In keeping with its goal to automate data center environments as part
of its
utility computing strategy, VERITAS Software Monday
said
it has added rapid server recovery capabilities to its disaster
recovery
software.
By automating the multiple, manual-intensive tasks required
to restore a failed system, Bare Metal Restore technology helps companies bring their computer
systems back up quickly in the event of downtime triggered by a system failure or disaster.
The Mountain View, Calif. company’s latest iteration of Bare Metal
Restore,
4.7, automates the server recovery process, eliminating the need for an
IT
worker to reinstall operating systems or configure hardware by hand.
The software has an “external procedures” feature that allows
administrators
to create custom scripts within the data recovery process to speed the
recovery of the database and applications. This is traditionally a
separate
step outside the data restoration process and performed by separate IT
staff.
Bare Metal Restore 4.7 also has a “dissimilar system restore” feature,
which
allows administrators to restore a Windows system to target hardware
that is
completely different than the original source hardware.
VERITAS considers Bare Metal Restore a key component of the company’s
step-by-step plan for utility computing, helping to ensure that data
and
applications are “always-on” and available across storage arrays
comprised
of products from multiple vendors.
Business continuity and disaster recovery have long been traits of
storage
software, particularly in the last few years since terrorist attacks on
the
U.S. caused significant data loss at some major companies. Since then,
vendors such as VERITAS, EMC, AND IBM
have
all spent time promoting and upgrading their wares.
By automating Bare Metal Restore 4.7, the software shares
characteristics
with utility computing environments, which VERITAS has been promoting
for
the past year or so with the help of key acquisitions.
The concern, which built its name as a backup and recovery software
provider with key products like Bare Metal Restore, purchased
application performance management player Precise Software Solutions
and
server provisioning outfit Jareva Technologies in 2003. VERITAS made a
play
for
application virtualization provider Ejasent last week.
While some research firms, such as IDC, are considerably less
enthusiastic about the sector
than many of the utility computing providers, the buzz is undeniable.
The frenetic utility, or on-demand, computing space is loaded with
competition from companies such as IBM, HP and now EMC, which recently
moved
to acquire
VMware to add server virtualization to its deep portfolio.
Bare Metal Restore 4.7 supports Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1, IBM AIX
5.2
and Microsoft Windows Server 2003. Free to current licensees, the
software
will be available in February 2004, starting at $900 per Windows client
and
$1,000 per UNIX client for new customers.
VERITAS Automates Disaster Recovery Software
