Pre-purchase questions

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For a number of years I've been using True Image and have been happy with it by and large, however I have found it to be very slow to backup to external HDDs attached via USB.

I have purchased an Ultrium LTO SCSI tape drive which allows me to backup the machine it is on using Windows Backup, and also to backup my laptop to the tape drive (again using Windows Backup) on the server using iSCSI (Starwind Tape Redirector to provide the iSCSI Target, and MS iSCSI Initiator). This isn't ideal as it doesn't allow me to take image backups, but it is fast.

1) What version of Backup and Recovery do I need? I think the Advanced Workstation is the right one, but if I read the comparisons right, this locks me out of and image backup solution for my Linux systems ... which is a shame. I don't run (currently) any Windows Server machines, but DO run guest virtual machines, and some Linux. Bonus points if there's a discount for private (non-business) customers ;-)

2) Does the product support spanned backups (more than one tape). This is crucial

3) Does the bootable version include an iSCSI Initiatior? This too is crucial.

4) Support is worrying me having heard of the recent clamour of dissatisfied users - has this been addressed fully?

Thanks
Dave

mar 20/12/2011 - 10:56
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truwrikodrorowrelupicugojestutroclulachosaswunuhospikigawakijosaswenomaruclojeueclikaspedrubewidebrisubrohutrurifruuagothunugekedrumucisiuobrobrecrupeslapuswosluprothethibakaslechurathikucli
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1) AFAIK there is no acronis product for linux workstations. Only the server. For Linux-Workstations I'd suggest one of the many backup solutions that come with your distribution. Mind that not all of them are tape-aware, because non-business customers typically don't have LTO-Drives.

3) The standard (Linux)-Version has an iSCSI-Initiator. You should test with an Eval if it also supports connecting tapes with iSCSI.

4) I'm one of those active complainers. Featurewise B&R11 is a good product. But I suggest you use an eval and test it thoroughly in the 30 days you get. Really Really thoroughly. Most problems I have are with the Storage Node and especially with the deduplication - it is a mess and should not be used with data you care about. I made the mistake and sized my storage needs with dedup in mind so I'm (at the moment) stuck with it.

1st level support is quick and friendly, but it's only 1st level support. they know the product and KB pretty well and will help you with usability problems or even simple workarounds. Once you hit a bad bug your case goes to the expert team and then your case will sit a few weeks. My longest case was opened in September and closed unresolved just a week ago (with a few hundred GB of Backup data lost). I never had a time critical case so I can't tell you if support ist quicker if you need a restore NOW.

jeu 22/12/2011 - 08:13
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Thanks for your comments, it's good to get a user perspective. I was also hoping to hear from some-one who works at Acronis on this subject!

Still need to know if spanned backups are supported - currently I don't need them, but if my disks get much more data on them I will. My current expectation is mid to end 2012 is when I will go over 1 tape per backup.

ven 23/12/2011 - 14:56
truwrikodrorowrelupicugojestutroclulachosaswunuhospikigawakijosaswenomaruclojeueclikaspedrubewidebrisubrohutrurifruuagothunugekedrumucisiuobrobrecrupeslapuswosluprothethibakaslechurathikucli
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Acronis can split the backup files, so the archive format itself should also be able to be split across tapes.

Why don't you produce a big-enough test-set and try to span tapes with an eval version? If you turn off compression (soft- and hardware) then you could test this easily, no?

lun 26/12/2011 - 21:20