NetBackup from Cohesity vs. Percona XtraBackup

Veritas NetBackup is well suited for most backups within an organisation. This is from standard filesystem backups to full integrated SQL, Oracle and SAP HANA databases and their associated applications. Where it lacks is point in time recovery, i.e., backups are taken at a specific time and then backed up to either disk or tape, but other backup products allow incremental forever backups that, from the golden copy, allow point in time recovery down to an hour or even a minute. So if that level of granularity is required, then Veritas NetBackup may not be the best product to use.

Well suited to databases < 10TB. For larger than this, I would go with snapshots.

• The activity monitor allows me to easily see if there are issues with backup jobs or the environment.
• Community support for NBU is very good. I've been able to research issues with ease and find other users that have been in similar situations.
• Policy management for backups is very easy and there are lots of options.

Incentivized

• Non-blocking backup : Backup process will not put any lock on the database.
• Fast recovery : As it's a file level backup so it's quite fast in both backup and recovery.
• Consistent backup : Xtrabackup always ensures consistent backup.
• Easy to configure and Use.
• Integration with clouds

• Admin console
• SAP HANA application Templates should also be introduced instead of scripting
• SAP MAXDB application template should also be introduced
• Tape Management need improvement
• MOBILE connectivity is missing
• Admin console is so simple it should be more funcky or stylish
• Small database should also be considered for backup

Incentivized

• The only feature that could use some improvement is partial backup restores. For example, I have a multi-tenant database at the schema level running on a single Percona Server instance. As a tenant grows too large for the share instance or becomes a noisy neighbour we need to move a the tenants schema to its own instance with minimal downtime, meaning that we would run the new instance as a replica with replication filters until failover. In terms of doing a consistent backup, there may be challenges and it is currently possible with XtraBackup, but it would be great if the process was simplified and ensured to be consistent.

Veritas continues to keep up with the backup game. There virtual machine backup capabilities are now top notch, and I believe they will prove valuable when our cloud presence demands a backup solution.

Incentivized

There is a slight learning curve depending on what you wish to back up. However, as a whole it is fairly easy to use. The reporting of backups gives peace of mind to ensure data is protected. The GUI is intuitive and easy to find the correct areas you need to perform various functions. Recovery is also done via a GUI that is extremely easy to use and select the backup you wish to recover.

Takes a bit of getting used to when you first set it up.

Incentivized

Support is pretty good but it is split between America and outsourced companies so it is hit or miss sometimes. I have actually had to argue with the outsourced support as they sometimes have no practical experience using the software which makes troubleshooting difficult when they have no practical experience using the system.

Incentivized

If you pay for support it is great, otherwise you have to google.

Incentivized

CrashPlan has the capability to sync data with a cloud storage source. This is great for a workstation where data is typically only for one user. However, Netbackup does a much better job for maintaining multiple levels of file restores for Enterprise Servers. Netbackup has a superior management console that does not rely on Cloud services in the event of an internet outage.

Incentivized

We have evaluated Mysqldump and MySQL Enterprise backup. Mysqldump is not a scalable solution. MEB is a paid and closed source. As we are truly open-source, we were looking for an open-source solution that was reliable and scalable. Xtrbackup has all the required features to fulfill our requirements.

Veritas NetBackup is very expensive, and I think price is the main reason which some customers don't want to use this solution. The price is fair. Most people have felt this solution was somewhat expensive.
licensing model is based on the number of NetBackup clients, agents, servers, and options that NetBackup will be protecting or run on. A customer purchases the same number of licenses as the count of clients, agents, servers, and options.

Incentivized

Education, Consulting and Managed services to keep our business running smooth.They provide the expertise needed to help you bridge the gap between excellent information management solutions and the information essential to help you reach maximum business value. They Meet information management goals with agility and flexibility.

Comprehensive 24x7 monitoring, management and support of your backup and archiving environments.

Incentivized

• We never experienced a significant system or data loss during the time we used NetBackup. We restored individuals files and small databases based upon user mistakes, but we never had to implement a DR plan. From that aspect, it is difficult to evaluate the ROI. Backups are a commodity service. Features are very similar across multiple tools. Once you decide to stay on-prem or move to the cloud, the list of options are narrowed. Then it becomes a matter of price.
• From an administration and support perspective, the ROI is low. Vendor technical support is not always responsive. The first two tiers of support are not knowledgeable and their typical recommendation is to read the white paper. My small team spent a lot of time troubleshooting NetBackup, often without much vendor help.

Incentivized

• Secure, reliable, fast and consistent backups. Open source with zero cost.
• We satisfy our regulatory requirements.