Managing the scattered data in an enterprise is no picnic. From a multigigabyte, real-time database to a user's desktop, it's up to you to ensure the data's safety and accessibility. That means a daily regimen of dealing with backups, requests for restores and managing devices.

Fortunately, the backup operator has a new ally: Enterprise backup software is finally beginning to fulfill promises of total enterprise storage management. These solutions offer much more than simple backup capabilities; new features amplify performance and consolidate administrator toolkits to create seamless management in an enterprise environment.

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The biggest innovation is applications that have implemented a distributed backup architecture. In traditional backup programs, the backup hardware is attached to a master backup server, and all backups are initiated at and recorded on this single server. Distributed backups off-load the tape drive from the server to any node on the network. It's a brilliant approach that not only lets you use hardware that would otherwise be idle, but also lets you target backup locations that match your network's physical layout.

On the organization side, hooks to HSM (Hierarchical Storage Management) have become ubiquitous. HSM modules give you a firm grip on the length of time files are maintained on various media and when they should be deleted; most provide a small stub file that lets users transparently access files that have been moved offline.

The best news is that many applications include basic archiving in the base package, which lets you safely store groups of files on tape or optical media for many years. A few applications include disk grooming, which deletes archived files from the hard drive.

Meanwhile, agents and clients are working autonomously to speed backups from workstations and servers, off-load processing chores from the server and handle the backup of enterprise applications. The increasing sophistication of clients lets administrators maintain a balance between centralized control and user choice.

Still, despite all this progress, when it comes to managing and configuring tape libraries, most of these backup packages remain stuck in the dark ages. They operate using cryptic NT device-layer commands or force you to use equally cryptic programs at the command prompt. Where well-designed device modules, such as the one in Computer Associates International's ARCserve, make short work of performing inventories, formatting and labeling tapes, and loading magazines, command-line applications not only take far longer to perform the same tasks, but provide vastly inferior information.

Sizing Up the Field For our comparison tests, we requested enterprise backup products that run on Windows NT. We required that all packages be able to perform tape-based, enterprisewide network backups, and support fully unattended backups with basic reporting and database functionality. Some sort of client/server architecture was a must, and the product had to provide software support for common applications, such as Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, Lotus Notes, and Oracle and Informix databases. We also expected packages to offer extensibility to HSM functionality and basic disaster-recovery features.

Virtually every package we considered deployed a full-fledged client/ server solution with agents or clients that let you back up just about every OS under the sun, including Novell NetWare. As a result, you have no need to purchase backup modules for both NT and NetWare, and you can manage everything from the friendly surroundings of NT's user interface.