Case Study: California Department of Veterans Affairs achieves scalable, faster backups and reduced tape dependence with ExaGrid disk-based deduplication

California Department of Veterans Affairs Adds Scalability and Reduces Dependence on Tape via ExaGrid’s Disk-Based Backup with Deduplication System

The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA), which provides benefits and care to veterans across the state, was struggling with a growing, tape‑based backup environment. With two full backups per week, daily incrementals, and seven‑to‑ten year retention, tape had become slow, unreliable and physically cumbersome, creating unmanageable backup windows as data volumes increased.

CDVA deployed a two‑site ExaGrid solution—10 TB appliances in Sacramento and Yountville—integrated with Symantec Backup Exec. ExaGrid’s disk‑based, post‑process deduplication and cross‑site replication reduced storage needs (typical 10:1–50:1), delivered roughly 50:1 WAN efficiency for replication, sped backups and restores, reduced dependence on tape, and provided scalable, easy expansion and improved disaster recovery with dedicated vendor support.

California Department of Veterans Affairs