Looking for the most flexible enterprise backup software for your NT network? Well, Palindrome has a product called the Backup Director for Windows NT, and while flexible, it is somewhat rough around the edges. It does a solid job for backing up NT machines. It does less well for backing up mixed-client networks.
My issue with Backup Director for NT is using the product as a backup server for an enterprise. While it is able to backup the hard disks on a variety of client machines, it is clumsy process indeed. The good news is that it is possible: Palindrome has included everything in the box that you'll need to backup Windows, DOS, OS/2 and Macintosh clients. The bad news is that you'll also need a NetWare server to run the various backup agents to make this all work, because the concept of a "target service agent" doesn't really exist for NT quite yet. A future version of Backup Director will work with Windows 95 clients in addition to NT.
Having such a mixed bag of platforms is a real challenge: I currently use Dantz' Retrospect on a Mac to do my backups. I'd rather use Palindrome for the features and because philosophically I believe backup is a job for servers, not for clients. However, I don't like having such a complex structure that Palindrome requires to support such an essential operation.
The NT user interface is similar to the NetWare Backup Director version (reviewed 12/11) and is a definite improvement on earlier versions of the company's Network Archivist software. I agree with the earlier review that this interface is somewhat confusing, although it did grow on me after using it for a while. My own personal preference for backup interfaces is still Symantec's Norton's Enterprise Backup, however.
The software comes on a single CD ROM, with the associated NetWare server and client agents on three additional floppies. Copying the agents is relatively straightfoward, although you'll need to have a solid understanding of both Novell and Microsoft networking to make it all work. For example, I had to choose the appropriate backup user login for my NetWare server as well as ensure that my NT server was running IPX protocols. These steps aren't well documented in the installation manual, which could still use some work for clarity.
One of Palindrome's strengths is the ability to manage off-site tapes and do a solid job of protecting your network in case of disaster. The NT product continues this with the Off-Site Media Advisor functions.
I had some additional beefs with the product: I'd like to see a way to show all network file server resources in a single view, whether they are available to be protected or not. I found a bug in one of the activity monitor screens which shows the tape drive is idle when it isn't. And if you need to backup DOS or Windows 3.1 machines, you'll only be able to backup 100 connections to a single server -- which is a limitation of NetWare's TSA, unfortunately.
There are some differences between the NT and NetWare versions of Backup Director: the NT product comes with full documentation on its CD ROM and an uninstall program. And the NT version cannot read tapes created by earlier Palindrome Archivst products, something the NetWare Backup Director can do.
All of this indicates that Palindrome is just getting started in the NT universe. I wish them well, and think with a bit of seasoning this product will be as solid as their NetWare offerings.
My recommendation is if you need to backup an all-NT network of workstations and servers, this is a great product. If you have requirements for a mixed set of operating systems, it isn't.
Bottom Line
Palindrome Backup Director for Windows NT v4.0
Fever: One notch below HOT.
The NT version is a fully-featured enterprise backup system that duplicates the NetWare functionality.
Pro: One of the best off-site management schemes for tapes around
Con: If you have a mixture of network clients other than NT you'll still need a NetWare server.
Palindrome Corp.
Naperville, Il.
800 288 4912
Price:$995 single server, $1595 multiple servers
Platform: Windows NT Server 3.5 with Service Pack 2 or 3.5.1