Veritas NetBackup Business Server V4.5
The software has two main components: the administration console and the backup, archive, and restore console. There are other extra-cost options such as the intelligent disaster recovery ($1525) specifically for Windows platforms or bare metal restore ($1525), which as the name suggests can be scripted to deploy bare metal servers to full functionality. Bare metal restore currently supports Windows, Solaris, HO, AIX, and will soon support Linux. We should also note that the basic software will happily back up any files you wish but live backup of a database, for example, requires the purchase of the relevant backup agent and these are around $2182 each for Microsoft Exchange and SQL server, for example.
The administration console features a simple tree-structure layout for selecting main functions such as policy management, media and device management and host properties. As an item is selected from the tree, a group of supporting sub functions appear in the right hand window. We found it very easy to navigate and quite logical in its operation.
As the name suggests, it is here that NetBackup functionality for your site is configured and managed.
In addition to full, incremental, and differential backups, NetBackup can also perform synthetic backups where a full backup and several incremental backups are combined to produce an up-to-date "full" backup, without the need to bog down the database server with the requirements of a true full backup. Another neat feature is the ability to multiplex up to 32 data streams onto a single tape, this can be useful if, for one reason or another, the data stream from a single server is below your tape drive's maximum throughput.
Where server performance is critical, NetBackup can manage the staging of the backup data to an intermediate drive array prior to the subsequent transfer to tape thus reducing the time the main server must contend with backing up. The backup agent is quite intelligent, unlike some packages where multiple copies result in additional server load. NetBackup simply grabs the data from the server once and maintains a buffer, on another server, to feed the single backup stream to multiple tapes.
Vaulting is also supported: the software manages the tapes and maintains a database of which tapes must be sent off site and which tapes are to be returned from the vault for reuse. This extends right down to tape "pick lists" and if your backup hardware supports the feature, ejecting the relevant tape/s for the operators to dispatch.
While you can nail down backup strategies using the very flexible policy editor it is also possible to carry out more ad-hoc backup and restores with the backup, archive, and restore applet. Again a simple tree structure is employed but this is only used to navigate your volumes and folders. As the name suggests, functionality is pretty limited but it makes a simple chore of any ad-hoc backup tasks.
| Product | Veritas NetBackup Business Server V4.5 |
| Price | $4375 (with 4 client license) |
| Vendor | Veritas |
| Phone | 02 8220 7000 |
| Web | www.veritas.com |
| Interoperability |  |
| Supports a wide range of OSes, databases, and has very broad backup device support. | |
| Futureproofing |  |
| Can be integrated Veritas’s extensive range of network management software. | |
| ROI |  ½ |
| Average value for money given its strong feature set. | |
| Service |  |
| Standard support is e-mail only with no guaranteed response time. Full 24x7 support is available for around 23 percent of the license cost per year. | |
| Rating |  |
You should really b looking at the Proware range from Datastor Australia if you want to really lower your total cost of investment.
www.datastor.com.au