Everything You Need To Know About Data Deduplication

Data deduplication is the process of eliminating redundant data copies to reduce storage capacity requirements. There are two methods to deduplicate data. The first one is inline processing. In this, the data is analyzed as it is ingested into a backup system. The other one is post-processing deduplication in which duplicates are deleted after the data is written to the disk.

Why Is Data Deduplication Important?

Data deduplication helps reduce costs, decrease storage space needs as well as creates easily accessible backups. The transfer of excessive data over connections like Cox bundles and others uses the network bandwidth unnecessarily. By creating backups, you can free up the bandwidth and thereby boost network performance.

How Does Data Deduplication Work?

Data deduplication breaks the data into chunks. Though the process of creating these chunks varies from system to system, the method of comparing them is more or less the same. Once the data is broken down, the analysis of the chunks begins. Each chunk goes through an algorithm that creates a hash (a series of letters as well as numbers that represents the data in the chunk). The slightest change in the chunk’s data changes the hash. If and when a chunk is identified as redundant, it is replaced by a referencing point in the chunks stored.

Key Benefits 

By removing redundant data from your system, you can manage your storage resources more efficiently. This has several benefits. Let’s have a look at some of them.

#1. Better Storage Allocation

Deduplication writes unique data to the disk and thereby makes more space for backups. An example in this regard is that of Microsoft; windows deduplication resulted in space savings of almost 75%.

#2. Cost Savings

With efficient storage allocation, organizations can utilize their storage devices more productively. This helps you save money as you don’t need to spend on hardware upgrades.

#3. Network Optimization

Data deduplication boosts storage without transferring data through the network. In this way, you have more bandwidth to sustain the performance of a network.

#4. Cost-Effective Data Center

Data deduplication has several advantages in terms of cost. Over the period of time, you will notice substantial reductions in physical space as well as power requirements. This leads to a cost-efficient as well as functional data center environment.

#5. Improves Recovery & Continuity

By deleting redundant data from a system, you can recover backups much faster. This minimizes downtime and allows you to continue business operations and processes without any glitches.

Methods of Data Duplication

There are two main data deduplication methods. These are target deduplication and source deduplication. In the former, the deduplication takes place near the location of the data storage system. But, in the latter, it takes place at the location of data creation.

#1. Target Deduplication

Target deduplication deletes redundant data when it is transferred to the storage device. All the chunking, as well as comparison, are done at the target. Hence, the server remains is unaware of any deduplication occurrences.

#2. Source Deduplication

Source deduplication deletes data at the source instead of at the target. So, after the scan is run on the data within the system, chunks are sent to the backup server. If the server finds those chunks unique, it writes data to the disk. However, if it detects identical chunks, it refuses to transfer them. This saves bandwidth as well as storage.

Which Method Is Right for You?

To determine which data deduplication method is right for you, you need to understand how the two processes work. For target deduplication, you need to purchase a target deduplication disk. These disks need to be present everywhere you’re creating a backup. Thus, it can be rather costly. However, it also means you can use one backup software but change the targets. Therefore, you don’t need to replace your backup system entirely.

In source data deduplication, you need to replace your backup system. But, it gives you the freedom to backup from anywhere. Hence, it is suitable for those who have remote devices like mobiles and laptops.

Conclusion

In today’s fast-paced world, data deduplication holds great importance. It is an effective and reliable method to get rid of unwanted data, reduce redundant storage spaces as well as optimize databases for safe and productive use.

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