Unitrends, the choice for DR
July 25, 2016
Unitrends, the choice for DR
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Unitrends Recovery Series Backup Appliance
Unitrends is used to backup data on premise and replicate to the cloud. I am the IT person for BioNex Solutions, so I spec'd it, implemented it and I manage the day to day operations of the back up jobs, archiving and replication to the cloud. Implementing Unitrends appliances and backups addresses numerous critical business functions such as real-time backups, historical archiving, off site DR and ISO compliance with the fantastic reporting capabilities.
- Unitrends is an easy to use, robust, web based application and appliance. It is easy to install, easy to set up and replicates backups to the cloud.
- Unitrends has a user friendly interface that even junior staff can use with minimal training for restores.
- Unitrends has fantastic reporting capabilities that can be used for critical things such as ISO auditing.
- I don't feel that Unitrends needs much improvement. The only complaint I have is that for a site to site replication, you need 3 masters initially in order to start the de-dup process for the rest of the data. I know there was talk of engineering re-architecting that piece so that one master (like replicating to the cloud) is sufficient. I currently don't replicate site to site at BioNex, but I have used this feature with Unitrends at a different company where I also implemented multiple Unitrends appliances
- We have (luckily) only had to restore single files at this point. Since I am not on-site 5 days a week, the Unitrends appliance is easy to use for my engineering team when they need to recover a file and can't wait for me to do it.
We were running backups via Windows Server and via Western Digital and via Backup Exec.
Windows Server Backups is functional, but not easy to use for others not in IT when files need to be recovered. Plus it requires storage (we used USB drives) which need to be rotated, cataloged, taken off site etc.) and its not encrypted and it can be slow when backing up to USB.
Western Digital is a safety extra backup net, so we only keep it for double security - but similar issues as Windows Server backups.
Back up Exec is temperamental (at best). Jobs run sometimes, don't run other times, fail, hang, crash, never finish etc...It is a very management intensive system and requires hours a day of oversight.
Unitrends is robust, has encryption, built in storage, external archiving capabilities, cloud replication...you name it! It covers all the basics you need for DR.
Unitrends Feature Ratings
Using Unitrends Recovery Series Backup Appliance
2 - I use Unitrends and my boss (head of engineering) will use Unitrends to recover files when it is an emergency and I am not in the office. Unitrends is user friendly and you don't need to be a backup wiz to be able to run a recovery and get a file when needed.
1 - Honestly, you could have your help desk/service desk staff support this appliance. You don't need to be a technical genius to implement the appliance, create the jobs and run the reports. With a little guidance from the business, anyone can get the product implemented to make sure they are protecting their data.
- Backups
- DR to the cloud
- Reporting for ISO audits
Evaluating Unitrends Recovery Series Backup Appliance and Competitors
Yes - We chose Unitrends to replace our Backup Exec system. Backup Exec is a cumbersome, slow product that takes hours of management. I was spending close to 4 hours per day managing Backup Exec. With Unitrends, [I spent] no more than 1 hour a day and that was only when there was a failure.
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Prior Experience with the Product
Product features and usability. I have implemented Unitrends for two different companies now, and I plan on implementing it at my current company.
The key is to be realistic about your data size. Don't let your management push you into a corner and say you don't need a big appliance if you do actually need a big appliance. If you under spec then you wont be able to do site to site replication easily, you will be forced to doing some sort of archiving with off-site manual rotation. Its better to be realistic, invest the money up front for either the correct appliance size OR the cloud product.
Unitrends Recovery Series Backup Appliance Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
Yes - yes, we had a problem with the database and they were able to escalate the ticket and get an engineer that did a database rebuild and upgrade and solved the issue.
To be perfectly honest....there has never been a time that Unitrends' technical support hasn't provided me with exceptional support. I am always blown away at their professionalism and technical capabilities. Every time I have filed a ticket with them, they have provided me with exceptional support.
Using Unitrends Recovery Series Backup Appliance
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Web based so you can run it in any browser
- The web app is easy to navigate, implement backups and review status on job history
- Email notifications on success and failures
- Nothing is difficult
- Nothing is cumbersome
- I couldn't recommend anything to make this better except make it free :-)