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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Dell Avamar

    Score5.7 out of 10
    N/ADell Avamar is a hardware and software data backup and deduplication product. It provides protection and recovery through a complete software and hardware solution when paired with Dell Data Domain for virtual environments, remote offices, enterprise apps, NAS servers, and desktops/laptops.N/A

    Dell Networker

    Score5.7 out of 10
    N/ADell NetWorker is an enterprise-level data protection software product that unifies and automates backup to tape, disk-based, and flash-based storage media across physical and virtual environments for granular and disaster recovery.N/A
    Pricing
    Dell AvamarDell Networker
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Dell AvamarDell Networker
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Dell AvamarDell Networker
    Considered Both Products
    Dell Technologies
    Chose Dell Avamar
    BackupExec and NetBackup both would choke on data that was being replicated by
    DFSR. I needed a product that could handle that data, as well as do client side deduplication and compression.
    Incentivized
    Dell Technologies
    Chose Dell Networker
    Avamar is better but expensive
    Veeam, most suited for VM backup, doesn't work too well with the rest of backups\applications
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    57%
    Would buy again
    4 Answers
    63%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    57%
    Delivers good value for the price
    4 Answers
    57%
    Delivers good value for the price
    4 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    57%
    Happy with the feature set
    4 Answers
    75%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    60%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    3 Answers
    40%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    2 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    67%
    Implementation went as expected
    4 Answers
    57%
    Implementation went as expected
    4 Answers
    Features
    Dell AvamarDell Networker
    Data Center Backup
    Comparison of Data Center Backup features of Dell Avamar and Dell Networker
    Feature
    Dell Avamar
    6.6
    23 Ratings
    24% below category average
    Dell Networker
    5.0
    11 Ratings
    51% below category average
    Universal recovery8.021 Ratings5.29 Ratings
    Instant recovery8.020 Ratings6.011 Ratings
    Recovery verification7.018 Ratings6.09 Ratings
    Business application protection8.018 Ratings4.49 Ratings
    Multiple backup destinations7.021 Ratings3.010 Ratings
    Incremental backup identification8.022 Ratings4.811 Ratings
    Backup to the cloud3.610 Ratings5.26 Ratings
    Deduplication and file compression8.023 Ratings6.910 Ratings
    Snapshots5.017 Ratings6.09 Ratings
    Flexible deployment4.013 Ratings2.79 Ratings
    Management dashboard2.014 Ratings4.59 Ratings
    Platform support8.015 Ratings3.99 Ratings
    Retention options8.016 Ratings4.79 Ratings
    Encryption8.015 Ratings7.27 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Dell AvamarDell Networker
    Small Businesses
    BDRShield
    Score6.5 out of 10
    BDRShield
    Score6.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Bacula Enterprise
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Bacula Enterprise
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Bacula Enterprise
    Score8.6 out of 10
    Bacula Enterprise
    Score8.6 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Dell AvamarDell Networker
    Likelihood to Recommend
    2.0
    (23 ratings)
    7.1
    (11 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    2.0
    (2 ratings)
    3.0
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.8
    (4 ratings)
    6.3
    (3 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Dell AvamarDell Networker
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Dell Technologies
    This software is well suited for companies that want to be very in control of their backups but need a simple tool. It could be convenient for them to just buy their own node, locate it in a different location, and set up the jobs for their machines to backup to the cloud with the specific plugins. However, it would not be convenient for companies looking to have a tool that needs to be secure and compliant, and that need to have different other options for business continuity.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Dell Technologies
    For users with a basic backup system that does not provide advanced data protection this is a life saver in the age we live in where hackers are looking to encrypt and ruin your important backups. I would recommend [Dell EMC Networker] based on its features, price, and ease of use. If you have a similar product already it does not offer many unique features however.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Dell Technologies
    • Avamar performs data deduplication on the remote host. This greatly reduces the amount of traffic that each backup requires. This even applies to the virtual environment through change block tracking. Backup times are reduced from hours to minutes.
    • The management interface makes it easy to configure and maintain data retention periods. Many times certain data must be kept for an extended period of time. There is a specific menu for managing retention periods.
    • The system is able to recover itself from a hard failure with virtually no loss of backups. There is a checkpoint taken each day that provides a recovery point in the event of a catastrophic failure. Since this is a node based system, the loss of more than one node could require a recovery be performed.
    • While another grid must be purchased, the replication utility allows all backups to be replicated to another grid at a remote location. This ensures the resilience of the backups in the event there is the loss of the primary data center.
    • Also works on HCI devices performing image-level backups as in our primary data center environment
    • There is also now an All-in-One appliance for smaller locations
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Dell Technologies
    • Seamlessly integrates with DataDomain
    • Seamlessly integrates with vmWare for extremely fast VM backups
    • Provides agent-based integration for a very wide array of applications-aware backups, including but not limited to: Microsoft SQL/Exchange/Sharepoint, Meditech, Oracle, DB2, Informix, SAP
