Choosing a backup method

The backup method selected determines how the data is backed up, the hardware devices you can back up to, and the types of data you can backup.

NTBackup

NTBackup jobs use the Windows Backup Utility (NTBackup.exe) to backup your files, System State, and Exchange Server to your chosen hardware device. NTBackup is pre-installed with most older versions of Windows - 2000, XP, and 2003 - and is a proven and tested backup method that millions of computer owners use with great success. Backups are stored in non-proprietary formats so you can easily restore your data without needing additional software.

BackupAssist makes NTBackup reliable and also adds a number of beneficial features, such as media rotation, detailed email notifications and reports, and tailored support for a wide range of hardware destinations.

You can also enable TrueCrypt-compatible encryption on NTBackup jobs for added protection and security for your backups.
Enabling TrueCrypt-compatible encryption

Using an NTBackup job you can backup:

• Files and folders
  Select both local and network files and folders for backup.
  Selecting files and folders for backup
• The System State
  Active Directory, Windows registry, COM+, system files, etc.
  Selecting the system state for backup
• Exchange Servers
  Full backup of the Exchange information store database, including public folders. Individual mailbox backup using the Exchange Mailbox Add-on.
  Backing up the Exchange information store and mailbox data
• SQL Server
  Full backup of SQL databases using SQL Add-on.
  Selecting SQL databases for backup

NTBackup product tour

Windows Imaging

Windows Imaging jobs use Microsoft's block-level backup engine, Windows Server Backup, which comes with Server 2008, Vista and Windows 7, to provide drive Imaging and bare-metal restore capabilities. Drive imaging represents a radically different approach to Disaster Recovery than the file-based backup method offered in Windows 2003 and prior operating systems.

BackupAssist not only allows you to take advantage of Microsoft’s extensive R&D investment in drive imaging technology, it also addresses many of the shortcomings of Windows Server Backup.
Learn about what BackupAssist adds to Drive Imaging

Some of important benefits are as follows:

• Simple OS recovery from bare metal
  Using a boot disc, launch the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), start the restore process and the rest is automated.
• Fast incremental images
  Enables frequent images to reduce the window of potential data loss, giving you multiple points of restore. Past versions of files are stored as shadow copies. You can even schedule
  
• Automatic disk management
  Old backups are automatically cleared as the disk fills up, and replaced with new backups.
• VSS aware for “hot backups”
  Achieve data-consistent backups of files and applications like Exchange, SQL and SharePoint with zero downtime.
  

Disadvantages of drive imaging:

• File-based backup only available on Windows Server 2008 R2 (use the Zip Engine or File Replication Engine for Server 2008).
• No support for tape drives (use the Zip Engine instead).
• Not suitable for long term data archiving or compliance purposes

The combination of Windows Server Backup and BackupAssist delivers excellent disaster recovery capabilities, equal or better than many existing 3rd party drive imaging solutions. You can also combine drive imaging with the other application and file-level backup engines in BackupAssist for a complete backup solution for small and medium businesses.
Windows Imaging product tour

File Replication

File Replication jobs are used to create an exact replica of selected files and folders on a disk-based backup device. Files are simply copied to your intended backup device, and you can choose whether or not to retain the folder structure and path of each file copied. To restore your data, simply copy the files back from your backup device to their original location or use the BackupAssist Restore Console.
Restoring data with the BackupAssist Restore Console

File Replication is based around the simple concept of what a backup really is: copying files from one location to another; but to this BackupAssist adds a range of backup history options, as well as the power of Single Instance Store. Single Instance Store ensures that only one unique copy of each file is stored, allowing you to keep hundreds of days of backup history with minimal storage requirements. Single Instance Store is also totally transparent, so you can copy your files back without needing any proprietary software, and on any machine.
Learn more about Single Instance Store

You can also enable TrueCrypt-compatible encryption on File Replication jobs for added protection and security for your backups.
Enabling TrueCrypt-compatible encryption

The benefits of File Replication:

