We performed a comparison between Dell EMC PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) and Rubrik based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Rubrik’s users report that, in addition to being a powerful solution, it is simple to deploy and work with and therefore it comes out on top in this comparison. According to reviewers, PowerProtect’s deployment process can be difficult.
"The most valuable feature is the performance because you can back up data really quickly."
"The initial setup was straightforward. Deployment takes about two weeks."
"Dell PowerProtect DD is a stable solution."
"It is stable. I would rate the stability of the solution a nine out of ten."
"PowerProtect is a flexible solution that you can cover various cloud and on-premise environments."
"The solution is very scalable."
"This is a superior and reliable backup system that can handle large capacities with little management."
"The tool's performance is very good. DD Boost can improve its performance and backup."
"Drives the back-end through a powerful, well-documented API."
"The most valuable feature is the Instant Recovery, where we can restore a VM or SQL database or any server or application, and have it up and running on their appliance within a few seconds."
"Not having to specify a time to run a backup with a fixed schedule is something that's really beneficial. In the past we had to schedule and try to manually stagger things over the window, to back up everything. Because Rubrik is SLA-based, you say, "Well, I need it to fit in this window here," and it just backs it up when it's most convenient for the Brik and for the third-party system. It looks at the CPU usage and says, "Okay, it's not as busy now. I know I've got time to take the backup." That's a real advantage."
"CloudOut, because only blocks are pushed after compression and deduplication, not raw sizing."
"We had some VMware issue as VMware did some changes on the AHCI drivers. Rubrik saved our environment those times."
"Rubrik is an easy and automatic solution that needs no manual intervention."
"Instant recovery is a good feature."
"Replaces legacy tapes and disk backups which are unreliable, expensive and space consuming."
"They need to make migration easier."
"The pricing should be adjusted. Customers continuously talk about the price. They know it is a good solution and they really need the type of storage the solution offers, but it costs somewhere around $100,000 and up. It's not cheap, but it's very important for data vendors."
"When you use Data Domain, you have to have at least 20% free space so it can work properly. Sometimes we struggle with that, because we wanted to use all the free space, but then Data Domain becomes really slow. I understand that 20% is needed to process all the data, and doing the duplication and compression and all that, but it would be a big improvement if they did not require that 20%, because it is just too much to have available."
"The licensing is not cost-effective, and the pricing could be better."
"It could be more secure."
"The price could be improved."
"I would like to see some kind of integration with the ransomware in the next release."
"It helps if you have in-depth knowledge in order to use it correctly."
"I would like to see more openness for partners to access and assist in system management. Currently, access is limited, often handled by Rubrik personnel, likely due to security concerns."
"I hope to see enhancements in areas like data governance and the incorporation of new features in future updates."
"It is not Windows Cluster-Aware at the moment or Exchange DAG-Aware. If they add support for these particular use cases, it would be even better."
"There are some corner cases where the Rubrik Connector (Agent) still doesn't work for our clients."
"Rubrik is expensive."
"The main pain points we experienced was the stability of the system. We received a lot of instability when we have upgraded from a certain version to a new version. The newer version was completely filled with bugs and we needed to purge the system every week until we update to a newer version that was available one year later. The stability of the code is the main problem, they need to make it better."
"The functionality is missing, but they are very receptive to our thoughts and ideas."
"It is a lot more expensive than other solutions, but you get what you pay for."
More Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) Pricing and Cost Advice →
Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is ranked 1st in Deduplication Software with 61 reviews while Rubrik is ranked 4th in Backup and Recovery with 82 reviews. Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is rated 8.4, while Rubrik is rated 9.2. The top reviewer of Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) writes "Supports business continuity process but needs improvement in pricing". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Rubrik writes "Easy to use with minimal training required, innovative, good support". Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) is most compared with HPE StoreOnce, Dell PowerProtect Data Manager, ExaGrid EX Series, Veeam Backup & Replication and Veritas NetBackup Appliance, whereas Rubrik is most compared with Veeam Backup & Replication, Cohesity DataProtect, Commvault Cloud, Zerto and Azure Backup.
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The biggest difference is Rubrik has native software and hardware on one platform. Data Domain is only a disk target and a very good one but you still need backup software such as Networker, Veritas, Commvault, etc. That software requires both a master and media server which drives a lot of complexity. Rubrik is hyperconverged data management, there is not software licensing, end of year true-ups or additional infrastructure. Policy-based backup and restore functions with cloud archiving integration. It’s also really fast! Finally, if you’re running Nutanix and its native hypervisor AHV then Rubrik can protect that hypervisor and VMware.
I agree with the other answers - With Data Domain, you still require a software solution to go with the back-end storage. I.e., Avamar, Networker, etc.
Rubrik is a Software Defined Solution or can be deployed with its own set of hardware\storage.