Opinion: Mac Enterprise backup options are looking up

#1 MW Forums

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Posted 18 May 2007 - 11:10 AM

IT managers and system administrators in enterprise environments have a new crop of applications to look to when it comes to managing Mac and Mac OS X Server backups and archives. more

#2 donikatz

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Posted 18 May 2007 - 02:24 PM

Interesting you note Veritas (now Symantec) Backup Exec as a classic example of a non-Mac, Windows product, without noting that their latest v.11 includes an improved Mac OS X agent. Symantec (formerly Veritas) NetBackup includes one as well. Oops.

#3 scotty321

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Posted 18 May 2007 - 02:29 PM

Unfortunately, Retrospect does NOT "currently work" as this article states. There is a MAJOR bug (discussed ad naseum on the Retrospect forums & Retrospect mailing lists) with Retrospect Client running on any Intel Core 2 Duo Mac. After a Core 2 Duo Mac wakes from sleep, Retrospect Client will NOT be running even though the Client software says that it is "on". It's actually off, and Retrospect on the server machine cannot see that particular client. This is a 100% reproducible bug, and it's been 7 months since this bug cropped up and EMC Insignia STILL hasn't fixed it. The only workaround to this issue is for the user to restart their computer to get the Retrospect Client functioning properly again. Restart after every time you wake your computer from sleep -- that is the boat that EMC Insignia has currently left us in.

#4 chasd

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Posted 18 May 2007 - 05:32 PM

You don't make a clear distinction between back up and archive. Those are different processes, and have different needs. Too many people confuse or combine those two concepts.
Proprietary software takes your data hostage. Invest in open source tools.
Archiving on optical is much safer and the formats are more long-lived than magnetic tape.
The ability of Windows and Linux/Unix applications to accurately back up HFS formatted partitions, including resource fork and metadata, should certainly be suspect.
The crux of the matter. Now that Apple has essentially provided a standard way to separate data and resource forks, it almost makes the most sense to separate the two and back up and archive them together. Restore simply involves restoring to a volume exposed by CIFS so the two pieces get attached at the client.
Chasd

#5 kcarlile

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Posted 18 May 2007 - 05:53 PM

Well, I'm glad to hear that BRU has improved. The first few versions were so rocky, I went back to Retrospect. Sadly, I'm not doing Mac support any more, but I'd probably have a look at it again if I was.

#6 RealityCheck

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Posted 18 May 2007 - 06:11 PM

Nice article on the alternatives to Retrospect. Would it be too much to ask to embed links to the software referenced in the article?

#7 Nobody

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Posted 18 May 2007 - 07:42 PM

A true native Intel version of Retrospect would rock! Please, please, please!!! OR ELSE WE WILL HAVE TO MOVE TO COMPETITORS. Thanks.

#8 mchampag

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Posted 19 May 2007 - 05:48 AM

A cron job calling an rsync-based shell script is a free option on any current Macintosh and not difficult to implement. Fun, even--Unix is amazing.

-Matt

#9 lrymal

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Posted 20 May 2007 - 09:27 AM

We run several Macintosh labs in an educational institution and are begging for a GHOSTING or DEEP FREEZE solution methodology. Is there a solution for several Macs that are in a lab environment, identically set up (cloned) with site-wide licenses?
I can totally erase and restore hundreds of Windows boxes within an hour, when needing to update or replace software, updated data files, via Deep Freeze or Symantec's GHOST. A just-as-easy Mac solution has been so danged elusive and evasive.

#10 krajcd5

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Posted 20 May 2007 - 02:23 PM

For the Deep Freeze. Take a look at this product. Never used it myself but it looks like it would do you what you would want it to do.
http://www.faronics.com
Dan

#11 macnews

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Posted 20 May 2007 - 02:39 PM

Quote:

Some individuals at the University of Utah had made some great strides doing exactly what you want to do. I actually attended a seminar and was able to visit their labs. It was very impressive what they had set up and worked well. I don't recall all the specifics, I do know it used rsync. I would give you the contact info but it wasn't specific to my situation I am currently in and don't have it on file any more.
One other poster made a comment about Retrospect and the problems it currently has. I can confirm Retrospect is completely unusable as a back up solution because it is not reliable any more. This is a sad state as I used Retrospect back in the glory days and LOVED it. It not only worked well but was easy to use.
I think ease of use on the mac platform is a key component some of the new "competitors". A mac server works well for small to medium size business because it doesn't take an expert to get it set up. Retrospect was great because it was easy to set up and restore from the GUI. I have tried BRU and it still leaves a bit to be desired in terms of the GUI.

#12 lrymal

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Posted 20 May 2007 - 03:12 PM

Actually, you are right. The Faronics Deep Freeze for Mac actually looks like the solution. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Surely, this has not been available for the Mac until somewhat recently. I mean, we asked about it and was told that it wasn't, otherwise I wouldn't have even posted my message.

#13 RightNow

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Posted 20 May 2007 - 10:50 PM

The faronics product has been out several years. We had the product in our PC lab for a good number of years and asked for a Mac version maybe in 2003 or 2004. They provided us with the first release. The latest one is quite nice and very easy to configure. It has been a tremendously useful in our Mac labs.
You might find some useful information here as well:
http://www.macosxlabs.org/

#14 hclbaumbach

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Posted 21 May 2007 - 12:01 AM

Not specifically a backup solution, but related to lab management is MacAdministrator by Hi-Resoltion Systems. It's been many many years since I've managed a lab with it, but it was the best at the time, and is still under active development:
MacAdministrator