HP StorageWorks Data Protector Express versus Symantec Backup Exec white paper

HP StorageWorks Data Protector Express versus Symantec Backup Exec white paper A high-level comparison of features and functionality Introduction... 2 Overview... 3 Installation... 4 What is installed?... 4 How is it installed?... 4 Summary of strengths Installation and compatibility... 5 Running a backup... 5 Backup to tape... 5 Backup to disk... 6 Backing up open files and application data... 8 Scheduling and media management... 8 Summary of strengths Backup... 10 Recovering files and application data... 10 Summary of strengths Recovering files and application data... 11 Disaster recovery (DR)... 11 Summary of strengths Disaster recovery...12 Support and services... 12 Summary of strengths Support and services... 12 Summary Why use HP StorageWorks Data Protector Express instead of Symantec Backup Exec?... 13 For more information... 14

Introduction In today s increasingly continual and online business environment, smaller organizations must be able to provide their customers with the same level of service that their larger competitors can offer. A key part of the infrastructure in delivering this customer service is flexible, capable IT systems. This is a significant challenge for smaller organizations because they typically have limited IT resources and staff when compared to their often larger competitors, suppliers and customers. Providing high levels of service from IT investments relies on being able to maintain access to business data. HP StorageWorks Data Protector Express and Symantec Backup Exec are both easy-to-use backup and recovery applications that provide the features and functionality to enable businesses to ensure data is always protected and available even after an error or incident. This white paper compares the two products and suggests reasons why Data Protector Express is the better data protection software solution for small businesses. Figure 1. Data Protector Express provides an easy-to-use data protection solution for small to medium sized businesses 2

Overview When comparing HP Data Protector Express and Symantec Backup Exec, it is much easier to identify the similarities than the differences. Both applications are built on a client-server model with a master Backup Server that controls the catalog database, Media Servers that control the backup destination devices and agents that run on the client machines to send the data to the Media Servers. Figure 2. HP StorageWorks Data Protector Express three-tier client-server model Tier 1 Backup Server Catalog Tier 2 Network clients LAN Microsoft Exchange Server Microsoft SQL Server File server Windows desktops Tier 3 Media Servers Both have the ability to back up applications like Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server without halting operation of the application. Both have the ability to run on various versions of operating systems from Microsoft as well as Novell NetWare and multiple versions of Linux. Both are compatible with HP ProLiant severs and HP tape solutions. Even the pricing and licensing models of the two products are similar. Rather than long lists of features and functions, speeds and feeds, and so on, where much of lists are identical between the two products, this white paper reviews the two products from the user s perspective, looking at the installation experience and the day-to-day operation of the products. The relative strengths of each product are identified in tables throughout the document. 3

