>As de-dup, from what I have read, compares across all files >on a "system" (server, disk storage or whatever), it seems >to me that this will be an enormous resource hog
Exactly. To make sure everyone understands, the "system," is the intelligent disk target, not a host you're backing up. A de-dupe IDT/VTL is able to de-dupe anything against anything else that's been sent to it. This can include, for example, a file in a filesystem and the same file inside an Exchange Sent Items folder. >The de-dup technology only compares / looks at the files with in its >specific repository. Example: We have 8 Protectier node in one data >center which equtes to 8 Virtual Tape Libraries and 8 reposoitires. The There are VTL/IDT vendors that offer a multi-head approach to de-duplication. As you need more throughput, you buy more heads, and all heads are part of one large appliance that uses a single global de-dupe database. That way you don't have to point worry about which backups go to which heads. Diligent's VTL Open is a multi-headed VTL, but ProtecTier is not -- yet. I would ask them their plans for that. While this feature is not required for many shops, I think it's a very important feature for large shops.
