continuous data protection

A major advantage of CDP is the fact that it preserves a record of every transaction that takes place in the enterprise. In addition, if the system becomes infected with a virus or Trojan, or if a file becomes mutilated or corrupted and the problem is not discovered until some time later, it is always possible to recover the most recent clean copy of the affected file. A CDP system with disk storage offers data recovery in a matter of seconds -- much less time than is the case with tape backups or archives. Installation of CDP hardware and programming is straightforward and simple and does not put existing data at risk.

The market for CDP products is expected to grow as businesses discover the advantages of maintaining a continuous journal of backups or archives generated over time. This is especially true for enterprises in which:
- Data changes often.
- The amount of stored data is large.
- Serious injury to the business could result from lost data, damaged files, or extended downtime.

Getting started with continuous data protection

To explore how continuous data protection is used in the enterprise, here are some additional resources:

Continuous data protection requires a clear purpose in the enterprise: This article highlights the factors and considerations driving CDP technology, examines the leading vendors and their products available now, and covers some practical purchase and implementation advice.

Near vs. real continuous data protection: Learn what the difference is between near-continuous data protection (CDP) and real-CDP products in this article.

Continuous data protection products look for new niche: The first generation of CDP didn't quite get off the ground. Now, some users are finding new offerings that integrate frequent snapshots with other backup products to be more robust.

Do you really need continuous data protection?: Here's a checklist of questions to help you determine if you need a CDP or a near-CDP product.

Learn more about Data storage backup tools

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