Home > Storage > ObjectScale and ECS > Product Documentation > Dell ECS with Commvault: Configuration and Best Practices > Architecture overview
Understanding the Commvault architecture first requires discussing the various components and their functions. The iDataAgent software is deployed on all servers, workstations, and laptops where backups are needed. Virtual Server Agents (collectively called clients) are used to support hypervisor protection. There are specific iDataAgents for each of the different file systems, applications, and databases supported by Commvault. The MediaAgent software is deployed on dedicated servers; it maintains the deduplication databases and manages the transfer of data between the clients and ECS. Multiple MediaAgents are used to distribute the load. The CommServe software is deployed on a dedicated server that communicates and coordinates all operations, backups, restores, copies, media management, and other functions. The CommServe creates a CommCell, which is a logical grouping of MediaAgents and clients. Depending on the size of the environment or the network and physical boundaries, there can be multiple CommCells within an organization. A CommCell group is the logical grouping of all these software components. This group protects, moves, stores, and manages the movement of data and information.
With this configuration, the storage library settings never need to be updated as capacity is added. When capacity is added to the ECS environment, the CommServe and MediaAgents immediately see the additional capacity without additional configuration or manual intervention.
The following figure shows the logical architecture for a CommCell group with Dell PowerScale as the primary backup target and ECS for auxiliary or secondary copies for long-term retention:
Figure 1. ECS as an auxiliary copy target
The following figure shows the logical architecture for a CommCell group with Dell ECS object storage defined as the target cloud storage library for backup:
Figure 2. ECS as a backup/archive target