Online BackupFor Servers
Real-time online backup for business servers: automated, secure and affordable.
- Why can't I find server backup pricing on your website?
- Our online server backup solutions are tailored for the specific needs of each business. We have a number of technologies available each with different functionality and backup retention periods. Therefore pricing a solution for a company becomes difficult without knowing the specific requirements. However, whatever the size, type or budget of your company, we have a solution to fit and our prices are some of the most competitive in the market - guaranteed. To get a quote on Online Backup for Servers please call one of our solutions consultants now on 0800 0789 437 or use our Live Chat feature on the left hand side of this page.
- What software do you use for your server backup solution?
- Every business is different. To account for this, we offer a range of different software that will suit most company backup needs. Popular technology that we supply and support includes award-winning LiveVault Server Backup, Attix5 Server Backup and enterprise-class Asigra backup solution.
- What level of support do you provide?
- We are a UK-based company with all our technicians working from our head offices in Bath. All our customers receive free 24/7 phone, email and remote log-in support as part of the service. Backup Direct see excellence in customer service as key to business growth which is why we implement service metrics like Net Promoter Score to ensure we're doing the right thing by our customers.
- Where are your data centres based?
- Unlike some other backup providers, all our data centres are based within the European Union. We have data centres in Milton Keynes, London and Brussels that are managed by world leading digital security companies Iron Mountain Digital and Techgate/IBM. With all data stored within the EU, Backup Direct can help you comply with regulation and laws on the safe harboring of data.
- How long is my backed up data kept for?
- This is variable depending on your policy and the scheduling options you have defined. The maximum archiving roll-back file version you can go to is 7 years.
- What is the maximum amount of data that I can backup?
- There is no theoretical limit. You can back up as much data as you want. What does need consideration, however, are storage costs and bandwidth resources. For more information on this call 0800 0789 437 to speak to one of our advisors.
- My server has no monitor; how can I check that it is being backed up?
- Reporting is provided through remote monitors. You can easily log onto the net and view your server/s backup activity through a Web-interface. It is also from here that you can set new reports and backup scheduling.
- How often can I backup my server?
- With Continual Data Protection, you can complete a backup as often as every 15 minutes. The result is 96 different restore points available daily. If you want to ease the strain on bandwidth resources you can disable this feature and manually define your server/s individual backup points.
- How many versions are stored?
- The number of file versions backed up ranges from 30 to several hundreds depending upon the backup frequency and particular rules you have set. For example, the maximum number of point in time restores you can achieve with a 7-year history policy is 96 versions within the last 24-hours, one daily version for the last 30 days before that, then one monthly version for the last 12 months after that and then quarterly versions for the last 6 years after that. That’s a total of 160+ file version states.
- What is CDP?
- Continuous Data Protection is where a backup system logs every change to the host system in systematic intervals. For our service this means complete backups every 15 minutes. This functionality is made efficient by saving byte/ block-level differences rather than file-level differences. This is known as Deltablock® technology.
- How secure is it?
- During a backup data is compressed and coded using 256 bit AES encryption. When it is sent over the internet it uses SSL security channels. In storage, data resides in tier4 state-of-the-art manned and monitored dual-data vaults.
- Where is the data stored?
- Data is stored in two military-grade data centres that are disaster-proof and under 24-hour surveillance in two separate EU locations for complete failover management.
- How can I retrieve data?
- Data is retrieved in two ways. It can be downloaded over the internet in encrypted form or alternatively, it can be shipped back to you on a media restore device or DVDs upon request.
- What is the maximum I can backup?
- There is no limit to the amount you can backup but you must take into account your system resources and how frequently your data changes.
- What encryption levels do you use?
- Depending on the technology used, it will be either 256 bit AES or 448 bit. When data is transferred over the net it also uses SSL (Secure Socket Layer) standards.
- What is a TRA?
- A TRA or Turbo Restore Appliance is an optional upgrade on the LiveVault service. Essentially it is a separate piece of hardware or partition drive created on the server that stores backed up data onsite. In the event of a disaster, data can be restored directly from the TRA more rapidly at LAN (Local Area Network) level. However, use of a TRA means onsite data storage. Although your data is still backed up from the TRA to the offsite data vaults, any loss of site i.e. through fire or flood etc will also mean loss of TRA functionality.
- Can I keep local copies too?
- That is up to you. You can continue to keep local copies of your backups but it’s not essential. However, it is a good idea to keep local backup copies while you get used to the online system.
- Can I restore files to different machines?
- Yes. You will just need to tell the software which machine you’d like the data to be sent to.
- Can I perform a full Disaster Recovery?
- If you have backed up all of your systems, applications, and data, you can perform a full 'bare metal restore' as long as your hardware is still functional. If your hardware has also been lost in a disaster you might want to check out our Hosted Virtual Failover solution.
- What is 'bare metal restore' and can I use your service to do this?
- A 'bare metal restore' refers to the process of restoring all of your system settings and data to a blank server (the bare metal) without the need for drivers. Our online server backup solution offers you this functionality.
- What bandwidth is required?
