For more info on a specific newsletter, click the title. Details will be displayed in a new window.
Subscribe to
Computerworld 40 years of the most authoritative source of news and information for IT leaders.
Upcoming IBM software continually backs up files
or
Other Storage Stories
|
|
|
|
August 29, 2005 (IDG News Service) -- IBM plans to release new software next month for automatically backing up files on laptop computers. The product will be aimed primarily at mobile workers and is intended to protect data in the event that files are accidentally deleted or become corrupted, or if a laptop is stolen, IBM said.
Called Tivoli Continuous Data Protection for Files, the software creates a local backup copy of files each time changes are made, said Steve Cliff, a U.K. regional sales manager for IBM's Tivoli storage software. When the laptop is connected to a network, via a Wi-Fi connection, for example, the software also backs up the data to a remote server.
The product will join an emerging field of so-called continuous data protection (CDP) products. Other vendors include Storactive Inc. in Marina del Rey, Calif., and start-up Lasso Logic in San Francisco. In addition, Mountain View, Calif.-based Veritas Software Corp. is beta-testing a CDP product called Backup Exec Panther.
Still, IBM claims its product is a novel one. Some other systems require a dedicated server to monitor and store file changes, the company said, while others back up files only periodically, every hour or so, rather than continually.
IBM is aiming its product at both large and small businesses. While IBM is marketing the software primarily for laptops, it also works on desktop PCs and enterprise file servers. It will be available via Internet download from Sept. 16 and on CD the following month, priced at $35 per laptop or desktop and $995 per server processor, IBM said.
Most businesses today are focused on backing up their file servers and databases. However, laptop use has become more widespread in recent years, and increasing amounts of corporate data are stored on those machines, making it important to back up that data as well, Cliff said.
The software is reasonably priced and could prove popular, especially among IBM's existing Tivoli Storage System customers, said Mike Karp, senior analyst at Enterprise Management Associates Inc. in Boulder, Colo. "It spreads a lot of much-needed data protection out to the desktop, and particularly to laptops," he said.
The software can be set to back up all files, including Word, Excel and MP3 files, or to create backups only for particular applications and files, IBM's Cliff said. Users can choose where the local backup file is created. That can be done on the laptop's hard disk, or on a removable storage media such as a CD or Universal Serial Bus memory device, he said.
Applications typically record file changes frequently, even when users aren't constantly saving their work. IBM's software records and time-stamps those discrete changes. When problems arise, users can go back and recover files at whatever point seems appropriate.
The software will be available initially for Windows, with Unix versions to follow within about six months, IBM said. The company will translate the software into other languages besides English later in the year, and it supports double-byte character sets.
The software was developed at IBM's labs in Cambridge, Mass., and makes use of 10 technologies for which IBM has applied for patents. Those technologies have to do with capturing continuous changes to data and backing up those changes remotely, IBM said.
The CD will take users through the steps of deciding where the data should be saved on the laptop and configuring the remote server to receive copies. The product can be used on a stand-alone basis or with Tivoli Storage Manager, IBM said.
Reprinted with permission from
For more news from IDG visit IDG.netStory copyright 2006 International Data Group. All rights reserved.
|
Print this Story |
|
Send Us Feedback |
|
E-mail this Story |
|
Digg this Story |
|
Slashdot this Story |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
All Zones Application Performance Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone Enterprise Solutions Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone The Data Center Management Zone |
 See your link here
|
 |
||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||
|
Critical Considerations for Data De-duplication
Download this Technology Briefing now!
Get this white paper now!
Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services.
- Tools circulate that crack Debian, Ubuntu keys
- Former Microsoft manager offers free fix for XP SP3 'endless reboot'
- Can Icahn take on the Yahoo board and win?
- More top stories
Storage Virtualization from IBM: Optimizing Storage Throughout
the Information Lifecycle Learn how storage virtualization fits into an Information Lifecycle
Management strategy and learn how IBM's market leading technology for
storage area network (SAN) virtualization can improve storage utilization,
decrease time and effort required for storage provisioning, simplify data
migration, reduce application downtime and more.
Download this white paper now!
See more Whitepapers |
Computerworld Technology Briefing: Spyware: A Clear and Present Danger
Computer viruses for the most part are nuisances today. Spyware on the other hand can prove utterly devastating if not crippling to a business. Spyware was at the root of the massive TJX case last year in which personal data on millions of people was compromised. And often if you think you are protected, in fact you are not. Download this Technology Briefing Now
See All Executive Briefings
|
| HP StorageWorks EVA4400 Before now, midsize customers settled for either an expensive and complex array or low cost solution that lacked functionality. Now experience virtual storage with enterprise class functionality at an affordable price. View this product demo now
|
CIO
Computerworld
CSO
DEMO
GamePro
Games.net
IDG Connect
IDG World Expo
Infoworld
The Industry Standard
ITworld
JavaWorld
LinuxWorld
MacUser
Macworld
Network World
PC World
Playlist
Copyright © 2008 Computerworld Inc. All
rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium
without express written permission of Computerworld Inc. is prohibited.
Computerworld and Computerworld.com and the respective logos are
trademarks of International Data Group Inc.
|
