Suggestions for backup software

jerseyitguy76 · 2014-07-02T13:48:13.000Z

I need some assistance from my fellow Spiceheads. Management here is refusing to buy into the concept of implementing a full back-up solution because they can’t see past the financial outlay.Even though we’ve had data loss issues with users in the past because of less-than-stellar backups (including with the VP of the company)… I’m going to stop here before I get into full rant mode.

Anyway, they’ve asked us to implement the following: invest in backup software that will allow us to backup to a single PC/server (they would like one of these set-ups in each of our 6 locations). We are currently using Acronis True Image, backing up to external hard drives on certain PCs.

Is anyone else doing something similar? What software are you using?

jeff1792 · 2014-07-02T13:56:21.000Z

Just about any backup package can do this. You install the backup software on the server/pc and then each workstation installs the client software to connect to the server. I use AhSay but Backup Exec is another good solution.

micadam · 2014-07-02T14:08:57.000Z

Why not put everything on a NAS and backup the NAS instead, would be a lot easier to manage.

Lonny6654 · 2014-07-02T14:13:41.000Z

I use Bittorrent sync, to sync each desktop back to the server. Then I use Comodo Backup to back the whole works up to external hard drives. I also use a second NAS device at a remote location that keeps a rolling backup of the last 5 days.

jerseyitguy76 · 2014-07-02T14:15:53.000Z

Jeff1792:

Just about any backup package can do this. You install the backup software on the server/pc and then each workstation installs the client software to connect to the server. I use AhSay but Backup Exec is another good solution.

I know that any package will do it. I’m looking more for which ones people are using… whether or not they like them. I trust the opinions of my fellow Spiceheads more than I would reviews on a website.

jerseyitguy76 · 2014-07-02T14:16:47.000Z

Michael Adam:

Why not put everything on a NAS and backup the NAS instead, would be a lot easier to manage.

That’s certainly a possibility. They want to spend as little money as possible. We’ve got decommissioned PCs that we can use, which would mean we’d only have to buy the software

james-for-microsoft · 2014-07-02T14:21:12.000Z

Their are alot of great backup solutions here in the community. I encourage you to try them to see what solution works best for you.

Just out of curiosity, is cost a big factor for you? If so then having an offsite backup solution that you only pay what you use instead of a large payment and licensing up front may be a good fit for you. Azure backup is a pay only what you use (per GB) system with no upfront cost. And best part is you can try it for free. Azure has a month $200 trial.

azure.microsoft.com

Cloud Backup Services | Microsoft Azure

Protect against ransomware with a centralized cloud backup service and solution.

Also with site recovery you can have a complete DR/BC solution.

azure.microsoft.com

Azure Site Recovery | Microsoft Azure

Get best-in-class Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) to ensure application availability and fast recovery. Protect your data with Azure Site Recovery.

matt-hubbard · 2014-07-02T14:24:05.000Z

Download the 60-day fully functional free trial of Backup Exec 2014 and give it a spin. Many Spiceheads have given it positive reviews so far. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out. Thanks!

www.backupexec.com

jeff1792 · 2014-07-02T14:32:09.000Z

JerseyITGuy76:

Jeff1792:

Just about any backup package can do this. You install the backup software on the server/pc and then each workstation installs the client software to connect to the server. I use AhSay but Backup Exec is another good solution.

I know that any package will do it. I’m looking more for which ones people are using… whether or not they like them. I trust the opinions of my fellow Spiceheads more than I would reviews on a website.

I understand that. I use AhSay, not well known but it works great.

servermonkey8064 · 2014-07-02T14:37:20.000Z

If they don’t put enough value on the data to back it up, does it even need to be backed up?

How much data, how many PCs and how much budget?

May as well consider Windows Backup. It’s free and whilst it’s basic it works.

jordanhockema · 2014-07-02T14:38:20.000Z

I have looked into UniTrends for a good backup/dr soltuion. I have been very happy with their price and feature set. Being that cost is a problem, I would probably try file redirection and backup the common location. If you need more than that, like OS, then Windows has some backup utilites that you can use. It’s a little slow, but it works. There’s always more than one way to backup files, i like the idea of file redirection and user drives to store common files and have shadow protect on the server.

jerseyitguy76 · 2014-07-02T15:06:45.000Z

Crdjor:

I have looked into UniTrends for a good backup/dr soltuion. I have been very happy with their price and feature set. Being that cost is a problem, I would probably try file redirection and backup the common location. If you need more than that, like OS, then Windows has some backup utilites that you can use. It’s a little slow, but it works. There’s always more than one way to backup files, i like the idea of file redirection and user drives to store common files and have shadow protect on the server.

