Western Digital Expands WD Arkeia Network Backup Appliance Line

Press Release

Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) company and world leader in digital storage solutions, today announced two ultra-compact backup appliances: the WD Arkeia ™ DA1300 and DA2300, which offer small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) all-in-one backup and disaster recovery solutions. 

     “An increasing number of SMBs are seeing the value in appliance-based solutions and WD is focused on delivering smart, simple software bundled with purpose-built hardware to effectively serve this thriving segment,” said Bill Evans, general manager of WD’s SMB business unit. “The new WD Arkeia DA1300 and DA2300 network backup appliances provide a fast, easy-to-use and affordable desktop solution for SMB customers to protect their data within any office environment.”  

WD Arkeia DA1300, DA2300 Features
     Bundled with the award-winning WD Arkeia v10.1 software, these new appliances come with an unlimited numbers of file/folder backup agents on any of over 200 distinct platform types (for example, Windows, Linux®, Mac®, AIX®, HP-UX, Solaris®, Novell®, BSD)  The software also offers optional specialized agents for hot backups of important applications and databases. WD Arkeia uses an advanced, patented technology called Progressive Deduplication™ that reduces storage volume and delivers faster backups. The new WD Arkeia DA1300 and DA2300 backup appliances integrate the Intel® Atom™ dual-core processor and the Intel® Xeon® processors, respectively.  As with the WD Arkeia’s top-end rack-mounted appliances, the DA2300 uses SSD to maximize backup and data recovery performance.

• Ultra-Compact Form Factor: The new cube designs for both models measure 8.1” x 6.3” x 8.8” and are among the smallest in the industry and can be easily deployed on any desktop.
• Storage Reliability & Capacity: The entry-level DA1300 features WD Red™ NAS hard drives for more affordable NAS storage. The DA2300 features enterprise-class WD Se™ hard drives for maximum data integrity.  Raw storage capacity ranges from 4 TB to 8 TB for the DA1300 and 8 TB to 16 TB for the DA2300.  Both appliances are field upgradable, and disks are configured in RAID-1.
• Increased Backup and Recovery Speed: WD Arkeia’s patented Progressive Deduplication technology accelerates backups by compressing data at source computers before transfer over local area networks (LANs) or wide area networks (WANs).
• Improved Ease of Use: Both the DA1300 and DA2300 are preloaded with version 10.1 of WD Arkeia software, which includes an on-boarding wizard to streamline the appliance setup process.
• Integrated LCD Display: The integrated LCD display communicates status and critical alert information quickly and easily to the user.
• Simplified Tape-free, Offsite Storage: WD Arkeia v10.1 software extends support for hybrid cloud backup capabilities to the full line of WD Arkeia appliances. “Seed and feed” capabilities allow administrators to supplement network replication of backup sets offsite by using USB-connected hard drives to transfer initial and large backup sets and also to size WAN bandwidth for the replication of nightly incremental backups. 
• Limited Warranty & Support: Both appliances bundle one-year Bronze level support which includes a limited hardware warranty,  software updates and technical support.

Pricing and Availability
The WD Arkeia DA1300 will be available in late September, and the DA2300 model will be available later in the Fall. Both appliances will be available through select DMRs and WD-authorized value-added resellers (VARs) in the US, Canada and Europe. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price, including hardware and software, starts at $3,490 USD for the 4 TB DA1300 model.