    • Integrates with a wide family of NAS solutions for NDMP backups
    Read full review
    Cons
    Dell Technologies
    • The client interface has constant JAVA issues and can be slow and chunky. We have often had issues with current versions of JAVA breaking it so it will not even run.
    • The backup clients are split out for function. Although this makes them light, it also makes it cumbersome to upgrade clients. The naming scheme can also be confusing for the clients.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Dell Technologies
    • The GUI is horrible. Giant windows that don't size properly, confusing terminology, multiple clicks to get things done, it's just a disorganized mess. I can't put this in front of my junior techs because it requires some background in DR software to fully comprehend, and even then it's not easy. It feels very much like this was tacked on to a command-line based product as an afterthought.
    • Better management features. It's difficult to integrate with Active Directory, for one. You'll need a Dell EMC tech to help you. Items can't be renamed and have to be recreated. Options are buried in multiple GUI tabs and often are just command line strings in a free-text field. Diagnosing failed jobs and workflows is cumbersome and the errors are often cryptic without some experience. Design it well and pray for uptime, because you need this to work when disaster requires it to.
    • Poor reporting features for an enterprise class product. You can't schedule any type of simple summary (an audit requirement for us) in the base product. To do this requires the additional cost of Data Protection Advisor, which is also horribly designed and impossible to get working quickly.
    • Post-sales contact is non-existent. We've been through a few reps and the project team dropped us at one point with a half-finished implementation when the original sales guy moved on. We only got the the promised product implementation by telling Dell that we weren't paying the bill until they delivered what they promised and were contractually obligated to.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Dell Technologies
    I have been using the product for over five years. This has performed so well that with the current system reaching its End-of-Life with EMC next year, I have proposed replacing it with the latest version of the product. Now that it integrates with Data Domain, the cost has been greatly reduced. Instead of the need to purchase many nodes, one Data Domain can replace them creating a significant cost savings.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Dell Technologies
    There are three reasons for not renewing our use of NetWorker: 1) the rising and extremely high cost of support and proprietary hardware needed for deduplication, 2) the complete unreliability of the product (we couldn't recover from a true disaster if we wanted to), and 3) the horrible support from EMC for the product
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Dell Technologies
    The system overall is easy to monitor and see your backup/restore status. The user interface could use updating as it relies on Java and any updates to Java cause the interface to stop working need to be reinstalled
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Dell Technologies
    NetWorker has the clunkiest interface and unfriendliest CLI with which I have ever had to work. I spent three years hating this application because it took ALL of my time just to keep it running. Even then, I had no confidence in our ability to recover from a disaster because of its unreliability.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Dell Technologies
    Support is very convincing, always eager to solve issues from the root rather than workaround, don't hesitate to take webex, describe the issues to the core and recommend configuration to avoid further issues. We can ask few questions other than the main issue. They don't hesitate to answer.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Dell Technologies
    The support team has always been good, and there is never an issue that can't be resolved. The techs are competent and know the product. The slightly less than perfect rating I'm giving is because Support shouldn't carry the burden themselves. We hear from Dell sales people all the time, but they never call and ask about this product, nor do they offer to upsell it or make it better. That lack of sales support and coherence hurts the overall rating a bit. When I spend my company's money on your product, I expect you to at least ACT like you care, if not actually care for real. It influences my opinion and future purchasing habits.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Dell Technologies
    No answers on this topic
    Dell Technologies
    How can anyone build a house without a blueprint? NetWorker was ramrodded into place here without a design or implementation plan. The result was a setup that was doomed from the start and never worked reliable over the full three years of our contract obligation.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Dell Technologies
    Avamar has simplied the back up approach in their VE edition and is much easier to use than Data Protector. Backing up multiple VMs takes minutes instead of hours now. Creating policies, retentions, and schedules, is vastly improved and much easier.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Dell Technologies
    EMC and Unitrends are equal at the file level and SQL backups. What makes Unitrends the better product is the ability to backup VMs as a whole. They both have the ability to email reports about failures and hardware issues. Unitrends has superior support and knowledge base and support is available 24/7.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Dell Technologies
    • Absolute Zero ROI
    • This appliance does not work in its current state and to update we need to wait 2-3 months
    • Can't wait to get rid of it and replace it with something else. (not even sure if we will be able to get it running before that)
    • [I think] this is one of the worst mistakes we made
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Dell Technologies
    • When you get into the deep dive of features there is quite a learning curve for those options so it's a lot to learn.
    • Restores and restore verification is very fast so you save some time there.
    • Costs are fairly high so an ROI may take some time vs a standard backup software.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots