Good continous backup software for Server 2003 & 2008?

[Kaido]

I have a project with a couple of servers (2003 & 2008) where I need to do continuous file backups (i.e. keep different versions of the file, going a few versions back) on specific folders to local USB drives & network drives. I had originally checked out Genie9, which is sort of like Time Machine for Windows, but the reviews of the 2012 version are pretty horrifically bad, which doesn't give me a lot of faith in the 2013 version:

http://www.genie9.com/business/genie_soft_business_solutions.aspx

The things I'm looking for are:

1. Easy to use (for semi-technical users to add folders & recover files)
2. Ability to select a specific folder for backup
3. Good GUI for recovering files from different dates (non-complex interface)

I don't need cloning software or anything else, just something that will back up specific folders and keep multiple versions going back however far the settings go or however big the drive is. And they are both physical servers, not VM's. Acronis and Symantec have some nice offerings, but are pretty overkill for what I'm trying to do...the Genie9 software looks perfect aside from last year's reliability issues.

So mostly, ease of use, reliability, and doing the specific task of keeping multiple backup copies over time.

 

[yinan]

You can do this natively in Windows by enabling Volume shadow copies.

 

[theevilsharpie]

You can do this natively in Windows by enabling Volume shadow copies.

VSS does not provide continuous protection.

 

[dawks]

I have a project with a couple of servers (2003 & 2008) where I need to do continuous file backups (i.e. keep different versions of the file, going a few versions back) on specific folders to local USB drives & network drives. I had originally checked out Genie9, which is sort of like Time Machine for Windows, but the reviews of the 2012 version are pretty horrifically bad, which doesn't give me a lot of faith in the 2013 version:

http://www.genie9.com/business/genie_soft_business_solutions.aspx

The things I'm looking for are:

1. Easy to use (for semi-technical users to add folders & recover files)
2. Ability to select a specific folder for backup
3. Good GUI for recovering files from different dates (non-complex interface)

I don't need cloning software or anything else, just something that will back up specific folders and keep multiple versions going back however far the settings go or however big the drive is. And they are both physical servers, not VM's. Acronis and Symantec have some nice offerings, but are pretty overkill for what I'm trying to do...the Genie9 software looks perfect aside from last year's reliability issues.

So mostly, ease of use, reliability, and doing the specific task of keeping multiple backup copies over time.

You could try CrashPlan. The Free version only backs up once per day, but with the paid version ($3-5/mo), you can set up intervals (as often as 1 minute) for backing up. It will keep as many versions as you have space, and can even be set to keep delete files. I've used it to restore specific versions a few times.

 

[Kaido]

You could try CrashPlan. The Free version only backs up once per day, but with the paid version ($3-5/mo), you can set up intervals (as often as 1 minute) for backing up. It will keep as many versions as you have space, and can even be set to keep delete files. I've used it to restore specific versions a few times.

Yeah, we were looking at that, but they don't want any kind of cloud connectivity. Other than that, it looks great - backup sets & all. I'd really like to find a basic, standalone version of Crashplan for servers with just local connectivity.

 

[dawks]

Just don't back up to the cloud then. Backup locally.

To meet all of your requirements, you might need to write your own backup software.

 

[vbuggy]

This is what I use for a similar requirement in my simpler setups - though it's not quite scalable enough for the cloud I'm building out. I use it mainly to protect important single servers, which seems like what you're trying to do.

http://www.visionsolutions.com/products/DT-Avail.aspx