Symantec Brings New CDP, Encryption To Backup Exec
Top on the list of enhancements coming with Symantec Backup Exec 11d is continuous data protection for Microsoft Exchange.
With continuous data protection, or CDP, changes to data are backed up immediately or at certain pre-defined intervals to allow users to be able to instantly recover a deleted, corrupted or modified file. While many applications allow data changes to be captured on-the-fly, others back up the changes at set intervals.
The new CDP for Exchange feature eliminates the backup window for protecting a company's e-mails, said Michael Parker, senior product marketing manager for Backup Exec.
Customers can do a full backup once a month, and the CDP feature will take care of any changes to the e-mail database, Parker said. This allows them to restore individual e-mails and e-mail folders as needed and eliminate the need to backup individual mailboxes, a process Parker said typically takes about three times longer than backing up the entire Exchange database.
"Customers don't need to do a full backup of mailboxes, but they can still get to an individual e-mail," he said.
Backup Exec 11d also now comes with 128-bit and 256-bit AES encryption at no charge, Parker said. "Now solution providers have the opportunity to sell into larger customer organizations where the RFP (request for proposal) requires encryption," he said.
Parker said that turning the encryption on adds about a 20-percent overhead to the backup process. Therefore, he said Symantec recommends customers who wish to encrypt their data backup that data to disk first, and from there stream to tape. However, when data is subject to CDP, it must be decrypted as it goes to disk, from where it can be encrypted if it is later archived to tape, he said.
Symantec is also getting ready for the coming release of Windows Vista with a new version of its Ghost Solution software for deploying and managing PC images.
Ghost Solution 2.0 now includes support for Microsoft Vista and x64-bit Windows, said Steve Fairbanks, director of product management for Ghost.
With the new version, customers can migrate PC images from current versions of Microsoft Windows going as far back as Windows 98 to the upcoming Microsoft Vista, including all the users current settings.
"Channel partners have a huge opportunity to deploy Vista," Fairbanks said. "Not only do they have renewals opportunities, they also can provide other professional services, and they can also cross-sell other Symantec products."
Backup Exec 11d is slated to start shipping next Monday, while Ghost 2.0 is slated to ship Nov. 30 with a price starting at $39.20 per license.