BackupAssist

BackupAssist is a backup software for physical and virtual Windows servers. It supports on-site and cloud backup, and allows users to restore anything from a few files to an entire server (Bare-metal recovery).

BackupAssist Software
Developer(s)Cortex IT Labs
Stable release
BackupAssist 10
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows Server family (2019- 2008 R2). Windows Client OS 10,8 & 7 (32-bit/64-bit)
TypeData Backup & Disaster Recovery software
LicenseCommercial proprietary
Websitewww.backupassist.com 

The software is modular, meaning customers can pick and choose what they want in their backup software suite. It does this by providing a core product (BackupAssist) and several optional add-ons.

Backup

BackupAssist can perform several kinds of backup, each offering a different level of redundancy against data loss.[1]

Full Image Backup: BackupAssist takes an image of a physical or virtual system that can be used to perform a full recovery, even if the whole system is lost, corrupted, or destroyed. After the first full backup, the rest are performed incrementally, meaning only changes since the last backup are saved.

Selected Items: it can back up selected files, folders, apps, Hyper-V guests, databases, and drives.

Archival Backups: highly compressed and encrypted backups of old or unused data, ready for cold storage.

Continuous SQL Backup: continuous backup of a SQL server, so any potential data loss is minimized (e.g. transactions).

Backups can be compressed and encrypted with up to 256-bit AES. Cloud backups are deduplicated in order to reduce backup size, transfer times, and storage costs further.

The backup media supported as of BackupAssist 10 are local disk, NAS, SAN, iSCSI, RDX, USB HDD, tape, public cloud (Microsoft Azure and AWS S3), and private cloud.

Data Recovery

Data recovery can be performed on a scale from complete to very granular. For instance, an Exchange Server can be restored in its entirety, just the database, or individual mail items (E.g. E-mails, attachments, calendars, contacts).[2]

BackupAssist includes a backup search tool which allows the user to search backups that are currently not connected. It does this by searching the backup libraries made when a backup is performed. Much like Google, it also supports wildcard searches.

With BackupAssist's Hyper-V Advanced add-on, lost or damaged Hyper-V Guests can instantly be brought back online if they are lost or damaged. A user can run the guest off their backup media to ensure zero downtime. While this happens, a full recovery can be performed in the background.

With virtual machines, BackupAssist is licensed per host, not per socket or VM.

BackupAssist includes a recovery app called RecoverAssist, which acts as the boot environment when performing a bare-metal recovery. This environment includes a dozen well-known third-party disaster recovery and diagnostic apps. The BackupAssist support team can also be contacted from within the boot environment.

MultiSite Manager

Multiple installations of BackupAssist can be managed remotely via a web app called Multisite Manager. Management can be performed on the WAN, LAN, machine or backup job level. Through the app, data backup and restore jobs can be remotely scheduled.

The app also allows for the remote deployment of BackupAssist to machines without it, remote report and license management. User accounts can be created with selected site permissions.

History

BackupAssist started as a software project designed to overcome shortcomings with NTBackup on Windows NT and 2000. In 2002, BackupAssist was released.

As of 2017, BackupAssist has customers in 165 countries worldwide, including NASA and Fortune 500 companies.[3]

Major Releases
Version Year Major Changes and Improvements
10.3 2018 Added Private Cloud Backup support with WebDAV protocol.
10.1 2017 Introduced CryptoSafeGuard to protect backups against Ransomware attacks and prevent ransomware-infected files from being backed up.
10 2017 Introduced Public Cloud Backup (Amazon S3 and Azure) with Data Deduplication, Insulated Encryption, Resilient Transfers. New Advanced Dynamic Help. New Advanced Windows Server 2016 Support (Shielded VM Backup, Nested VM Backup, and Containers).
9 2015 Added Rapid VM recovery, Hyper-V tab, Bootable Backup Media, VHDX Data Containers, Integrated Restore Console, 40% faster backup speeds, Windows 10 OS Support, Remote Deployment through MultiSite Manager, Rapid VM recovery of Multiple Guests, Exchange 2016 Support, increased backup verification speed, better iSCSI target detection, General Windows Server 2016 Support.
8 2014 Supports BitLocker protection for image backups, enhanced support for Hyper-V and CSV environments, improved Hyper-V restore console, improved Backup Verification, deduplicated backup information to reports.
7 2013 Introduced new UI, Central Administration, upgraded VHD support and VSS diagnostics, Exchange Granular Restore, upgraded Data Container support, third-party diagnostic tools for recovery environments, live Exchange mail item restore.
6 2010 Added VSS application and System State backup, iSCSI backups, Italian Language support, Mailbox Restore, ZIP-to-Tape, RecoverAssist environment.
5 2008 Introduced File Replication Engine, Hyper-V Backup, AES 265 Encryption, VSS Awareness, Rsync Internet Backup, Granular VM and file restoration, ZIP multi-threading, NTFS streaming.
4 2007 Added 64 bit OS Support. Application rewritten in .NET framework. Extensive hardware support, enhanced media rotation, speedier restores, updated reporting system.
3 2004 Added SQL Server & SQL Continuous, Exchange backup support, improved backup to file capabilities, improved UI, add-on modules, advanced authentication checking.
2 2003 Introduced Grandfather-Father-Son scheduling, backup logging, improved configuration wizard, customizable tape rotation, multiple e-mail recipients, automatic network drive mapping, customizable tape labels and reminders emails.
1 2002 Initial release.

[4]

Reception

See also

References
  1. http://www.backupassist.com/, BackupAssist Backup Software and Cortex I.T. Labs Pty Ltd. "Backup & Data Recovery for Windows Servers – BackupAssist". www.backupassist.com. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  2. http://www.backupassist.com/, BackupAssist Backup Software and Cortex I.T. Labs Pty Ltd. "Backup Exchange Servers, Recover Any Mail Item: BackupAssist". www.backupassist.com. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  3. http://www.backupassist.com/, BackupAssist Backup Software and Cortex I.T. Labs Pty Ltd. "The Best Backup & Disaster Recovery Software - BackupAssist". www.backupassist.com. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  4. "BackupAssist version history page". BackupAssist. Retrieved 15 May 2005.
  5. "4.5/5 Star Review for BackupAssist". Download.com. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  6. "10 / 10 awarded to BackupAssist". toptenreviews.com. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
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