need a backup solution

[kaizer]

hello
the scenario is this:
we will be migrating(finally) from nt to 2003
small environment (30 xp's, 4 servers in "final config")
right now we backup (3 servers) to old dat 24's.
We will be purchasing whatever is latest/greatest backup software.
Now, what i aim to have is a more centralized solution for my backups. What is the best type of backup drive to use?
(i believe my dat's have limited life (and capacity) in them)
would it be a bad idea to include 3 file servers + exchange server all together into one backup (about 20 Gig total)?
or is it better to separate the exchange backup?

thx

 

[karmic]

Most of my clients get away cleanly with external hard drives but as for tape drives, what I will alway recommend is exabyte . Have never had issues with them tho you're going to pay for it.

http://www.exabyte.com/

~ K.I.S.S - Don't make it any more complex than it has to be ~

 

[karmic]

To save money and time on multiple servers, I usually would mount the tape drive in the server with exchange and load the software there. Back up your exchange with the drive.

For the other two servers, I'd use the built in ntbackup and backup to file to a shared drive on the exchange server. Use the tape drive to backup the bkf files.

There will be others with ideas

~ K.I.S.S - Don't make it any more complex than it has to be ~

 

[kaizer]

thx karmic for your replies

so if i do what you suggest, i would just need one tape drive correct?
now, when u say "back up to file" it pretty much becomes like a network copy of the files(except using ntbackup) to a share on the exchange server correct?

and ofcourse, i would then have to make sure that my exch server has the xtra drive capacity. But if my exchange server becomes unusable, i'll have no backup for my other servers

 

[karmic]

good point... set the ntbackup to overwrite the files, unless you have plenty of room to spare on the server...

I usually don't think about servers going down til it happens. I do what needs to be done, updates, monitoring etc, but if a server goes down, get it running again.

You won't have an exchange server to back up to but you can still grab an external hard drive for redundancy.

Mind you, these are just my 2 cents but it works for me and my clients are happy about it...

~ K.I.S.S - Don't make it any more complex than it has to be ~

 

[meddig]

another thing to consider is going to an autoloader. DAT drives are fine but you are way past that now. If you have the capacity, I would recommend going to an autolaoder, perhaps the 1/8 Ultrium 460 from HP. Its a great loader with limited issues. The function of it is very simple and allows the user to run backups and not have to be onsite for tape changes. The access to the internal mechanics is really easy and the good thing is that if you do end up having to have things fixed the entire unit is swapped out via warranty with HP. But the system almost runs flawlessly...something to consider..