Symantec Backup Exec 12.5 for Windows Servers review

We could also create a restore job, browse through the VM??s folders, select files to reinstate and redirect them to another VM if we wanted. To restore files and folders you will need to have the standard Backup Exec Windows remote agent installed on the target VM although we found this easily accomplished by deploying it from the media server. Restore speeds are much faster and we reinstated a directory containing 420MB of graphics files back to their original location on the VM in thirty seconds for an average of 17.5MB/sec.

Strong competition in the Windows backup market comes from ARCserve r12 but for general features there's now little to match Backup Exec 12.5. All versions of Server 2008 are supported with an agent for Core as well and Symantec has finally added an NDMP agent so compliant NAS appliances appear in the main backup selection window as remote systems.

Backup Exec 12.5 looks to have every backup angle covered and uniquely offers protection for both Microsoft's and VMware's virtual server environments. Pricing is also very competitive and value gets a big boost as the base product includes Symantec's CPS (continuous protection server) plus the advanced open file and intelligent disaster recovery options.

Author: Dave Mitchell