Symantec-Veritas and Microsoft go head-to-head in the back-up market

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: DAVE KEARNS ON WINDOWS NETWORKING TIPS
10/05/05
Today's focus: Symantec-Veritas and Microsoft go head-to-head
in the back-up market

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* What's inside Veritas and Microsoft's continuous back-up
products?
* Links related to Windows Networking Tips
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Sybase

It sounds so simple: if you collect enough business information,
you'll glean valuable insights that can drive both revenue
growth and competitive advantage. Along the way, however,
companies are discovering that managing the explosive growth of
online data can prove a formidable challenge. Here's how to
assess your data management style, and maximize your
opportunities to turn online data into business opportunity.
Click here for more on taming the data explosion.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=116809
_______________________________________________________________
HOW WILL YOU HANDLE YOUR GROWING NETWORK LOAD?

InfiniBand, EtherFabric and iWarp are all high-speed
interconnect technologies aimed at offloading network
connections from server CPUs. And the buzz on them is picking up
as users look for alternatives to 10G Ethernet to handle their
growing network loads. What questions should you ask about these
new technologies? For more, click here:
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=116109
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus: Symantec-Veritas and Microsoft go head-to-head
in the back-up market

By Dave Kearns

For many years, the name "Veritas" has been almost synonymous
with backup and archiving. Veritas' Backup Exec is used in a
large proportion of Windows networking sites as an integral part
of their disaster recovery plans as well as their archival/audit
systems. Microsoft has generally stayed out of the archival
business, developing instead technologies that partners,
including Veritas, could exploit in order to enhance the value
of Windows networks. But a recent release from Symantec
(Veritas' owner) called Backup Exec 10d
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwnt7903>, is being overshadowed
by news that Microsoft has released its own full-featured tool,
called System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM)
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwnt7904>.

Both tout "continuous" backup (they aren't continuous, but more
on that in a moment) and both are built on the Volume Shadow
Copy Service (VSCS), a major part of Windows Server 2003 (see
"How file services could save your bacon"
<http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/nt/2003/0324nt2.html?rl>
).

<aside> Veritas had a major problem with VSCS when Windows
Server 2003 was first released. Details in "Veritas learns
downside to 'first mover advantage"
<http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/nt/2003/0630nt2.html?rl>
</aside>

VSCS works by taking "snapshots" of the file system and storing
them on another hard drive. This can't be done more than once an
hour, nor more than eight times a day. Both the Veritas and
Microsoft products work by backing up these snapshots. So while
the archiving is frequent, it's hardly continuous. Microsoft
does claim the software can help recover a file close to 12x
faster than when using tape and related back-up software and can
run an incremental backup close to 4x faster than with tape.
Anyone who has ever restored a file from tape won't find that
hard to believe.

Not to be outdone (or at least outmarketed), Symantec named the
new release "Backup Exec 10d." The "d" stands for disk, and the
application works in essentially the same way as Microsoft's
DPM. That's not surprising, though, as both use the VSCS
technology that you'll remember.

What I think of as the best feature, though, is also available
in both products: self-service file restore. Users are able to
"point-and-click" to restore their own files. Microsoft's DPM
uses a Windows Explorer interface while Backup Exec uses a
browser-based interface. In either case it should take a huge
load off the shoulders of the always overworked IT staff. If
you've ever had to search through a shelf of tapes to find that
one copy of a spreadsheet that someone may have overwritten last
week (or last month, or last year), you'll understand what I
mean. Find a way to get one of these products installed on your
network.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Nortel faces uphill battle
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwnt8200>
2. How to solve Windows system crashes in minutes
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwnt7679>
3. Cisco pushes new security software
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwnt8201>
4. Tech Update: High-speed TCP eases WAN congestion
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwnt8202>
5. Somebody's got to pick up the 'Net's tab
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwnt8203>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Dave Kearns

Dave Kearns is a writer and consultant in Silicon Valley. He's
written a number of books including the (sadly) now out of print
"Peter Norton's Complete Guide to Networks." His musings can be
found at Virtual Quill <http://www.vquill.com/>.

Kearns is the author of three Network World Newsletters: Windows
Networking Tips, Novell NetWare Tips, and Identity Management.
Comments about these newsletters should be sent to him at these

respective addresses: <mailto:windows@vquill.com>,
<mailto:netware@vquill.com>, <mailto:identity@vquill.com>.

Kearns provides content services to network vendors: books,
manuals, white papers, lectures and seminars, marketing,
technical marketing and support documents. Virtual Quill
provides "words to sell by..." Find out more by e-mail at
<mailto:info@vquill.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Sybase

It sounds so simple: if you collect enough business information,
you'll glean valuable insights that can drive both revenue
growth and competitive advantage. Along the way, however,
companies are discovering that managing the explosive growth of
online data can prove a formidable challenge. Here's how to
assess your data management style, and maximize your
opportunities to turn online data into business opportunity.
Click here for more on taming the data explosion.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=116864
_______________________________________________________________
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Archive of the Windows Networking Tips newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/nt/index.html
_______________________________________________________________
FEATURED READER RESOURCE

IT PROS SHARE THEIR TALES OF MAKING ITIL WORK

Running an enterprise network is challenging. IT organizational
change can be even more so if managers don't balance efforts
proportionally across people, process and technology.
Implementing best practices frameworks such as Information
Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) can help, but they
introduce their own set of challenges. Click here for more:

<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/092205-itil.html>
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