By Kevin Komiega
June 23, 2008—De-duplication specialist Data Domain added a new software feature to its repertoire today when the company announced Retention Lock, an optional tool that allows file locking on the company's de-duplicating storage systems for customers interested in regulatory governance.
Retention Lock gives IT administrators the ability to store de-duplicated files in an unalterable state for a specified length of time. Retention Lock is, essentially, WORM (write-once, read-many) for active archive storage.
Jeff Sosa, director of product management at Data Domain, says Retention Lock gives "trusted IT operators" the flexibility to manage WORM and non-WORM storage in the same infrastructure and works with traditional archiving applications, file virtualization, data migration appliances, and indexing and search applications through standard file serving interfaces.
Administrators can also reconfigure retention periods or security settings on a per-file basis to deal with changing security and retention policies.
"It works on a file-by-file basis as well as globally and can be updated or overridden to address changing policies in a customer environment. Users can always go back and make adjustments if they change their minds," says Sosa.
Retention Lock can be applied to any file on a Data Domain system regardless of whether it is from a backup, archive, or other nearline application. Locked files may also be replicated using standard Data Domain replication for disaster recovery or WAN vaulting, retaining all locking policies across links.
The Retention Lock option is available as a software license for systems running Data Domain OS 4.5. Pricing starts at $500 for the entry-level DD120.
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