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Arctera Backup Exec

Score5.8 out of 10

165 Reviews and Ratings

What is Arctera Backup Exec?

Arctera Backup Exec is a backup and disaster recovery solution. It works in virtual, physical, and multi-cloud environments and integrates with several third-party software releases and applications.

Categories & Use Cases

Top Performing Features

  • Universal recovery

    Universal recovery is the ability to restore backups to any machine regardless of the platform

    Category average: 8.4

  • Business application protection

    Protection of all applications running in the data center

    Category average: 8

  • Backup to the cloud

    Ability to store and back up data to the cloud

    Category average: 8.3

Areas for Improvement

  • Instant recovery

    Instant recovery is the ability to restore operations very rapidly

    Category average: 8.7

  • Deduplication and file compression

    Integrated deduplication and compression capabilities

    Category average: 8.4

  • Multiple backup destinations

    Multiple backup destinations is the ability to backup data to more than one location

    Category average: 8.5

Flat pricing (no data tiers) and probably the most intuitive backup solution out there.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Veritas Backup Exec for Disk-Disk-Tape-Cold Storage. Essentially we use Veritas Backup Exec to manage daily backups along with a disaster recovery plan that allows us to air-gap our backups and cold storage off site. We really wanted an all in one solution that was easy to implement, did not have data tiers, and provided clear licensing plans.

Pros

  • Easy to setup storage platforms
  • Easy to see to which tape sets are in cold storage, associate tapes with backup sets
  • Agents are easy to deploy across windows and Linux servers

Cons

  • Initial setup of backup configuration is not suited towards big data. I wish there was a selection that asks: how much data is within scope for initial, daily, weekly, then it would automatically adjust the backup parameters including timeout windows.

Return on Investment

  • The new licensing tiers are fantastic. You lease per agent/server. No data tiers, which many of their competitors leverage to extract more money.
  • Interface is exceptionally user-friendly for anyone with a modicum of tech training.

Other Software Used

Windows Server, Ubuntu Linux

Veritas Backup Exec is smart, flexible and secure backup.

Pros

  • Accurate and seamless integration with VMware.
  • Possibility to replicate to the cloud.
  • When necessary, restoration to a specific point is quick and safe.
  • Clean and friendly interface.
  • Great Alerts and personalized reports.

Cons

  • Updates happen frequently but are not so easy to perform.
  • Providing more training for beginners.

Return on Investment

  • Optimizes time and productivity at work.
  • Keeps data safe in the event of a virtual attack or hardware damage.

Other Software Used

Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller, Ubiquiti WLAN, Odoo, KanbanFlow, Cisco Webex Meetings, Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches, Kaspersky Endpoint Security

Veritas Backup Exec - AVOID! It was great (and about the only choice) 2 decades ago, but it has fallen by the wayside.

Pros

  • Backing up files that are in use.
  • Backing up Exchange Server databases.
  • Backing up SharePoint Server Websites.

Cons

  • Veritas's memory usage is exorbitant - one of the most memory intensive applications running on the server.
  • Cluttered interface.
  • Slow to backup.

Return on Investment

  • I have had to replace Veritas Backup Exec on multiple clients servers due to unsuccessful restores of valuable data.
  • Many 'failed' backups when there was no apparent reason for the failure to occur.

Alternatives Considered

Veeam Backup & Replication, Seagate Cloud Disaster Recovery Service, Carbonite Backup for Microsoft Office 365, IDrive and Google Cloud Datastore

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), Veeam Backup & Replication, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, Amazon RDS on VMware, Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition, Kofax PaperPort (formerly Nuance)

Good backup software, some learning curve

Pros

  • Backs up data
  • Backs up data to usb drives
  • Backups data to MS Cloud

Cons

  • User Interface
  • Job creation
  • Alert management

Return on Investment

  • Cheap available through techsoup for non-profits
  • Does require some learning
  • Cumbersome interface requires more time to setup and perform daily tasks

Alternatives Considered

Unitrends Data Center Backup and Recovery

Classic Backup Software without bigger flaws

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Veritas Backup Exec mainly for the Backup of our data and bare metal servers. We use a scenario with a primary backup to disk and then copy to tape, which is then stored in safe on another location.

Based on this we have an easy and fast recovery from disk, if a colleague accidentally deleted his files (again) and a disaster recovery from tape. Veritas Backup Exec makes a pretty good job in this scenario and works well. It passes every test till now and every recovery of the encrypted tapes are working without data loss.

Pros

  • Backup to disk
  • Backup to tape
  • Fast recovery from disk
  • Reliability

Cons

  • The design
  • The User interface
  • Files are sometimes hard to find
  • Endpoint Protection (Clients)

Other Software Used

baramundi Management Suite, VMware Workstation Pro, Microsoft Visual Studio Code, Docusnap