30 Oct 2004

We tested six online remote-backup providers to see which would treat our data like gold. All stressed reliability and security, but our Editor’s Choice won a close race thanks to its superior remote-management capabilities and simplified Web-based interface, among other things.

Space for Rent

Managing server backups is a challenge, even when your IT staff and hardware are centralized in one data center. Hardware needs to be maintained, software updated, backup windows juggled, logs monitored, and tapes wrangled and sent off-site to a secure location. The process becomes even more interesting when you have to administer small departmental servers at remote locations, where IT support may be limited.Online server backup services are a cost-effective alternative to conventional tape backup schemes, offering safe, off-site disk-to-disk data backups without the expense of additional hardware, software, tape media or manpower. Service providers use your existing IP bandwidth to support regular backups of your data to their secure data centers, where redundant storage, 24/7 monitoring and user support are available as needed.

Given the large number of online backup services, it was difficult to decide whom to invite for our review. Our goal was to test a representative cross section, with an emphasis on providers that have established a reputation for reliability. The process was made even more complex by the fact that many major players not only offer online storage services, but also market licensed versions of their software, both to large enterprises and to companies wishing to market online backup services of their own.

After isolating server-focused services and cross-referencing a couple of independent lists, we came up with a group of 10 providers to invite. Five agreed to participate: Connected Corp., Data Base File Tech Group, EVault, LiveVault Corp. and Pro-Softnet Corp. In an interesting juxtaposition, AmeriVault chose to refer us to its technology provider, EVault, which was already on board for this review; conversely, NovaStor Corp. asked us to instead review one of the services based on its software because it’s seeking to position itself primarily as a software provider. So we did a random drawing from a list NovaStor provided, and Global Data Vault took the sixth and final position in our test group. BigVault Storage Technologies, Data Protection Services and U.S. Data Trust Corp. did not respond to our invitation.

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

The idea of trusting important corporate data to an online backup provider can be unsettling–secure data backups have typically resided on local tapes that stayed under your physical control. And many IT pros still harbor bad memories of the collapse of a number of free online storage providers during the Great Dot-Com Implosion of 2000.

The good news is that online backup services have evolved over the past few years, and customer concerns about security and reliability are not lost on the current generation of online backup providers. Every vendor we evaluated listed data security and 24/7 availability as primary responsibilities. In addition, all the services in our review store customer data in mirrored, Class A data centers that are either privately owned or co-hosted in some of the most secure facilities in the world.

Show Me the Money

We believe these services will be especially attractive to those tasked with protecting data at remote sites. First, running tape backups for a multitude of servers is an expensive proposition. Costs for hardware, backup software and tapes will vary depending on data-set size and the amount of automation required. But to give you a rough idea, a 100-GB single-drive DLT or DAT system can exceed $3,500 per installation–not including annual support, maintenance and off-site tape storage costs, or inevitable equipment upgrades.

Even if you can swing these expenses, you’ll still have to find personnel at remote locations who are capable of ensuring that backups are properly handled. That’s a huge challenge: The average human is ill-equipped to review a typical error log, much less tackle a jammed tape drive or server rack of flashing error messages.

This is where online data backup services can save your bacon. After initial configuration, the service monitors your servers’ backup status while invisibly handling garden-variety backroom problems. Failed backups and tape-drive implosions can become a thing of the past, and you’ll no longer lose sleep over hardware contingencies for data growth or spikes–that’s now your service provider’s problem. Even more alluring, you can usually negotiate lower rates for higher-volume storage as your data needs grow.

We found substantial variations in the cost and features of online server backups, the main sticking points being storage volume and length of retention (for a side-by-side comparison of the features offered, go to www.nwc. com/go/SE1004RD1.jhtml). Most online services log each incremental backup as a restoration point, and the retention scheme (and cost) is based on the number of iterations available for restoration. For example, on a service with 10 retention levels, files marked for backup remain on the service indefinitely, but only 10 historical versions are available for restoration. A file deleted from that data set will remain available for restore until the 11th incremental backup is made.

As a rule, cost is based on the amount of data being stored and the services’ retention scheme. The first full backup is usually the most bandwidth-consuming part of the process; for ongoing incremental backups, most services use byte- or block-level file analysis as well as data compression to reduce the size of subsequent transmissions dramatically.

Online backups work well at a variety of speeds. Our test connection ran at about 750 Kbps, but the data- reduction capabilities of the agents we tested would result in reasonable incremental backup windows even at DSL speeds. All the agents we tested are designed to handle interrupted backup transmissions and could theoretically operate over dial-up connections, but from a practical standpoint a company using online server backups should plan on using a symmetrical broadband connection exceeding 100 Kbps.

Review: Online Backup Services

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