Item: Bacula Enterprise
Rating: 10
Author: Matthias Merz

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are currently centralizing the existing scattered backup solutions into one solution. Due to the number of heterogeneous systems, we strongly need a centralized solution with dependable monitoring, encryption, secure cloud support for off-site backups and support for different environments and operating systems. Bacula's plug-in system provides support for our needs, may it be Windows, Linux, databases, Exchange, etc.

Pros and Cons

Good support during the decision phase: PoC with technical assistance and honest answers about what might pose problems.
Text-based configuration allows for utilization of config management and Git-based change tracking, even with merge-request-approval, if needed.
Supports all needed operating systems (whereas using os-specific solutions e.g. VSS snapshots on Windows, therefore utilizing the power of registered VSS writers).
CLI, as well as web management interfaces, are available.
Dependable job runs: If something goes wrong, the admin will at least know (we had issues with that in another backup solution).
Multi-cloud capable, with encryption support.
Extensive documentation provided on nearly every aspect, also covering typical sticking points.

There is a somewhat steep learning curve, but OTOH, I don't see how a "trivial" config could provide the flexibility and strength Bacula does.
Finding the right documentation may take some time due to structuring.

Return on Investment

A dependable solution. It's difficult to provide numbers for ROI of a product you wish to "never need to depend upon" :-)

Alternatives Considered

One big point was the support for operating on a Linux machine. Second, the possibility of a PoC with excellent and honest support.

Another big point was Bacula not being charged by gigabyte/terabyte, but by the number of machines being backed-up.

Support Rating

General support is very fast and extensive, unfortunately, some weird corner-case issues we had took a while to get attention from the developers.

Key Insights

Do you think Bacula Enterprise delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Bacula Enterprise's feature set?

Yes

Did Bacula Enterprise live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Bacula Enterprise go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Bacula Enterprise again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

There are sometimes glitches in running backup jobs, but at least I get the knowledge about it by dependable job emails. This allows for quick re-schedules.

We previously had a backup solution where after rebooting a Windows server, you would receive emails telling you no backup had happened for four consecutive weeks.

A reliable enterprise backup solution

Overall Satisfaction with Bacula Enterprise