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Deduplication Building Blocks
One-Node Building Block
A one-node building block consists of one MediaAgent, a Deduplication Database (DDB) and deduplication store. This is the most common building block design and allows for flexibility to add additional building blocks as an environment grows. However, since each building block is standalone, deduplication ratios are not optimal.
A common use case for one-node building blocks is using different building blocks to manage different data types. For example, an environment contains approximately 10TB of unstructured file data, 5TB of virtual machine data, and 15TB of Oracle database data requiring protection. All the data within the environment equals approximately 30TB which could, based on capacity, be handled by a single building block. However, factoring in performance, it may be determined that the best design is to use two building blocks.
Certain data types that have unique block make up do not typically deduplicate well, such as Oracle and file system data. A solution could be to use two building blocks, one for the file and virtual machine data, and the second for Oracle data.
The following diagram illustrates two standalone building blocks. One building block for file and virtual machine data, and the second building block for Oracle data
Two-Node Building Block
A two-node building block consists of one or two MediaAgents, two Deduplication Databases (DDBs) and one deduplication store. Although there are multiple databases, a two-node building block is a single deduplication engine. The advantage of using a two-node building block is that it can scale up to twice as large as a single node.
Two-node building block using two MediaAgents, two DDBs, and a NAS attached shared disk library
Four-Node Building Block
Commvault® V11 software supports up to four DDB partitions. Although this can provide the best scalability, it may not fit the needs of most situations. Commvault recommends consulting with Professional Services when designing a highly scalable building block solution.