| Q: |
What is the ATTO FastStream Virtual Tape Appliance? |
| A: |
The ATTO FastStream VT is a virtual tape appliance that sits in front of disk storage. It is not bundled with storage for flexibility. The appliance can be seamlessly integrated into an existing backup environment. The FastStream can be set up in a variety of configurations. Two virtual libraries can be created with up to 30 Virtual Tape drives and 256 Virtual Tapes per library.The ATTO FastStream VT offers industry leading performance and the enterprise-class reliability of Fibre Channel and SCSI technologies. This technology allows the FastStream VT to utilize a Storage Area Network (SAN) to perform up to 60 concurrent backups per virtual tape library. The ATTO FastStream VT is a unique solution that leverages ATTO’s engineering expertise in data management. The FastStream VT offers high-performance features such as hardware-based RAID, high-availability components and a fault tolerant, field serviceable design, all in a standard 1U – 19” form factor.
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| Q: |
What is virtual tape? |
| A: |
Virtual tape appears and functions like a traditional tape drive or tape library. It appears to the ISV application as though it were a tape-based product. A benefit of virtual tape is increased performance given that the underlying technology is disk based. Disk is generally 2 to 15 times faster than tape which then can significantly improve backup and restore times. Virtual tape can be used anywhere traditional tape is used.
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| Q: |
Is the FastStreamVT suitable for enterprise-class backup applications? |
| A: |
The FastStream VT is optimized for Mid-tier Enterprise backup needs. The FastStream VT supports a wide selection of backup solutions and configurations. The FastStream VT offers four key aspects to supporting an Enterprise’s backup needs:
- Capacity – On-the-fly tape expansion
- Software – Easy to use ExpressNAV™ GUI
- Interoperability – Supports many ISV applications
- Speed – Up to 60 concurrent backup streams
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| Q: |
What ISV packages are currently supported? |
| A: |
CA Brightstor ARCServe, Symantec Backup Exec, Symantec NetBackup, EMC Insignia Retrospect, EMC Legato Networker, BakBone NetVault, Commvault Galaxy and Windows Backup.
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| Q: |
Is a separate license needed for FastStream VT in addition to existing tape drives and libraries? |
| A: |
There are no additional charges for licensing the FastStream Virtual Tape hardware, however your backup software may require specific licensing for virtual tape drives or capacity If you are licensed by single devices it will require an additional license unless you are replacing your existing library with the FastStream.
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| Q: |
How difficult is to set up the FastStream VT? |
| A: |
Thanks to the one-click design of the FastStream VT, setup of a virtual tape library has never been easier. Our setup wizard is accessed via a browser-based GUI and provides a quick and complete setup of the FastStream Virtual Tape appliance.
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| Q: |
How quickly can I restore a file with virtual tape? |
| A: |
The FastStream VT writes tape data to disk drives. By using random access disk drives instead of sequential access tape drives, restores of files are almost instant. If a small file you are looking for is at the end of a 500GB tape, with physical tape you have to wait a while to restore that file. With virtual tape, the FastStream simply goes to the location of the file, and restores it to your system.
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| Q: |
What are the advantages of the FastStream VT appliance relative to disk-to-disk backup? |
| A: |
Aside from the fact that the underlying technology is disk media there are several advantages of using FastStream VT some of which are listed below:
- Better performance, virtual tape was made to work with existing ISV backup applications
- Maintains existing backup policies, procedures
- Seamless integration into current backup environment
- Protects investments in software and training
- Protected from viruses and data corruption
- Conventional disk is best used for general use
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| Q: |
What are the advantages of the FastStream VT appliance relative to tape backup? |
| A: |
We believe that tape continues to play a key role in backup and disaster recovery plans. Tape is still the most appropriate choice for off-site, long-term archival. With that said, there are numerous benefits related to FastStream VT including:
- No additional licensing fees
- High-speed backup and restoration of data
- No change in processes or procedures
- Reliable, unattended backups
- Reduced downtime
- Reduced maintenance from broken tapes or robotics
- Non-disruptive service
- Investment protection
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| Q: |
How does a user interface with the FastStream VT? |
| A: |
Via ATTO ExpressNAV™, an easy-to-use configuration and management application for FastStream VT products. The straightforward, browser-based, Graphical User Interface (GUI) application is a remote network-based management and monitoring tool that simplifies FastStream VT configuration by allowing for a simple one-click setup.
