Linux support is being added to several storage backup companies midrange products, in a mix of client- and server-side configurations.
Considered by many to be less expensive and more stable than Windows, Linux for mainstream backup makes sense, experts say, as data grows and advanced technologies such as storage area networks become less of an elite-only option.
Legato Systems Inc.s Networker 7.0, launched in March, can now back up clients running Red Hat Inc.s and SuSE Linux AGs distributions, running on Intel Corp.s 64-bit Itanium chip, said officials of the Mountain View, Calif., company. New versions of other Unix-based operating systems such as AIX, Mac OS X and Tru64 are also now available, as are journaling features, they said.
Networker 7.0 pricing starts at $2,995, backing up 26 tape slots, multiple drives and 10 clients.
"I personally would be much happier using Legato on Linux than Windows," said Brian Vihlidal, network administrator at SHPS Inc., which manages outsourced human resources and other administrative needs in the health care industry. "We are running Legato on Windows 2000 Servers, but I feel the stability of Linux would certainly help to smooth out some issues we have," he said. Those include block size problems, memory leaks and registry corruptions.
"Were we running Linux and a journaling file system ... this would not have been a problem," said Vihlidal, in Louisville, Ky.
LiveVault Corp., a service provider that backs up workstations, last week also announced Linux integration, for Red Hat Versions 6.2, 7.2, 7.3 and 8.0, said Scott Jarr, director of product management. "Our midtier customers, our focus over the last 18 months or so has shown an increasing demand for additional operating systems," said Jarr, in Marlboro, Mass.
The update is available now and does not involve price changes from the existing Windows versions, "to keep the simplicity there and the messaging there," Jarr said. Sold through partners, prices are $295 per month for a 10GB server, $695 for 25GB and $1,250 for 50GB.
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Besides selling server backup as a service, Connected also sells its Total Lifecycle Management 6.2 software to enterprises, for running on-site. The plan isnt final yet, but both versions could run on Linux servers, for increased uptime and easier management of standard Windows clients, said Mossi, in Framingham, Mass. Unlike the LiveVault plan, "the more efficiently we can operate those, the cheaper we can offer it to the end user," he said.
In related backup news, Veritas Software Corp. last week announced that its GDM (Global Data Manager) software, used as a remote interface to the high-end NetBackup software, now also manages the midrange Backup Exec program, officials in Mountain View, Calif., said. GDM runs on existing NetBackup servers, they said. It is available now starting at $5,000, plus $1,495 for NetBackup on Unix, $795 on Windows and Linux, and $195 for Backup Exec.
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