Revolutionary Stuff From Backup Exec
Backup Exec 2012 introduced the first revolutionary change in its administrative paradigm in over nine years by moving to a resource-centric model that enables data protection lifecycle flexibility that was not possible in previous versions. Designed and optimized for physical, virtual, tape, disk, deduplication and the cloud, the new Backup Exec 2012 experience gives users the power to tailor the right protection paradigm in a very stepped, logical fashion.
In order to help our more established customers make the transition to the new paradigm, the Backup Exec team has quickly reacted to customer feedback on how to improve the migration experience. Available now in the Backup Exec 2012 SP1 release, is the Job View button that gives users a dedicated view of all jobs that have been configured in their Backup Exec environment.
This feature is similar to the Job Monitor feature found in previous versions of Backup Exec. The Job View allows users to view – and take action on – all backup jobs managed by their Backup Exec server through a simple “one click” button feature. Going forward we will focus on various improvements such as the ability to group servers to provide a “job” analogue, prioritize server backup order, target multiple server backups to the same tape and the introduction of the next-generation Job Monitor will be made available to all Backup Exec 2012 customers.
What does this really mean?
Well, in spite of what I might think there have been some grumblings on the ground that we have gone “A Bridge Too Far” with the new Backup Exec 2012 User Interface (Marketing would refer to this as “Exxxxxperrriance!). I love it. Loads of you do too, but it is a big leap for those hardened amongst us. However, things are not so bad as we’re introduced a “Job View” … a bit like the Job Monitor with SP1a. You can already group assets and therefore edit multiple policies (for multiple assets) at the same time – described in an earlier blog. All good stuff!
The bottom line is: When you are migrating from BE 2010 to BE 2012 make sure you read the wording in the wizzards which explains what is going to happen next. Clicking, click, click, clickerty, click through will give you a shock or two.
Backup Exec 2012 Migration Tip … Creating Groups in BE 2012
Upgrading is usually a painful and arduous process – this is certainly true of any software upgrade, especially when there is an approach reengineering that takes place to enhance a product dramatically and certainly not limited to BE. A number of you have found the move and upgrade to BE 2012 – policies appear to have disappeared – you have to have a job for each server.
Policies haven’t gone, they appear per server and because the UI is asset centric (per server) you do have one policy for each server. But that doesn’t mean you have to write hundreds of polices – one for each server. The BE 2012 experience includes all jobs you need to backup your server and to duplicate those data from one storage to another, i.e. disk to tape in a single policy for that server.
I’ve heard that customers are having issues when they have a bunch of servers that they want to configure in the same way … so in the past you would have written a policy and then associated it with a bunch of servers. In the new version of BE you can still do that: you can build a group and then write a policy for that group. You will still end up with a policy for each server but you won’t have to write the same policy for a hundred of servers or more. The thing is that it really isn’t that obvious how to make the group in the first place. Actually, when you think about it, it really is obvious … ctrl select!
If with a previous version of BE you had a single job that protected several (sometimes 10s – 100s of servers) when you upgrade to BE 2012 it creates a single policy into separate jobs for each server protected. If you have already migrated, should you need to change any settings you will need to make a change across all those new jobs … painful? Not at all, you can change the setting for all of your backups at the same time and end up with one job per server, but all those jobs created in a single process (just like in BE 2010) and have an identical configuration. If you want to change a configuration on a group of servers or an individual server you can do this.
If you need to do this select all the servers that have the overwrite media option set by Shift+Clicking or Ctrl+Clicking, or by selecting a containing group. This is the way you can create groups in BE 2012, so although you end up with a job per server you can still create single policies and associate with multiple assets. So you can create or change policies or configurations for multiple instances without having to go through each individual server.
One issue we are aware of and will be fixing in a service pack coming out pretty soon, where customers had overwrite option set to “Overwrite media” prior to migration, the migration creates a new policy for each asset and every one of those new jobs will retain all the attributes of the original policy, including the “Overwrite media” setting. This will cause all of those new jobs to request new media.
To do this:
- Create all you servers you want to amend into a single group (Ctrl+Click)
- Click “Edit Backups” on the toolbar
- You get a list of all the server assets you selected, click on the checkbox in the header to select all the servers
- Select “OK” taking you into the “multi-edit” view where you can make changes across all the selected backups at one time.
