Tech Field Day has been the launchpad for many products, but we are especially pleased when companies choose a presentation to our delegates as part of their corporate launch. Such was the case this month with Zerto, a disaster recovery solution provider. The server virtualization experts brought together for Tech Field Day 6 were extremely impressed with the Zerto solution, and we are pleased that the company is finally out of stealth and ready for closer examination.
Data replication for disaster recovery is nothing new, but server virtualization is a key enabler of real disaster readiness. Unlike conventional “operating system on hardware” architectures, virtual servers can run on dissimilar hardware and are self contained in disk images. But virtualization-based disaster recovery solutions are not yet mature and widespread, since many integration and deployment challenges remain.
The Zerto solution is unusual in that it is implemented entirely in software and thus supports any storage array hardware. Like many virtualization specific backup applications, Zerto’s disaster recovery solution is fully integrated with hypervisor management tools and enables automated testing prior to an outage or recovery. To be sure, other vendors are working on similar technology, but the Zerto solution appears well architected and the background of the Zerto team is impressive.