Native Tape Restore vs. Non-Native Tape Extraction

Native tape restoration is an IT process whereby all files on a backup tape are restored to a computer hard drive. The IT staff uses this process to recover a computer that has crashed. In order to perform a native tape restoration, someone needs to setup and configure a computer with the correct type of backup software. While this option seems simple, there are many complexities. For example, this process typically works for user files and simple non-threaded backup software such as Computer Associates ARCserve and Veritas Backup Exec. However, the native restore process is much more complex for threaded backup software such as Tivoli Storage Manager, LEGATO Networker, VERITAS NetBackup and for email servers.

When restoring files from a threaded backup system, a database called the catalog or library is required from the original backup system. When restoring email, the email server must be set up and configured exactly as the original server. Native tape restoration typically works well for small volumes of tapes, however, the cost of computer hardware and software licensing dramatically increases the cost of restoring tapes on a large scale. For user files, all files must be restored before deduplication can occur. This requirement makes it possible to overwrite files with the same file name but different contents and requires twice the amount of storage space for processing.

Non-native tape extraction, RenewData's method using the ActiveVault Evidence Management Platform, does not need to recreate the native environment. Instead, RenewData uses multiple pods, each pod being a computer with four (4) tape drives, to create an image of each backup tape onto a hard drive. The backup tape images are then processed to extract only the necessary files needed for restoration by using date and file extension filtering. When this occurs, all files are de-duplicated using a hash value so only de-duplicated files are placed onto hard drives; thereby significantly reducing the amount of required storage space. Email server databases from Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes are then processed in the same manner, never requiring native email servers to be set up and configured. This highly efficient process is faster and less expensive than native restoration, providing significant cost savings to RenewData's clients.