Both Barrels Communications Ltd

Breaks the Barriers to Data Protection with Optimized Backup, Deduplication and DR for Continuous Availability of Critical IT Services

FalconStor Software, Inc. today announced a comprehensive upgrade of its suite of data protection solutions. Version 7 (V7) of FalconStor’s product family offers the fundamental solutions for implementing next-generation backup and disaster recovery (DR) today – making it simple and cost effective to maintain uptime of critical IT services in the face of exponential data growth, widespread use of virtual servers and business demand for high availability.

Version 7 of FalconStor’s data protection suite synchronizes the product line and offers customers a complete set of solutions that provides everything needed to optimize legacy backup systems, migrate to disk-based backup and DR and guarantee fast recovery of essential systems and applications, while also laying the foundation for service-oriented data protection.

“Legacy backup and recovery methods are severely challenged as the pressing demand for IT service availability is compounded by shrinking budgets and complexities caused by remote offices and mobile users,” said Fadi Albatal, vice president of worldwide marketing for FalconStor. “With V7, FalconStor’s data protection solutions have been optimized to deliver a holistic approach to backup and recovery that helps data centers of all sizes overcome obstacles to continuous service and data availability.”

FalconStor data protection solutions enable customers to:
- seamlessly migrate to scalable, high-performance, disk-based backup with FalconStor’s deduplication technology, eliminating inefficient backup and recovery from tape.
- optimize backup of both file and block data across a highly available, scalable global deduplication repository.
Protect more data in less time with fast restoration, consolidating recovery point objectives (RPO) to mere seconds.
- combine highly available virtualized heterogeneous storage environments with improved I/O performance, robust failover, data migration and automated DR to ensure data availability and business continuity.
- extend the value of VMware vSphere by supporting VMware vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) across heterogeneous storage platforms while integrating physical server failover and failback with VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager support.

Key V7 enhancements

FalconStor® Virtual Tape Library (VTL): very high-performance deduplication with pre-parsing of data; real-time dashboards for full operational visibility; scales to more than one petabyte of storage; global deduplication repository.

FalconStor® File-interface Deduplication System ( FDS): high availability; shared global deduplication repository with FalconStor VTL.

FalconStor® Continuous Data Protector (CDP): 1,000 snapshots per volume for highly granular points of recovery and longer retention time; multi-threaded architecture accelerates performance of replication, compression and encryption.

FalconStor® Network Storage Server (NSS): supports VMware vSphere and VMware VAAI and extends VMware functionality in heterogeneous SAN environments that may not offer native VAAI support; accommodates greater volume scalability, larger drive sizes and virtual machine density.

Version 7 of FalconStor’s data protection product suite is available immediately.

About FalconStor Software
FalconStor Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: FALC) is the market leader in disk-based data protection. The company’s mission is to transform traditional backup and disaster recovery into next-generation service-oriented data protection. Built upon an award-winning platform, FalconStor solutions deliver disk-based backup, continuous data protection, WAN-optimized replication and disaster recovery automation. FalconStor solutions are available through a worldwide network of partners, including solution providers, top-tier strategic partners and major OEMs. Thousands of customers worldwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 enterprises, entrust their data to FalconStor solutions. FalconStor maintains headquarters in Melville, N.Y., and offices throughout Europe and the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit www.falconstor.com or call 1-866-NOW-FALC (866-669-3252).

FalconStor today announced that Diamond Point International (DPI) has joined its UK reseller channel. DPI is the European distributor of Violin Memory, with which FalconStor announced the FalconStor® NSS SAN Accelerator flash memory-based storage system in March 2010. DPI will resell this solution as well as other solutions from FalconStor’s data protection portfolio.

“Diamond Point is very excited to become a FalconStor partner” said John Vaines, managing director at DPI. “As the main distributor for Violin Memory in Europe, I can see great advantages marrying the two technologies together. The FalconStor NSS gateway gives us a certified connection to a virtualised environment and a level of sophistication that power users of Violin high-performance solid state storage arrays have come to expect.”

Thomas Barrett, regional director for northern Europe, FalconStor, said: “Using FalconStor NSS SAN Accelerator, a solid-state layer of 1 percent of a SAN´s total storage capacity will increase overall SAN performance by more than 100 percent. With solid state disk prices falling, we think this is a solution that more and more customers will look at in order to squeeze more value and performance, cost-effectively, from their SANs. Working with DPI is an entirely logical step for both parties, and we look forward to a productive relationship.”

Diamond Point International is a distributor and manufacturer of computer equipment and GPS devices, headquartered in Rochester, Kent, UK, and servicing a mix of OEMs and system integrators.

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Notes to editors
In March 2010, FalconStor and Violin announced FalconStor NSS SAN Accelerator, the first flash-memory-based storage system that simultaneously accelerates reads and writes for mission-critical applications as well as general SAN performance.

