VTL4000 24 Bay VTL 20TB/240TB/2.84PB 8.6TB/hr max data transfer rate

VTL4000 is a 24 Bay Virtual Tape Library that provides up to 240TB SSD or HDD capacity in the base VTL, capable of ingesting backup and restore data up to 8.6 TB/hr, and is expandable to 2.84 PB. The VTL4000 includes 16 virtual tape libraries, unlimited virtual tapes, and virtual tape libaries can added with additional licensing. The 4000 series is a VTL for growing businesses, recommended for single full backup maximums of no more than 20TB. The largest VTL7000 series supports up to 3.8 PB of raw capacity for backups, has a 50TB single full backup maximum and has a maximum throughput rate of 4 GB/s or 14.4 TB/hr. The entry VTL and enterprise VTLs all have the same features and capabilities, with the exception of the amount of expansion storage that can be added, single full backup maximums, data transfer rates, number of virtual tape libraries and number of virtual tapes supported.

See other VTL model specifications and capabilities in chart at bottom of page. All VTL models support IBM i iSeries AS400 systems.

VTL Comparisons
The VTL4000 supports any OS and backup software, as long as the host supports iSCSI, SAS, Fiber, GbE, USB or a LVD SCSI connection to attach the VTL. The VTL4000 series includes a tape emulator that allows consolidating backups for multiple OS and system types, with ability to write 16 concurrent, parallel data streams for various host types at the same time. The VTL4000 does not require changing backup software or backup processes, nor does it require software to be installed on any host. Simply attach the VTL with the existing cable used to connect your tape drive or library, and connect the tape drive or library to the VTL if you wish.

Compared to other VTL manufactures, the VTL4000 series uses post-process deduplication, which provides maximum data transfer rates for faster backups. VTL manufactures using inline deduplication have put a bottleneck between your host and backup device, and cannot achieve maximum disk space reduction. The 4000 series VTL Dedupe process also does not have a dedupe hydration penalty. The VTL4000 line also supports compression.

Another important VTL comparison differentiator, is the VTL4000 series ability to attach any external tape drive to off load backups to media, or pass-through VTL directly to tape for backup and restores. The VTL4000 can emulate any tape media type and generation, from legacy to the latest LTO generation. It can also make copying and converting older tape formats to newer format extremely fast or can be used for archival tape. VTL backups can also be replicated to a online backup service or Cloud like Amazon S3 or to another VTL off site with an encrypted connection.

The VTL4000 has a “encryption-at-rest” AES256 hardware option when SED (self-encrypting drives) are purchased. Anything written to the virtual tape library is encrypted by each individual disk drive within the VTL. If the virtual tape library or any drives are removed from the site, access requires the correct encryption keys (physical) with validated passwords. There is less than 1% overhead for encryption-at-rest due to the dedicated encryption processor on each rotating disk drive. Note: Flash drives have SED support built-in. HDDs require SED support.

Most VTL manufacturers do not support offline archives to removable media, let alone the ability to encrypt the backup data to tape. By using VTL encryption option, AES256 encryption can be used for customer's existing tape drive/library without any changes to the hardware and will not degrade performance of host backup. Everything copied from the VTL to physical tape is done off-line without impacting or involving the host system. All tape archives are universally compatible and recoverable without the presence of a VTL.

Virtual Tape Libraries are typically ideal solutions for: shrinking a backup window, affordable DR using replication, consolidating backups for multiple platforms, cutting operational costs of maintaining traditional tape media, addressing securing data at rest compliance requirements and simplifying backup operations.