Which BMBR Product Is Best For You?
If you're working on a very limited budget, Paragon's Drive Backup 6.0 is a good choice. It does solid image backups and both bare metal and individual file recoveries of local drives. Bare metal backup and recovery are easy. As the table below indicates, Drive Backup doesn't have some of the bells and whistles you'll find in Retrospect or LiveUpdate Recovery, but it only costs $99.95.
The Windows Small Business Server Premium 7 version of EMC Dantz Retrospect is a very good value. It backs up to disk and tape, allows recovery of individual files and bare metal recovery. It also includes agents for backing up the versions of SQL Server and Exchange that come with Windows Small Business server. Add to that its ability to backup network attached workstations and wizard-driven easy-to-use interfaces, and its $749 MSRP looks pretty good.
Symantec's LiveState Recovery lacks backup to tape and agents for SQL Server and Exchange, but it does allow sophisticated backup and bare metal or discrete file recovery. LiveState Recovery's interfaces for backup and recovery are easy to use. The product is the most costly at $1149 per server, but its event-driven incremental backup capabilities and Symantec pedigree make it a product you should look at closely if you have the budget to support it.
Product Features And Prices
| Product | EMC Dantz Retrospect Windows Small Business Server 7 Standard and Premium | Paragon Drive Backup Professional 6.0 | Symantec LiveState Recovery Advanced Server |
|---|---|---|---|
| Server Operating Systems | Windows Small Business Server 2000 and 2003 | Windows NT 4, 2000 and 2003 | NT 4, Windows 2000 and 2003 |
| Runs as Windows Service | Yes | No (Scheduled using Windows Scheduler.) | Yes |
| Networked Workstation Operating Systems Backed Up | Windows XP, 2000, NT 4, 95, 98, ME, Mac OS 7.1 or later; Mac OS X 10.1 or later; Red Hat Linux, SUSE LINUX and Solaris (File backup only, BMBR optional.) | None [However, can be used on each workstation.] | None [However, a separate product, LiveState Recovery Desktop can be used on each workstation.] |
| SQL and Exchange Server Backup Agents | Yes (Premium Version) | No (Can backup and recover whole disk partition if SQL or Exchange services are stopped.) | Windows 2003 Volume Shadow Copy snapshot service supported for Windows 2003, Exchange 2003 and SQL Server 2005 databases. |
| Disk/Tape Backup | Disk and Tape (Support for advanced tape devices is optional.) | Disk | Disk |
| Bare Metal Disk Image Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Discrete File Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Supports RAID Bare Metal Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price and URL | Standard: $499; Premium: $749 [Includes workstations connected to server; bare metal client optional.] Also, check out EMC Dantz's Multi Server product with a base price of $1,299. | Professional: $99.95 | $1,194/ per server |