FalconStor NSS SAN Accelerator leverages solid-state storage as an on-demand dynamic storage tier to accelerate both writes and reads with two key features: FalconStor’s SafeCache™ and HotZone® technology respectively. Either solid-state disks or solid-state memory resources can be dedicated to specific workloads or can be global to the whole storage environment, allowing efficient allocation of the solid-state storage cache. The intelligent algorithms of SafeCache and HotZone features accelerate and protect applications where performance enhancements are needed the most.

Provides rapid data recovery to any point in time;
Ensures continuous business operations in event of data loss;
Eliminates the backup window

London-based luxury retailer Radley + Co has deployed FalconStor® Continuous Data Protector (CDP) to provide both disaster recovery (DR) and backup services. As a company with an international supply chain and retail outlets, Radley + Co produces a lot of data, in many different formats and across multiple sites. The company’s primary aim was to replicate data from its data center in London to a remote warehouse location that also serves as its DR site.

With Radley + Co’s London infrastructure almost entirely virtualized on VMware ESX Server, the objective was achieved by deploying a FalconStor® DiskSafe™ agent on each virtualized server. The DiskSafe agent synchronizes data back to a FalconStor CDP appliance which, in turn, replicates to the DR site over a leased line. Snapshots are taken every three hours, enabling roll-back, in three-hour intervals, to up to a week before any disaster occurred or was discovered.

However, the company realised that the same FalconStor solution could also meet its backup requirements. “At one time, we had a sizeable window available in which to do our backups,” says Francis Rodrigues, IT support manager, Radley + Co. “However, once the business expanded into the USA, systems were put to use for far longer periods of time, reducing the backup window to the point where it was almost non-existent. But we realised we could use the snapshots generated by FalconStor CDP to solve the backup problem by employing FalconStor® HyperTrac™ Backup Accelerator technology to archive data onto tape.

“FalconStor CDP with HyperTrac Backup Accelerator capability is a completely non-disruptive solution and the business benefit is clear: we have protected the business against failure caused by data loss, however that data loss might occur,” he added.

Previously, the company’s DR provisioning consisted primarily of backing up to tape, with a strategy of restoring from tape and restarting operations as well as possible. Scenario testing – the results of which inspired the FalconStor project – showed that recovery was time-consuming, required the involvement of expensive consultants, and would involve a loss of operations and data.

Radley + Co is a market leader in handbag and accessory design, with operations in several countries.

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About FalconStor CDP
FalconStor CDP combines local and remote data protection into a cost-effective, unified, disk-based backup and DR solution. It enables data to be recovered back to the most recent transaction, shrinking recovery point objectives (RPO) to mere seconds. Using sophisticated technologies including application integration, physical-to-virtual (P2V) recovery, and WAN-optimized replication, FalconStor CDP enables businesses to come back online quickly so entire systems can be restored in minutes. Data is protected in its native format and is instantly accessible. Recovery time objectives (RTO) can change from hours to minutes, minimizing downtime and consequent economic impact.

About FalconStor HyperTrac Backup Accelerator
HyperTrac Backup Accelerator technology works in conjunction with FalconStor CDP to increase tape backup speed, eliminate backup windows, and offload processing from application servers. Data can be backed up at any time without disruption, even during peak production hours, making it ideal for organizations requiring tape backup for archiving or regulatory compliance.

RecoverTrac DR automation solution brings customers another step closer to service-oriented data protection

FalconStor Software, Inc. today announced RecoverTrac™, a disaster recovery (DR) automation tool included as a standard feature of FalconStor® Continuous Data Protector (CDP) – the platform for realizing FalconStor’s vision of service-oriented data protection.

The RecoverTrac tool is the first DR automation solution to bring service-oriented recovery to both physical and virtual server infrastructures. The RecoverTrac feature automates complex, time-consuming and error-prone failover and failback operations of systems, applications, services and entire datacenters, making FalconStor CDP the most comprehensive disk-based data protection system for backup and DR available.

Most DR solutions focus on replicating data to a remote DR site, leaving IT staff with the complex task of reconstituting servers, applications, network configurations and replicated data into a functional set of data center services for business continuity. The RecoverTrac tool not only replicates data, but stages the recovery of complete services – thus facilitating service-oriented data protection (SODP) – by fully automating the resumption of servers, storage, networks and applications in a pre-determined, coordinated process. The RecoverTrac solution works with all operating systems, virtual machines and networks; and it supports physical-to-physical, physical-to-virtual and virtual-to-virtual recovery operations.

In addition to its primary recovery mode, the RecoverTrac technology offers a test mode and cloning capability. Test mode allows every aspect of the recovery process to be executed without impact on production systems. Cloning capability allows a copy of application data to be used for other business purposes.

RecoverTrac is available immediately as a standard feature of FalconStor CDP and FalconStor® Network Storage Server (NSS) at no additional cost.

FalconStor Software, Inc. has entered into a managed services and reseller agreement with HP Enterprise Services.

