Anyone ever added a Dcrue device into the OpenVMS mix?

[Victor Mendham]

Just wondering if anyone has added a device within their OpenVMS environment which can perform encryption/compression for backups.
I am being queried as to the possibility of adding the device into our mix and am wondering how it will work with HSJ50,70 etc.

[Robert Gezelter]

Victor,

Many of the today's tape drives have their own embedded support for compression (see MOUNT/MEDIA_FORMAT=COMPRESSION).

If the devices already have compression, adding another compression unit will not help the situation appreciably.

The utility of compression in general be considered separately from the question of the hardware. Compression does not always reduce the size of the backups. If your data is already compressed, then compression will not help. If your data is very compressible, then other solutions (e.g., ZIP/UNZIP) may be better than a hardware-based solution. Your mileage will vary.

Without a detailed look at your situation, it is hard to say whether compression will be helpful.

I hope that the above is helpful.

- Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com

[Victor Mendham]

Robert,

Thanks for your reply, but I think the dcrue device is ment to encrypt the data, so that no one other than those intended can read the tape data.

Do you have or know of anyone with dcrue or other encryption experience for data ( to tape or disk [savesets] ) on OpenVMS?

[Robert Gezelter]

Victor,

My apologies. I missed the "encryption", and misread it only a question of compression.

There is support for encryption/decryption of Backups in OpenVMS, see the OpenVMS Encryption Manual at http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/security.html#encrypt. This support is included in OpenVMS 8.2 (you will find a discussion of the BACKUP/ENCRYPT option at Section 3.6 of that manual).

The support described is host-based, not device-based. Having worked on one such hardware device for a client, such a device could be integrated in a fairly friendly fashion to OpenVMS, but it would require driver and possibly other supporting software.

I recall that there are also some encrypted virtual disk packages in the freeware archive, but the details are not at my fingertips at this instant.

- Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com

[Colin Butcher]

I shared my table at the recent OpenVMS Symposium Partner's Roundhouse with Neoscale. They make 'in fibrechannel' encryption devices, both for disc subsystems and for tape subsystems. Looks promising, but as yet I have no personal experience of using them. See www.neoscale.com and talk with Joe Ortiz.

Compression is a different issue and is generally best done by the host system or the tape device (if you're using tape).

Cheers, Colin.