Validates ability to operate and administer Dell PowerProtect DD (Data Domain) appliances including cloud tier, backup integrations, and advanced administration features.
Master Dell PowerProtect DD — from core deduplication architecture and cloud tier through backup integrations and full system administration including replication, encryption, and retention.
Module 01
DD Concepts and Features
›DD appliance models — DD3300 (entry), DD6400 (mid-range), DD9400, DD9900 (enterprise), and DP4400 integrated appliance (DD + PPDM); capacity and throughput differentiation across the portfolio
›SISL (Stream-Informed Segment Layout) inline deduplication — stream segmentation on ingest, content-based fingerprinting (SHA), locality-based chunking (segments sharing fingerprints grouped together), inline operation reduces storage on write without a separate post-process pass
›Inline vs post-process deduplication — inline: segments deduplicated on write path (lower storage, slightly higher CPU); post-process: write first then deduplicate in background (faster burst ingest, extra storage pass); DD exclusively uses inline
›File-based protocols (NFS, CIFS, DD Boost) vs block-based protocols (iSCSI VTL, FC VTL); global deduplication via DD Boost cross-system namespace; typical 10:1–55:1 global compression ratios; D@RE encryption at rest and capacity management basics
Module 02
Cloud Tier Implementation and Administration
›Cloud Tier overview — extend active tier capacity to public cloud (AWS S3, Azure Blob, GCP, Alibaba OSS, Virtustream) or private on-premises Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS); active tier holds hot data, cloud tier holds warm/cold data segments
›Cloud unit configuration — cloud profile creation (provider type, access key, secret key, endpoint, port 443), cloud unit creation (bucket/container name, passphrase for data-at-rest encryption), and connectivity validation via CLI
›Data movement policies — age-threshold based tiering: files older than N days automatically promoted to cloud tier at scheduled window; CLI: ddcloud schedule create; manual tier move also available
›Cloud tier capacity planning — size active tier to retain hot working set; cloud tier holds long-term GFS retention copies; total capacity = active tier (recent backups) + cloud tier (long-retention) divided by respective dedup ratios
›Metadata retention on active tier — after segments move to cloud, metadata (namespace, directory entries, dedup index pointers) stays local for fast restore initiation; restoring from cloud: on-access recall (transparent) or explicit recall (ddcloud recall )
Module 03
Backup Environments and Application Software Integration
›DD Boost protocol — distributed segment processing offloads fingerprinting to backup server (reduces DD CPU up to 50%); managed file replication (MFR) for application-aware replication; synthetic full backups assembled on DD without re-reading source
›Avamar integration — GSAN cluster deduplicates at source, unique segments stored on DD; configure DD Boost for Avamar storage via Avamar Administrator; GSAN + DD dedup ratios compound for maximum efficiency
›NetWorker integration — DD Boost over Fibre Channel (DFC) for SAN paths; storage node config (nsrmmd, DD Boost library, device create/label); DD Boost over IP for LAN paths; pool and device management
›Veeam integration — DD Boost via OST plug-in on Veeam backup proxy; add DD as OST repository; optimises synthetic fulls and GFS retention; inline dedup offload via DDvdp protocol
›Veritas NetBackup and CommVault — NBU: OST plug-in on media server, Storage Unit type OpenStorage, MSDP off for DD-managed dedup; CommVault: MediaAgent with DD Boost library; Oracle RMAN: sbt channel allocation with DD Boost for Oracle module
›NDMP configuration — ndmp enable on DD, NDMP user creation, 3-way NDMP topology (NAS filer as client, DD as tape server, DMA as controller); tape-to-DD migration workflow; block size recommendations (128 KB default) and stream count tuning per interface
Module 04
DD System Administration
›File system protocols — NFS exports (nfs export create, access control, ro/rw options), CIFS shares (cifs share create, SMB signing, AD/workgroup auth), DD Boost storage units (create, stream limits per SU and per client), VTL (vtl group create, pool create, drive count, emulation models: IBM TS3500/L700/HP MSL/Quantum), NDMP tape server (ndmp enable, 3-way topology)
›Replication — directory replication (one-to-one directory sync) vs managed file replication (MFR: DD Boost-based, application-controlled, multi-hop support, encryption in transit); context create/initialize/sync/resync; bandwidth throttling schedule; replication lag monitoring
›Retention lock — Governance mode (admin can override with dual authorisation) vs Compliance mode (fully immutable WORM, separate licence required, cannot be shortened by any user); min/max retention period configuration; atime-based locking mechanism
›DDMC (DD Management Center) — virtual appliance managing up to 384 DD systems; global capacity trend, alert aggregation, replication lag heat map, bulk firmware upgrade, LDAP/AD user management
›Smart Scale — scale-out namespace spanning multiple DD nodes as a single storage pool; consistent-hashing data striping; global dedup namespace across all nodes; add nodes online without data migration
›Monitoring — ddfs status, capacity trend graphs, replication lag (replication show all), performance metrics (throughput, ops/sec), SNMP trap config, Syslog integration (syslog add host), email alerts, and support bundle collection (support bundle create)
Technologies You Will Master
SISL Dedup
DIA Architecture
DD Boost
Cloud Tier
D@RE Encryption
Retention Lock
NFS / CIFS
VTL Emulation
NDMP
OST Plugin
Replication Contexts
DDMC
Smart Scale
Avamar Integration
NetWorker Integration
Veeam Integration
Snapshot / FastCopy
Secure Multi-Tenancy
SISL Dedup
DIA Architecture
DD Boost
Cloud Tier
D@RE Encryption
Retention Lock
NFS / CIFS
VTL Emulation
NDMP
OST Plugin
Replication Contexts
DDMC
Smart Scale
Avamar Integration
NetWorker Integration
Veeam Integration
Snapshot / FastCopy
Secure Multi-Tenancy
Full Curriculum
4-Module D-PPD-OE-23 Programme
Complete PowerProtect DD operate curriculum — from SISL deduplication architecture and cloud tier through backup integrations, retention lock, replication, DDMC, and secure multi-tenancy.
