BEX Basic


Disk-to-Tape

For standard Backup Express operations, devices and media are efficient, flexible, and easily managed. Some features include:

  • Tape library and VTL control is simplified through drag-and-drop library operations among tape slots, drives, and import/export ports.
  • The Early Drive Release option immediately releases for other jobs any unused drives and drives allocated to suspended jobs. Optimized device selection, in conjunction with the Early Drive Release option, prioritizes drives based on a local SAN path and media availability.
  • Devices on a SAN can be automatically SCSI-reserve/released. This feature is supported for Windows, NetWare, Novell OES and OES2, Solaris, HP-UX, OSF, and Linux.
  • Tape library management, including labeling concurrently on multiple devices with barcode support, is automated. Long barcodes and automatic on-the-fly tape labeling are supported.
  • Data can be written concurrently to an unlimited number of tape drives anywhere on the network. Distributed backup processing reduces server I/O bottlenecks.
  • Large files and partitions can be split across multiple devices concurrently to reduce both backup and restore times.
  • A job definition can specify a minimum number of available drives required for a backup job to begin. Separate tape pools and device clusters can be defined for base, incremental, and differential backups.
  • Alternate media pools supply tapes automatically when the primary pool does not have free tapes.
  • Centralized device monitoring displays device status in real time in the management console.

Tape Migration

The Tape Migration feature provides the ability to copy and append backed up data from one media volume to another of the same or dissimilar type. This is especially beneficial for migration of virtual tape library (VTL) to physical tape and for migrating backup-to-disk jobs to tape.


NDMP, NAS, SAN Support

BEX NDMP support allows high-speed local, remote (three-way), filer to-filer, filer-to-server, and server-to-filer backup of NDMP compliant filers and appliances. It supports file history, Direct Access Recovery (DAR), incremental backups, and user-supplied environmental variables. The NDMP interface allows backup and restore of Network Attached Storage (NAS) appliances or filers. Backup Express is certified with most SAN, NAS, disk, library, switch, and operating system vendors.