Item: Unitrends
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Unitrends backup for local backups as well as cloud backups of all our server VMs and stand alone servers. These included everything from Windows 2008 R2 server through Windows 2019 Server, as well as some Windows 10 VMs and a couple of different LINUX VMs including SUSE Linux and Ubuntu Linux.

Pros and Cons

Once set up, there it is totally unattended. Nothing more to do. Set up the schedule and configure the backups and let it run.
Nice web based console for all configuration and setup. It is really easy to use and organized in a way that makes sense.
Very thorough reporting options, including daily and on-demand reports, as well as automated notification of completed jobs as well as notification of any errors.
Fairly easy to restore a VM, as well as instant recovery options.
VMs can be recovered to the appliance itself for testing backups or even run there in emergencies.

If there are errors during backups, it can take a bit to determine why the error occurred. Most time it is due to the server configuration, or something on the device being backed up, but I wish it was clearer why and error occurred.
Retention policies are extremely versatile, but personally, I do find it can be confusing. Fortunately, once set the way you want, there is really no need to change these regularly.
I do wish that client agent updates could be handled better from the console. I usually end up just installing the update manually on each VM/Server.

Return on Investment

We had a VM Host server disk drive failure. Since we had backups of each VM, it was fairly simple to recover the VMs to a different server where they could be running while rebuild the failed server. No downtime while rebuilding the server providing significant savings in time and cost.
Having an offsite (cloud) backup of critical servers, without much trouble, and done automatically, will allow us to recover quickly in the event of any type of disaster.
Significantly less time spent on backups and checking backups allows more time for other projects to get done.

Key Insights

Do you think Unitrends delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Unitrends's feature set?

Yes

Did Unitrends live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Unitrends go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Unitrends again?

Yes

Alternatives Considered

NAKIVO Backup & Replication and Veeam Backup & Replication

We selected Unitrends backup because it was a hardware solution, a dedicated, self contained appliance. It had all the features we needed and was easy and logical to use. The fact that it was Linux based gave us an extra edge in reducing the likelihood of ransomware attacks. Adding Unitrends cloud backup allowed us to have offsite backups of critical systems all from the same integrated solution.

Likelihood to Recommend

Having a backup appliance on site to back up many servers and VMs all running different operating systems is very convenient. A hardware solution, that is almost plug-and-play, and that doesn't require building a server and installing software, is really nice. If you require offsite backups, then being able to do cloud backups directly from the appliance is a great feature. Being a Linux based solution, that includes ransomware detection and notification makes it a complete package.

Integrated onsite and cloud backups.

Modules Used

Overall Satisfaction with Unitrends Data Center Backup and Recovery