- In this case click on “edit” on the backup stage
- Click on the Storage tab, change the media overwrite option from “Overwrite media” to “Append to media, overwrite if no appendable media is available”
- Click on OK twice, this changes this option for all those selected servers.
This only changes that option and will not change any other changes or customisations you may have made to other server assets – cool!
Making Backup Easier with Intelligent Backup
Have you ever seen pictures of the control room in a power generation plant? It’s an entire wall of dials, knobs, and gauges, all telling you important bits of information about the system. That’s great – and probably necessary! – if your only job was to manage that power plant. But as an IT professional, you have lots of daily jobs; some of you manage Exchange, SQL Server, firewalls, security, storage, servers, you name it. Backup and recovery might be only one of the many jobs you do on a daily basis. And here at Symantec, we don’t want your backup application to be like that power plant – we want you to be
able to sit down, do what you need to do, and get on with your day.
Backup Exec has an entirely new user interface. You’re going to like it – it’s simpler, more intuitive, and much easier to navigate. We’ve also taken a lot of time to keep all those great features you are used to in previous versions of Backup
Exec – so this interface is going to appeal to the new Backup Exec user and the seasoned professional. At-a-glance status is easily available in Backup Exec 2012, both from servers you are protecting and from the storage you are using to store your backups. The latest version of Backup Exec is just a cleaner, more intuitive way to manage your backup and recovery environment.
We’ve also included a new way to create and manage backup jobs and policies. No longer do you need an advanced degree in Data Protection to set up disk-to-disk-to-tape backups or replicate data between sites – the new Backup Stages feature shows you, in graphical detail, how your backup data will be transferred, when it will be backed up, and where it’s going to be transferred to.
Speaking of backups, how many of you just want to create backups to protect your critical servers and applications without any headaches? How many of you would rather not pore over every detail of application backups? Well, if that sounds like you, Backup Exec has made it much easier for you to set up backup jobs, because we have included some seriously intelligent defaults – based off our own expertise in data protection and by taking the most successful backup configurations from
our customers and partners – and building them into Backup Exec. If you want to get into the nuts and bolts of backup job creation, however, Backup Exec has all the same great features and customizability you have used before – so you have the right tools to get the job done.
With Backup Exec, we’ve also stepped up our “telemetry” program – gathering non-personally identifiable information from our customers and partners who choose to participate in the program. This gives us invaluable intelligence about how backups and restores are working in the field, and we have used that information extensively to make Backup Exec the easiest to use, full-featured data protection application for physical or virtual environments on the market.
Be one of the first to find out what other new ground breaking backup and recovery features are coming soon in Backup Exec.
Visit the Countdown to Better Backup web site here: http://bit.ly/yenx3z
By Aidan Finley … Symantec’s Aidan Finley talks about simplifying intelligent backup: http://bit.ly/vHJXoa #BetterBackup [Video]
Arming Symantec’s back up heroes with V-Ray powers
- Unite Virtual and Physical: Powered by Symantec V-Ray technology, Backup Exec 2012 enables visibility across both virtual and physical environments for fast and efficient backup and recovery while eliminating the need for specialised point products.
- Eliminate Backup Complexity with a New Administration Console: A newly redesigned administration console will provide users with fast, concise management and monitoring capabilities.
- Integrated Disaster Recovery: With bare-metal disaster recovery and Backup Exec’s “no hardware DR” built in, organizations will be able to easily recover a failed system to a physical server, or to a Hyper-V or VMware guest.
- Capacity Licensing: New capacity licensing model for Managed Service Providers (MSPs), mid-sized and lower enterprise organizations will provide easier purchasing and maintenance by capacity as an alternative to existing a la carte pricing.
- Small Business Edition: In less than 10 minutes and with just three simple steps, Backup Exec 2012 Small Business Edition will install and configure backups so small businesses with limited IT experience can protect their data with ease. The new Backup Exec Small Business Edition will bundle Symantec’s data and system recovery technology into one affordable solution with a single license that’s designed specifically for a growing business.
