Dell EMC Data Domain

The technology started in a separate company, which was then acquired and re-branded twice.

{{Infobox company

| name = Data Domain Corporation

| logo = Data Domain Corporation logo.svg

| type = Subsidiary of EMC Corporation

| slogan =

| successor = Dell EMC Data Domain

| foundation = 2001

| location = Santa Clara, California

| founder = Kai Li, Brian Biles

| key_people = Kai Li, Brian Biles

| industry = deduplication

| fate = Acquired by EMC Corporation in 2009

| products = Data Duplication

| owner = Dell EMC

| homepage = [http://www.emc.com/datadomain www.emc.com/datadomain]

}}

The Data Domain Corporation was founded by Kai Li, Ben Zhu, and Brian Biles in 2001 as a company specializing in target-based data deduplication products for disk-based backup.[http://www.datadomain.com/company/ "Data Domain, an EMC company." Data Domain.]{{cite web |url=http://greylockvc.com/2011/03/11/the-entrepreneur-questionnaire-brian-biles-co-founder-of-data-domain/|website=greylockvc.com |title=The Entrepreneur Questionnaire: Brian Biles, Co-Founder of Data Domain |date= March 11, 2011 |access-date= August 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826084618/http://greylockvc.com/2011/03/11/the-entrepreneur-questionnaire-brian-biles-co-founder-of-data-domain/ |archive-date= August 26, 2011 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |url= https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/2454239 |title= Brian D. Biles |publisher= Bloomberg |work= Executive data |access-date= August 11, 2021 }}

Hugo Patterson joined as chief architect 3 months after initial funding.

The company started operations in a series of venture capital offices around Palo Alto, California, pre-funding at U.S. Venture Partners, where Zhu was an entrepreneur in residence (EIR), then at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), where Li was an EIR, and post-funding at Greylock Partners.

NEA and Greylock provided Series A funding in 2002.{{Cite news |url= http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2009/07/09/data-domain-founder-kai-li-on-emc-acquisition-and-the-future-of-data-storage/| title=Data Domain Founder, Kai Li, on EMC Acquisition and the Future of Data Storage|work=Xconomy|publisher=Xconomy, Inc.|date= July 9, 2009}}

The first product revenue was realized in the beginning of 2004.{{Cite news |url= https://www.computerworld.com/article/2525408/data-center/netapp-to-acquire-data-domain-for--1-5-billion.html |title=NetApp to acquire Data Domain for $1.5 billion| work= Computerworld| publisher= IDG |date= May 20, 2009 |author= Stephen Lawson |access-date= August 11, 2021 }}

NEA and Greylock led the company’s $9.3 million Series A funding round in 2002. Sutter Hill Ventures led its $17 million Series B funding round in 2003, joined again by NEA and Greylock. Through 2005, the three companies invested a total of $40 million in Data Domain.{{Cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2009/07/10/breaking-down-the-vc-investment-returns-of-data-domain/|title=Breaking Down The VC Investment Returns Of Data Domain|work=Wall Street Journal|date=2009-07-10}}

The company had their initial public offering on June 27, 2007, with a total market capitalization of $776.5 million, above its forecast range despite years of losses.{{Cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/datadomain-ipo/data-domain-ipo-prices-above-forecast-range-idUSN2726984120070627 |title= Data Domain IPO prices above forecast range |work=Press release |publisher=Reuters |date= June 27, 2007 |access-date= August 11, 2021 }} This put the stock price at $15 per share, above the forecasted range of $11.50 to $13.50. The company’s market capitalization was $776.5 million at the time of the IPO. It was listed on Nasdaq with symbol DDUP.

