CTERA - don't use for MSSQL Backups
April 06, 2015

CTERA - don't use for MSSQL Backups

Lee Taylor | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

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Overall Satisfaction with CTERA

We use CTERA for secure cloud back up of files and MSSQL databases from Hyper-V VMs.
  • Standard File Backup
  • SQL Backups just don't work reliably. For us, we lost all of our SQL data backed up through the CTERA Application process. Although the logs indicated a success, that was really not the case. This came close to putting us out of business. Luckily I had taken a genuine SQL backup to a folder. Unfortunately it was a month old. We had to pick-up the pieces from there.
  • Don't use it for file sync and share. There are better products out there i.e. anchorworks.com
  • Support sucks. Good luck with response time and answers that are inconsistent between team members. For example I had to rebuild a VM from scratch. When I re-installed the CTERA client It obviously thought I was adding another device. When I inquired to tech support, one member said "copy the old Data folder" (I still had the old VHD. That did not work). The other directed me to the correct spot to just change the associated folder. The turn-around time was over 24 hours for this simple fix.
  • Documentation, plenty of fodder but no real tech there.
  • NONE, it about put us out of business
Unfortunately CTERA does not stack up well if you want a pure cloud BDR. I have use iDrive and Asigra. iDrive has similar support and SQL backup issues. Asigra can vary widely in support and price, but the software is solid.
This is all about the selling you a "Device" and prices vary greatly between resellers. The devices work well, but the pure cloud solutions need a lot of work.