AutoVirt v3.5 Migrates Files without Disrupting Users

Users can execute fast, accurate file data migrations seamlessly

• By James E. Powell
• 03/02/2011

AutoVirt, Inc., a file virtualization and data mobility solutions provider, has updated its AutoVirt software to version 3.5. The file discovery and migration tool adds new assessment features and makes deployment easier so IT can quickly and accurately plan and execute file migrations.

Among the enhancements to AutoVirt v3.5 is a comprehensive assessment feature that can discover and classify all file data in heterogeneous file storage environments (for example, by file type, age, or size, location, and/or owner) and identify “opportunities for data center optimization” (i.e., tiering, consolidation, capacity balancing, and archiving), according to a company statement. AutoVirt 3.5 can identify migration obstacles as well, so file access and ACL errors won’t trip you up. Once assessment is complete, users can move to “full production” mode and avoid having to manage the onerous configuration requirements for file migration.

IT organizations are spending considerable effort in managing their storage environment given the explosive growth in data. The typical IT solution is to simply buy more hardware, compounding the problem and delaying any differentiation between business-critical and personal/non-critical data, to say nothing of increasing capital and operational expenses.

What IT needs are tools that help them optimize their storage environments -- keeping business-critical data on the most efficient (read: speedy) devices and migrating other data to slower, less-expensive hardware. They also need to delete files or migrate them to backup media.

John Klein, president and CEO of AutoVirt, told Enterprise Strategies that AutoVirt v3.5 includes detailed file-level metrics to help a data manager understand what files currently exist, a key first step in migration planning. Reports include file ownership, file type, file age, and last modified date. Once files have been selected, AutoVirt lets you non-disruptively migrate it -- and AutoVirt handles all the messy configuration details for you. Not only does that save time (cutting the task down from hours or days to just minutes), but, Klein says, it significantly reduces the likelihood of errors.

“The problem is that most tools perform the assessment -- and then what? You need to perform the migration manually, and that takes a lot of set-up time. AutoVirt manages the migration for you; the same tool manages discovery and migration.”

Best of all, he says, users aren’t aware of any change. “They won’t notice anything different.”

AutoVirt v3.5 is available now. More information is available at www.autovirt.com.