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| Q: |
Can I use ExpressNav™ to configure the FastStream VT? |
| A: |
Yes. You can select such things as the RAID Level (0, 1, 5 or 10), number of libraries, the number of tape volumes, tape drives in addition to selecting the host interface operational parameters and others.
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| Q: |
What industry certifications are available? |
| A: |
The ATTO FastStream Storage appliance undergoes significant testing to meet key industry certifications. These certifications are conducted using industry-developed test programs. Refer to the ATTO web site for a complete list.
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| Q: |
What platforms are supported? |
| A: |
The FastStream VT is truly platform independent. The ATTO FastStream VT has been designed in accordance with the strict interoperability requirements of both the Fibre Channel and SCSI specifications. ATTO Technology also proactively seeks interoperability with major players in the storage networking industry such as Brocade, QLogic, Cisco, Emulex, LSI and many others.
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| Q: |
How much power does the FastStream VT use? |
| A: |
The FastStream VT appliance draws only 50 watts.
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| Q: |
How is firmware on FastStream VT upgraded? |
| A: |
Firmware is easily flashed/downloaded from a host onto the FastStream VT through either the Ethernet or RS-232 port that is standard on the FastStream VT. The process takes only minutes to complete. Easy field upgradeability ensures that customers can always be running with the latest capabilities and updates available.
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| Q: |
What hardware configurations are available? |
| A: |
The ATTO FastStream VT is available in both rack (1U) and desktop configurations.
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| Q: |
What racks are compatible with FastStream VT? |
| A: |
Racks used should meet specifications of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) / Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) standard ANSI/EIA-310-D-92, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 297 and Deutsche Industrie Norm (DIN) 41494. View manuals which were provided with your rack to determine if it is compatible with these standards. (Desktop models are also available).
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| Q: |
What is the RS-232 serial port used for? |
| A: |
The serial port is used for local troubleshooting and debugging.
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| Q: |
What is the Ethernet port used for? |
| A: |
The Ethernet port is used for remote management. You can connect this to your network to monitor the FastStream VT. You can use Telnet to provide a CLI interface or use the user-friendly ExpressNAV™ Graphical User Interface (GUI) via your web browser.
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| Q: |
What type of tapes does FastStream VT support? |
| A: |
The FastStream supports DLT, SDLT, AIT, Super AIT, LTO and all variations of these tape types. By emulating all popular tape types, the FastStream VT can fill any backup need.
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| Q: |
What is the maximum number of storage devices that can be attached to the FastStream VT appliance? |
| A: |
The FastStream VT can support up to 32 storage devices which can consist of SCSI, Fibre Channel SAS or SATA Drives, JBODs and RAID Arrays. You can attach any storage device which has a SCSI or FC connection, even if it contains SATA, SCSI, SAS, ATA or Fibre Channel hard drive storage.
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| Q: |
What does the FastStream VT present itself as to the backup package? |
| A: |
While the FastStream VT presents itself to backup packages as an ATTO Virtual Tape Library, the inquiry string is user adjustable to specify a third party library or tape drive name.
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| Q: |
What is the expected throughput for FastStream VT? |
| A: |
hroughput will depend on several factors including the RAID configuration you have selected and the speed of your backend storage devices. Under ideal conditions you will see a transfer rate of up to 1.89 TB per hour.
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| Q |
Does the FastStream VT support RAID protection? |
| A: |
Yes, the FastStream VT can be set up for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 or RAID 10. In general, RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) offers the benefits of higher data security, fault tolerance, improved data availability, increased and integrated capacity and improved performance. There are tradeoffs, benefits and considerations when selecting one of the supported RAID levels. For example, RAID 10 will provide the best performance and your data is stored on redundant disks which will reduce your overall capacity by one half. RAID 5 on the other hand will provide the highest available capacity option and will continue to operate in the event of single disk failures but the performance will be slightly lower.
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| Q |
How many virtual tape drives and virtual tapes are supported by the FastStream VT? |
| A: |
On the 5000 series a maximum of 30 virtual tape drives and up to 256 virtual tape volumes can be selected per tape library for a total of 60 virtual tape drives and 512 virtual tapes.
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| Q |
Is a virtual tape library supported and is a virtual media changer available? |
| A: |
Yes, in the virtual library setup, the user can select up to two libraries. Each library can be configured independently including RAID level, number of tape drives and number of tapes.
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| Q |
Is the FastStream appliance expandable? |
| A: |
Yes, by adding additional storage you can increase the number of tapes in each defined library up to the defined maximum tape capacity of each virtual library.
