Backup and Storage solution 1

[ccnguy]

I am looking for a backup and storage solution rolled into 1. Currently all data is stored to our novell servers then backed up using Backupexec. I want to free up my servers and also store all data offsite where the data can be restored at any time.
I have looked into some SANS solutions but they are very expensive. Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[gwichman]

Sounds like you're interested in some kind of NAS or SAN storage device. However remember that even with something like that, it's not a replacement for backups. They do provide protection via RAID and allow you to make periodic snapshots of your data which can be construed as backups but it isn't really. Consider these points:

-Is offsite storage important to you? in the event that a fire or some other disaster destroys the equipment is the loss of data acceptable? Or how do you plan on replicating your data to another location?

-In the event of user error, viruses, or other types of data corruption - which may go undetected for some time - your only "protection" will be the snapshots you've been taking. You should definetly question whether they will be sufficient as this type of thing is common.

My suggestion? Be wary of replacing your backup product with a SAN or NAS device. It may seem like a great idea, and maybe in your case it is acceptable, but do your due diligence first before making such a major move.

 

[Cubixs]

I had your same problem until two weeks ago. I purchased a DPU, a disk2disk storage / backup / baremetal solution. I kid you not... I took the DPU which has removable disk drives for off site storage, put a SCSI card and attached a storage array and tape drive. Here is how I use it.

Weekly: I do a master baremetal of my systems(SUN, novel, unix, win2k, sco) to the DPU.
Daily: I do incramentals.
Monthly: I will do a tape archive.

In your case you can baremetal just your OS and have your data on the array attched to the DPU. Oh... what is baremetal you ask? Imagin after a hard drive crash, boot to one single floppy and it talks to the DPU and begins your recovery. Yes.... Finally someone got it! I do not have to reinstal my OS or applications. cool beans... I'm going for a raise$$$ oh the company is... unitrends.com

peace,
cubixs

 

[gwichman]

haha.. apparently the unitrends marketing/sales force is in full effect. I have a new suggestion. Be wary of users who post pretending to be regular users when it's obvious they are pushing a product.

 

[Cubixs]

Agreed! Obviously, you would be foolish to take my word on the solution. I have used traditional tape backup software my entire IT career and have been burned more times than I care to remember. Tell me you’ve never had the experience of trying to restore a file from tape and either the tape was bad or the software never backed it up. You call the vendor and they tell you “it must be the tape”. Do your homework and see for yourself. Oh…be sure to check out NexSAN as well. They are the other folks that have a disk2disk backup solution.

Tim

Ps. You are entitled to your opinion and I respect that.