Drop, charge, and lose the cords
Entered CNET Catalog: 02/18/2004
SKU: BABWBR1100S00
Manufacturer: CA
Manufacturer description
CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup Release 11 for Windows CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup for Windows offers world-class data protection for distributed servers, databases, applications and multiple clients including Windows, Linux, NetWare, Mac OS X and UNIX environments. With its wide range of powerful, easy-to-use data protection tools, CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup can help ensure the integrity and availability of your most important asset - data. CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup is a high-performance data-protection solution that addresses the needs of businesses with heterogeneous environments. It provides flexible backup and restore performance, easy administration, broad device compatibility and unsurpassed reliability. Protection of Critical Business Assets. CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup provides data protection for all leading operating systems, hardware platforms and applications. CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup leverages several methods, including multiplexing, to provide highperformance, non-disruptive backup and restore operations to mission-critical information and data assets. Simplified Administration. CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup provides full automation and centralization of traditional data protection tasks for distributed and enterprise environments. Scalability. CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup provides a complete backup solution regardless of the size or type of your organization. Organizations can backup all of their data from one centralized server to various branch offices even in the largest enterprise. The advantage lies in that every CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup option supports many configurations, applications and platforms, including Windows, NetWare, Linux, UNIX and Mac OS X. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITIES Protection of Critical Application Data. CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup has applicationspecific agents to support all the leading applications, such as Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL, Lotus/Domino and Oracle. Multiplexing Capabilities. Multiplexing enables multiple jobs to write to the same media simultaneously. This allows the backup administrator to back up data without impacting the server or application, and to make efficient use of tape libraries and media. Premium Backup Agent for Microsoft Exchange. Provides document-level backup and restore optimized for the Exchange environment. Single Instance Storage (SIS) support helps ensure that only single copies of duplicate attachments are copied to tape. Integrated Backup-to-Disk. Backup-to-disk allows users to realize the variable performance and random access characteristics of disk technology as a step between the primary disk and your tape device. Support for VSS Snapshots Using the Agent for Open Files. The Agent for Open Files incorporates Writer support for VSS applications on Windows 2003. VSS works with CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup and VSS-aware applications and services to create shadow copies of the volumes. State-of-the-Art Database Agents. Database agents provide online backup protection for all the popular databases. They help ensure data integrity by protecting the transaction log, archive log and journal files along with the data, which enables advanced capabilities such as table space restores. Database support is provided for Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Informix, SAP R/3 and Sybase. Multiple Network and Media Support. CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup provides protection that is optimized for all storage environments including traditional directattached storage, SAN and NAS devices. NDMP Support. Supports backup to tape drives and libraries attached directly to NAS devices. Agent for Open Files. A high-performance hot backup solution for Windows NT/2000/Server 2003, Windows XP Professional and NetWare file systems. Windows Powered NAS and Windows Storage Server 2003 Support. CA ARCserve ARCserve Backup can manage dedicated file and print servers based on Windows Powered NAS and Windows Storage Server 2003.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 05/26/2004
The program breaks down into three major components: the Backup Server, a user interface called Backup Manager, and various add-on options and agents. Backup Manager may share the same system as the Backup Server (where the backup data is stored) or run on an administrator's desktop or notebook PC.
Small-business owners handling their own backup administration will find BrightStor Arcserve Backup easy to use. A tutorial called My First Backup runs automatically the first time you launch Backup Manager and walks you through preparing destination media, deciding what to back up, and scheduling backups. Restoring data is also self-explanatory. The Restore module's tree structure resembles Windows Explorer's. Ironically, the standard restore interface stuck us as much easier to use than the restore wizard designed for beginners.
In general, the more sophisticated your network, the more you'll pay for BrightStor Arcserve Backup options. Depending on what you need, the extras may run many times the program's $795 base cost. For example, the Windows agents for SAP or Oracle each cost $995. Fortunately, it's not a one-size-fits-all solution, so you pay only for what you need. Computer Associates also offers customized technical support for BrightStor Arcserve Backup's various option packages, which is good. BrightStor Arcserve Backup supports many backup options--from the simple (tape, hard drive, DVD, and other write-once/read-many (WORM) drives--to the sophisticated--tape libraries and storage-area networks (SANs). To speed performance, the program backs up first to hard disk, then copies from the hard disk to tape. With symmetric digital linear tape (DLT), BrightStor Arcserve Backup will multiplex up to four streams at once. Computer Associates claims this reduces backup times by up to 80 percent; however, restoration from simultaneous streams does take longer.
The BrightStor Arcserve Backup program offers a report suite, the Preflight Check report, which improves the odds that a scheduled overnight backup will operate successfully. In our test run, Preflight Check uncovered a permissions problem that would have prevented access to one of our client PCs, thereby derailing the job. For convenience, there's a configuration option to send Preflight Checks, as well as other reports, directly to your pager or e-mail in-box.
