Enterprise Networking: Symantec's Backup Exec 2012 Brings Virtualization to Data Backup Process

Symantec brings easy restoration and virtualization to the crowded backup software market with Backup Exec 2012. The product focuses on offering everything needed for physical and virtual server backups, while incorporating disaster recovery elements that speed data recovery times from hours to minutes across corporate data centers and networks. Integrated physical-to-virtual (P2V) support allows the product to function as a virtual server migration platform as well as a server backup system. A new GUI, along with an end-user definable dashboard helps to bring an “at a glance” capability to the product’s monitoring and management screens. Physical, virtual and hybrid server support is included, as well as a new process for creating server groups. Other notable capabilities include drag-and-drop task definitions that eliminate the need for manual policy creation and improved restoration wizards that bring simplicity to the disaster recovery process. Priced at $1,662 per license, Backup Exec 2012 now includes bare metal recovery and P2V capabilities, which were once additional-cost items.