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Windows® Hyper-V is an attractive option for SMBs, because it reduces hardware and running costs and provides an easier way to integrate components in specialized I.T. system setups. However, Windows® Hyper-V has been creating insurmountable backup and data protection headaches that drive up costs and make it an impractical and unrealistic option for most SMBs.
Now Cortex I.T, a world-leading backup software developer, has neatly resolved these issues with a new BackupAssist Hyper-V Solution. It’s an easily affordable option that simplifies and automates vital data protection functions for Windows® Hyper-V and significantly reduces ongoing labor and maintenance costs.
“Many SMBs invest in new Hyper-V systems to save on costs, only to discover that the backup and restore operations are difficult, frustrating and expensive,” says Linus Chang, CEO of Cortex I.T. and Lead Developer of BackupAssist. “These days, an SMB’s entire business relies on the quality of their data – so the inadequate data protection facilities were also exposing them to a big risk,” he adds.
Windows® Hyper-V Server only offers limited drive imaging facilities to perform backup and restore operations. The usual image backup consists of a single VHD file of the Host and Windows® offers no facilities to dig down into the VHD file to retrieve any data that may be required from the Guest VM. This meant there was no option other than to run a second backup of each Guest VM individually, and this is time consuming, uses incredible amounts of data storage space, requires manual scripting and is basically an unreliable process. What’s more, manually locating and transferring files during restore operations can turn into a complicated nightmare.
“Windows® is designed to make it possible and affordable for anyone to use a computer,” says Linus. “We believe the same should be true for backups. Data protection is very important to every business, so BackupAssist is designed and created specifically for the purpose of making backups as simple and easy as possible on any Windows® system.”
The new BackupAssist Hyper-V Solution consists of the BackupAssist v5.4 base license used together with the new BackupAssist VM Granular Restore Add-on. It uses ‘granular technology’ to make it possible to dig down into a VHD file and quickly retrieve files from within, eliminating the need for multiple backups of Host and Guest VMs.
“This saves a lot of time and data storage space,” says Linus. “There’s no manual scripting, all the media rotations and scheduling are built in and we’ve made it all very easy to manage with simple wizards. And you can restore any file in under three minutes – even from the Guest VMs. It’s so easy that just about anyone can do it.”
BackupAssist doesn’t leave it there. The base license includes backup solutions for all Windows® systems (old and new), and there are affordable add-ons that solve specific problems like the missing Tape Drive Support on Windows® Server 2008 and the problems inherent in mailbox backups for Microsoft® Exchange Server. To find out more, visit www.zensoftware.co.uk/
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