Under the terms of the agreement, effective October 1, 2010, FalconStor® Network Storage Server (NSS) software will be used to create new disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity offerings for HP Business Continuity & Recovery Services (BCRS) customers. This agreement enables HP Enterprise Services to add new heterogeneous replication services to the comprehensive offerings of HP BCRS as well as the full data protection capabilities of the FalconStor NSS solution.

“The FalconStor NSS solution’s heterogeneous replication feature provides HP’s Business Continuity & Recovery Services a critical capability that allows HP to replicate between any brand of storage to and from the customer site and the BCRS recovery site,” said Bernie Wu, vice president of business development for FalconStor. “We look forward to working with HP and providing leading products in the growing market for cloud-based replication and DR solutions.”

Optimized IPStor® virtualization platform powers comprehensive solutions

FalconStor today announced global enhancements to the FalconStor® Network Storage Server (NSS), Continuous Data Protector™ (CDP), and Virtual Tape Library (VTL) solutions. All are powered by an optimized FalconStor IPStor® virtualization platform, resulting in better storage efficiencies and storage management through thin disaster recovery, proficient virtual appliances, and accelerated storage application performance.

“Insatiable storage growth, coupled with staff shortages and budget constraints, make thin provisioning a strategically important feature, providing the simplest and most flexible method for dynamically expanding volumes today,” said Stan Zaffos, research vice president at Gartner. “Thin provisioning’s profound benefits for IT organizations include improved staff productivity, higher end-user satisfaction rates, increased storage utilization, more accurate capacity forecasts, and smaller environmental footprints – all of which mean reduced costs. Applied in a business continuity scenario, thin provisioning ensures that only data actually written to the storage system is copied to or from a D/R site.”

FalconStor’s thin disaster recovery leverages thin provisioning, thin mirroring and thin replication volumes to deliver an industry-first thin, end-to-end disaster recovery infrastructure, resulting in unprecedented management and cost efficiencies. With FalconStor’s Thin DR™ technology, storage allocations at the data center and the disaster recovery site no longer have to be identical.

FalconStor’s Thin DR feature uses the IPStor platform to deliver any-to-any heterogeneous storage replication and MicroScan™ technology with built-in deduplication and compression to minimize the amount of data transferred at the granular disk-sector level. Customers can create a virtual volume to match the size of each data provisioning request, and allocate a smaller amount of actual physical disk space, assigning additional physical disk space automatically as needed.

Thin provisioning reduces storage costs, thin replication reduces bandwidth costs and thin mirroring reduces wasteful over-provisioning of storage, all saving disk space and power consumption, helping to facilitate a substantially more efficient “Green” data center.

The enhanced IPStor platform also enables the construction of disk-based, data protection storage appliances using off-the-shelf components to create a virtual appliance integrated with the VMware ESXi. Small-to-medium-sized businesses can now create a virtual backup server on the fly for instant data recovery and business continuity.

These pre-built, pre-configured and ready-to-run software applications packaged with the OS inside a virtual machine reduce product delivery time and effort for system integrators and VARs, who can combine the FalconStor CDP Virtual Appliance, certified for the VMware Virtual Infrastructure, with VMware ESXi for an all-in-one solution architecture. This single system, easily installed within 10 minutes, can be distributed to small to medium-sized businesses, empowering them to meet data protection challenges with instant recovery rather than data restore, for business continuity and disaster recovery for both physical and virtual machines.

“Our IPStor platform is the foundation for all of our award-winning NSS, CDP and VTL solutions,” said Wayne Lam, co-founder and vice president at FalconStor. “Optimizing this architecturally open virtualization platform enables our strategic and solution provider partners to leverage our technology to intelligently manage data growth, control capacity demands, supercharge application performance, and take data protection to an entirely new level.”

IPStor technology is easily embedded in a disk array system. With IPStor implanted in a single, 20Gb InfiniBand, 10Gb Ethernet or 4Gb Fibre Channel fault tolerant, active-active, dual-controller appliance, the need for multiple server appliances is eliminated. FalconStor partner H3C is successfully using this model to capture market share lead in IP SANs in China.

The FalconStor NSS solution can also be combined with a memory appliance as ultra-fast storage-on-demand or as a read/write cache device to accelerate key applications to the speed of solid state disk (SSD). With the FalconStor NSS appliance fronted by the Violin 1010 memory appliance, production performance of data-centric applications is unleashed from disk seek times, since Tier-0 memory enables faster processing of terabyte-scale datasets. The dramatic I/O acceleration enables data center scalability and cost control, with on-demand provisioning of SSD to any existing SAN volume. For applications heavily used at end of the quarter, dynamic allocation of memory serves to supercharge these applications, or these “hottest” data sectors.

The enhanced IPStor platform powers all FalconStor solutions and includes additional host-based database and messaging agents for data integrity, as well as an additional Central Client Manager (CCM) for centralized management and reporting on the client side.