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Scales well, handles many OSes; but important options carry costs higher
TAPE BACKUP strategies and tools are essential components of an enterprise failure-recovery scheme. As networks grow, connecting more users to more data, tape is increasingly used for storing large files offline. A suitable enterprise backup strategy balances the requirements of basic data protection with quick, automated access to archived files.
As a total backup solution, Veritas Software's Backup Exec 8 is in a class by itself. This new release pools and clusters backup servers, shares tape devices among servers, and manages multiple servers from a single console. Support for single-- drive tape libraries is now standard, making Backup Exec more enterprise-ready out of the box. With agents for most popular operating systems, you can migrate from perserver backups to a completely automated, centralized, enterprisewide strategy. Backup Exec 8 integrates perfectly with Microsoft Windows 2000, coupling with the OS's new features rather than treating a Windows 2000 server as if it was running Windows NT. For all these pluses, I give Backup Exec 8 a score of Very Good.
I would be an unabashed fan of Backup Exec 8 were it not for its a la carte bundling. Veritas fails to make clear which features are optional and which are not, leading to frustrating installation-time surprises. Loading up the initially $795 Backup Exec 8 for typical enterprise use raises its cost to nearly $5,000. Veritas should offer a Backup Exec bundle that includes all essential enterprise components. Still, compared with Computer Associates' ArcserveIT, Backup Exec shines in key areas including ease of use, bulletproof lights-out operation, hardware compatibility, and software integration. Some of these advantages come from Backup Exec's marriage to Windows servers; unlike ArcserveIT, Backup Exec's server component will not run on Unix servers. However, a Windows server running Backup Exec will back up Unix, NetWare, Macintosh, and Windows hosts through the LAN using native agents.
I tested Backup Exec 8 on a network running a mix of systems. I installed the server software on a Windows...