Installation The first action that the user must face with a new software product is the installation procedure. There are some questions that must be answered. What is available to be installed and what must be installed to make the application functional? How is the installation accomplished? What is installed? The first requirement for Data Protector Express or Backup Exec is to install the master Backup Server. This server application manages the backup environment, backup and recovery jobs and protection of applications and data. The Backup Server maintains a catalog that stores and uses objects to track all backup and recovery activity such as what has been backed up and what media is in a device, stores the log files and maintains the licensing information. Symantec offers two Backup Exec products that provide the Backup Server function Backup Exec for Windows and Backup Exec for NetWare. Data Protector Express is a single product that includes Backup Servers for both Windows and NetWare and also provides a Backup Server for installation on Linux. The second element of these backup and recovery applications is the media agents. These agents control the devices that are used to store the data that has been backed up and are installed on the systems where the devices are attached or are controlled. Both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide media agents for multiple devices on all of the operating systems they support. The third element of these backup and recovery applications is the client agents. These agents operate as clients to the Backup Server to control the backup and recovery of networked machines. They also allow a backup manager that may be running one operating system such as Windows to control the backup and recovery of a machine running a different operating system such as Linux. Both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide client agents for Windows, NetWare and Linux. Additionally, Backup Exec provides client agents for machines running UNIX. An additional element of these backup and recovery applications is the online agents. These agents allow the backup and recovery of open files and of databases. Both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide agents that work with Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Services (VSS), Data Protection Manager (DPM), Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server. Backup Exec also provides agents for Microsoft SharePoint, Lotus Domino and Oracle and SAP servers. Backup Exec has a restriction that the Backup Server and the Media Server agent cannot be installed on the machine running the DPM server application. Data Protector Express does not have this restriction. How is it installed? How the installation is accomplished is one area where the two applications differ. All versions of Data Protector Express come on a single CD-ROM. Also, the process of installation is consistent across all operating systems. After loading the CD-ROM on the system that will function as the Backup Server, the user navigates to the CD and selects the setup application. This application automatically determines which operating system is running and installs the appropriate application along with all options relevant to the discovered environment. The user is prompted to enter a license key and if no key is entered, a 60-day full-use license is installed. Later the user can license the application along with any options by entering the new license keys. This process, with the exception of the license key, is repeated on each of the client systems. The contents of the CD can be copied to a network share to ease the installation process. Installation of Backup Exec works slightly differently. After loading the CD-ROM on the system that is to be the backup manager, the user chooses which options are to be installed. If options are added later, the user must re-run the setup program to add the options. Again, the user can enter a license serial number at this time or accept a 60-day full-use license and enter the license serial number later. 4

Installing the agents on the client systems can be done the same way or, if network security is set up correctly, the appropriate agents can be pushed from the Backup Server to other Windows or NetWare client systems. Summary of strengths Installation and compatibility Table 1. HP Data Protector Express Single disk for Windows, Linux and NetWare Backup Server may also run on Linux DPM server may also be a Media Server, Backup Server, or both All available options automatically installed at initial setup Options are activated by entering a license key Symantec Backup Exec UNIX client agent Oracle and SAP online backup agents MS SharePoint online backup agent Ability to push agents to Windows and NetWare client systems Running a backup You buy a backup and recovery solution with the hope that you never have to use the recovery application, except for testing, and the expectation that you will run the backup application daily or possibly even more often. Both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide all of the expected backup functionality. Both solutions use a standard visual directory tree for selecting files and applications to be backed up. Tasks can be scheduled to begin at a specific day and time or through a calendar interface with general selection down to the day and optional selection to the hour and minute intervals. Backup to tape When using tape or other removable media, the key to backup and recovery performance is to move data through the pipeline to the removable media device as quickly as possible. Any bottleneck in data transfer will result in high-performance devices being underused. The two products take different approaches to this task. Data Protector Express includes a standard feature that is normally only found in enterprise class products. Multiple backup jobs from one or more sources are interleaved into a single backup stream to the device. Custom device drivers with self-tuning logic are used to manage the interleaved backup streams to deliver a much higher data rate than is possible with a single backup job s data stream. This logic analyses how the disks and data are laid out and dynamically creates multiple streams of data. This then enables the maximum bandwidth to be used and the backup to be completed much more quickly than possible with a single stream product. 5

