Data migration: Proceed with caution - Storage Technology Magazine - Page 1

Data migration: Proceed with caution

Host-based data migration products are the best choice for moving mission-critical data. While there are only a few products in this category, they vary significantly.


The days are numbered for the old ways of migrating data. Array-based options and native operating system utilities are no longer sufficient for migrating data for always-on mission-critical applications. As the amount of data that needs to move increases, so does the time and complexity associated with planning and executing the migration. Host-level data migration products automate, centralize and simplify data migrations, while ensuring the integrity of the moved data and that the application remains live. (This is the first of a three-part series on data migration products. The second article will focus on file system-based data migration products.)

Host-level data migration products allow users to:

  • Migrate data between internal and external storage disk devices
  • Migrate data between different brands and types of storage arrays
  • Allow applications to operate continuously during migration

Although there are only three block-based, host-level data migration products, they offer a wide choice in how to migrate data. Softek Storage Solutions Corp.'s Transparent Data Migration Facility (TDMF) migrates data between disk storage devices local to the server; Symantec Corp.'s Veritas Volume Replicator migrates data between different servers

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using TCP/IP; and Topio Inc.'s Topio Data Protection Suite (TDPS) performs both types of migration.

This was first published in August 2006