In May 2009, NetApp announced it would acquire Data Domain for about $1.5 billion. In June 2009, EMC Corporation announced their intention to acquire Data Domain Corp for $2.4 billion, outbidding the previous offer. In July, the two companies agreed to the acquisition.{{Cite news |url= https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/emc-tops-netapps-bid-for-data-domain/ |title=EMC Tops NetApp's Bid for Data Domain |work=Dealbook |publisher=The New York Times Company| date=June 1, 2009 |access-date= August 11, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110813113048/https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/06/01/emc-tops-netapps-bid-for-data-domain/ |archive-date= August 13, 2011 }}{{Cite news|url=http://www.infostor.com/index/articles/display/331820/articles/infostor/volume-12/issue-6/news-analysis-trends/data-domain-boosts-de-duplication-performance.html|title=Data Domain boosts de-duplication performance|work=InfoStor|publisher=ITBusinessEdge|date=2008-06-01}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.crn.com/news/virtualization/300082471/dell-emc-debuts-software-only-version-of-data-domain.htm|title=Dell EMC Debuts Software-Only Version Of Data Domain|work=CRN|publisher=The Channel Co.|date=2016-10-19}} Post-acquisition, Data Domain would operate as a brand and line of products under EMC, known as EMC Data Domain.{{cite web |url= https://www.emc.com/collateral/analyst-report/idc-roi-consolidating-backup-archive-data-ar.pdf|author1=Randy Perry|author2=Ashish Nadkarni |date= July 2013|title=The ROI of Consolidating Backup and Archive Data |accessdate= August 11, 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171107014919/https://www.emc.com/collateral/analyst-report/idc-roi-consolidating-backup-archive-data-ar.pdf |archive-date= November 7, 2017}}

Former CEO Frank Slootman published a book about his experiences in 2011.{{Cite book |title= Tape Sucks: Inside Data Domain, a Silicon Valley Growth Story |author= Frank Slootman |isbn= 9780615484068 |publisher= Together Editing |year= 2011 }}

Since acquiring Data Domain, EMC integrated the Data Domain platform with its Data Protection Suite software and expanded software enhancements. According to a 2013 analysis sponsored by EMC, Data Domain reduced loss of user productivity from backup, restore, and retrieval operations.

In 2016, EMC merged with Dell to become Dell EMC, which continued the Data Domain brand until 2019.{{Cite news |title= Dell soups up low-end Data Domain deduper: Refreshes SMB-sized deduping backup-to-disk box |author= Chris Mellor |date= February 5, 2018 |work= The Register |url= https://www.theregister.com/2018/02/05/dell_makes_a_smaller_data_domain/ |access-date= August 11, 2021 }}{{Cite news |title= Dell stamps on the gas for backup devices with speed and cloud boost |author= Chris Mellor |date= February 6, 2019 |work= The Register |url= https://www.theregister.com/2019/02/06/speedy_dell_backup_devices/ |access-date= August 11, 2021 }} During this period, the brand was named Dell EMC Data Domain.{{Cite web |url=https://www.dell.com/en-us/blog/new-dell-emc-data-domain-dd3300-big-opportunities-to-address-commercial-and-robo-needs/ |website=dell.com |title=New Dell EMC Data Domain DD3300: Big Opportunities to Address Commercial and ROBO Needs |last=Spring |first=Cindy |date=February 13, 2018 |access-date=January 22, 2023 }} On September 24, 2019, Dell EMC announced via blog post that Data Domain products will be branded as PowerProtect DD products going forward.{{cite web |url=https://www.dell.com/en-us/blog/introducing-dell-emc-powerprotect-dd-series-appliances/ |website=dell.com |title=Introducing Dell EMC PowerProtect DD Series Appliances, the Next Generation of Data Domain, Setting a New Bar for Data Protection in a Modern Digital Economy |last=Phalen |first=Beth |date=September 24, 2019 |access-date=January 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405101117/https://www.dell.com/en-us/blog/introducing-dell-emc-powerprotect-dd-series-appliances/ |archive-date=April 5, 2022 |url-status=live }}

The goal of the Data Domain technology was to eliminate logistical concerns of using backup or archival tape libraries, by implementing a suitable disk-based substitute for backup tapes. It did this by inventing a fast implementation of lossless data compression, optimized for streaming workloads, which compares incoming large data segments against all others in its store. This provided significant speed advantages compared to tape.{{Cite news|url=http://wikibon.org/wiki/v/EMC_Data_Domain_De-duplication_2011|title=EMC Data Domain De-duplication 2011|work=Wikibon|date=2011-01-25}} Originally categorized as "capacity optimization" by industry analysts, it became more widely known as inline "data deduplication."{{Cite news |url=http://searchdatabackup.techtarget.com/news/2240181803/EMC-pushes-Data-Domain-for-backup-and-archiving |title=EMC pushes Data Domain for backup and archiving |work=SearchDataBackup |publisher=TechTarget |date=2013-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171125221236/http://searchdatabackup.techtarget.com/news/2240181803/EMC-pushes-Data-Domain-for-backup-and-archiving |archive-date=2017-11-25}} Also, unlike most non-archival computer storage products, Data Domain went to technical lengths to ensure data longevity (vs. system longevity).{{cite web |url=http://www.datadomain.com/solutions/archiving.html |title=Archiving & Compliance |website=datadomain.com |publisher=Data Domain |access-date=January 22, 2023 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221103456/http://www.datadomain.com/solutions/archiving.html |archive-date=February 21, 2009}}