Figure 3. HP StorageWorks Data Protector Express uses parallel data streams to increase performance Backup Exec uses an alternate approach to performance. While each of the objects specified in a backup job is completed sequentially, Backup Exec uses custom device drivers that, in conjunction with their client agents, provide compression and acceleration of the data stream. These two approaches produce some interesting results. Backup tests were run with a server running Microsoft Small Business Server with Exchange and SQL Server and three clients running various versions of Microsoft Windows operating system. Several full backup and verify passes were run both to a SCSI-attached HP StorageWorks DAT 72 tape drive and to a SCSI-attached autoloader with a LTO2 tape drive. In general, the total cycle speeds for the LTO2 tape device were nearly two and a half times faster than the DAT 72 tape device. But there were no significant differences between the two products in total time to complete the full backup and verify cycle on the same device. However, backups done using Data Protector Express were 25 percent faster to DAT and 85 percent faster to LTO2 than backups using Backup Exec. The opposite was true with verify times. Verify times for both solutions were equal when using the DAT device. However, Backup Exec verify cycles with the LTO2 device were over three times faster than Data Protector Express. The use of interleaved backup streams used by Data Protector Express increases backup performance as the number of client systems being backed up simultaneously increases. But, the resulting multiplexed tapes reduce verify performance when compared to the serial/sequential backup approach used by Backup Exec. Backup to disk Tape continues to be the preferred archive media for companies of all sizes. Now even small businesses are moving to backup to disk as part of their daily backup plan. This is primarily due to the continual reduction in the cost of disk drives along with the speed advantage of disk when recovering a single file or a few files. Many companies with rapidly changing data are now executing multiple incremental backups to disk throughout the day on some or all of their data with the hope to quickly recover previous versions of documents, drawings, and so on if necessary. Both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide disk-to-disk backup solutions. Both can use any disk media addressable by the Media Server including optical media and external disk drives attached by USB or Firewire. Both also include disk-to-tape copy functionality to provide additional tape copies that can be maintained offsite for increased security and recoverability. Backup Exec uses a disk folder concept for backup to disk. Individual files representing tapes are stored in a single folder. These individual files and the associated folder are limited in size by the operating system. This means, for example, that a backup to disk folder on a FAT 32 file system is limited to 4 GB in size. 6

Data Protector Express provides an integrated software-based virtual tape library (VTL). The VTL presents virtual tape drives and tape cartridges to the backup application. Any disk space addressable by the Media Server can be used to create VTLs. Multiple virtual tape drives can be created to increase backup performance and Data Protector Express uses the multiple stream logic previously mentioned to maximize backup performance to the VTL. Data Protector Express also manages the total disk usage of the VTL to ensure that backups always complete successfully. Both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide a means of copying the backup from disk to tape for archive purposes, generally called disk-to-disk-tape or D2D2T. However, if the disk backup is no longer available, recovery of a single file from the tape copy when using Backup Express requires that the full disk-based backup be restored first and then the file is restored from the disk backup. This is not the case with Data Protector Express. The format used by Data Protector Express to create the tape copy is the same as if the backup was originally made directly to the tape. This allows the user to restore individual files directly from tape, significantly reducing the time required to restore a single file. Figure 4. The Data Protector Express D2D2Any capability allows frequent backups to disk to be combined with the security of longer term backups being stored on tape 7

Backing up open files and application data Both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide multiple tools and agents for backing up data while it is active. For Microsoft Windows based systems, both solutions integrate with Microsoft VSS as well as Microsoft DPM to back up open files. VSS uses free disk space on an NTFS volume to store shadow copies (that is, snapshots). Although it can create both incremental and differential shadow copies, the use of VSS may require large amounts of free space on the local disk, particularly if multiple versions are stored. DPM works with VSS to replicate those shadow copies to another Windows server where the copies can be both maintained and replicated to tape. In addition and for client systems running NetWare, both solutions offer an optional Open File Manager application from St. Bernard Software that can be used to back up data files held open by applications or users, which would otherwise be inaccessible for backup. This ensures that all your data, including open files, is protected. Neither the Microsoft VSS integration nor the St. Bernard OFM software supports backup of database applications like Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server. Instead, both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide agents that connect directly to the application database. This provides a much richer range of backup and recovery options, for example, the ability to recover back to a particular point in time. As mentioned previously, both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide agents to work with Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server. Symantec also provides agents for Microsoft SharePoint and for Oracle and SAP servers. Scheduling and media management A key element of any backup and recovery application is the ability to schedule backup and recovery activities and manage the resulting output of those activities. Both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide tools for scheduling and media management. However, they take slightly different approaches in how they complete this task. Data Protector Express uses a rotation centric approach to scheduling and media management. Media is protected from being overwritten until the predefined rotation is complete. Data Protector Express includes 10 predefined tape rotation schemes allowing the non-technical user to quickly create and schedule backup jobs. Each of these rotation schemes can be easily customized and advanced users or administrators can create completely custom rotation schemes. 8

