversy.)

CIOs and IT managers have already urged vendors to add additional functionality to their CDP offerings, citing the challenges of recovering specific applications. (See Users Push for CDP Shapeshift .)

CDP, which monitors write- and log-I/Os with timestamps to enable recovery from any point in time, is gaining momentum amongst users looking for fast data retrieval. The technology, and the market, however are still maturing. (See Insider: Trio Takes DR to Next Level, Oplink Reports Q3, B&S Insider Covers CDP, and IBM Hops CDP Bus.) "This is a hop, skip, and a jump kind of game," explained Arun Taneja, president of analyst firm the Taneja Group, adding that vendors are still filling out their armories.Rival Mendocino, for example, told Byte & Switch that it plans to add support for VMware this quarter, with support for Exchange 2007 and 64-bit coming later in the summer. (See Mendocino Embraces Near-CDP and Mendocino Shows Off at SpaceComm.)

Unlike InMage, Mendocino does not yet offer a combination of CDP and replication, although Eric Burgener, the Mendocino vice president of product marketing, says that this is in the works. "We're adding replication -- that will be in the second half of the year," he says.

Another vendor plotting its CDP course is EMC, which coughed up $153 million for Kashya last year. (See EMC Coughs Up for Kashya and EMC Pays $153M for Kashya.) The startup, which started life as a replication vendor, had added CDP to its offering by the time it was bought by EMC, and the storage giant is now looking to add flesh to the bones of this offering.

The Kashya software, sold as RecoverPoint by EMC, already offers support for VMware and 64-bit hardware, and Exchange Server 2007 will be added to the mix in "the very near future" according to EMC spokesman Todd Cadley.

The vendor's long-term strategy with regard to its broader CDP and replication strategy remains a mystery, as RecoverPoint fulfills some similar functions to the NetWorker and Replicator products in its Legato family.The roadmap for these offerings is still unclear, although analyst Taneja thinks that RecoverPoint may eventually become EMC's de facto CDP and replication product. "EMC, now having access to Kashya, has a consistent CDP going forward," he says.

EMC spokesman Cadley confirmed that the vendor is looking at deeper integration between these technologies, but would reveal few roadmap specifics. "I think it's fair to say that we will continue to keep these products independent, but we will make very deep integrations where necessary," he says.

The Hopkinton, Mass.-based firm is not the only big-name vendor working out its strategy in this space. Last year, for example, enterprise CDP startup Revivio failed to make enough sales to stay in business, and sold off its IP to Symantec, which is said to be planning CDP for NetBackup sometime in the second half of this year. (See Making Voicemail More Like Email.)

Elsewhere, FalconStor, which already offers support for VMware, Exchange Server 2007, and 64-bit hardware on it IPStor CDP software, is also planning upgrades, according to Camberley Bates, the vendor's chief marketing officer. (See Beer Distrib Uses FalconStor and ReiJane Huai, CEO, FalconStor.) "You will see some enhancements around our VTL and SIR de-duplication product," she says, adding that customers are also calling on FalconStor to help them completely eliminate their backup window. (See FalconStor Launches SIR.)

James Rogers, Senior Editor Byte and Switch