Hi Mike,
I have used Backup Exec System Recovery (BESR) for both server restore operations, as well as server migrations to new hardware. One of the most favorable characteristics of BESR is its ease of use. It is very straight forward and simply to operate, from start to finish.
BESR is a Windows Backup and Recovery Solution (Windows 2000/XP/2003), which takes hot volume images of Windows Server volumes, meaning that the server does not need to be "downed" in order to capture the backups.
A unique feature of BESR is it's Hardware Independant Restore (HIR) capability. When an image of a server is restored to a dissimilar hardware configuration, the HIR feature automatically populates the correct HAL, mass storage controller, operating system kernel, and other key components that are required for the server instance to boot properly on the new hardware configuration. This is all done automatically behind the scenes during the image-restore process.
It's easy to use. Plain and simple. Other solutions claim the same capability, but can't claim the same "easy" factor.
Thanks.