Veeam, Liquidware, Offer VMware Add-Ons
Posted by
Charles Babcock and InformationWeek
September 11, 2009
Veeam Software of Columbus, Ohio, introduced the fourth version of Backup & Replication, which is widely used virtual machine backup and recovery software. It now includes full support for VMware's vStorage API and VMware's vSphere 4, VMware's infrastructure for virtual machines running in ESX Server environments.
That means 4.0 will support thin provisioning of disks, allowing a more efficient use of shared disk space by assigning and using blocks in real time instead of through a heavy provisioning of space in advance. Thin provisioning also allows faster backups and restorations of virtual machines, according to Ratmir Timashev, Veeam president, in an interview.
Version 4.0 also will also work through the vStorage API to replace the functionality formerly supplied through VMware's Consolidated Backup. After a full backup has been executed, the ESX hypervisor can use changed block tracking to log changes that occur to files until the next scheduled backup. "Now we don't have to calculate everything that's changed. VMware will tell us (Backup & Replication)," said Timashev. By updating only the files that have changed since the previous backup, use of system resources is streamlined, he added.
In addition, 4.0 includes support for virtual applications that are meant to function together. The 4.0 version will back them up together, guaranteeing that compatible copies are kept packaged together.
The new version includes an Enterprise Management Server to run multiple instances of Backup & Replication through a single Web console. The feature allows administrators to central backup processes, while still allowing decentralized restore processes, Timashev said. Administrators of Microsoft Exchange e-mail servers may want to know backups occur at regular intervals through centralized administration, but they may want to restore the contents of a mail box on their own, Timashev said. Version 4.0 will become available in early October at an increased price. A license will be $599 per socket, up from $499 in the previous release. Timashev said most backup and recovery vendors offer two products, one for backup and one for replication, while those functions are combined in the Veeam product, he said.
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