Arcsrv backup or Symantec Backup Exec

mo4 · 2014-10-28T15:11:57.000Z

Hi Guys,

I would appreciate if you could all share ups and down with arcserve Backup r16 and Backup Exec? We have been using DPM 2012 SP1 and want a second solution in place as well. We are going to test drive the solution but it would be ideal to get some Pros and cons from the community.

Thanks,

matt-hubbard · 2014-10-28T15:22:05.000Z

I’ll let the Spiceheads give their opinion, but I have to jump in and plug Backup Exec 2014. It blows ARCserve away. Download the 60-day fully functional free trial at www.backupexec.com today and see for yourself. If you have any questions, send me a DM. I’m here to help. Cheers!

courtenay-zetta · 2014-10-28T15:23:48.000Z

Hi Mo - Are these two vendors the only ones you’re considering? If you’re open to others, are you looking for an on-premise only or cloud+local backup solution?

mo4 · 2014-10-28T15:26:23.000Z

Hi Courtenay,

I am open to others as well but personally I am sticking with two old known companies in the field to provide local backup.

alabamr · 2014-10-28T15:41:01.000Z

We used ArcServe for years and never had any big issues with it. It wasn’t the easiest to set up but it worked. About a year and a half ago we left ArcServe and went to Veeam and it has been great. I don’t know much about ArcServe’s newer versions, but I wouldn’t switch back to it personally.

courtenay-zetta · 2014-10-28T16:03:06.000Z

Hi Mo - Here’s some things to consider:

Look for a solution that replicates data to ensure changes on your servers are kept up to date on your backup vendor’s servers with the ability to provide incremental backups & snapshots for version history
Find a solution that doesn’t rely on an appliance to backup/recover your data and to make sure your file system to entire server image is available to you online at any time, from any location
It’s a best practice to have your data available in the same format & structure as the original. This way you can restore data by browsing the directory tree and finding the necessary files quickly
Ask about any download size limits or mandatory throttling which imposes limits on how quickly you’ll be able to get everything back
To handle large data set volumes, find a solution that has WAN-optimized technologies built into the solution
Make sure all data is encrypted in flight & at rest to ensure that your data is safe & unreadable and stored at SSAE-16 audited data centers
Ask the vendor if they have an automatic system to verify the integrity of backups when they’re received and that files are regularly rechecked to make sure nothing has been corrupted.

Here’s the plug: Zetta.net is a cloud+local backup & DR and provides these capabilities and more. Here’s more information about our architecture and/or let me know if you’d like someone to contact you. Good luck!

kirsten-veeam · 2014-10-28T16:13:35.000Z

Hi Mo,

If you are looking to evaluate some backup solutions, you should take a look at Veeam like Frank mentioned previously. Veeam is made specifically for virtualized data centers, so if you are virtual give it a look. http://veeam.com

Veeam offers high speed recovery, data loss avoidance, verified protection, leveraged data, and complete visibility into your data center. Through our many features we can offer an RTPO of less than 15 minutes.

Give it a try and see for yourself: FREE NFR keys for NEW Veeam Availability Suite

kevin-quorum · 2014-10-28T16:31:26.000Z

Hi Mo,

Since you’re comparing different DR and backup solutions, you might want to also consider Quorum if you’re looking for a simple to use and very affordably priced tool. You can kind of think of us as a replicated data center in a box without all the cost or huge learning curve that can get you bogged down. Just one dashboard interface where you can spin up virtual servers and be back up in a few minutes. Feel free to ask me any questions or reference our 100+ spicehead reviews in the community.

lancehietpas · 2014-10-28T16:54:20.000Z

The answer to anything backup is NEVER Symantec Backup Exec

lancehietpas · 2014-10-28T17:01:38.000Z

I would check out Veeam or Unitrends.

katie-unitrends · 2014-10-28T17:12:42.000Z

Mo - Many people look to move to a single backup solution for their entire environment to reduce licensing costs, and time spent managing their backups, so I’m curious as to what may be happening in your environment that you’re looking to add a secondary backup solution to your environment. Is there a specific OS or application that is driving you to add a second backup solution to your environment?

luke-backupassist · 2014-10-28T21:35:58.000Z

Hey Mo, some more details about your environment and the type of solution you’re looking for is going to help you get the best possible answer here

What exactly are you running? OS? Physical/Virtual? What Hypervisor? Are you looking for an appliance or a BYOH software solution? Do you have budget limitations? Do you have an idea of your RPO/RTOs?

The more information you can give, the better the chances you’ll get the ideal solution for your needs

peterclegguk · 2014-10-29T07:31:09.000Z

Depending on your requirements and budget, if you are having significant data growth and have an amount of stale data that could be archived then would recommend looking at CommVault Simpana. We have a capacity license (per TB) and as such it covers majority of Microsoft products, Mac, Linux, deduplication, replication and most importantly for my environment archive. Stub files allow easy retrieval by end users for archived data.

Also their support is excellent

aaron2945 · 2014-10-29T18:09:45.000Z

i’m running away from backup exec i am 3 years into a 5 year support agreement

matt-hubbard · 2014-10-29T19:05:01.000Z

brainomite:

i’m running away from backup exec i am 3 years into a 5 year support agreement

Symantec doesn’t sell 5 year support agreements.

aaron2945 · 2014-10-29T19:12:17.000Z

Matt (Symantec):

brainomite:

i’m running away from backup exec i am 3 years into a 5 year support agreement

Symantec doesn’t sell 5 year support agreements.

you may be right, but we purchased it no problem they just did a 3 year & 2 year SKU here is a snippet from my executed quote back in 2012

Capture2.JPG800×164 60.5 KB

@matt-hubbard

matt-hubbard · 2014-10-29T19:13:53.000Z

Sneaky. Let me check into this. To be clear, Symantec didn’t sell you a 5 year support contract. Your partner did. Correct?

aaron2945 · 2014-10-29T19:16:58.000Z

yes it was a re-seller (i’ll never use them again 2 week project turned into 6 months) if you want to look them up they are CDI LLC (first word is computer) they worked hand in hand with the north east rep from Symantec, Eileen McCann

matt-hubbard · 2014-10-29T19:30:29.000Z

I was not aware that this was an appliance purchase when I made my original statement about the 5 year contract. With the 3600 appliance, a customer can initially purchase 1 or 3 years when they first buy the appliance. Maintenance is bundled in the hardware/software. They have the ability to add on 2 additional years of maintenance either at the time of the initial purchase date, or when their 1 or 3 year initial maintenance is up for renewal. With BE software, you can only purchase maintenance in 1, 2 or 3 year terms.

patrickmendyka · 2014-10-29T19:43:47.000Z

lanc3:

The answer to anything backup is NEVER Symantec Backup Exec

I have to agree with this. We have Backup Exec and it is horrendous to work with. The interface is horrible, the failure rate is high even after working with their support, and just over all clunky.

We are looking at replacing it with just about anything else. Run away from Backup Exec as fast as you can.