Backup Exec Guide to Agents & Option
We’ve produced a really smart little app – well, it’s not actually an App quite yet, but will be pretty soon – that helps anyone who doesn’t know what all the agents and options for Backup Exec actually do: http://www.symantec.com/redirects/backup_exec/beguide/
I’ve been meaning to do this forever but now I am delighted to announce the newly available website. Launched at VISION EMEA, Barcelona 4-6 October, in a nutshell, this is Backup Exec Guide “Made Simple”. For customers, partners … anyone interested in backup frankly, it drills into each Agent or Option and explains what it does.
This publication is designed to give an overview of Backup Exec 2010 R3. It is aimed at all professionals working in or with Symantec Backup Exec and Symantec System Recovery to improve general knowledge of Symantec’s Data Protection strategy and wider Information Management capabilities. Using this document you should be able to build availability solutions and data protection strategies for all types of organisation.
Maximise the potential of Symantec Backup Exec
Whether you want to go straight to Agents & Options or whether you want to search by Backup priority including Virtualization, Storage Management, Disaster Recovery, Application Recovery or Management & Platform Support, there is a route for you.
The portable website has been designed to be accessed in multiple ways. We will shortly be announcing the BE Guide Mobile App available for iPhone, iPad and Android. More-to-follow.
Find out which Backup Exec Agents and Options are right for your business using this new interactive guide – simply click either to select a business priority or view our complete list of Agents and Options – simple, easy and effective – have a play today.
Adding to the Guide all the time
We will be adding content to the guide as we go – this will be of a technical nature to keep an eye out for updates.
Backup Exec 2010 R3 Released 3rd May 2011
– with improvements in virtualization backup, archiving, and security
Backup Exec 2010 R3 continues with our “R” series of releases – new features, new capabilities, and continued improvement to our award-winning backup and recovery application.
There’s quite a bit of goodness in this release. Since Symantec as a company has focused heavily in the virtualization space, it stands to reason that many of the improvements in Backup Exec 2010 R3 revolve around virtualization. But that’s not all we improved in this release!
If you backup and restore VMware with Backup Exec and the Deduplication Option, this update is for you. We’ve made significant improvement to the Deduplication engine regarding VMware backups – you should see significant improvement in the Deduplication rates with Backup Exec 2010 R3 compared to previous versions of Backup Exec. In our environments we’ve seen 30%, 50%, or higher data reduction rates with the Backup Exec 2010 R3 compared to previous versions. If you use Backup Exec and you want better Deduplication ratios with VMware backups, then this is the update for you.
(And don’t worry, Hyper-V users – we haven’t forgotten about you – we’ll have good news for you in the next major release of Backup Exec. So be patient, and we’ll get Hyper-V Deduplication into Backup Exec as soon as we can.)
We’ve added a new plug-in – the Backup Exec Management Plugin for VMware – to the mix, too. This utility allows you to monitor backups made with the Agent for VMware from within a vSphere Client or vCenter installation. Administrators can get all sorts of insight into Backup Exec jobs, including a status view of all VM’s, last backup run, next scheduled backup, what type of backup occurred, and allows administrators to drill down into Backup Exec backup job logs. This is a completely free update that is very useful for VMware administrators who use Backup Exec.
Plus, we’ve improved a number of other areas involving deduplication in virtual environments since Backup Exec 2010 R2 was released. If you protect VMware, use Deduplication, or use Application GRT for SQL, Exchange or Active Directory, this update also a great fit for you.
Archiving has seen some love, too – especially the Exchange Mailbox Archiving Option. We now support Archiving from Exchange 2010 SP1! So those administrators who have been looking to move or have moved to latest and greatest messaging platform from Microsoft, we support backup, recovery, and storage management through Archiving with Backup Exec 2010 R3. In addition to new platform support, we’ve also introduced Virtual Vault for the Exchange Mailbox Archiving Option. This Outlook Plug-In allows end users to see Archived emails directly from within Outlook – meaning that users never need to leave the familiar Outlook interface to search, view, and reply to Archived emails.