- This question is relative. The amount of bandwidth that you have, combined with the amount of data you want to backup, will of course directly affect how long it takes to complete a full backup. However, file compression and Deltablock® technology means that the size of data sent is minimized. Rules can also be set to schedule when you want your backups to take place, meaning you can schedule backups for quieter times of the day. However, there are several other factors that affect the speed of the transfer. For example, if your data is compressible, then the actual size of the files will be greatly reduced, allowing quicker transfer. If the majority of your data is static (it is not frequently being changed), then you will not need as much bandwidth because few files will be being transferred. The latency of your connection will also affect transfer speeds. Contact our support team on 0800 0789 438 for advice on how much bandwidth you need.
- What is latency and how does it affect me?
- Latency is a measurement of the total time taken for data to be encoded and transferred between communicating devices. Poor latency causes lag, and is often responsible for transfer speeds that seem to fall short of advertised bandwidth figures.
- Do I need to worry about firewalls?
- You need to configure you server backup software to allow connection to data vaults. This means firewalls need to be bypassed. This can be achieved easily during the initial install, but if other problems arise, contact the Service Team on 0800 0789 438.
- Can I have my data deleted from your vaults?
- If you delete a server from the system or delete a backup policy, the data will then be removed from the vaults at the end of the retention policy selected for the backup. For example, If you were backing up a server with a one year history, the data will be deleted from the vaults after 12 months. In exceptional circumstances, we can arrange for the data to be purged on request, regardless of the retention policy.
- Do you provide data archiving?
- Yes and No. Archiving can mean keeping a copy of static, older data for compliance purposes or it can mean storing older files 'off-site', enabling you to free up space on your main systems. Our server backup solutions can store secure copies of data for up to seven years, but because this is only a copy, you will still have to keep the primary data yourself. However, our Email Archiving service can be used to comply with archiving legislation by storing email data. It will also reduce the amount of emails you have in primary storage by up to 80%. In this respect, it fulfils both typical archiving requirements. For further information, see www.emailarchiving.co.uk
- Which Operating Systems are supported?
- Our Server backup solution works on any computers that run Windows, MAC OS X, Novell Netware, and various UNIX operating systems including Linux, Fedora, and Solaris.
- Which Applications are supported?
- Our server solution allows you to backup many different applications such as database agents. Examples include Microsoft SQL server, Exchange, Lotus, Oracle, and Open File Manager.
- Can I backup data across a network?
- Yes, our Server Backup solution is ideally suited to backup servers that run network-wide applications such as providing email services or data storage. Simply install our solution onto the relevant servers and your entire network data will be backed up.
- Can I backup data on a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device?
- Yes. Depending on the Operating System running on the NAS device, the backup will take place via either our Agent software, or via UNC (see below) paths. Both methods are equally simple and effective.
- What about a Storage Area Network (SAN) - will it back them up to?
- Among others, LiveVault is a service of ours that can be used to backup any SAN-based storage. SANs typically provide highly reliable storage connected via fiber channel or iSCSI. Any type of SAN connection to the server is OK with our software. All we require is that the SAN appears as a local file systems and the normal file system functions work properly, such as VSS on Windows.
Some SAN devices allow a customer to make SAN-based snapshots. (Our software backs up the storage with its own snapshots; it does not back up a SAN snapshot.)
If there is corruption to the primary SAN storage, the customer would have the option of rolling back the storage to a previous snapshot. The backup software is not part of this process. A SAN roll back can be done quickly because it does not require movement of data. This will be faster than restoring from our even if there is a TurboRestore appliance because a LiveVault restore always involves the movement of data as well as decompression and decryption.LiveVault is used in addition to SAN-based snapshots and provides a level of protection that SAN snapshots do not. Some of the reasons why SAN-based snapshots are seldom a substitute for LiveVault backup are listed below:
- SAN-based snapshots are not kept off site
- Copying a SAN-based snapshot over a WAN is often not practical because doing so may require as much bandwidth as a new initial backup
- SAN-based snapshots are clear text and represent a security risk if copied off the SAN.
- SAN-based snapshots cannot be kept for an extended retention period on the SAN device.
- SAN-based snapshots do not typically allow the restoration of particular files or databases – the entire volume must be reverted.
Some vendors make both mapped storage units and SAN storage units. Be aware that LiveVault cannot back up mapped disk space, but SAN storage poses no problems.
- Do you support UNC (Uniform Naming Convention) paths?
- Yes, any device using UNC paths will appear as a disk drive in our software interface.
- Can you upload my data initially on a device?
- Yes. We can 'seed' your initial data load directly to our vaults - this negates the need for an initial lengthy backup of all of your files and folders. Incremental backups can then be sent securely over the internet.
- How much capacity do you have on your vaults?
- The vaults can be expanded as and when needed, so the effective capacity is infinite. The vaults have ultimate scalability.
- Do you have certifications for best practices and security?
- Backup Direct follow best practices as described by ITILv3 (Information Technology Infrastructure Library). This is a set of best practice guidelines for IT providers issued by the Office of Government Commerce. Some of the largest and most prestigious organisations around the word adhere to it, including Barclays, Boeing, Procter & Gamble, and IBM.