• Backup redundancy and multiple restore points
  Create a series of mirrors on your backup device, one for each day. Each day’s backup looks exactly like a self-contained mirror of your data. To restore, simply copy all the files back from the relevant folder or use the BackupAssist Restore Console.
• VSS compliance for open file backup
  Before each backup runs a VSS Snapshot is created so that any open files can be safely backed up. Microsoft applications such as Exchange Server, SQL Server, SharePoint and Hyper-V are all fully supported, as well as any other VSS-aware application that uses standard VSS restore methods. Simply choose the VSS application you want to back up from the list of detected applications. You can even drill down and choose individual components (databases, storage groups, etc). Application restore is also easy using the BackupAssist Restore Console.
• Exact File Replication
  All file attributes, security settings and dates are preserved. The archive bit is also not modified so that no other backup methods you have in place are interfered with.
• Independent encryption and compression
  Encryption and compression can be set on the backup destination without affecting the source where data is copied from.
• System State backup and restore
  Easily backup and restore system settings in the event of a disaster

File Replication product tour
File Replication white paper

Zip (backup to tape requires Zip-to-Tape Add-on)

Zipping files and folders is an extremely simple and effective way of backing up your data. Data is restorable nearly anywhere thanks to the ZIP open standard, which is a trusted and proven technology.

BackupAssist adds support for VSS and NTFS data streams and attributes, for a powerful tool for automated compressed backups to a wide variety of storage options, including USB HDD, Tape Drive, NAS, and USB Flash sticks.

• Fully compliant with the ZIP64 standard - compression and AES-256 encryption
• High performance multi-threaded ZIP engine that outperforms WinZIP.
• VSS application backup and restore
• System State backup and restore

Zip product tour
Zip Engine quickstart guide
Interview with Zip Engine creator, Dr. Mel Ho

Rsync (requires BackupAssist for Rsync license)

The Rsync Engine is used for bandwidth efficient Internet based backups. Using the Rsync Engine you can easily backup and synchronize your file system to any Rsync server over the Internet. Rsync is the most widely used bandwidth efficient internet backup protocol. It’s been used by millions of people across Windows, Unix and Mac platforms.

Because our solution is based on open standards, you have maximum flexibility, with no limit on the size of your data set, and the ability to store your data anywhere in the world.

To find out more about how our Rsync Engine performs on typical file systems, SQL Server databases, Exchange Information Stores and other files, see our Rsync Presentation Slideshow.
Rsync Presentation

For instructions on how to set up a Rsync Server on both Windows and Linux systems download our Rsync whitepaper.
Rsync Whitepaper

Setup instructions for installing Rsync on your data host are also available on our website.
Rsync setup instructions
Rsync product tour

SQL (requires SQL Add-on)

Use the SQL Add-on backup of your SQL databases to a disk-based location (local or network). With the SQL Add-on you can configure both Full and Transaction Log backups of SQL databases for near-continuous protection. Transaction log backups are useful if you need to restore your database to a specific point in time.

You can schedule database backups to run at regular intervals each day (ie. once every 15 minutes). A full backup will occur at the start of the day, followed by transaction log backups (similar to incremental backups) at regular 15 minute intervals. This ensures that your SQL databases are well protected, and in the event of a disaster or database failure, you can easily restore your databases to a specific point in time (hour, minute, or even second): you are guaranteed never to lose more than 15 minutes worth of work for critical systems, such as CRM databases.
Configuring your backup schedule

BackupAssist also includes an SQL restore utility for simple restoration of entire SQL databases. The utility gives you the ability to restore to a particular point in time, together with the ability to migrate a complete SQL Server from one server to another.
Using SQL Restore
SQL Add-on whitepaper
SQL Add-on product tour

Exchange Mailbox (requires Exchange mailbox Add-on)

Use the Exchange Mailbox Add-on for brick-level (individual mailbox) backups of Microsoft Exchange. Mail data is extracted to separate .PST files, which can then be manually opened in Microsoft Outlook, or re-imported back into your Exchange Server. A separate .PST file is created for each Exchange user’s mailbox, making for simple and rapid restoration of a user’s individual or group emails, calendar, tasks, notes, contacts or entire mailbox.

You can also configure the automatic grouping and storage of emails by date, allowing you to sort your mail into separate folders by year, quarter, or month. This is especially useful for compliance and legal scenarios where you may need to produce separate archives of your mail data for designated time periods. You can also consider setting up Journaling on your Exchange Server to capture and export every single incoming and outgoing email.
Exchange Journaling
Exchange Mailbox Add-on quickstart guide
Exchange product tour