Looking for alternative to Symantec Backup Exec 12.5 [closed]

Going through BE's interface is like surfing through MySpace. It seems like it was put together piecemeal over time and has no logical organization that I can see. Also, the errors are cryptic and unhelpful. Can anyone recommend a good piece of backup software for our servers that can handle both flash and tape drives?

It would need specific agents for SQL, SharePoint, and Exchange.

Thanks in advance.

Solution 1:

The reality of backup software is that the grass is always greener on the other side.

There is no perfect backup product. They all have strengths and weaknesses.

If you are in an enterprise, with 100's to 1000's of servers with TB of data to move, they all suck equally well.

It is only after you move from one to another, that you look back with fondness on the previous package.

We went from Legato (now EMC) Networkr to Veritas (now Symantec) NetBackup for about 1000 servers (completely cross platform. Everything from Win3.11 to Tru64 with most any OS you can ever imagine in the mix) backuping up around 20+TB a week to 14 LTO3 tapes drives.

Initially there were a lot of nice things about NetBackup, but then the weaknesses appeared. I missed features of Networkr.

I wished we had Commvault Galaxy, but then people running Commvault told me all about issues with it as well.

My only advice is stay away from Tivoli!

Solution 2:

NTBackup. Run NTBackup /? for all of the parameters. It supports backing up to file or tape, information store, etc. I use SQLAgent to backup the SQL databases, and then grab those with the NTBackup script. Same for the Sharepoint databases, the webfiles get grabbed by the file backup.

I also find using the @filename syntax better for troubleshooting, and use Scheduled Tasks to automate the whole process, once I have it working. That way you are using simple text files. You can also get NTBackup to save your selection list by going through the UI, choosing your desired selections, and then choosing Save As, after choosing Advanced mode, Backup.

I also usually choose to put them somewhere easier to find, like drive:\scripts. The default in Windows 2K3 is C:\Documents and Settings{Profile}\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup\Data, which is a bit much, in my opinion. {Profile} is usually Administrator on a server, or the administrative user currently logged in.

You could even get fancier and use WMI to fire off a notification email. Small Business Server does....

Did I mention that all of this is free? :)

If you are on 2K8, then I use the new shadow copy syntax, as NTBackup is deprecated.

Solution 3:

HP's DataProtector doesn't suck as bad as some other backup systems. All things considered, that's fairly high praise. It has agents for all three of those. It doesn't have a specific data-type for SSD, instead relying upon the OS to handle any special hoodoo. It works.

Solution 4:

We use HP DataProtector Express here. As sysadmin1138 said, it doesn't suck as bad as other (I use BackupExec for Netware on a few other servers...it is a painful experience every time I need to use it).

We do use the HP DataProtector Express to backup a few VMWare ESX based servers. We have the HP DataProtector Express software running on the Virtual Center Server and agents installed on the netware based VM's.

As for the Windows Server, well, we simply snapshot them and back those to a different tape, but you could also install the agents on those servers as well. They do have SQL and Exchange agents, not sure about SharePoint. The solution is a relatively low cost solution for smaller business (and was great for the relatively simple Netware Support).

So many options, but in the end, I haven't met a backup solution I have liked. The interface is never as simple as I believe it could(should) be.