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| Q |
Can virtual tapes be copied to physical tapes? |
| A: |
Yes, for example, NetBackup (NBU) Vault Extension provides the tools for copying tapes. Custom scripts can also be written to do this function.
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| Q |
Can data be remotely replicated with the FastStream VT? |
| A: |
Yes, when using an ATTO iPBridge™ 2700 iscsi bridge.
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| Q |
Can FastStream VT backup mulitple servers? |
| A: |
Yes. FastStream VT can perform up to 30 concurrent backups per library. This means that you can shrink your backup windows to make room for future capacity expansion. In most cases, it is possible for the FastStream VT to cut the time it takes to complete backups by 50-80%.
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| Q |
What information is available through the ExpressNav™ user interface? |
| A: |
You can access information regarding the operation of the FastStream VT at any time. This includes the current operating condition which consists of system configuration, performance, capacity, library information, element status, RAID rebuild status, Hot Spare configuration, write protection, RAID group expansion, health of underlying storage and more.
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| Q |
What host interface options are available? |
| A: |
4-Gb Fibre Channel. Future connectivity will include GbE and iSCSI.
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| Q |
What are some of the management capabilities of the ATTO FastStream VT? |
| A: |
System management designed into the FastStream’s firmware enables the status of the appliance to be presented via RS-232, Ethernet or in-band via the SCSI or Fibre Channel host connections:
- Ability to configure and monitor subsystem using an easy-to-use Graphical User Interface or simple text commands
- Health and performance capabilities of underlying storage through drive health and diagnostics
- Alerts and warnings sent out via CLI as well as visual indicators
- Alerts and warnings sent out via email to specified email addresses
- Environmental monitoring of temperature
- Component health monitoring of host interfaces, power supply, and drive interfaces
- Event log and retrievable error log
- Automatic IP address assignment via DHCP, manually using IP
- Automatically reports tape volume sizes
- Manual confirmation required for all activities that may result in destructive operations
- System management console is password protected
- Detailed help available on all configuration and management commands
- System management can control host interface speed, duplexing, and/or loop-type (Fibre Channel-AL, Fibre Channel-SW, Point-to-point)
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| Q |
What is the maximum number of hosts that can be connected per FastStream VT? |
| A: |
The FastStream VT configured with Fibre Channel can support up to 125 host connections in loop mode and 252 connections in fabric mode.
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| Q |
What Fibre Channel support does FastStream VT provide? |
| A: |
The ATTO FastStream VT contains dual Fibre Channel host ports operating at 4-Gb. The FastStream is also backward compatible with 2-Gb and 1-Gb Fibre Channel.
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| Q |
What can be hot swapped? |
| A: |
The FastStream Storage appliance ensures reliability and is considered a Field Replaceable Unit (FRU).
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| Q |
What regulatory and safety certifcations have FastStream VT appliances been tested for? |
| A: |
The FastStream VT is thoroughly tested for compliance with worldwide regulatory agency, safety and shipping certifications. Certifications include:
- CE Mark
- UL/CSA
- FCC Class A
- RoHS Compliant
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| Q |
Does the FastStream VT support zoning and mapping? |
| A: |
Yes, the FastStream VT will support zoning as an optional feature in a future release. The ability to define which servers have access to which virtual volumes are handled through the mapping and zoning capabilities of the FastStream VT. Because the FastStream VT has two independent Fibre Channel ports, the user will need to define which virtual volumes are accessible through which port. The default is that each Virtual Tape Library is available through one of the Fibre Channel ports.
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| Q |
With what other equipment is FastStream VT interoperable? |
| A: |
The ATTO FastStream VT is tested with an extensive list of third-party equipment such as host adapters, switches, tape libraries and ISV applications such as backup, disaster recovery and virtualization. ATTO’s extensive partner network includes all the major vendors in the switch, host adapter, operating system, server and SAN software markets. By choosing the ATTO FastStream VT, customers are guaranteed greater interoperability across the SAN and can reduce costs by developing truly best-of-breed solutions.
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| Q |
What type of future technologies will the FastStream VT appliance support? |
| A: |
The FastStream VT has been developed with the latest connectivity options in mind. Current interface technologies include 4-Gigabit Fibre Channel and Ultra320 SCSI. Future technologies will include iSCSI on the host side and 4-Gb Fibre Channel and SAS/SATA on the device side.
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