Overview of what we're got:
At the moment I've got Backup exec 2012 which i don't like, the interface changes from 2010 feel very cumbersome and there's a lot of bugs hindering our backups.
Thing is our entire infrastructure is VMware ESXi 5.1, and we have only one physical server that isn't running ESXi....and that's the backup server with the LTO4 tape drive connected and backup exec installed. So all AD/SQL/Exchange servers are virtual.
All our file storage is replicated between two iSCSI units and is identical within two buildings along with volume shadow copies on both ends for instant file recovery (though I am aware this is not to be considered a form of backup) The main store everyone reads and writes to is mapped to the file server VM, currently via microsoft iSCSI initiator but that's changing to be an RDM soon. The other store is mapped to the backup server and DFSR keeps the files on both stores identical.
When we backup to tapes using backup exec we backup from the locally connected store to the backup server.
What I need to know:
So because my entire infrastructure is VMware based with no additional physical servers to backup, do i really need a program like backup exec or would i benefit more from a dedicated vmware backup solution such as veeam or vRanger? I know for example vRanger can do individual file based restores for example but can this drill down to the iSCSI presented stores on a VM and backup those files as well? or is this intended purely for the virual machine itself?
Overall we want rid of backup exec, we're sick of it, but if the answer is no we can't backup iSCSI based data from something that's intended for VM backups only then would my best solution be to use something like microsoft DPM in conjunction with a VM focused backup?
Last question....which i feel a bit silly asking but do programs like vRanger and veeam actually backup to tape? They never mention tapes so I'm just a bit curious as to whether they're intended just for backups to disk? Having never used anything like them yet I have absolutely no idea what to expect, i need to run a trial when i get time really.
At the moment I've got Backup exec 2012 which i don't like, the interface changes from 2010 feel very cumbersome and there's a lot of bugs hindering our backups.
Thing is our entire infrastructure is VMware ESXi 5.1, and we have only one physical server that isn't running ESXi....and that's the backup server with the LTO4 tape drive connected and backup exec installed. So all AD/SQL/Exchange servers are virtual.
All our file storage is replicated between two iSCSI units and is identical within two buildings along with volume shadow copies on both ends for instant file recovery (though I am aware this is not to be considered a form of backup) The main store everyone reads and writes to is mapped to the file server VM, currently via microsoft iSCSI initiator but that's changing to be an RDM soon. The other store is mapped to the backup server and DFSR keeps the files on both stores identical.
When we backup to tapes using backup exec we backup from the locally connected store to the backup server.
What I need to know:
So because my entire infrastructure is VMware based with no additional physical servers to backup, do i really need a program like backup exec or would i benefit more from a dedicated vmware backup solution such as veeam or vRanger? I know for example vRanger can do individual file based restores for example but can this drill down to the iSCSI presented stores on a VM and backup those files as well? or is this intended purely for the virual machine itself?
Overall we want rid of backup exec, we're sick of it, but if the answer is no we can't backup iSCSI based data from something that's intended for VM backups only then would my best solution be to use something like microsoft DPM in conjunction with a VM focused backup?
Last question....which i feel a bit silly asking but do programs like vRanger and veeam actually backup to tape? They never mention tapes so I'm just a bit curious as to whether they're intended just for backups to disk? Having never used anything like them yet I have absolutely no idea what to expect, i need to run a trial when i get time really.
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