Difference NetBackup VS Backup Exec

[Sime_Vuksanovic]

Hello

I have to choose between NetBackup and Backup Exec. What is major different between these two products.

regards

S

[Adonis_Manansal · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Well, the major difference between Backup Exec and Netbackup is:

1. Backup exec basically is designed for Windows platform while Netbackup is designed for aan enterprise environment where multi-platform exist.

Backup exec can also support other platforms but as a client server only. Media Server of Backup Exec should only reside/installed into a Windows Server. While Netbackup, the media and master server can be installed both on windows and non-windows server.

2. Backup exec has Continous Protection server feature while Netbackup has none.

Also, I just want to add, the backup images from Backup Exec can be imported and restored using Netbackup.

Hope this answer your inquiry.

Regards,

Adonis

[Hywel_Mallett]

Also, Netbackup scales REALLY big, but costs a lot more than BE. I don't believe Netbackup is a retail product, you can only get it through a Symantec partner. I hate to mention it, but Netbackup users seem to have less "issues" with support.

[bryanalan]

Actually, I believe all of you missed a very important fact:

BackupExec (BUE) version 11D and prior is unable to write to more than 1 drive simultaneously for any particular backup job.

When we inquired with Symantec Level-2 Support, we asked:

"Regarding BUE 11d, can we have 1 job running on multiple drives?  Scenario: job-1 is writing to drive-1 and job-2 is writing to drive-2 and then job-1 finishes.  At that moment, can job-2 utilize both drive-1 and 2 thereby increasing performance?"

Their answer was simply "NO" and they provided the following as documented proof:

##########
The BEWS 11d Administrator’s Guide (http://ftp.support.veritas.com/pub/support/products/Backup_Exec_for_WindowsNT/288005.pdf)
says this about ‘device pools’-

About device pools (page 176)

A device pool is a group of devices that enables load-balancing of Backup Exec jobs sent to the same device pool for
processing. The jobs are spread among the devices in a pool so that the workload is shared among the devices. When you submit a
backup job to a device pool, the job is automatically sent to the first available device in that device pool. As other jobs are
created and started, they can run concurrently on other devices in the device pool. By dynamically allocating devices as jobs
are submitted, Backup Exec processes jobs quickly and efficiently. Devices can belong to more than one device pool, unless a
device is in a cascaded drive pool. Device pools can contain different types of devices, including specific devices in multi-
device robotic libraries.

You can assign priorities to devices in a device pool so that a specific device is used before other devices in the device
pool. The priority assigned to a device in one device pool is unrelated to that device’s priority in any other device pool. For
example, if Device 1 is placed in both Device Pool A and Device Pool B, you can assign different priorities to it in each
device pool. Device 1 can have a high priority in Device Pool A and a low priority in Device Pool B.

You can send backup jobs to specific devices in a device pool. However, if that device is busy, the job must wait until the
device becomes available. When a specific device is assigned, the job cannot be automatically routed to the next available
device. Device pools also provide automatic job rescheduling. For example, if a device pool contains four stand-alone drives
and the first device fails because of a hardware error, the job that was running on the failed device is resubmitted and placed
on hold, and the other jobs are automatically routed to the working devices in the device pool. In a device pool, Backup Exec
selects the oldest recyclable media in all of the devices in the device pool to use first. If more than one media that meets
the requirements is found, Backup Exec then searches the devices in a device pool according to device priority and uses the
oldest recyclable media in the device that has the highest priority.

All Devices (Server Name) is the default device pool, created when Backup Exec is installed. All devices recognized by Backup
Exec at startup are automatically assigned to All Devices (Server Name). You can create other device pools to meet your
particular requirements, and assign and reassign devices to these pools. For example, you may want to separate high-performance
devices from lower performance devices in a separate device pool in order to send high-priority jobs to the fast device pool
for quicker completion.

Related Topics:

"About cascaded drive pools" on page 183

  The Guide says this about ‘cascaded drive pools’-

About cascaded drive pools (page 183)

You can cascade (link) multiple stand-alone tape drives together to create one logical drive. By cascading the tape drives,
backup jobs can automatically "roll" to the media in the next tape drive when the media is filled. Although multiple tape
drives are linked to form the cascaded drive pool, only the name of the cascaded drive pool is listed as the destination device
when a backup job is created.  Tape drives in a cascaded drive pool are not available for concurrent operations. Only one tape
drive is used at a time. The next tape drive in the cascaded drive pool is used only when a backup job fills the current media,
or when the next job requires a different media (such as an overwrite job). Use cascaded drive pools to run unattended backup
jobs, or to make sure a large backup job will complete without operator intervention. You may also want to use cascaded drive
pools if you want data from a job or group of jobs to reside on the same tape family.

Related Topics:
"About device pools" on page 176
##########


This is a serious purchase consideration, for any company having more than 1 drive in their BUE-managed tape library.





Message Edited by LakeRat on 10-25-2007 09:06 AM

[Stumpr2]

NetBackup is an "Enterprise" solution involving backups, duplications, disk storage and staging, multiplexing, multistreaming and reporting.

[DCA-IT]

Yes, support for Backup Exec is appaling. It wins the "worst support I've ever come across" category my a clear mile.