Thanks for the input JLackman and ch1ta. I don't see a clear place to get the virtual appliance. It keeps saying it is included but I looked on the vSphere installation disc and I don't see anything related to vDP. Is there a link to where I can download the free appliance?
Also, just so you're aware, our environment is using an iSCSI shared storage system. Although I haven't read up on the vDP yet, are there any recommendations or best-practices you can provide with regard to using vDP in this type of environment that would include moving or transferring data backups offsite for diaster recovery? [In other words, we use tapes in the regular office datacenter and this, obviously, is a new type of datacenter setup that would use a much different approach to data backups and restoration.]