1 reply to this topic

[VoodooGuru]

Hi, Everyone...

I have been tasked to research backup solutions and options for our network at my place of employment. I have been looking at several different solutions including single tape backup hardware, automated tape backup hardware and virtual tape backup hardware as well as off-site solutions including using internet backup solutions and outsourcing. It seems like the possibilities are endless and of course every vendor claims that their solution is the best.

I have also been reviewing software solutions proprietary to the hardware as well as non-proprietary software. I am currently using Veritas BackupExec 9.1. I consider it to be very stable and a much better product than the newer versions since Symantec bought Veritas out and turned a very good software product into bloatware.

Our current scenario consists of 2 single tape backups that are performed daily with a 10 tape 2 week rotation with the end of month going to an off-site location. We will soon be reaching the capacity limit of the current method of backup.

We are currently backing up 250 gigabytes of date and expect our growth to increase by a very minimum of 125% in the future due to the addition of VOIP in the near future.

I have become very familiar with the basics of backing up data via different hardware and software solutions including the types of backups, rotation methods of media and planning.

What I am seeking are people who have actual hands on experience with all the different hardware and media as mentioned above. I would also like to know what has worked for you and what hasn't.

I am currently leaning towards the options of the combination of automated tape backups for our off-site archives and disaster recovery and virtual tape backups for its ability to quickly restore data on short notice if an end user deletes a file by mistake (which happens on occasion).

I have looked at HP, Exabyte and Sony automated backup solutions as well as several others but I lack the input of people who have actually used such systems.

As I stated, most all of the companies will always claim their solution is the best so the testimonials on their website are basically meaningless when available.

Our network currently consists of 1 Windows 2003 domain controller, 1 backup domain controller that will hopefully be replaced in the near future, 2 Citrix servers that I am phasing out, 1 print server, 1 web server which will be phased out and outsourced plus 4 other servers that perform other miscellaneous tasks such as inventories and accounting.

As usual, your input and suggestion are held in high regard and greatly appreciated.

[chriso_86]

I'm not sure how big your company is but for tape the only way to go is IBM. They originally designed it, and they are the ones that make all the breakthroughs even today. My dad works on Mainframes, automated tape libraries, and lots of other stuff for Cat. I guess I'm a little bias for IBM since they put food on the table. It all depends on the size of the business. But if tape works for mostly all of the fortune five hundred companies I'm sure it's good enough for your business if you can afford it. Personally the offsite backup solutions over the net worry me slightly. Your sending valuable company data across a public network. I don't care what you use to secure it, someone could get to it if they really wanted to. I will have a bachelors in network administration, and believe me almost anything is possible with enough money.

Also, why do you need to backup a VOIP system??? Sure there is some data but it's not that big.