The Agent for Enterprise Vault has seen some improved platform support. We now support backup, recovery, and migration from Enterprise Vault 10 installations. Enterprise Vault is the flagship Archiving product from Symantec, and we are committed to supporting the latest and greatest releases of the Enterprise Vault application.
We’ve also done some work with our underlying security infrastructure. Backup Exec 2010 R3 now provides TSL/SSL support from the agent to the server, providing an extra layer of security for customers that transmit backup data across the WAN or to a private cloud. Essentially, the Backup Exec Media Server becomes its own Certificate Authority (CA) with the power to sign certificates, establishing identity and trust. This now encrypts the control and data connections between the media server and remote agents. This added security features will help ensure that backed up data sent over any network or Internet connection is secure.
And last but not least, Backup Exec 2010 R3 brings support for the latest versions of Microsoft Small Business Server 2011. Both SBS 2011 Essentials and SBS 2011 Standard, along with the SBS 2011 Premium Add-On, are supported with Backup Exec 2010 R3.
To sum up, we’ve done a lot of work to make Backup Exec more effective in VMware environments, more secure, and even better suited to backup and protect your environments. We’ve produced a short “What’s New in Backup Exec 2010 R3” webcast that you can find that on www.BackupExec.com– with an introduction to Backup Exec 2010 R3. If you already own Backup Exec 2010 or Backup Exec 2010 R2, this is a no-cost upgrade for you. If you are interested in evaluating Backup Exec 2010 R3, you can download trialware from www.BackupExec.com.
Aiden Finley, Backup Exec Product Management
See Symantec Connect
Backup – not the last thing you should think of
I need a new service, so I need an application, and a new server, and perhaps some storage … and if we’re lucky we ask ourselves “oh, yes, what about the backup?” Have you noticed how really never turn IT off, we just add to it. So we end up with a backup strategy that encompassed everything 3 or 4 years ago, but one that falls pretty short today; that’s how it really works.
Even though we know that we really should backup all our data – just in case – are we absolutely convinced we actually are? Backup is our critical data protection solution and yet we rarely review our backup strategy.
With server virtualisation, the need for fast reliable application recovery, the exponential growth of unstructured data and poor data lifecycle management are some of the root causes of operational inefficiencies in IT and why we are change the way we approach our backup strategies.
Server Virtualisation
With more and more companies adopting virtualisation technologies to improve efficiencies and reduce CAPEX costs, organisations are looking for ways of protecting both virtual and physical environments with a single backup tool. It makes sense to use a solution that gives you granular recovery from a single pass backup, saving time, money and any amount of effort – don’t use separate tools and end up backing up the backup it turns the recovery process into a nightmare!
Microsoft Applications
The backup and recovery of Microsoft Applications is an inherently challenging process that becomes more difficult as the databases grow and the demands on its online availability increases, further limiting the time available for backup and recovery operations. Granular Recovery of Exchange, SQL and Active Directory from a single pass backup makes it easy and efficient to identify and recover only those objects needed.
Storage Optimisation
Optimising storage to reduce overall storage capacity can be done through integrated archiving and deduplication. Archiving moves old data to a separate store so you don’t have to backup the same data day-in, day-out – forever. Deduplication only backs up data (at a block level) once, using a pointer to the unique data. You can reduce the backup window dramatically with both archiving and data deduplication.
Backup Exec 2010
Backup Exec Agents and Options enhance and extend platform and feature support for your backup environments for Microsoft applications, virtual environments (VMware and Microsoft Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V) as well as storage reduction or optimisation technologies.
Deduplication – is it just me, or is there anyone else out there who cares?
Actually, I’ve discovered it’s not just me – thank goodness. When you go through a product launch process there is always a chance that the general ”noise” is you banging on about stuff and is limited to inside your own head.
Not so in BE 2010 case … I’ve been running around Europe in the last month or so, and the feedback I’ve been getting is that there is an awful amount of interest in deduplication. Even smaller companies who thought that deduplication was probably too much for their needs are seriously looking at getting rid of some of the duplicate data on their primary storage, but even more are looking at deduplication as a way of improving backup and restore times.
