Applies To: System Center Data Protection Manager 2010
System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010 offers the following data protection methods: disk-based (D2D), tape-based (D2T), or a combination of disk-based and tape-based protection (D2D2T).
The data protection method is configured at the protection-group level. If you want to use different methods to protect two data sources, the data sources cannot belong to the same protection group.
The following table compares the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
Comparison of Data Protection Methods
Method
Advantages
Disadvantages
When to use
Disk-based protection only
Speed of data recovery.
Speed of data backup.
Backups are less likely to have errors.
Ability to have redundancy to handle failure using technologies such as RAID.
Less manual intervention, such as changing tapes.
Disks are not a simple solution for archive needs, because of the cost of disks and the inconvenience of storing offsite.
When you have a limited data loss tolerance.
When you need faster recovery times.
Tape-based protection only
Can be stored offsite for security and as a contingency for disaster recovery.
Easy to increase capacity by adding more tapes.
Slower and more cumbersome recovery process.
Prone to errors.
When data loss tolerance is more generous.
When recovery time objective is generous.
For data that does not change frequently and does not require backup as frequently.
For lengthy retention period.
Both disk-based and tape-based protection
Combined advantages of above, while balancing out each method's disadvantages.