StarWind Virtual Tape Library vs. Veeam Data Platform

Starwind VTL is a great solution for customers that want the benefits of a physical tape library without the hefty price tag and the manual intervention required when changing tapes as it is automated. In addition, Starwind VTL virtual tapes are "air-gapped" as they are in LTO format.

We have a small deployment with a handful of physical hosts and two dozen or so virtual servers. It's been a perfect fit for us to manage all those backups and to restore entire systems from or even pull specific files/folders from a backup as needed if just a few things need changed/rolled back.

Incentivized

• Allows you to use Veeam and other software that uses Virtual Tape Libraries while getting rid of actual tape drives and tapes
• Backblaze B2 implementation is great - keeps storage costs low while automating backups to the cloud storage
• Low cost and great support by the Starwind technical team
• Feature-rich and in constant development

• File-level restore is quick, reliable, and much simpler than other platforms I've used
• Replication is extremely simple to configure and test
• Agent setup for user endpoints and subsequent backup storage is incredibly simple
• Cloud repository configuration is extremely straightforward and well-documented

Incentivized

• Set-up is confusing.

• Support could stand to improve by a bit. The level of support has seemingly lessened over the years I've been using it.
• It needs to be able to report backup repository statistics better when XFS and ReFS are in use.
• It could be a little better about cleaning up after itself (old logs, etc.).

Incentivized

Their support is great and the interface is not as user friendly

I have used many other data backup products that are on the market. I trust the configuration options within Veeam to do as they are labeled, without any specific back end software changes that may cause backups to fail if you don't use a systems integrator.

I trust the product for my own home environment as well due to relationship I have with the product at work.

Incentivized

The initial setup took some time, however, with the help of the Starwind technical team, we were able to set it up from start to finish including seamlessly adding it to our existing backup solution. After that, there was no need for any additional setup or troubleshooting.

Veeam is fairly simple in terms of how it is set up; its not an overly-complicated dashboard that can be intimidating to less technically-inclined users. Veeam also offers good instructional videos to help users work through how to do specific functions. I appreciate that they have specific video tutorials rather than having users scroll through a cumbersome manual.

Incentivized

The Veeam Backup & Replication solution is up and running every time you need it as it was planned. In more than 3 years that we have been using the product every night, it might have failed or presented an error once or twice, so the availability percentage is almost at 100%.

Incentivized

Veeam does a good job with backing up our servers in a timely manner. We are still at the beginning of our Veeam use and are pleased with the speed at which we can access the system as well as the backups and restore points. Veeam is definitely superior to our previous backup system in terms of speed and accessibility

Incentivized

Great and reliable product with little need for support

The support team has never asked me to jump through silly hoops or waste time on pointless exercises. They seem to truly have a handle on what may be wrong. In fact, when we were having trouble getting our license renewal setup (because of yet another license migration at Veeam) a support incident got us connected to the right people to get our renewal done in time.

Incentivized

(I assume this question should say "Veeam" and not "Crownpeak Universal Consent Platform") Planning is key. Planning your backup schedule, size, data restore points, replication if you're doing that, &c. Testing is also important; make sure you back something up and then do a test restore. Set up alerts so you know if things aren't working (or even if they are, always good to know that too).

Incentivized

We've looked at physical tape backups, however, the infrastructure is too costly compared to Starwind VTL and it also requires manual changing of tapes that users will not want to do or forget to do. With VTL, it works exactly like a physical tape library with the same benefits and full automation.

We used Zerto and CA Arcserve to address these needs without migrating to Veeam Backup & Replication. Zerto is a very successful instant backup and we are still using it now. It does what Veeam application cannot do in instant replication. CA Arcserve, on the other hand, is clearly lagging behind the Veeam Backup & Replication product and does not meet today's requirements.

Incentivized

In terms of scalability for our company, Veeam was able to cover our backup needs with ease. They have options for even more individualized backup if we were to need them; i.e. if a specific workstation needs its own independent backup. We have not used these resources yet, but I am confident they will be beneficial to our company in the near future.

Incentivized

• ROI was immediate as we got rid of expensive sneakernet backups with hard drives in a Pelican case
• One-time cost of the product is very cost-effective
• Support contracts are reasonable and we received excellent support throughout
• We have much better peace-of-mind with our data being protected better

• Confidence before starting riskier maintenance windows is a large component of what veeam is able to offer for us
• Some of the segmentation between different backup servers across our data enters causes unnecessary delays or backups that are duplicated unnecessarily
• Lack of certain storage vendors being natively supported requires hacky workarounds not fit for a production environment

Incentivized