Backup solutions for Windows Server 2008 R2

Felix · 11 Jan 2010 at 10:14

Just about to buy the software to backup a 2008 server. Could you confirm that SYMANTEC BACKUP EXEC 12.5 FOR WINDOWS SERVERS STD is sufficent to back up and do a bare metal restore? Thanks

Little_Crow · 11 Jan 2010 at 10:35

I don't believe that that product will do a bare metal restore, you still have to reinstall windows and backup exec before being able to restore anything.

GhostlyPea · 11 Jan 2010 at 11:11

MasterPlan1 said:
Go for BE. It's not hard to set up, it just works. The only downside to it is, the error messages on fail backups are sometimes vague and have multiple errors listed under the same code... I use it on 100+ servers without too much of an issue.

Same as me, around 200 servers and backups work a treat. Just that the errors are vague

- Pea0n

morfmedia · 11 Jan 2010 at 18:05

Symantec Netbackup 6.5.5 will do this. I hate the software coming from Commvault but its already implemented so no choice.

Commvault Galaxy is very good, well worth a look.

unde4d · 12 Jan 2010 at 21:33

You should get both Backup Exec 12.5 (BE) and Backup Exec System Recovery (BESR). I use 'em here, and they are fine. Once a month I let BESR update it's images. Otherwise, Backup Exec runs nightly, backing-up all data on the network.

Files deleted/corrupt/lost? Recover with BE
Server gone **** up? Bare metal recovery (to any h/w) with BESR
Bored? Recover BESR image to a virtual server, and play with a virtual copy of your production server(s) offline.

Apart from BESR, I've also used Sonicwalls CDP. The CDP is okay, but capacity/price was an issue for my purposes. I found Symantec's "bring your own h/w"-style more appealing than an appliance.

#Chri5# · 12 Jan 2010 at 21:42

unde4d said:
You should get both Backup Exec 12.5 (BE) and Backup Exec System Recovery (BESR). I use 'em here, and they are fine. Once a month I let BESR update it's images. Otherwise, Backup Exec runs nightly, backing-up all data on the network.

Files deleted/corrupt/lost? Recover with BE
Server gone **** up? Bare metal recovery (to any h/w) with BESR
Bored? Recover BESR image to a virtual server, and play with a virtual copy of your production server(s) offline.

Apart from BESR, I've also used Sonicwalls CDP. The CDP is okay, but capacity/price was an issue for my purposes. I found Symantec's "bring your own h/w"-style more appealing than an appliance.

FWIW, the road-map for SonicWall's CDP includes NAS and eventually SAN support so you will be able to wedge your own (cheaper) storage behind the CDP appliance.

Felix · 13 Jan 2010 at 14:15

unde4d said:
You should get both Backup Exec 12.5 (BE) and Backup Exec System Recovery (BESR). I use 'em here, and they are fine. Once a month I let BESR update it's images. Otherwise, Backup Exec runs nightly, backing-up all data on the network.

Files deleted/corrupt/lost? Recover with BE
Server gone **** up? Bare metal recovery (to any h/w) with BESR
Bored? Recover BESR image to a virtual server, and play with a virtual copy of your production server(s) offline.

Apart from BESR, I've also used Sonicwalls CDP. The CDP is okay, but capacity/price was an issue for my purposes. I found Symantec's "bring your own h/w"-style more appealing than an appliance.

Do I need a BE and BESR licence for every server? I just tried Symantecs own product configuration wizard and it only said 1 BE licence but 6 BESR ones??

unde4d · 13 Jan 2010 at 21:14

You need only 1 copy of BE. Install it on your server of choice, and then roll out the remote agents to each of the other servers you want to back-up. There is no fee/limit to the amount of remote agents you use (or so I believe).

Add-On agents will cost you. For example, if you want to backup MS Exchange, you will want to get the Exchange Add-On Agent. There is a full list of Add-On agents on this page under "Extend Backup Capabilities".

BESR will need a license per server.

Felix · 13 Jan 2010 at 21:51

Ah so thats why the wizard listed just the 1 copy. can I install BE on a client and then deploy it from there? By deploying the agent to each server, can I still back it up fully?

Thanks for the help

unde4d · 14 Jan 2010 at 19:58

Yes, thats pretty much it. You decide which server will be your "media server". Install BE on it, and deploy the remote agents to any other servers which you want to backup.

In my case, my "media server" is my Domain Controller. BE is installed on the server, and BE can access the tapelibrary attached to the server. I setup my back-up schedule, and BE takes a back-up off all of the data on each of my servers.

Remember, BE is for a data protection. BESR is for bare metal recovery. Both of these products serve a different purpose, but together they are a complete backup solution.