Unitrends was who we wanted to go with. But we wanted to do the full solution & they wouldn’t go for it. It’s amazing to me that a business like this doesn’t see the importance of backup for disaster recovery.

melanie-for-novastor · 2014-07-02T15:11:52.000Z

Michael makes a good point, the easiest option would be to have all of the computers connect to a NAS, then backup the NAS. I’d recommend NovaBACKUP Server to run your backups, it can back up to a NAS device or to a local server. It provides full DR/image backup, universal restore, automatic scheduling of full, incremental and differential backups and more. We offer free consultation and trial as well. Hope this helps!

katie-unitrends · 2014-07-02T15:27:51.000Z

JerseyITGuy76:

Crdjor:

I have looked into UniTrends for a good backup/dr soltuion. I have been very happy with their price and feature set. Being that cost is a problem, I would probably try file redirection and backup the common location. If you need more than that, like OS, then Windows has some backup utilites that you can use. It’s a little slow, but it works. There’s always more than one way to backup files, i like the idea of file redirection and user drives to store common files and have shadow protect on the server.

Unitrends was who we wanted to go with. But we wanted to do the full solution & they wouldn’t go for it. It’s amazing to me that a business like this doesn’t see the importance of backup for disaster recovery.

Michael - I know that you probably already asked for this when you got pricing, but just want to confirm - did you ask your sales rep for our Spiceworks discount?

symantec-matt · 2014-07-02T15:48:36.000Z

Lonny6654:

I use Bittorrent sync, to sync each desktop back to the server. Then I use Comodo Backup to back the whole works up to external hard drives. I also use a second NAS device at a remote location that keeps a rolling backup of the last 5 days.

Lonny I am crazy-interested in professional/enterprise uses for Bit Torrent. How is that working for you? (taking off my Symantec shirt here and putting on my pirate hat)

symantec-matt · 2014-07-02T15:49:43.000Z

hutchingsp:

If they don’t put enough value on the data to back it up, does it even need to be backed up?

How much data, how many PCs and how much budget?

May as well consider Windows Backup. It’s free and whilst it’s basic it works.

Could you ask all the users to copy/paste their C drive somewhere?

Sorry…that’s just me being snarky

danielcreamer · 2014-07-02T15:55:06.000Z

Have you looked into Barracuda Backups? I have several clients using it and their support and reliability is great. They also have a feature that you can add on for cloud replication. Definitely something I would recommend looking into!

kevin-quorum · 2014-07-02T16:18:56.000Z

Hey Michael,

I think it’s super important to set the proper expectations for your company and a solid DR plan that explains the necessary benefits. A good starting place is RTO (recovery time objectives) and RPO (recovery point objectives) to really lay out how much downtime is acceptable or not in a really crisis situation. If you want to be able to spin up within a few minutes following an outage so downtime is really minimized to almost nothing I would recommend checking out Quorum’s onQ appliance.

jerseyitguy76 · 2014-07-02T16:19:01.000Z

Katie (Unitrends):

JerseyITGuy76:

Crdjor:

I have looked into UniTrends for a good backup/dr soltuion. I have been very happy with their price and feature set. Being that cost is a problem, I would probably try file redirection and backup the common location. If you need more than that, like OS, then Windows has some backup utilites that you can use. It’s a little slow, but it works. There’s always more than one way to backup files, i like the idea of file redirection and user drives to store common files and have shadow protect on the server.

Unitrends was who we wanted to go with. But we wanted to do the full solution & they wouldn’t go for it. It’s amazing to me that a business like this doesn’t see the importance of backup for disaster recovery.

Michael - I know that you probably already asked for this when you got pricing, but just want to confirm - did you ask your sales rep for our Spiceworks discount?

I did. Dan even got us an additional pricing incentive… but it’s not looking good.

katie-unitrends · 2014-07-02T16:26:05.000Z

JerseyITGuy76:

Katie (Unitrends):

JerseyITGuy76:

Crdjor:

I have looked into UniTrends for a good backup/dr soltuion. I have been very happy with their price and feature set. Being that cost is a problem, I would probably try file redirection and backup the common location. If you need more than that, like OS, then Windows has some backup utilites that you can use. It’s a little slow, but it works. There’s always more than one way to backup files, i like the idea of file redirection and user drives to store common files and have shadow protect on the server.

Unitrends was who we wanted to go with. But we wanted to do the full solution & they wouldn’t go for it. It’s amazing to me that a business like this doesn’t see the importance of backup for disaster recovery.

Michael - I know that you probably already asked for this when you got pricing, but just want to confirm - did you ask your sales rep for our Spiceworks discount?

I did. Dan even got us an additional pricing incentive… but it’s not looking good.

Have you sat down with your boss to discuss a DR plan? Perhaps explaining to him/her how long you’ll be offline with your current setup might help your case for a true backup solution…