Once you complete the first full backup, you'll have the option of customizing future backups. For instance, you'll need to define your tape rotation and whether to perform incremental jobs (backing up only what's changed since the last backup) or differential jobs (backing up every file that's been opened since the last complete backup). To save even more time, you can save an archive of files that don't change, then skip them entirely during subsequent full backup jobs.
The easy-to-follow disaster recovery wizard guides you through the process of creating boot disks for disaster recovery. To ensure that your backups are saved virus-free, Computer Associates includes its antivirus scanning and repair modules from the eTrust EZ Antivirus program. As with the standalone version of eTrust, this version handles antivirus updates either manually or through the job scheduler at predetermined intervals. If you're installing BrightStor Arcserve Backup after hours, Computer Associates provides 24-hour technical support. For all other inquiries, Computer Associates offers tech support from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except on major U.S. holidays.
The program's thorough, built-in help index links out to definitions for those new to data protection. Online, Computer Associates offers a product-specific tech-support page with manuals and technical documentation for downloads and FAQs and a link for e-mail support.
User opinions
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User Rating: 
2/10
unintuitive doesn't begin to cover it
Pros: it doesn't cause global warming
Cons: I defy anyone who works for CA to justify the arcane, counterintuitive
interface, totally information free error messages, and general buginess of this software. Use it if your life is too trouble free.
Review:
Been a network consultant for 10+ years, this app takes the cake.
Use Acronis or Veritas or Cheyenne or even the integrated backup in MS server but forget this. It's only purpose is to generate trouble tickets.
Use Acronis or Veritas or Cheyenne or even the integrated backup in MS server but forget this. It's only purpose is to generate trouble tickets.
User Rating: 
1/10
no no no no no
Pros: there are none
Cons: too many to list
Review:
it will create millions of temp files on C root if backup job encounters an error. Have done everything on CA's knowledge base + called their tech support w/o success. Don't buy.
User Rating: 1/10
This software is the pits
Pros: ... aaammm ...
Cons: many discovered, many expected
Review:
A complex software without step-by-step instruction.
Documentation is incomplete: there is no chapter about 'Restore tree' feature.
The 'Restore by tree' feature doesn't work. The internal DB seems corrupted.
30 minutes installation??
We are struggling with it for three DAYS and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
You must be an expert to install it especially if you want to use SQL.
Very-very poor documentation. Lots of words - no meaning.
Documentation is incomplete: there is no chapter about 'Restore tree' feature.
The 'Restore by tree' feature doesn't work. The internal DB seems corrupted.
30 minutes installation??
We are struggling with it for three DAYS and there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
You must be an expert to install it especially if you want to use SQL.
Very-very poor documentation. Lots of words - no meaning.
User Rating: 1/10
Worst Backup Program Ever
Pros: There are none
Cons: You name it, does not work
Review:
This is the owrst backup program I've ever used. The only thing consistant about its operation is that it consistantly fails. It loses backup jobs. Refuses to use media tht is setup properly based on their instructions. I could go on and on. Best advise I have it to stay away from this program.
User Rating: 
3/10
Root canals are less painful
Pros: It works sometimes, tech support folks are usually nice
Cons: Poor UI, Poor Media Management, bugs aplenty
Review:
When I was a young sys admin, I heard great things about Arcserve. So, when our backuk needs had gone beyond tar and gzip, I decided to buy ArcServe. I made a horrible mistake. It's buggy, finicky, and downright painful to use. The media management is horrid, the documentation is a joke, and CA's Knowledge Base is sorely lacking. The application is incredibly finicky, and works when it wants.
Restoring is an excercise in frustration. Often you cannot restore by client, you must restore by session.
I have serious questions about CNet's neutrality in this review.
Restoring is an excercise in frustration. Often you cannot restore by client, you must restore by session.
I have serious questions about CNet's neutrality in this review.
User Rating: 
5/10
Ok but when it crashes be prepared
Pros: Simple to setup
Cons: Not for large environment, database fails alot
Review:
Unless you want to spend the money on many SQL databases for each of your backup servers stay clear of this product. Each application requires another agent and they are all costly and tie up resources on the server side.
User Rating: 
4/10
Stay away from this one.
Pros: Good technical support because you will need it. :)
Cons: Crashes, bugs and difficult to use.
Review:
CA threw together a piece of junk it looks like a frankenstein's monster from a $50 web page and a realy bad backend that is bugged. My boss had bought this piece of carp before I got there. It is a headache to say the least the manual was crowded with a bunch of information could NOT sort through even the tutorial sucks.
Allot of times if you loose the backup you loose YOUR JOB! The only thing good about this was that my boss had purchased premium technical support for this garbage. Hello!!! Tape engines crashing on a BACKUP suite! The SQL module is expensive to say the least and I don't like this software to begin with I will be looking for backup software.
Allot of times if you loose the backup you loose YOUR JOB! The only thing good about this was that my boss had purchased premium technical support for this garbage. Hello!!! Tape engines crashing on a BACKUP suite! The SQL module is expensive to say the least and I don't like this software to begin with I will be looking for backup software.
