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Contents 
Introduction
BrightStor Arcserve
Legato Networker
Tivoli Storage Manager
Veritas Backup Exec
Specifications
How we tested
Checklist
Editor's choice
About RMIT |
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Server and client operating system support is excellent and even includes Sun Solaris, IBM AIX, Novell Netware as well as the more common OSes. About the only server OS missing is Mac, but Mac OS X is supported as a client.
Application support is also excellent, including Lotus Domino/Notes, DB2, Exchange Server, Oracle, Informix, SQL Server, SAP R/3, and Sybase. Live backups and granular recoveries are also supported. Networker is perfectly at home with DAS, NAS and SANs and there are Autochanger Silo modules that are licensed by the number of slots the robot can access. Media management per se is very impressive and Networker supports multiple clients simultaneously with parallel data streams and file interleaving. Very fast block-level backups can also be executed.
Index handling is quite sophisticated -- to prevent the backup servers index database from growing too large, the retention time for indexes to be immediately browsable can be configured right down to the individual file level. Of course, once an index is archived it can still be recalled it just takes longer.
The user interface is a big improvement over version 7.0 where some options such as device installations had to be performed via scripts rather than the current versions GUI.
While the Administration interface is based on a tree structure that is quite logical, for the uninitiated there can be a good deal of hunting and pecking to find the required option. The Backup interface on the other hand is very simple and straightforward with large, colourful buttons clearly encompassing the software's functionality. In addition to selecting items to backup the user can also compress and encrypt the stored data with the click of a button.
At first glance, reporting appears very basic and to be one of Networker's weaknesses, however Networker Management Console provides extensive reporting -- everything from basic to full drill down reports. Scheduling is quite good but it isn't as flexible as some of the other packages and also is a bit convoluted. Firstly you can define schedule types such as "consolidate weekly". This involves setting the type of backup to occur on a daily basis, either: skip, full, incremental, or consolidate for each full day. You then set the time a backup will occur under the group and then assign the "schedule type" to that group.
To be blunt there are other enterprise-level packages that are just as powerful but are easier to drive than Legato Networker.
| Product | Legato Networker v7.1.2 |
| Price | US$6584 |
| Vendor | EMC/Legato |
| Phone | (02) 8912 6100 |
| Web | www.legato.com |
| Interoperability |  ½ |
| Excellent server and client OS support. | |
| Futureproofing |  |
| Strong features set with enterprise-level functionality although the user interface is not as easy to navigate as some of the competition. | |
| ROI |
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| A powerful enterprise-level solution at a reasonable price. | |
| Service | 
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| Even basic support plan includes 24x7 phone support, however Premier support plans can be quite expensive. | |
| Rating | 
½ |
