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James Larson

Scalable BackUp Storage for Windows Server 2016

Hi all!

Does anybody know of a good device/platform for Windows Server 2016 Standard backups?  I bought a Drobo 5C (5 drive bays, USB3.0 connection), which is an amazing device, but it technically isn't supported for Windows Server and I've been having some trouble with it.  It has to do some fancy foot work in order to accommodate Windows backup in the first place, which seems to give Windows Server Backup grief.  What I like about it is:

  1. Direct connection to the tower server (USB), which provides faster backups and faster restores (a lot faster than over the network) like you get with a NAS device.
  2. it's scalable & drive are placeable; you can replace drives anytime you want to increase storage or a drive fails without missing a beat (hot-swappable).
  3. It is smart and easy to use.  I've never seen a RAID device ("BeyondRAID" actually) that is so hands off.
I don't really want a NAS device since there is no direct connection, and have avoided external drives (like WD Book Duo) since you can't replace drives (at least not easily).  Does anybody know of something like Drobo for Windows Server?  Or maybe it is a matter of using a different software to do the backups.
 
Thanks in advance!
James
asked12/31/2018 01:25
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Last Activity 12/31/2018 17:57

2 Answer(s)

  • David Moore

    I like and use BackupAssist from BackupAssist.com, 30 day trial, it takes all the pain out of Windows backup but still uses Microsoft Backup so it is ultra compatible when you need to do a bare metal restore also works with iSCSI auto disconnects. 

    Regards David Moore.

     

    answered 12/31/2018 01:36
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    James Larson

    Hi David, thanks for the quick reply!

    I like the sound of software that works with Windows Backup; that's great!  However, I already have offsite backup (CrashPlan); do they have a perpetual license you can buy just to run local backups?  I'm not seeing as much on their site.

    Thanks again,
    James

    Reply
    replied 12/31/2018 15:47
  • David Moore

    If you choose not to not buy the 1 year maintenance plan the product is perpetual but you wont be able to upgrade the software after the initial maintenance plan runs out. 

    There is a fairly compelling reason to buy the maintenance plan as the software includes the option to do a full malware scan before the software does the backup, and if malware is discovered it stops the backup from happening so you don't overwrite a good backup. I look after 35+ customer sites either using HyperV core or full desktop experience and have been for years, and it has been very good, if the backup report at the end of the backup says it was successful you can be sure to be able to get a good restore.

    There are other perpetual purchase options like HyperV add on / Exchange granular restore and SQL Continuous backup that enhance the backup experience depending on what you want to use it for. https://www.backupassist.com/purchase.php

    Another reason I like the software is it enables you to backup to an iSCSI drive, it will automatically make the connection and at the end of the backup it will automatically drop the iSCSI share so hackers can corrupt / erase your backup if they get in as it is no longer online. Also you can encrypt the backup.

    answered 12/31/2018 17:57
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