Unlike most of Data Domain's early competition, it was first packaged as a file-system appliance; this made it more predictable than a software product and simpler to manage than a virtual tape library system.{{Cite news|url=http://wikibon.org/wiki/v/EMC_Data_Domain_De-duplication_2011|title=EMC Data Domain De-duplication 2011|work=Wikibon|date=2011-01-25}} This product package included the storage hardware itself, as well as a specialized proprietary OS and file system.{{cite conference |url=https://www.usenix.org/legacy/event/fast08/tech/full_papers/zhu/zhu.pdf |title=Avoiding the Disk Bottleneck in the Data Domain Deduplication File System |last1=Zhu |first1=Benjamin |last2=Li |first2=Kai |last3=Patterson |first3=Hugo |date=2008-02-29 |conference=6th USENIX Conference on File and Storage Technologies, FAST 2008 |conference-url=https://www.usenix.org/legacy/event/fast08/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531172649/https://www.usenix.org/legacy/event/fast08/tech/full_papers/zhu/zhu.pdf |archive-date=2022-05-31 |url-status=live |location=San Jose, California, USA |pages=14 |access-date=2023-01-22 |language=en}}

Alongside the standalone appliances, Data Domain also created a method to unify multiple of their appliances into a larger data storage system called a DDX Array. A DDX Array is a singular rack-mounted storage system, consisting of multiple individual Data Domain storage appliances acting as "controllers". This system's data storage capacity could be further expanded by connecting to and controlling "integrated or third party external storage". DDX Arrays provided increased throughput (scaling with the number of appliances used as controllers) into a single storage source, and greater overall storage capacity, when compared to an individual Data Domain appliance.{{cite web |url=http://www.datadomain.com/products/arrays.html |title=Data Domain DDX Array Series |website=datadomain.com |publisher=Data Domain |access-date=January 22, 2023 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220153752/http://www.datadomain.com/products/arrays.html |archive-date=February 20, 2009}}

The first Data Domain system, the DD200 in 2004, had a 1.25 TB addressable capacity and was able to accept data at a rate of 40 MB/sec. Because its implementation put most of the system stress on CPU/RAM, rather than disk I/O, it was able to improve at the rate of Intel technology.

In May 2008, Data Domain Corporation announced the DD690, which used quad-core CPUs and could accept data at a rate of 166 MB/sec. This singular rack-mounted appliance could be combined with other DD690s to form a "DDX Array".{{cite web |url=https://www.infostor.com/index/articles/display/331820/articles/infostor/volume-12/issue-6/news-analysis-trends/data-domain-boosts-de-duplication-performance.html |title=Data Domain Boosts De-Duplication Performance |last=Komiega |first=Kevin |date=June 1, 2008 |website=infostor.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705062926/https://www.infostor.com/index/articles/display/331820/articles/infostor/volume-12/issue-6/news-analysis-trends/data-domain-boosts-de-duplication-performance.html |archive-date=July 5, 2022 |access-date=January 22, 2023}}

By 2018, Dell EMC would produce the DD9800, which had an addressable capacity of up to 50 PB (depending on configuration), and could accept data at a rate of 8611 MB/sec.{{citation |title=DELL EMC DATA DOMAIN OPERATING SYSTEM |year=2018 |author= |publisher=Dell |publication-place=Dell.com |page=3 |url=https://i.dell.com/sites/csdocuments/Product_Docs/en/h6811-datadomain-ds.pdf#page=3 |access-date=January 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123065551/https://i.dell.com/sites/csdocuments/Product_Docs/en/h6811-datadomain-ds.pdf |archive-date=January 23, 2023 |url-status=live}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.cs.princeton.edu/~li/ Kai Li]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20121015073235/http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=239622&privcapId=3095585&previousCapId=3095585&previousTitle=Data%20Domain,%20Inc. Brian Biles]

{{EMC}}

Category:Computer storage companies

Category:Software companies based in Massachusetts

Category:EMC Corporation

Category:Defunct software companies of the United States