Finally: A cloud-based backup solution! Goodbye Windows Server Backup.
March 06, 2020
Finally: A cloud-based backup solution! Goodbye Windows Server Backup.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Modules Used
- Data Protection
- Data Center Backup
Overall Satisfaction with Druva inSync
Druva Phoenix is a relative newcomer to our administrative arsenal. Until recently, we only backed up user and server data to local NAS devices (a mixture of Netgear and Synology), but the drive towards the cybernetic clouds has seen us consider alternative arrangements. Before Druva, we used a combination of Windows Server Backup for our Hyper-V VMs and sync for our Unix-based Samba file servers, we've grown up a lot since those dark days. Finally, our backups are all in one place (from an admin point of view, at least), and our status visibility and awareness is top-notch.
- Recoverability: The speed with which backups can be located and restored is the best I've ever seen.
- Visibility: it's easy to keep an eye on what's successfully backing up and, more importantly, what's not.
- Availability: Anywhere, anytime; if you need to recover data in a jiffy you're not tied to a specific local server interface - the web console is easily accessible from anywhere.
- Simplicity: Configuration of backup jobs is straightforward and guides easily followable.
- I'd like to see a mobile app.
- The main (default) dashboard is a tinsy bit cluttered. By default, there are irrelevant entries for inSync and CloudRanger alongside Phoenix. I just want Phoenix, nothing else. I guess it's just their way of exposing their other products to unsuspecting users. A really minor niggle.
- I can't see how to enable MFA; it's certainly an option for Druva's CloudRanger product. This might just be me being dim/blind.
- It's always difficult to come up with negatives when you've only had great experiences with a product.
- The uncertainty of whether or not we can get files back from our backup is gone - previously it was a job solely for the network manager; now any one of our team can restore data at the drop of a hat.
- The higher-ups can rest assured that system infrastructure data (I'm talking Hyper-V VMs here) is securely stored offsite, allowing a full system restoration should the absolute worst case happen. User data is easier to restore than ever before.
- Of course, we now have to budget more for backups, but that's just the way it goes; freebie solutions tend to be heavily bespoke and admin intensive. Professional, well-supported solutions cost money but free up man-hours. It's a fair trade.
- Veeam Backup & Replication
I may have not done Veeam any justice, only carrying out some brief testing. My initial feeling was one of overt complexity, and despite green being my favorite color, it just didn't grab my attention. Of course, this isn't particularly helpful, other than to make it clear that I have no negative feelings towards the product; it might very well be amazing.