Product Reviews

Veritas has achieved notable firsts, so it's no surprise to see Backup Exec (BE) 9 support Windows Server 2003 storage features prior to the latest Microsoft OS's arrival. The new Volume Shadow Copy service now appears in the backup source selection window for remote servers, plus you get a smart web browser view that runs on Windows 2003 media servers.

There are plenty more new features, such as Task Wizards for Exchange and SQL database backup, a ServerFree option for SAN support and a job test tool that allows you to check whether a backup task will run correctly. Other new features are support for backup selection based on modified time rather than archive

Setup is aided by an updated Startup Wizard, with multiple components easily deployed to remote systems. The biggest change is the main admin view. Existing users will need extra training, as many standard tools have been moved. Also, unlike CA ARCserve (see issue 99, p209), the Windows and NetWare versions of BE still use completely different management interfaces.

The tabs for each function have now been moved to the top of the interface and replaced with chunky buttons, and a new overview option provides a status report on jobs, devices, alerts and media. On-demand backup remains simple and, although Veritas doesn't provide any predefined backup strategies, an Assistant offers to help create a custom rotation. Performance is certainly no problem - with HP's Ultrium 460e (see p186) BE delivered very high speeds.

Overall, BE continues to provide the only serious competition to ARCserve for Windows backup. ARCserve is more intuitive, but despite being launched in late 2002 it doesn't offer the same support for the new Windows Server 2003 storage features. So if you're planning an early migration, BE is currently the better choice.