SMB IT | Curtis Franklin » HP's No Headache Tape Backup

September 12, 2005 | Comments: (0)

HP's No Headache Tape Backup

TAGS: SMB Hardware

There are several reasons SMBs hire evil consulting types like me. Post virus recovery is one. Desktop deployment is another. What do these have in common? They're both pains in the rear double-cheeked portion. Even if you know what you're doing, they're tedious enough that most folks are willing to pay a poor decrepit fool like myself to do it for them. Such a task is backup.

Configuring the hardware, testing the hardware, writing a tape rotaton plan and syncing everything with software is not just boring but also often subject to little tweaks that are minor agony to solve. Well trust the folks at HP to put a dent in that problem.

The $959 StorageWorks DAT72 tape drive has "60 seconds from box to backup" written on it. (Actually, I think mine is pithier than what they actually wrote on there, but it's the gist.) And they aren't kidding. The secret is USB 2.0.

Drop in the driver CD. Click "Install". Attach the tape drive, watch the little "Found new hardware" bubble do its work--and you're actually done if you'd like to be. The Windows Backup on our Dell PowerEdge 850 Windows 2003 Server immediately recognized the DAT72 as an available volume, so we could have just set up our backups there and been done. (You'll need drivers for Windows, by the way, but not Linux according to HP--however, my programmers wouldn't let me near the Debian CVS server to try it, so I had to take that on faith.)

But HP also includes a copy of Yosemite Technologies' TapeWare XE in the bundle, and it's superior to Windows Backup. In fact, most anything is superior to Windows Backup. Medieval monks scribbling copies of the data by hand are better than Windows Backup--but I digress.

TapeWare installed without a hitch, and configured to our DAT72 as though it were part of the same bundle. (Yeah, I'm trying to be funny.) That part will take longer than 60 seconds, though you can shorten the time if you've got a fast CD drive for the install. After that, point it at your data and schedule your backups. TapeWare won't compete with something like Veritas for enterprise customers (with which the DAT72 will also work), but it's a surprisingly robust package and squarely aimed at SMBs. The software includes support for Windows, Netware and Linux and has specific agents for SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange.

The stuff is also tweaked for HP, providing not only interleaving (which means support for up to 8 separate simultaneous data streams per tape device), but also software support for HP's One-Button Disaster Recovery feature--this is exactly what it sounds like. Click a switch on the DAT72 and it'll restore its target system end-to-end, no need for rescue CDs or voodoo sacrifices to the PC gods.

All in all, the DAT72 is perfect for small and SOHO-style businesses. Medium-sized companies or even hefty enterprises with small branch offices or throngs of telecommuters will also find a use for it--and that's because it's brain dead to use. Any helpdesk guy with a pulse should have no problem walking even the slowest end-user through installation and setting up automated backups. After that, it's pretty much plug and forget.

If you want backup with no Advils, I highly recommend checking this puppy out.

Posted by Oliver Rist on September 12, 2005 09:32 PM

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