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I recently "inherited" a Tape Library (Powevault 136T / Scalar 100). and I was asking for some advise on the backup software to manage the Library.

My goal is to be able to manage backups of all my servers (linux and Windows) and also backup VIP´s laptop computers over the network.

I am hoping for a GUI application since I will not be the one managing the process after a couple of months...

Any idea is more than welcome...

thanks in advance....

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closed as off topic by Mark Henderson Jan 13 '12 at 4:38


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5 Answers 5

Depending on budget you have a wide range from Symantec's Netbackup to Commvault's various products, Arcserve and free stuff like NT Backup and Linux tools too. You need to work out exactly what you want to backup, from where and what your budget is.

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+1, I'd also like to add that you get what you pay for. Evaluate how valuable your data is, that will make justifying the cost of backup software much easier in most cases. –  Chris S Apr 20 '10 at 12:50

I presume that you will have a separate server for managing the backups and the tape library.

The real answer is that the well-known packages are all good, and they all suck. I am most familiar with Symantec and it is fine. They all have modules available to do backup Windows, Linux and PC's. Be aware that generally speaking, every computer (server or workstation) backed up requires an individual license (like a Windows CAL), and likely will require an agent running on the device itself.

This question has more discussion on the topic of the best network backup software.

Far, far, far more important than the backup software is the diligence and thoroughness of the ongoing backup management. Always remember .. it isn't about doing backups, it is about being able to restore! Make sure that all the meaningful data is backed up, confirm backup success and completeness after every backup, frequently do test restores, create and test server rebuild procedures, manage the inventory of tapes, and keep the tape drive/library patched and running smoothly.

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I was a backup exec user but have really come to respect HP's Dataprotector. Featurewise all of the big players have the same features but with DataProtector the pricing scheme is what's interesting. DataProtector is licensed by tape drive not by client, and there aren't any upgrade restrictions. Cost is roughly $1500 for the initial tape drive and about $500 every drive after that - but you'd need to call HP for that

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I know a backup software which backups Windows and unixes, it's called Time Navigator from Atempo company.

There's also a backup solution for laptop called Live Backup.

Take a look.

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I think TSM (Tivoli Storage Manager) should also be mentioned. Perhaps not the cheapest solution but it supports a wide range of hardware, operation systestems and applications. Depending of your license it comes with some graphical user interfaces or you can relay on third party software such as TSM-Manager.

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