›DD appliance portfolio — DD3300 (2U entry, up to 270 TB logical), DD6400, DD9400, DD9900 (up to 27 PB logical), DP4400 (integrated DD + PPDM 2U appliance for small/remote sites); capacity and throughput differentiation
›SISL deduplication deep dive — incoming stream split into variable-length segments; SHA-based fingerprint per segment; locality filter co-locates related segments on disk (improving restore read locality); only unique segments written; inline operation means dedup happens before write, not in a separate post-process pass
›DIA (Data Invulnerability Architecture) — RAID-6 extended (tolerates 2 simultaneous drive failures), continuous background filesystem verification without offline downtime, end-to-end data checksums from client through network to disk, proactive copy of degraded data before failure escalates
›Inline vs post-process deduplication — inline: lower storage footprint from day one, slightly higher CPU during ingest; post-process: higher peak ingest rates at cost of temporary storage overhead; DD exclusively uses inline deduplication
›File-based (NFS, CIFS, DD Boost) vs block-based (iSCSI VTL, FC VTL) protocols; global deduplication via DD Boost cross-system namespace; LZ4/ZLIB compression layered on dedup; typical 10:1–55:1 global compression ratios; D@RE encryption and capacity sizing basics
›Cloud Tier architecture — active tier (NVMe/SSD + HDD) stores hot/warm data; cloud tier (AWS S3, Azure Blob, GCP, Alibaba OSS, ECS) stores cold data segments; data movement age-threshold policy; metadata always stays on active tier
›Configuring cloud units — cloud profile creation (provider type, access key ID, secret key, endpoint URL, port 443), cloud unit creation (profile reference, bucket name, passphrase for data-at-rest encryption), end-to-end connectivity validation (ddcloud check)
›Data movement policies — age-threshold policy promotes files older than N days to cloud tier at next scheduled tiering window; CLI: ddcloud schedule create; viewing tier eligibility (ddcloud show eligible) and current status (ddcloud show files)
›Capacity planning — active tier sized to hold working backup window (peak ingest rate × backup window days ÷ dedup ratio); cloud tier holds GFS weekly/monthly/yearly retention copies (long-retention volume ÷ dedup ratio)
›Monitoring and troubleshooting — ddcloud status (health), ddcloud list (usage per cloud unit), ddboost cloud show (per-SU stats); troubleshooting: firewall port 443 egress, proxy settings (ddcloud proxy set), credential rotation, certificate trust store updates, and recall monitoring (ddcloud recall status)
›DD Boost protocol architecture — distributed segment processing offloads fingerprinting to backup server (reduces DD CPU load up to 50%); managed file replication (MFR) enables application-aware replication; synthetic full assembled on DD from existing full + incrementals without reading backup client again
›Avamar + DD hybrid — GSAN grid deduplicates at source, unique segments land on DD; configure DD Boost for Avamar storage (Avamar Administrator → Data Domain → Add System); GSAN + DD dedup ratios compound for maximum storage efficiency
›NetWorker + DD Boost — DD Boost over FC (DFC) for SAN-attached paths (install DDBoost FC driver on storage node); device creation (nsrmm), device labelling, pool config; DD Boost over IP for LAN paths
›Veeam + OST plug-in — install Dell DD Boost OST plug-in on Veeam proxy; add DD as backup repository (Type: Dell EMC Data Domain, DD Boost credentials); enables synthetic full and GFS without re-reading source VMs
›NetBackup OST, CommVault, Oracle RMAN — NBU: OST plug-in on media server, Storage Unit type OpenStorage, MSDP off for DD-managed dedup; CommVault: MediaAgent with DD Boost library; RMAN: sbt channel with DD Boost for Oracle, 128 KB block size recommended
›NDMP and best practices — ndmp enable on DD, ndmp user add, 3-way topology (NAS filer client, DD tape server, backup app DMA); tape-to-DD migration; stream count tuning (max 120 DD Boost streams per 10 GbE NIC); DD Boost delivers 2–3× higher throughput vs NFS/CIFS
›Protocol administration — NFS (nfs export create path /data/col1/lsu clients /24 options rw), CIFS (cifs share create, AD join, SMB signing), DD Boost storage units (ddboost storage-unit create, maxstreams, per-client limits), VTL groups (vtl group create, emulation: IBM TS3500/L700, HP MSL, Quantum i40/i80), NDMP (ndmp enable, port 10000)
Earn the D-PPD-OE-23 Dell Proven Professional certification and demonstrate your expertise operating and administering Dell PowerProtect DD appliances with cloud tier, backup integrations, and advanced administration.