Author: Andy Jensen, product manager
Barracuda Backup Service version 4.1 was released on November 17, 2011 and is now available for 100% of our customers. We expect to have our entire install base upgraded to version 4.1 by the end of February.
BBS 4.1 includes a number of valuable features our customers have requested.
1. Bare Metal Recovery
2. Continuous Data Protection
3. Replication Performance Enhancements
In anticipation of the roll out to our customer base, this post will cover the advantages of Bare Metal Recovery. Look for future posts that discuss our use of USN Journaling to provide Continuous Data Protection and the advancements in clearing data from offsite replication queues.
A little history.
Barracuda Backup Service 3.0 introduced full system backup and restore functionality to the product. The Backup created a point-in-time snapshot of all data on a volume and then provided the ability to restore that data as you would restore an image. This restore process required that the operating system and the Barracuda Backup Agent both be installed before beginning the recovery process but otherwise provided a single-click option to restore all the data captured from a computer. You get some of the advantages of an image-based approach while retaining the deduplication benefits and restore granularity of a file-based backup approach.
Bare Metal- what does it do?
Bare Metal recovery is the process of restoring data to a computer that has no software installed. In a typical Windows restore, without the ability to restore to “Bare Metal”, the operating system must first be installed and then data can be replaced. Depending on what a system administrator has ready, Bare Metal Recovery can considerably reduce the amount of time it takes a server to get up and running. This feature not only enhances disaster recovery, but gives you better business continuity.
With the Barracuda Backup Service 4.1, Bare Metal recovery enhances and supplements the existing full system backup and restore by providing this quicker more comprehensive option. Unlike legacy backup approaches, our implementation of Bare Metal recovery does not require data to be restored from a locally attached device. The process is quite simple:
- Download the appropriate ISO image from the Barracuda Backup Service Web user interface. It can found on the Support tab -> Software Downloads.
- Burn the ISO image to optical disk or alternate removable media.
- Boot the System from the Live CD and follow the on-screen instructions to configure network connectivity.
- In the Web UI, use the restore browser to restore the entire system.
- You can follow the progress in the Bare Metal Live CD interface.
For more detailed instructions, refer to the Barracuda Knowledgebase solution, “How can I restore / recovery my Windows system to bare metal using the Barracuda Backup Service?”
Tags: Bare Metal Recovery, business continuity, disaster recovery, Recovery