I was at an event a couple of months back where every conversation I had was around the length of time it takes to backup. As data continues to grow across the IT infrastructure, everywhere: laptops, disparate storage devices, remote offices, as well as the good old Data Centre, it has created a fundamental shift in the way organisations need to manage information. Keeping information on disk for faster DR restores is all fine and dandy, but there is simply too much data around. Disk based backup is now getting a tricky to manage and as cumbersome as tape-based backup.
A number of customers are turning to deduplication technologies in order to facilitate faster backups, reduce primary storage, and reduce not just the amount of disk being used up but also improve tape media rotation and management.
Deduplication gives you the ability to tape a strategic approach to storage and backups. Organisations now have the ability to deploy an integrated platform that is easy to manage and supports source and target-based deduplication.
Primary storage deduplication will become widely deployed in the next 6 to 12 months. Most organisations have not yet gone down this route, however, with the Option now built into Backup Exec 2010 this is all the more likely because it’s available simply, really easy to install and the benefits are huge.
Backup Exec Training
You may have noticed a bit of a noise around the new version of Backup Exec this last week. Launched on Monday 25th January, Backup Exec 2010 has created a considerable amount of interest in the European, Middle East and African regions where there are a number (actually a huge number) of partner and customer training events going on. These events will cover new features in BE 2010, like deduplication and archiving, as well as covering how Backup Exec can help reduce storage costs and improve data lifecycle management with new, innovative technology to help our customers “Protect More, Store Less and Save More”.
In the UK the Symantec team are hosting a Backup Exec Tech Night for our partner community giving partners a chance to see for themselves what the new features of Backup Exec can do, with live demos. We have a Director from the Product Management Team, Herve Lequippe, over from Paris and with our technical specialists will also be on hand to answer any questions that our partners may have.
The night will also take a slightly unusual format to our normal events. It is themed’ Warm up for the World Cup’. The partners can come along and take part in a football gaming night all accompanied by Beer and Pizza! What could be better? Learn about BE 2010 and take on your colleagues in a gaming challenge. I would really encourage you to come along as it is likely to be a great night.
If you would like to attend please register by visiting: https://symantecevents.verite.com/16471
So, the new version is generally available today (1st February 2010) and in order not to miss out on all the events going on around the region, I would urge you to contact your local IT partner or Symantec office to find out more.
Introducing Backup Exec 2010
Today is a big day for us at Symantec – huge launch of our backup products, NetBackup 7 and Backup Exec 2010, offering a unified backup and recovery portfolio that reaches from the smallest businesses to the largest enterprises.
We are really excited about this launch which must be one of the most significant in the last few years, and there is a considerable amount of interest in the industry.
Businesses today rely on information technology and systems to run their businesses; help to drive new opportunities; operate efficiently and comply appropriately with governance. Most organisations today are organised around servers, storage and applications with islands of static information. The sheer volume of data and its continued growth means that IT is struggling to keep up with growth with the added pressure to do more with less.
The new products are really impressive with integrated deduplication everywhere and archiving, reducing the complexity of storage management, as well as centralised information management and enhanced virtualisation capabilities.
Small Business: Symantec Backup Exec 2010 and Backup Exec System Recovery 2010 provide a simple, cost-effective backup and recovery solution that helps minimise downtime and avoid disaster by easily recovering individual data files/folders or complete Windows systems in minutes even to different hardware, virtual environments, or remote locations – for a multitude of SB environments.
Small and Medium Businesses: Symantec delivers reliable backup and recovery designed for growing businesses. Backup Exec 2010 helps protect more, store less and save more by reducing storage and management costs through integrated deduplication and archiving technology on both virtual or physical systems.
Enterprise: Symantec NetBackup 7 simplifies the protection of heterogeneous enterprise information by automating advanced technologies across applications, platforms, and virtual environments. Integrated deduplication, replication, and virtual machine protection improves storage efficiency, infrastructure use, and recovery times through one console.
Benefits of Next Generation Information Management from Symantec
- Reduce Costs: Gain 10-20 percent net savings from a single platform
- Recover data up to 5 times faster for less downtime
- Reduce unstructured data storage 40-60%
- Compress remote office backups up to 95%
- Protect virtual and physical machines
It doesn’t matter what is the issue – the answer is Symantec!
General availablity 1st February 2010
