{"id":1931,"date":"2020-08-24T09:13:29","date_gmt":"2020-08-24T08:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/?p=1931"},"modified":"2020-08-24T09:13:31","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T08:13:31","slug":"backup-product-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/?p=1931","title":{"rendered":"Backup Product Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>5 years ago, I was asked to review a beta of a backup product called Altaro. 5 years on, I&#8217;m reviewing the product to see how far it has come along. The first step is to download a copy of the software from <a href=\"https:\/\/go.altaro.com?LP=virtualplanet-sc-Article-AVMB&amp;Cat=SC&amp;utm_source=virtualplanet&amp;utm_medium=sc&amp;utm_campaign=AVMB&amp;utm_content=article\">Altaro.com<\/a>, which was painless, and I went for the <a href=\"https:\/\/go.altaro.com?LP=virtualplanet-sc-Article-AVMB&amp;Cat=SC&amp;utm_source=virtualplanet&amp;utm_medium=sc&amp;utm_campaign=AVMB&amp;utm_content=article\">30-day full trial<\/a>. It has to be said they have a free community edition too, which is great for those who want to protect their home labs.<\/p>\n<p>As before, I&#8217;m scoring my experience 0 to 5 . 0 being bad and 5 being really good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"826\" height=\"305\" src=\"http:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1933\" srcset=\"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/1-1.jpg 826w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/1-1-300x111.jpg 300w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/1-1-768x284.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 826px) 100vw, 826px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I will review\/evaluate Altaro using my home lab based on VMware vSphere 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ease of prerequisites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>As you can see, its just a single executable and straightforward install.<\/li><li>I only had to deploy a windows server that met the perquisites &gt;<a href=\"https:\/\/help.altaro.com\/support\/solutions\/articles\/43000541895-what-are-the-system-requirements-for-altaro-physical-server-backup-\">HERE<\/a>&lt;<\/li><li>Altaro installed any prerequisites for me<\/li><li>Score = 4 \u2013 I kept the score the same as I&#8217;m a believer in the virtual appliance way of doing things and never happy having to deploy a windows licensed VM<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Ease of Install:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Super simple to install<\/li><li>Next next next, that&#8217;s all it took. Really it is that simple to deploy<\/li><li>Score = 5<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"501\" height=\"388\" src=\"http:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1934\" srcset=\"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/2.jpg 501w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/2-300x232.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 501px) 100vw, 501px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Time to Deploy:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Very very quick install. It took no time at all. If you compare install time to other products on the market, you&#8217;ll know setup time can be mundane.<\/li>\n<li>Score = 5<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"497\" height=\"381\" src=\"http:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1935\" srcset=\"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3.jpg 497w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/3-300x230.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 497px) 100vw, 497px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Ease of post-install config:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prompts you to walk through steps<\/li>\n<li>Very simple to attach the source i.e. Vmware or Hyper-V<\/li>\n<li>Target locations can be a physical disk or network share<\/li>\n<li>And my favorite option is a secondary offsite target, which can be an S3 type bucket on one of the public clouds.<\/li>\n<li>Score = 4 &lt; I upgraded the score from 2015 down to its pure simplicity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"324\" src=\"http:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/4-5-6-1024x324.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1936\" srcset=\"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/4-5-6-1024x324.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/4-5-6-300x95.jpg 300w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/4-5-6-768x243.jpg 768w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/4-5-6.jpg 1480w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Ease of setting up a job:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This part always catches me off guard. I&#8217;m not sure if I&#8217;m doing it wrong, but I cannot figure out how to select I want a whole datacenter to be backed up and right now the expectation is to choose each VM one by one into a standard backup<\/li>\n<li>However again Altaro is flipped on its head. The idea is to set up the schedule first then add-in source machines later. To do that, you simply drag and drop the infrastructure to the schedule.<\/li>\n<li>Score = 4 &lt; upgraded due UX experience. Software shouldn&#8217;t be complicated to use, and Altaro is very straight forward.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Restore Job Realization:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Completed no hassle<\/li>\n<li>Nice extra feature I didn&#8217;t see last time was boot from VM. Not the only product that can do this but nice to see here<\/li>\n<li>Score = 4<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Restore Performance:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Time to complete restore is 3 minutes to restore a VM. No issues there:<\/li>\n<li>Score = 4<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"869\" height=\"39\" src=\"http:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/7.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1937\" srcset=\"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/7.jpg 869w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/7-300x13.jpg 300w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/7-768x34.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 869px) 100vw, 869px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>File-level Restore:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fairly Straight forward but no option for direct restoration.<\/li>\n<li>Unsure about which file-systems it supports. &lt; update still doesn&#8217;t seem to have Linux file-system support and offers a workaround with the boot from backup option. Altaro??? This is a must feature!<\/li>\n<li>Score = 3<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"434\" src=\"http:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/8.