Are you Ready to Enter the Next-Generation of Data Migration?

While storage technology has evolved rapidly over the years to keep up with exponential data growth, surprisingly, data migration technology has not evolved at the same rate. It is not uncommon for enterprises that pride themselves on using the latest storage technology to still be migrating their data the same way they did 15 years ago.

Why the disconnect? Maybe it is not as evident that data migration technology has evolved as well. Perhaps enterprises don’t realize they have a choice when it comes to data migration. Or it could be they don’t realize how important a choice in data migration technology is in today’s always on, always connected world where downtime equals lost revenue. The simple fact is your data migration method selection is an important choice that shouldn’t be made lightly.

There are currently four data migration options to consider:

• The Copy/Paste approach involves using the database management tools already in place to copy the source data and paste it into the target database. This method has no up-front costs, but can result in days of downtime.

• The Virtual Storage Appliances approach is only applicable if your enterprise already supports virtualized storage. If it does, then this method allows you to create a synchronous or asynchronous copy of the source data in the new target database(s) with minimal impact to the production data. Although this method does not require any downtime during the actual data migration, it does require it after the data migration is complete when the virtual storage appliances need to be removed.

• The Intelligent Storage Controller approach uses the intelligent storage controllers included with some high-end storage appliances to assist with data migration. This method is relatively simple and requires very little downtime, but it lacks some important migration features such as secure erasure.

• The Disk Block-Level approach was created by Cirrus Data Solutions with its Data Migration Server (DMS) and patented Transparent Datapath Intercept (TDI) technology. The DMS appliance sits in the data path between the clients and storage and also attaches to the target destination storage, allowing enterprises to easily remove the old storage system without impacting performance or requiring downtime. This next-generation approach is the only data migration solution that can boast zero downtime data migration.

As you can see, there are plenty of options to choose from, but If you have a large data set or mission-critical applications that cannot be disrupted, then Cirrus’ Data Migration Server is the fastest, safest and most cost-effective route to take for data migration. With Cirrus, migration is as simple as plugging in the DMS appliance, turning it on, and specifying what you want to move. When the migration is over, simply erase the source data and unplug the DMS appliance. It’s that straightforward.

Some of the advantages of using DMS, the industry’s first disk block-level data migration solution are:

• Extremely simple to set up and turn off; taking only seconds to insert the DMS into the data path.

• Provides 100% transparency into the migration process

• Compatible with leading storage vendor solutions, including EMC, Pure Storage, HP, Infinidat and IBM to name a few

• Does not require any LUN creation or assignment; all of that is performed automatically

• No rezoning of Fibre Channel (FC) switch or other changes in the host storage environment

For a more in depth comparison between the current migration methods, read our whitepaper, “Choosing the Right Path to Data Migration.”