Amanda Enterprise

Scalable Architecture

A single backup server can back up and recover dozens of computers and scale to hundreds.

• Broad platform protection. Amanda Enterprise protects systems running Linux, Solaris, Windows, and Mac OS X operating systems.

• Database and application protection. Amanda Enterprise also protects databases such as Oracle, and Microsoft SQL Server, as well as data in e-mail applications including Microsoft Exchange.

Backup Fault Tolerance

Since backup touches most of your IT infrastructure, any of the moving parts can have a potential glitch. Architecture of Amanda Enterprise allows it to keep running even in the face of multiple faults.

• Amanda Enterprise gracefully skips systems (e.g. laptops) which cannot be backed up in a particular run. When this skipped system is available in a future backup run, Amanda Enterprise’s intelligent scheduler promotes its backup to an appropriate backup level.

• In case of backup media errors (e.g. tape errors or inaccessibility of cloud storage), Amanda Enterprise caches the backup data on the holding disk. You can migrate this data to backup media after the fault has been resolved.

Flexible Media Options

Choose from a wide range of media for backup, including tape, tape libraries, disks (DAS, NAS, SAN, RAID), optical jukeboxes, and online storage.

Internet Storage using Amazon S3

Use Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) to backup, archive, and retrieve any amount of data, at any time, from anywhere on the Internet. Gain access to the same highly scalable, reliable, fast, inexpensive data storage architecture that Amazon uses to run its own global network of web sites. And, it is backed by Amazon´s 99.9% service level agreement. Amanda Enterprise’s Amazon S3 Storage Option is the only Solution today that offers online data backup using cloud computing.

• Archive data simply and economically. The low fee for Amazon S3 makes online storage as economical as tape backup – with faster recovery and more reliability.

Central Console

One graphic, web-based management console enables centralized protection and recovery of file systems, databases, and applications–even if they are located remotely.

• Simplify backup activities.Centralizes day-to-day management: configuring backup policies and schedules, adding new clients, initiating backups, restoring files from backup archives, monitoring backup activities, generating standard or custom reports.

• Remote access. Allows remote access from any browser, including any Internet-enabled PDA, to monitor backup activities and perform backup/recovery operations.

Rapid Installer

The Rapid Installer lets you install and configure your backup and recovery environment in minutes.

• Non-disruptive. Once the initial configuration of a backup set is completed, adding additional clients is very easy.

• Compatible Software stacks. To simplify and speed installation. Zmanda provides the migrated and tested version of AMP (Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl/Python) open source software. This AMP stack will not interfere with any other open source stacks running on your systems.

Intelligent Scheduler

A unique scheduler automatically determines backup levels to optimize network and storage usage.

• Equalize backup windows. With similar backup times for all backup runs, administrators can better plan their daily activities.

• Increase administrator productivity. Administrators are relieved of the time consuming and difficult task of estimating levels for backup.

• Reduce storage costs. Avoid purchasing additional high-cost storage and network capacity for backups to accommodate peaks in data volume.

Automated Data Retention and Disposition Policy

Ever-expanding government regulations such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley put an incredible amount of pressure on businesses to comply with data security, retention, and retrieval requirements. Amanda Enterprise allows you to automate your data retention and disposition policy, setting the stage for effective compliance management and e-discovery.

Holding Disks

Backups are staged to one or more “holding disks”, allowing later migration to tape or other media. Multiple clients can be backed simultaneously to the same holding disk to improve performance and reduce the total backup time.

Flexible Recovery

Recovering files is quick and easy with Amanda Enterprise.

• Simple interface. Using a graphic interface, administrators can simply click on the file or files to be restored.

• Cross-platform restore. Data backed up from one operating system may be recovered to a different operating system.

• Option to use standard tools. Since only industry standard formats are employed, data may be recovered using standard operating system tools and utilities.

Open Source & Open Standards

As an open source product, Amanda Enterprise does not use any proprietary data formats. The technologies employed are open source and, thus, freely available to anyone. Data can be recovered using standard operating system tools and utilities.

• Standard backup tools. Amanda Enterprise uses industry-standard GNU tar to backup Linux and Solaris clients. The standard Zip file format is used to backup Windows.

• Standard compression. Standard compression utilities, such as gzip, allow you to choose the optimal compression algorithm for your data and whether to compress the data on the client or the server.

• Standard media format. Recover data quickly from storage media using the Amanda management console or Amanda´s simple commands. In an emergency, you can use the instructions in the header to recover data even without Amanda Enterprise installed.

• Standard device drivers. Non-proprietary device drivers allow use of any storage device supported by the operating system.

Layered Security

Many layers of security ensure that backup data, communications, and access to the backup process itself are all secured.

• Role-based access & authentication. You can choose to give universal access to administrators, while operators are given limited access. This allows for configuration and management of overall backup environment to be performed under tight control, while each operator can manage backups of their respective data set.

• Standard encryption. You can choose which data you want to encrypt, which standard encryption algorithm you want to use, and whether you want to encrypt data on the client or on the server.

• Support for extended file attributes. Backup of Access Control Lists (ACLs) and extended file attributes ensures that recovered files have the same permissions and file attributes as the original files.

Comprehensive Backup Reporting

Built-in reporting Module provides insights into various backup operations. Amanda Enterprise provides comprehensive reports for quick discovery of problems, capacity planning and compliance management, helping you to meet the business objectives of data protection.

• Each Backup run results in a report with details about all protected clients and agents. In case of an alert this report provides a link to a relevant section in Amanda Enterprise documentation. You can receive reports by e-mail or simply view them in the Zmanda Management Console. System administrators can initiate one-click recovery right from these summary reports.

• Calendar view provides at-a-glance view of history of backup operations. This interactive calendar provides visual indicators of success and failures, and provides easy drill down to details of a specific backup run.

• Media reports provide visual overview of media utilization and performance, so you can identify backup performance bottlenecks and capacity planning.

• You can customize the reports to monitor success / failures, backup performance, compression, amount of data written, and many other parameters. The reports can be exported into a spreadsheet or the dashboard of your monitoring application for further trending analysis.

Technical Support

Choose from three levels of support, complete with knowledge base access, email and phone support, case management, and software enhancement updates.

• Amanda Enterprise Backup Server: Choose a Linux or Solaris server.

• Zmanda Clients: Choose a Linux, Solaris, Windows or Mac OS X client.

• Zmanda Agents: Choose agents for applications and databases you want to backup.

See the Compatibility Matrix table for a complete list of supported clients by release level.