Good Network Backup

[Dfere]

Small office network. Looking to do external storage backup. I was looking at Seagate 750GB external backup. The software gets flamed (bounceback) in some reviews. Looks like there really is no functionality other than what freeware provides. In that case, I was thinking I'd build my own on an external cage and save the money for full functioning backup software.

Could anyone recommend backup software that would provide disaster recovery-type functionality (i.e. ghosting or whatever it is called instead of just file backup). I am hoping to do this over the network as our server area is very cramped.

Even better, perhaps a package that combines virus, utilities and good data backup and recovery with or without hardware.

Your advice is much appreciated.

 

[RebateMonger]

You didn't say what you are trying to back up. It sounds like a Server, but what OS?

Generally, I'm leary of commerically-built external hard drives for backup purposes. Almost none have fans and have been problematic for myself and many other small-business consultants. Many are moving to hot-swap SATA drive racks. You could put a rack in another PC on the network. It'd be best to have a gigabit network connection between the Server and the PC where the backup drive is located.

For Windows Server 2003 backup, many just use the built-in NTBackup software. It's kinda' slow, but if you verify the backup (quick) it's quite trustworthy. The built-in SBS 2003 backup is a customized version that gives backup status reports. There's also a 3rd-party add-on to NTBackup that gives reporting and other improvements.

Restoration using NTBackup is in two parts. First, you restore the basic OS. That's pretty fast. Then, you run the NTBackup program and do the Server restoration. Typically, it can be done in a few hours, but, obviously, it depends on how much data your're restoring. If you actually have to backup and restore 750GB of data, you'll find it too much for the current (slow) NTBackup program (which can only back up at about 9MB/sec).

There ARE Windows Server imaging programs that can restore a Server from scratch in 1/5 the time. But they are expensive. The choice depends on your requirements. StorageCraft's ShadowProtect, for instance, is super fast. The Server version is about $700.