The following sections contain information to introduce you to PlateSpin Forge:
PlateSpin Forge is a consolidated recovery hardware appliance that protects both physical and virtual server workloads by using embedded virtualization technology. If there is a production server outage or disaster, workloads can be rapidly powered on within the PlateSpin Forge recovery environment and continue to run as normal until the production environment is restored.
PlateSpin Forge 2.5 uses its functional components to:
Protect from 10 to 25 workloads, depending on which model is installed
Perform protection testing without interfering with the production environment
Provide quick disaster recovery, including restoration to different hardware
Take advantage of existing external storage solutions, such as SANs.
Four different models are available in various configurations. Most of the models ship with prepackaged storage, and all models ship with consolidated recovery software and virtualization technology that is ready to go out-of-the-box. With internal, prepackaged storage, Forge has a total storage capacity of 2.5 terabytes, although the capacity is almost unlimited when external storage configurations are used by adding iSCSI or Fibre Channel cards. The built-in management console provides support for an unlimited number of Forge appliances.
PlateSpin Forge includes these core features:
Whole Workload Replication
Block-level and Snapshot Replication
Rapid One-click Failover
Failback Flexibility
Events, Tasks, and Actionable Alerts
Protection Tiers
Workload Protection Metrics
Centralized Management Console
Plug In and Protect Workloads
Simple Web-Based Management
Easy Test Failover
Failover Preparation
Remote Control
Some of the new features in PlateSpin Forge 2.5 include:
Windows Server 2008 & Windows Vista support
Live file-based replication support (VSS-aware)
Live block-based replication support (VSS-aware)
Improved Block-Based Transfers
Faster, more robust block-based transfer protocol. Up to 50% faster than previous versions.
Now available for 64-bit workloads.
Server Sync Block-Based Transfers
Server Sync now has option of file-based or block-based transfers.
Physical Machine Server Sync
Adds support for Server Sync to physical server targets for faster failback scenarios.
24 hour+ replications
Supports block-based replications lasting longer than 24 hours, for customers with extremely large workloads or slow WAN connections.
User Interface Enhancements
Integrated failback process: failover from down production server to PlateSpin Forge, then failback to repaired or replaced production server entirely within PlateSpin Forge interface.
Integrated License Release: Change protected workloads entirely within PlateSpin Forge interface.
Role-Based Access and Multi-Tenancy
Delegated control through user (workload) groups enables hosting of multiple customers on a single PlateSpin Forge appliance.
Appliance Portability
Allows network changes to existing protection contracts.
Enables appliance to be moved within or between networks (e.g., from test to production site).
Forge currently supports these 32-bit and 64-bit Windows systems:
Forge currently supports these Windows-based browsers:
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7
Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 (compatibility mode)
Mozilla Firefox 2.x, 3.x