There are too many people to quote for responses. :)
I'll start here:
Rutherford, Rodney wrote:
>
> You really need to look at:
>
> - what platform you wish to run the server on
> - what backup hardware you wish to use
> - what OSes are going to be backed up
> - what applications are going to be backed up
>
> Which translates to which product supports all that, and what is
> their cost. And then most importantly:
>
> - what experience do your admins have
>
> If you were starting fresh, with no experience to build from, you
> could just throw a dart and be just as effective.
>
There is another thing to consider here, and no one's mentioned much: What is
the cost of (vendor) support?
We don't use EMC's Networker; We use Sun's. The reason was simple: We're a
high-level Sun reseller. In pricing out Sun support contracts for Networker
and NetBackup some 8 years ago, Networker won hands down, full stop (it still
does, despite the Tier 5 DBO). And it was icing on the cake that (at 2 AM
Eastern no less!) I have good to excellent phone support.
However, I still experience stan's support woes at times, which can be slow as
treacle. I have to open a Sun case - which in turn can become a Legato (now
EMC) RFE or bug case. But on balance I've been happy.
[This is, btw, despite the fact that the local techs who visit on high-level
sales stuff (usually NDA things) may not know anything about Networker, and
talk in terms of NetBackup. This makes pre-sales footwork a must in dealing
with Sun & Networker.]
As to the scripting side-discussion, I'm more in-line with those who feel
Networker should still have the ability to be customized with the help of
command-line tools. In fact, I'm one of the folks who want full read access
into the Server databases - we're a Sybase shop, and so working with
AlphaStor's internal DB has been rather simple - and more than a bit revealing.
While I do feel that it would be great to have better tools GUI-side on
Networker, it should not be the end-all/be-all. There are edge cases after all
(some severe, like mine) that can be easily enough fixed with a script or two,
a little training here and there, and some half-decent documentation
(preferably vetted through a couple rounds of audits, as well as an emergency
or two).
Scaling: We do some rather exotic things (in today's eyes anyway) with
Networker, and its held up very well. So far, the big issue I've seen is
trying to push the data fast enough to an individual tape drive, which is a
common problem to every product really (especially when its the *client* that
has become your bottleneck). We solved that by implementing a massive disk
array behind the tapes, a full 2 years before VTLs even existed. I don't
regret that today, but will give me future headaches if current feature
trending - away from adv_file - continue.
'FOSS' [Free/Open Source Software] alternatives: Several months ago I was
looking over Amanda as a possible way to handle our occasional 'one-off backup'
items, and saving a few client licenses in the bargain. I was surprised how
far the product had come since I initially heard of it (again, about 8 years
ago), and if we didn't require manual backups so badly, I would be prepared to
setup a DR site backup using Amanda instead of Networker. They of course have
a 'paid support' version (Zmanda) which apparently Sun touts as the best way to
backup MySQL. *roll eyes*
Cynicism aside, when comparing alternatives to 'high-end' software like
Networker, NetBackup, Simpana, etc its not a bad idea to see what else is
around nowadays. You may be pleasantly surprised.
--TSK
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