By Sue Davis, senior analyst

(11.19.09) HP has made a new product announcement for its Data Protector backup and recovery software. Data Protector Notebook Extension provides protection for PC clients such as desktop PCs and laptops to enable organizations to protect data stored outside of the data center, something not typically included in normal backup procedures.

It provides two types of protection: Continuous File Protection, which is best suited to small files such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, as well as Adobe PDF files, and Open File Protection, which is for large and open files such as Microsoft Outlook PST files and database files.

Desktop and remote computers are all too often ignored in the scheduled backups of organizations. Laptops in particular are difficult to schedule backups for because users often work offline, and it is frequently left to individuals to protect their data.

This is often on an ad hoc basis by copying files to a USB device, which carries the additional risk of theft or loss of the device. A high proportion of business-critical data is stored on laptops and there is sometimes only a single copy.

For this data not to be protected is a huge risk for organizations. There are a number of causes of data loss, but one of the most common is disk-drive failure where the cost is high for IT to try and recover data.

By providing two methods of protection for PC clients, HP is able to cater for a wide range of data. Continuous File Protection continuously protects the data by creating a new copy each time a file is saved.

All file versions are saved in the local repository for easy recovery by the user and are transferred to the central data vault when the user is connected to the network.

A snapshot is taken periodically of files protected by Open File Protection and only changed blocks are transferred to the data vault. Once the backed-up data has been transferred the local copy is deleted, so users have to be connected to the network to recover data. All transfers, whichever method is used, are encrypted and compressed.

Administrators manage the process through centralised administration that enables them to define file protection, encryption, and data vault policies, as well as network throttling, user quotas, and data retention. There is also a centralized reporting capability that provides a large number of reports.

Data Protector Notebook Extension is an important addition to HP's backup and recovery portfolio and one that is long overdue. Many competitor products now provide capabilities to protect PCs and laptops, and this had put HP at a disadvantage over vendors that already provided this functionality. PC clients are a vital part of an organisation's infrastructure and are too often ignored when it comes to data protection. Making backup and recovery software for these devices a standard part of a data-protection solution should act as a reminder to organisations of the need to protect PCs and laptops. ENS