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VFM™ 5.6 Software - Description

This page contains feature descriptions and installation requirements for VFM (Virtual File Manager) 5.6 software. After reading this information, click the link at the bottom of the page to go to the download page.

Features

VFM is a file virtualization solution for managing distributed storage environments. VFM enables storage administrators to create a single view of a heterogeneous enterprise file system that might consist of filers, Windows servers, and UNIX servers. Using VFM, administrators can carry out management operations on large amounts of data without disrupting client access. VFM is installed on a Windows server and requires no agents to be installed on Windows or UNIX clients.

VFM provides the following benefits:

Eliminates any need for client reconfiguration if data is moved to a new location
Reduces the downtime in case of a disaster
Provides file-level heterogeneous replication and migration for filer/Windows/UNIX data
Operates in heterogeneous, multi-vendor, multi-architecture environments
Lowers the cost of storage management and decreases the total cost of ownership

New features in VFM 5.6 include:

MICROSOFT VSS AND NETWORK APPLIANCE SNAPSHOT INTEGRATION
VFM 5.6 integrates with Microsoft VSS and Network Appliance Snapshots to enable backup of point-in-time copies. VFM automatically creates the snapshots, replicates the files and also deletes the snapshots as part of the remote site backup. This enables enterprises to make a perfect replica of the data even if the files are locked by applications such as Microsoft Outlook (.pst) files and Microsoft Access database files.
REPLICATION PERFORMANCE AND MANAGEMENT ENHANCEMENTS
This release's replication best practice options provide enterprises with the ability to easily optimize remote site data transfers for speed and reliability. In addition to accurately controlling data transfers to minimize network bandwidth utilization, VFM also provides additional control of file attribute settings during replication and over advanced settings, such as, what constitutes "different" when comparing source and destination files.
REMOTE SECURE SOCKET SHELL (SSH)
VFM 5.6 also provides the option to use the most widely adopted UNIX-based network security protocol, SSH, to enable VFM to communicate more securely with storage resources across all locations, enterprise-wide.

System Requirements

VFM 5.6 has the following minimum system requirements for installing software components:
VFM component	Operating system	Browser	Disk space*	Video
Server	See below	-	200 MB	-
Client		Internet Explorer, 5.5 or later	35 MB	1024 x 768, 256 colors
Monitor		-	125 MB	-
Self-extracting installation file	-	-	155 MB	-
*Add 80 MB for temporary disk space required during the installation process. For example, if you are installing the server, the total required disk space during installation is 280 MB. As you use VFM, additional disk space is needed to store items such as published reports, namespace backups, application snapshots, and captured namespaces.

VFM components must be installed on local fixed NTFS disks.

VFM 5.6 operating system requirements are based on the roots you plan to manage through VFM:

Microsoft® Windows 2000 SP 2 or later or Windows XP Professional is required to manage roots on Windows NT® 4 or Windows 2000 servers.
Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Windows Server™ 2003 is required to manage multiple roots on a single Windows Server 2003.
If the number of connections used between VFM components and the connections used by other processes on the system could exceed the limits on inbound connections imposed by Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional, install the VFM server on a Windows 2000 server and Windows Server 2003. These limits are documented in the Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles 122920 and 314882.
Windows Script Host 5.6 or later is required for all versions of Windows.

VFM installs and uses Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine as part of the VFM server or VFM monitoring agent.

VFM installs the Microsoft .NET Framework if it is not already on the system.

NOTE: NetApp® filers must run Data ONTAP™ 6.1 software or later to be recognized by VFM. The filer-hosted namespace feature requires Data ONTAP 6.4 or later.

Product Documentation

	The user guides for VFM 5.6 are included in the software download. You can view them after downloading and unzipping the VFM installation .zip package. See the Readme file, readme.chm, in the installation directory for additional technical information.

	NOTE: If you are using the Microsoft®Internet Explorer 4.0 or 5.0 browser and are having problems opening any of the Acrobat® files, you might need to upgrade your browser by downloading the latest Service Pack. Alternatively, you can right-click the link to an Acrobat file and select "Save Target as..." to download the file, or use the Netscape Navigator® browser to access the file.

Software Download Instructions

After you confirm that your servers and filers meet the requirements, proceed with the download by clicking CONTINUE.

Part number 215-01878-A0