What product do you use to backup virtual servers?

[Ross Ferris]

Thought I'd share  the fruits of 6 months of research & testing on this subject, though as always, happy if someone has found a "better" solution that they would like to share.

Traditionally we have used Backup Exec and agents to backup virtuals, BUT ..... NOW we are using VEEAM (www.veeam.com) , which works for both VMware & Hyper-V hosts.

As well as being able to do traditional "backups", VEEAM also allows you to replicate to standby servers in near real time. Unfortunately this doesn't work for multi-value database workloads, but if you have multiple windows virtual servers it works a treat!

Also, if you are using VMWare you will need a "real" VMware licence (VMware essentials costs under $1K, and gives you a "real" licence that you can use on up to 3 x dual CPU machines.

Obviously you would need to do your own testing, but there are free evals available. Works for us, and if you are looking, you should consider putting VEEAM on your shortlist.

If you decide VEEAM IS right for you, keep us in mind as we can supply world wide, and should be able to get at least a 5% discount for you