PlateSpin Forge allows data-centers to protect the entire server workload including data, applications and operating systmes within a single bootable recovery environnment. In contrast to data-centric recovery approaches, whole workload protection provides a context for recovered data and allows organizations to avoid the common hassles of manual system rebuilding and disjointed system and data restore. Organizations can affordably protect physical and virtual workloads with a single technology investment. Workloads can be protected locally or remotely across a wide area network (WAN).
Block, File and Snapshot Replication
High-speed block-level replication protects transactional workloads such as email servers and database servers . With block-level transfer, only the portion of a file that has changes is replicated, making it ideal for incrementally synchronizing large database workloads without application interruption. Block-level replication also enables efficient offsite data transfers. File-baesd replication provides a simple, noninvasive solution for moving or copying less critical workloads while maintaining server uptime. Replication snapshots that combine file-based replication with Volume Shadow Copy Service on Windows Server 2003 enable point-in-time replication with no application interference.
Rapid One-Click Failover
In the event of a disaster, recovery time is just a matter of powering on PlateSpin Forge's virtual standby workload. Upon receiving a failure alert by email, Blackberry or within the Web-based user interface, the adminstrator can rapidly recover workloads with a single mouse click.
Failback Flexibility
Leveraging PlateSpin's multiplatform Workload Portability technology, PlateSpin Forge provides flexible restore options. Workload failback can be rapidly executed to any physical or virtual host regardless of manufactures, make or model.
Multiple Recovery Points
PlateSpin Forge supports multiple recovery points which allow enterprises to roll back to the last known good state of a protected workload. This feature enhances business continuity by eliminating the risk of recovering a corrputed workload. Administrators can customize the number of recovery points to achieve an optimal balance between storage allocation and protection requirements.
SAN Integration
PlateSpin Forge integrates with existing storage area networks to easily accommodate current and future recovery requirements. Enterprises can benefit from PlateSpin Forge's unique workload protection capabilities while taking advantage of existing storage within their SAN environment. Powerful dashboard and management capabilities allow enterprises to seamlessly protect a greater share of workloads across the SAN. PlateSpin Forge supports both iSCSI and fiber channel SANs.
Efficient Workload Protection Over the WAN
For enterprises that maintain a geographically-dispersed recovery site, PlateSpin Forge provides highly efficient workload transfer over the WAN. PlateSpin Forge's Server Sync feature enables incremental synchronization for migrating large workloads with no need for a full refresh, optimizing bandwidth efficiency.
Protection for 64-bit Windows Workloads
PlateSpin Forge provides file-based protection for critical 64-bit Windows workloads such as Microsoft Exchange 2007. As enterprises increasingly adopt 64-bit Windows servers, PlateSpin Forge provides a future-proof disaster recovery investment for protecting new and existing workloads.
Events, Tasks and Actionable Alerts
PlateSpin Forge creates, distributes and logs events to facilitate better management of the disaster recovery plan. Users cna be notified of events through email so they don't have to actively monitor systems to stay on top of the disaster recovery plan. When an event occurs that requires user interaction such as executing a workload failover, for example, a task is created with actions associated with it so users know exactly what needs to be done to quickly rectify the issue. Finally, event logging provides a comprehensive audit trail to validate, review and report on the disaster recovery plan.
Protection Tiers
PlateSpin Forge provides the ability to logically group workloads by RTO, RPO and level of criticality. Protection tiers help to elevate recofery planning from the technical level to the business service level.
Recovery Resource Pooling
Because a single PlateSpin Forge appliance can recover up to 25 workloads, organizations can share a pool of recovery resources. Recovery resource sharing brings dramatic cost saving since organizations do not need to invest in dedicated duplicate hardware and operating sytsem licenses.
Workload Protection Metrics
Through purpose-built, preconfigured reporting, users can quickly access all the pertinent metrics needed to report on the health of their recovery and protection plans such as actual versus target recovery objectives, replication window sizing and protection logs for auditing purposes. All reports can be exported into Microsoft Excel for further analysis or raw report data can be queried throught a simple ODBC connection.
Centralized Management Console
PlateSpin Forge provides "single pane of glass" visibility across multiple PlateSPin Forge applicances, allowing enterprises to cost-effectively scale tgheir recovery environment to match current and future needs simply by plugging in additional appliances. The centralized management console rerduces administrative efforts and brings peace-of-mind that all server workloads are protected in the event of an outage.
"Plug In and Protect" Workloads
PlateSpin Forge provides complete protection for up to 25 physical or virtual workloads straight out of the box. All necessary hardware, storage, consolidated recovery software and virtualization technology are prepackaged, preconfigured and ready to go, significantly reducing the time and effort required to deploy a disaster recovery solution.
Simple Web-Based Management
PlateSpin Forge includes an intuitive Web-based interface for manging, monitoring and reporting on all aspects of workload protection and recovery. An ever-present dashboard enables users to view the stauts of their protection plan at all times, The Web-based interface is extremely easy to user, dramatically reducing the time, effort and training required to ramp-up and remotely administer the recovery solution.
Easy Test Failover
Unprecedented one-click test failover allows the data center user to rapidly test the integrity of workload replication. With a mouse click, the user can take a virtual snapshot of the recovery workload, power it on within a private internal network and quickly validate the recovery plan. Because the failover test is fenced off from the production network, the user can work freely wirhout having to be concerned with conflicts or the integrity of the prduction environment. Since tests are performed on a disposable snapshot that can simply be removed when testing is complete, there is no need to run a full replication as with most other replication solutions.
Failover Preparation
In the event of a possible production failure, users are able to power up the recovery workload in a fenced off network while the failure is confirmed. Users can then go live with the workload and rapidly "drop the fence" to bring the recovery workload online to failover for the production sytem or simply shutdown the recovery workload if the failure is a false alarm.
Remote Control
With no boot CDs or physical contact with the primary or recovery workloads required, PlateSpin Forge provides a single control point, saving time and costs associated with having to interact directly with production hardware at production or remote recovery sites. This can be particularly valuable in branch office scenarios where central control of a multi-site environment is critical. Additionally, replication agents are automatically deployed and updated.
Flexible, Out-of-the-Box Workload Protection
PlateSpin Forge is available in a range of hardware configurations that allow enterprises to cost-effectively match their recovery investment with the size of their data center. Customers have the flexibility ot choose a 10 or 25 workload prot e ction model with built-in storage or opotional external storage to leverage existing SAN environments.