Dell's backup portfolio is still a bit thin at the high end, lacking both a virtual tape library and deduplication (no, the CommVault-provided single instance storage on the DL2000 doesn't count). Currently, Dell customers looking for deduplication can buy The Data Storage Group's ArchiveIQ source deduping backup software for Windows or an ExaGrid gateway to an EqualLogic array through Dell's reseller arrangements with those vendors.This week, Dell announced that it would enter the deduplicating target market with future products based on Quantum's deduplication software that would support its whole line of disk storage devices, including Dell/EMC Clariions and Dell/EqualLogic arrays.

Even better, the new backup box will be interoperable and replicate deduplicated data with EMC's DL 3D line, also based on Quantum's deduping code, and Quantum's own DXi series.

Since the announcement was big on marketecture but lacking in specifics, I'll go out on a limb and say Dell's planning to port Quantum's code to a 1950 server and use it as a front end to Dell's disk array line. Given that almost all current deduping backup targets are priced one way or another on their storage capacity, if I'm right Dell could break that paradigm with a gateway and price on performance.

No good word on when the new product will ship, but 2009 seems a safe guess.

Maybe the dedupe market is ready for a little price disruption.