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1938\" srcset=\"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/8.jpg 400w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/8-276x300.jpg 276w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Self-service Portal:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Last time I scored this as a 0, but you&#8217;ll see later that having a documented API now is the key to self-service functionality, and to offer that in an external CMP solution like vRA or CloudBolt.<\/li>\n<li>Score = 3 &lt; upgraded<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0Ability to Backup VSS Apps:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Has VSS function<\/li>\n<li>Option to truncate logs too<\/li>\n<li>Score = 5<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Support for physical server:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Last year Altaro released a free community tool to allow you to Backup a physical server and restore it as VMs. Great as now there is a solution for physicals, but the contention I have with this is that the reason you might have physical servers is that you cannot run the application on a VM. So ending up with a restore on a VM might not be advantageous. I upgraded the score as it&#8217;s a big improvement on 2015, but needs more work. To find out more about this tool Click &gt;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.altaro.com\/free-server-backup-software\/?LP=ALTblog\">HERE<\/a>&lt;<\/li>\n<li>Score = 3<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0DR capabilities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Offsite capabilities. This is a must for some organizations. This negates the need to store an offsite tape, for example.<\/li>\n<li>Since 2015 a replication feature has been added, which allows you to replicate to an Altaro Offsite Server. The Offsite Server acts as a target for copying backups over to a remote location. In a disaster, you can boot up at the remote site.<\/li>\n<li>Score = 5 &lt; big upgrade in the score since 2015<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Data Availability:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Nice sandbox feature<\/li>\n<li>Score = 4<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0API functionality:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Update since 2015 \u2013 now documented REST API<\/li>\n<li>This is a must IMO since I work in a managed services setting and the lead in automation in my company. No API, No Automation. Click &gt;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.altaro.com\/support\/api\/\">HERE<\/a>&lt; to review the API documentation<\/li>\n<li>Score = 4<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Multi-hypervisor:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hyper-V<\/li>\n<li>VMware<\/li>\n<li>Score = 3. Seems low but comparable to other products on the market.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Multi-Cloud:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Only as an offsite target<\/li>\n<li>No cloud support for source infrastructure. This is a gap for me. Altaro is a great (one of the best) products for on-prem virtual infrastructure but is behind on cloud support. You could argue that most companies are still on-prem, but given what just happened in COVID19 we see a surge of migration to cloud looming. No company wants to be responsible for an on-prem datacenter anymore.<\/li>\n<li>Score = 2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Unreviewed feature:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>O365 Backup &#8211; you can back up and restore all your Office 365 mailboxes and files stored in OneDrive and SharePoint through, and you can centrally manage and monitor your backups through Altaro&#8217;s cloud-based management console. You also get unlimited backup storage. Click &gt;<a href=\"https:\/\/go.altaro.com\/office-365-backup\/?LP=GPPC-Search-EU-O365-Tier1&amp;Cat=PPC&amp;adpos=&amp;creative=437816252800&amp;n=g&amp;geo=9046616&amp;i=&amp;d=c&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwyo36BRAXEiwA24CwGXYrTNmB6jK6XlG0O8LtIbIq900P6ChO8Q2jfTYiie1mJn_Wrcn2txoCj1QQAvD_BwE\" data-wplink-edit=\"true\">HERE<\/a>&lt; to find out more<\/li>\n<li>Score = 4 &lt; even though I didn&#8217;t review this feature, it&#8217;s a notable feature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Bonus Feature:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In-app support chat &#8211; gotta love that, right? In the Altaro console, you fire up a chat window and talk to Altaro support staff. I didn&#8217;t have to wait more than a few seconds. I had no problems to report but just wanted to test what would happen. Awesome feature!<\/li>\n<li>Score = 5<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"303\" src=\"http:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/chat1234-1024x303.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1939\" srcset=\"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/chat1234-1024x303.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/chat1234-300x89.jpg 300w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/chat1234-768x228.jpg 768w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/chat1234-1536x455.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/chat1234.jpg 1546w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>Conclusion \u2013 Altaro, while I&#8217;d like to see more cloud support, is a great solution. Reasonably priced and hits the mark for many organizations. It was super simple to use, and from an on-prem perspective doesn&#8217;t lack many features. If you know me and know me well, you know the whole API thing was at the top of my list of wants, and Altaro doesn&#8217;t disappoint there too. Overall a great product!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/go.altaro.com?LP=virtualplanet-sc-Article-AVMB&amp;Cat=SC&amp;utm_source=virtualplanet&amp;utm_medium=sc&amp;utm_campaign=AVMB&amp;utm_content=article\">Download your free 30-day trial here.<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>5 years ago, I was asked to review a beta of a backup product called Altaro. 5 years on, I&#8217;m reviewing the product to see how far it has come along. The first step is to download a copy of the software from Altaro.com, which was painless, and I went for the 30-day full trial. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[113,4],"tags":[150,67,60,62,151],"class_list":["post-1931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hyper-v","category-vmware","tag-altaro","tag-backup","tag-vm-backup","tag-vmware-backup","tag-vsphere-7-backup"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":1223,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1931"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1940,"href":"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1931\/revisions\/1940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/read.virtualizeplanet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}