CA adds Windows support to latest version of ARCserve Backup |
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By Kevin Komiega, News Editor
25 Jan 2004 | SearchStorage.com |
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With one eye on the Windows Server 2003 user base, Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) announced the general availability of BrightStor ARCserve Backup Release 11 for Windows Monday, a data protection solution aimed at storing and managing data on Windows, NetWare, Linux, UNIX, and MAC OS X servers and clients.
Supporting direct-attached storage, NAS and SANs, ARCserve 11 offers disk-to-disk backup and disk-to-disk-to-tape staging and a Microsoft Exchange premium agent that enables message-level, mailbox-level and database-level backup and restore. It also features multiplexing capabilities that speed backup performance by enabling multiple backup jobs to be written to the same tape media simultaneously, CA said.
According to Islandia, N.Y.-based CA, ARCserve also features an open files agent with support for software snapshots using Microsoft's Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS) technology. BrightStor ARCserve Backup now works with "VSS-aware" applications and services to create snapshot copies of open volumes and application data sets.
CA is not alone, almost every vendor with a storage management product has pledged support for Microsoft-based storage management. In conjunction with the general availability of Windows Storage Server 2003, a gaggle of software vendors announced product support for the new Microsoft offering. Supporting vendors include CommVault Systems, KVS, Legato Systems, NSI Software, NuView, Quest Software and Veritas Software. As a result Windows Storage Server 2003 users will soon be able to pick and choose among third party software makers for features like server consolidation, business continuity and backup.
But CA's latest version of ARCserve goes beyond simple Windows support. The company claims that its other tools, including storage resource management (SRM), high availability, security, desktop and enterprise backup, combine to help users conquer the task of managing Windows environments.
Enterprise Storage Group senior analyst Nancy Marrone-Hurley said CA's new software allows users to back up on a document by document level and provides single instance support using its Microsoft Exchange Premium Agent.
"What is compelling for Microsoft users is that they could be running BrightStor Enterprise Edition for windows clusters, BrightStor ARCserve for single servers and BrightStor Desktop and manage them all through a single console," Marrone-Hurley said.
Users can also manage their SRM and security applications through the same console. "The ease of use and integrated management can really help reduce both time and costs," she said.
David Liff, vice president of BrightStor Solutions for CA, said the Microsoft market for ARCserve is huge. "It's the most important market to us," he said. CA's Microsoft blitz is specifically targeted at Exchange e-mail environments with an emphasis on ease of use. "The average non-technical user can be performing backups within 20 minutes of installing [ARCserve]," said Liff.
Liff said ARCserve Backup 11 for Windows is also tightly integrated with BrightStor SRM and server replication solutions, and with CA's eTrust security solutions and Unicenter enterprise management products, giving users the ability to streamline a range of IT administrative processes.
BrightStor ARCserve Backup 11 for Windows and BrightStor ARCserve Backup for Laptops and Desktops 11 are available through CA's network of channel partners. Pricing for BrightStor ARCserve Backup 11 for Windows starts at $775. Pricing for a Microsoft Small Business Server Edition bundle, which includes agents for Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL Server, Open Files and Windows workstations, starts at $995 for the bundle. Pricing for BrightStor ARCserve Backup for Laptops and Desktops 11 starts at $495.
Let us know what you think about the story, e-mail: Kevin Komiega, News Editor
Analyze that: Computer Associates
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