There are so many features to our core product, Double-Take, that it’s important to get back to the basics every now and then. Here are a few of the basic features included in Double-Take.
- Asynchronous, Byte-level, Continuous Replication: Asynchronous replication ensures that the replication process does not impact production applications, as can be the case with synchronous replication. Double-Take captures the data for processing but does not keep it from updating the local disk, whereas with synchronous replication the local disk is not updated until after the replicated data has been written/committed to the target disk and the corresponding acknowledgement has been sent back to the production server. This results in a performance decrease on the production application because it is waiting for confirmation that the replication has occurred.
- Many-to-One Failover: Double-Take can be configured such that a single target server is used for numerous source servers. This can reduce the total cost of ownership as it is not necessary to have a one-to-one exact duplicate of the hardware for replication purposes, as is the case with many other replication solutions. This also helps to facilitate centralized backup since many local or remote servers can be backed up from a single server, further lowering costs by reducing the number of backup licenses needed.
- Automated Failover: Whether running MSCS or not, Double-Take can provide high-availability failover of servers to ensure users remain online in case of a failure. While MSCS has distance limitations, Double-Take does not, thereby providing failover protection during local AND regional failures. This availability allows users and customers to quickly have access to their systems and data. For customer-facing systems, it ensures that customer satisfaction remains high and sales are not impacted.
- Intelligent Compression: Double-Take is the only host-based replication solution that provides multilevel intelligent compression. Double-Take provides four options for data compression that allows custom configuration to suit each customer’s individual requirements. These settings can be individually configured for each replication set defined within Double-Take, allowing even further customization by server, data, and/or network.
- Failback/Restore: Should a failure occur, Double-Take can facilitate data restoration from the target back to the original source or to an alternate location. Through the Double-Take UI, users can easily restore data from the replicated disk back to the production disk once the failure is corrected. This greatly reduces the time to recover and restore, as it is not necessary to go offsite for tapes and then restore one at a time. This also ensures that you recover from the time the failure occurred, not from when the last backup was taken, which can result in a day or more of lost data and productivity. Unlike other solutions that make the users remember which files came from what location, the Double-Take restore process automatically reverses the direction of your original replication job.
For a full list of features, please download the Double-Take 5.0 Feature Guide.
How Double-Take Works:
How DT Works
Filed under: Backup and Recovery, Product Information | Tagged: Automated Failover, Basic Features, DBTK, Double-Take, Failback, Failover, Intelligent Compression, Manual Failover, Recover, Replication, Restore