Figure 5. Setting up a schedule within a Data Protector Express backup job is easy using the graphical interface In contrast, Backup Exec uses a date centric approach to media management. Each piece of media has a protection flag that prevents the data on the media from being overwritten or erased until a specific date or indefinitely, if so desired. This provides more flexible and advanced media management but also requires a higher level of knowledge and administrator interface to ensure that dates are properly set to balance the protection of data and the total number of individual media required. 9

Summary of strengths Backup Table 2. HP Data Protector Express Multiple parallel data streams reduce backup time when backing up multiple servers in a single job Faster backup to tape times (25 85% faster in small test sample) Software VTL included with advanced D2D2Any features Faster recovery of single files from a tape created by a D2D2T copy operation Multiple predefined, easily customizable media rotation schemes Symantec Backup Exec Faster verify times (300% faster in small test sample) Advanced media management including media expiration by date and time Recovering files and application data You buy a backup and recovery solution with the hope that you never have to recover the data you have been regularly backing up except for testing purposes. But having the ability to recover data is the reason you do backups in the first place. Many people think of disasters as events that cause the loss of an entire system. Recovering from those types of disasters is covered separately. However, most disasters that users experience are user errors such as deleting the budget spreadsheet that you just spent all night working on for the meeting that begins in five minutes. If you have ever experienced that, you would certainly call it a disaster. Both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide the means to recover individual files, complete folders or even complete volumes. Both allow the backup administrator to easily create flexible recovery scenarios. It is possible to select a specific version of a file to be recovered. This file can be recovered to an alternative location or the same location as it was backed up from. Or, it can be restored with a different name than the name it had when it was backed up. In both solutions, the online agents that are used to back up database applications like Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server are used to recover that specific application data to the last backup or to a specific point in time. Backup Exec includes the ability to recover an individual Exchange mailbox whereas Data Protector Express backs up and recovers the complete Exchange database. While Data Protector Express and Backup Exec both provide similar tools for restoring files and data, they each take on the task from a different viewpoint. Backup Exec views the recovery from a backup perspective. When selecting items to be recovered, the user is presented a list of objects that were selected for backup. The user then chooses the time of the backup and is presented with the items contained in that object, which were backed up at that specific time. Data Protector Express views the recovery from a network tree perspective. When selecting items to be recovered, the user is presented a tree view of all client systems in the backup network including all of the volumes and applications. The user then uses the tree functionality to select what to recover. If the most recently backed up version is desired, no further selection is necessary. If a specific version of a file or all files in a folder or volume is desired, then the user can additionally select a specific version from a dropdown list. 10

FigureT 6. The graphical interface offers multiple options for restoring a specified file version Data Protector Express uses the same multi-stream logic for recovering files that was used when backing up files. Backup Exec restores the files sequentially by the selected backup object. There was no significant difference in the time to restore a single file or small group of files but Backup Exec recovery times were 25% to 70% faster in the small sample when recovering an entire file volume, consistent with the verify times previously mentioned and likely for the same reason. Summary of strengths Recovering files and application data Table 3. HP Data Protector Express Easy to restore the most recent version of a single file or all files Easy to locate and restore non-current versions of files When using D2D2Any, can restore from secondary or tertiary media directly Symantec Backup Exec Individual Exchange mailbox restore Faster full file volume recovery times Disaster recovery (DR) It is less common but more serious when major disasters or accidents happen and these happen even in the best-run organizations. Therefore, it is important that a reliable and fast DR process is in place. Both Data Protector Express and Backup Exec provide optional disaster recovery tools for Windows servers. Backup Exec integrates with Microsoft Windows 2003 Automated System Restore (ASR) feature to restore the basic operating system and load a basic recovery application to restore files from tape or disk. For other operating systems, the user must reinstall and reconfigure the operating system and the recovery application before restoring files and application data. 11

