GFI Backup 2010 Business Edition review

We've heard every excuse under the sun for not backing up data, but lack of choice simply won't wash any more. There are plenty of software solutions available, and GFI's new Backup 2010 Business Edition has ease of use and value high on its agenda.

It supports Windows XP and Server 2003 upwards, and its low pricing makes it well suited to cash-strapped small businesses. Installation is easy, and we had it loaded on a Windows Server 2008 R2 system in minutes.

GFI installs a web server for central administration, and runs a wizard to help secure console access and create client backup and restore privileges. An agent is required on each system, which can be downloaded from the console or installed via Group Policy, but GFI doesn't offer a push option.

The console is very intuitive, which makes it easy to create backup and restore jobs. Along with files and folders, you can protect SQL databases, but Exchange isn't yet supported.

Backup destinations range from tape and optical devices to disks, and another wizard helps set up a central repository. This can be a local disk vault or network location, and must be shared to allow clients to backup data to it.

The backup server can be managed locally and remotely from the console, and backup tasks started for any systems with the agent running. Each client's local storage can be browsed, files and folders selected, and all added to a single job.

The central repository is shown in the console's homepage, with details on used and available space. It's easy enough to use, as you just request this destination during backup job creation. Backup options are plentiful: you can request full, incremental or differential backups, and for destinations such as disk and optical media, decide how many versions you want to keep.

Backups can be compressed into standard ZIP files, so you're not tied into proprietary formats. You can create self-extracting, password-protected archives, and backups can also be encrypted to AES standards.

Users can run local backup jobs via the agent and store data on devices such as hard disks and network shares. Restore operations are just as simple, but you can restore data back to its original location only if run from the console. The agent is required to send it to an alternative destination.

You can keep tabs on user activity as their agent sends all job details back to the central server. However, reporting is a weakness, since the central console provides only basic details about each task once it's completed. Active job progress can only be seen from the local agent.

One area where disk imaging products such as StorageCraft's ShadowProtect score better is their bare-metal recovery feature; GFI doesn't offer any. Even so, if you want a simple, low-cost network backup solution then GFI Backup 2010 Business Edition is a top choice.

Author: Dave Mitchell