Rethinking my Storage/Backup solution

I'm not happy with the solution I've inherited for storage and backup. I'm running an all Windows shop, consisting of about a dozen servers (W2k3 & 1 W2K8). 2 of these servers are VMWare.

All storage is to disk, with a couple of direct attached drives (WD MyBooks).

Backup is Disk-to-Tape using a 70GB Rev Drive and CA ArcServe r11.

I'm trying to think of a new solution from the ground up. This needs to tie into a complete disaster recovery solution. I have recently obtained Backup Exec 12.5. I need a solution that works now and takes into account future growth.

So, I'm looking for suggestions on hardware, software, etc. SAN? NAS? Cloud? I'm open to any ideas. Ease of implementation and manageability are always a plus. Of course, cost is always a concern (we are a non-profit). I just know I need something better than what I have now.

Hey!  So, I'm going to assume you got the Backup Exec 12.5 here from TechSoup - which basically covers unlimited agents and licenses (unless I'm mistaken).  The one piece of software missing from BE12.5 (at least from the description) appears to be Vista, so if you need to back up a Vista machine for any reason and it doesn't have an agent available, let me know and I'll help you with a strategy for that.

I view backup methods as 2 copies being necessary, a 3rd copy being ultimate but sometimes not worth the cost.  I would use the control center of BackupExec to set up all of your systems to backup to a NAS overnight.  Then, you can use either BackupExec or some other method to copy those backups to the MyBooks during the day.  You could put backup data in the cloud, but that's a cost I don't think you need to incur unless you want a 3rd copy.  If your business has multiple locations, your third copy could be located at one of these places, with its own NAS - essentially building your own online, offsite backup with technology you're already paying for.

Your NAS should have some sort of RAID...  RAID 5 for redundancy and capacity.  RAID 10 for redundancy and speed.

Do you want some assistance in picking out a NAS device?  There are a lot of NAS threads already in the forums.  You can build your own, buy a ready-made NAS, many options.  Some of the ready-made NAS devices are easily integrated into Active Directory.

Thanks for the suggestions. Any help choosing an appropriate NAS solution would be great.

What about taking backups off site? We're currently using tape, but would it be better to rotate out external HDDs like the MyBooks?

I'll look into the NAS - I like some of the features that ioMega has in their NAS, but as they are now owned by EMC, all of their systems come bundled with Retrospect as a backup software so that increases the cost.  Let's set a feature list for a NAS that you'd want.  My suggestions:

• Active Directory management
• works with BE 12.5
• RAID 5 with hot spare
• USB ports for communicating with external storage devices
• gigabit ethernet
• ability to schedule duplication of the backup set from NAS to external USB devices (hdd)

As for tape vs hdd - well that depends.  Technically, the Rev drive doesn't use tapes.  They are cartridge-like hard disks that can take a little more jostling than an average hard drive.  Another thought to consider for offsite is how careful are the people going to be that are transporting the media?  And lastly, how easy is it to restore a backup from the external device if the NAS fails or is unavailable?

How many GB of data are you backing up?   

Is there a reason you are uncomfortable with the REV disks? 

I've been using a REV 1000 with 35 GB disks for about 4 years now and they have been working wonderfully for me.

For your recovery I see four or five needs

1.  Bare metal recovery to the same hardware

2. Bare metal recover to new hardware

3.  (The above for your VM instances)

4.  Lost file recovery

5.  File version recovery  (someone made major changes to this important document, can I get { yesterday's | Last Weeks | last Month | last year's } version of the file?)

then how do test and continue to verify the validity of your backups for all of the scenarios you want to cover?

I do like the concept of Disk to Disk to Other

Dave

Hi there! In addition to the fine points raised I wanted to add that I have been using FreeNAS to storage my VMWare ESX VM's, using NFS. The performance wasn't bad even though it was an old Pentium IV with IDE drives, and these aren't mission critical public facing machines. But I'd imagine it wouldn't be too shabby using faster drives on a gigabit network.

This looks like a good list that would suit my needs. I'm not unhappy with the Rev disks, but I'm running out of room. I'm currently using the 70GB disks and my backup is currently at 60GB. I need to plan for future growth.

Any suggestions for a NAS device? I've been looking at some of the Dell Powervault NAS units, but they can get expensive fast.

I've been giving this some more thought. I have a Dell Poweredge 2800 with 6 free drive bays. The drives are Ultra320 SCSI, which go pretty cheap on ebay. I could up my storage capacity on this server and use it as a target for my backups. For those that have experience with BE12.5, is there any problem with using W2K3 HDDs as a backup target?

Take a look at some of these NAS devices.

I think BE 12.5 allows you to specify a network drive as a destination.  You should be all set.  I haven't used it, though - so hopefully someone else can chime in.

Re-purposing the Dell isn't a bad idea, but if you were going to get hard drives, I would make sure they were new ones.  Hard drives fail.

I'm still researching this issue. Does anyone have experience using an online service like Mozy for their backup solution? If so, can this be implemented as a total solution? Also, what kind of monthly costs do you incur with an online solution?