Data Protector Express provides a Bare Metal Disaster Recovery (BMDR) optional component, which delivers fast and automated recovery of servers running Windows, Linux and NetWare systems without the need to run any part of the operating system setup routine. This BMDR component will recover the server from completely new hardware (bare metal). However, the replacement hardware or components should be the same as the hardware or components they replace. With HP tape drives and HP ProLiant servers, the process is further simplified as support for HP StorageWorks One Button Disaster Recovery (OBDR) is provided by the Data Protector Express BMDR option. Any full backup tape can be DR media. The BMDR with OBDR is supported for all HP tape devices. Using OBDR, added simplicity comes with Data Protector Express backups writing all necessary DR information into the Data Protector Express catalog and onto the tape backup media. When created, the OBDR tape media is used as the boot media in a locally attached HP tape drive. The BMDR module requires you to follow the on-screen prompts to recover your server in the minimum time. There is no need to install or configure anything first. This approach can reduce server recovery time from days to a few hours. Summary of strengths Disaster recovery Table 4. HP Data Protector Express BMDR solutions for Linux and NetWare in addition to Windows Fastest support for HP tape drives OBDR feature Symantec Backup Exec Support for HP tape drives OBDR feature Support and services Both HP and Symantec offer for purchase various levels of support that range from standard business hours phone support to 24 x 7 support. They also offer fee-based consulting services to plan and manage the installation. Data Protector Express includes, as standard, a one-year phone-in support service for the user and rights to software patches, upgrades and new versions for 12 months. This standard service and support can be upgraded, extended, or both as your requirements dictate. Summary of strengths Support and services Table 5. HP Data Protector Express Standard 1-year software support including standard business hours phone support and rights to all software patches, upgrades and new versions during that year Menu of additional support and service options Symantec Backup Exec Menu of support and service options 12

Summary Why use HP StorageWorks Data Protector Express instead of Symantec Backup Exec? As stated at the beginning of this white paper, both HP StorageWorks Data Protector Express and Symantec Backup Exec are easy-to-use backup and recovery applications that enable businesses to ensure data is always protected and available even after an error or incident. However, using Data Protector Express in preference to Backup Exec offers a number of benefits for small businesses: Backup performance Because Data Protector Express is a multi-threaded solution, which uses its own optimized device drivers, it delivers the required protection with higher speed and reduced impact to the system. Disaster recovery With the BMDR option along with full integration of HP OBDR for standalone tape drives and autoloaders, Data Protector Express minimizes the time necessary to recover from a serious data loss. This ease of recovery is not affected by growth in data, so Data Protector Express can cope as your data expands. Service and support HP is a market leader in standalone tape drives, tape autoloaders and tape libraries with recognized leadership in service and support. Small business can avoid conflicts between support for their HP backup hardware and their backup software by relying on HP to support the total solution. One solution Windows, Linux, or NetWare. Many small businesses have at least two of these and possibly all three. With Data Protector Express, you get a single consistent solution for environments with multiple operating systems. Any element can run on any of the three operating systems while protecting clients that are running a different operating system. Easy to install Small businesses generally do not have IT experts on staff who can quickly decide what has to be installed. Plus, the needs of small businesses change as they grow. The simple onedisk-install approach used by Data Protector Express simplifies the installation. Users can get started quickly protecting their environment. Adding other features and licences as they are needed is as simple as entering a license key. In summary, HP StorageWorks Data Protector Express delivers performance, protection and flexibility to small businesses, ensuring data is always protected and available. 13

For more information For more information on the HP StorageWorks Data Protector Express, contact your HP partner or visit: http://www.hp.com/go/dataprotectorexpress 2006 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein. Microsoft and Windows are U.S. registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Linux is a U.S. registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. Oracle is a registered U.S. trademark of Oracle Corporation, Redwood City, California. 4AA0-6074ENW, Rev. 2, November 2006 14