Arkeia Delivers New vStorage-based Backup Agent For VMware

SAN DIEGO, June 30. Arkeia Software, a worldwide provider of backup and disaster recovery software and appliances, today delivered a new Arkeia Backup Agent for the latest VMware virtual environments. Arkeia's new agent leverages VMware's vStorage application programming interface (API) to offer comprehensive support for VMware vSphere 4 -- any combination of vCenter, ESX, and ESXi -- as well as VMware Infrastructure 3. Like all Arkeia backup agents, Arkeia's vStorage Backup Agent permits backups to disk, to tape, and to disk and then to tape (D2D2T). Backup data sets can be replicated locally, and over a WAN.

"Arkeia's commitment to supporting VMware's latest strategies for backup is critical," explained Rodney Freeland, Managing Director of BCNS in Devon, England. "The server consolidation made possible by virtualization reduces IT costs, but serves to put a lot of eggs in one basket -- making data protection more important than ever. Arkeia's new vStorage Backup Agent for VMware delivers high-performance protection of VMware environments in an easy-to-use package."

Arkeia's vStorage Backup Agent is the final of three installments in Arkeia's roll-out of Arkeia Network Backup v8.2. Two earlier installments delivered new backup agents for Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint, and SQL Server, as well as new agents for Novell GroupWise, eDirectory, and iFolder. This vStorage Backup Agent complements Arkeia's Backup Agent for Microsoft's Hyper-V and Arkeia backup solutions for Xen and KVM.

Arkeia's vStorage Backup Agent offers comprehensive backup and recovery support for VMware vSphere 4 platforms, including vCenter, ESX, and ESXi. Capabilities, all managed through Arkeia's Web user interface, include:
  --  Block-grain incremental image-level backups using VMware Changed Block
      Tracking (CBT) for reduced storage needs and faster backups due to
      reduced network traffic
  --  vCenter integration for simplified management of backup and recovery
      operations for environments with multiple physical hosts
  --  vApp support to backup and restore groups of VMs working together, as
      well as granular restore on a per-VM basis
  --  Multiple transport methods allowing the Arkeia Agent to perform
      LAN-free backups over the SAN, over the virtual LAN, or via SCSI
      hot-adds for accelerated performance
  --  Raw Device Mapping (RDM) support for backups of remote block storage
      devices, including incremental backups using CBT when in virtual
      compatibility mode
  --  Differential backups, as well as full and incremental backups, for the
      flexibility to define an efficient backup process
  --  Flexible restores including hypervisor redirection, as well as options
      to choose datacenter/folder, cluster/host, resource pool, or datastore
      destinations to simplify the restore process
  --  File-grain restores from image backups (for delivery in Q3, 2010)

Arkeia will bundle the vStorage Backup Agent in a new product bundle: the Arkeia Virtual Appliance for VMware Essentials. This product bundles:
  --  One Arkeia Network Backup Server, packaged as a Virtual Appliance for
      VMware ESX or ESXi platforms
  --  One Arkeia vStorage Backup Agent
  --  1TB of storage for backups to disk
  --  Unlimited storage for backups to tape
 
The new Arkeia vStorage Backup Agent is available now. Pricing starts at $1,500 per VMware vSphere server. For Arkeia customers with current maintenance agreements, upgrades from Arkeia's VMware ESX Backup Agent, delivered as part of Arkeia Network Backup v8.0, to Arkeia's vStorage Backup Agent is provided at no charge.The Arkeia Virtual Appliance for VMware Essentials is available for $2,000. All products include one year of maintenance for free license updates/upgrades, as well as access to Arkeia technical support. Click here for more information and a free-trial download.