[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Not a troll. Just looking for a basic idea of comparables. > My background is mostly Unix/Linux. However I've taken up video > editing and other detailed graphics work. > > Is the MS windows side of bacula still being developed and can it be > compared to something like (Dantz EMC) Retrospect. > Now I'm having to learn detailed stuff about running windows. One big > factor is backup. > > I've had a little experience with Bacula but all linux usage. Now > I've been looking at a windows based tool called Retrospect and have > learned a little about it. > > I think getting at the backups may be better setup in Bacula. But my > bacula experience was quite limited. > > Can someone who knows bacula well offer a few comments comparing it to > Retrospect?
Once upon a time, Retrospect was by Dantz Development and was a Mac only product that was legendary for its quality and customer support. Sometime in the mid 90's I posted a question on the Retrospect users list serve, which was in independently run list, and within half an hour I got a phone call from Retrospect customer support with an answer to my tape drive problem. Then they put a lot of effort into developing support for Windows NT. The new NT Server version was really cool, and the Mac users were complaining that there was an imbalance in effort and they were coming up short. Some time later EMC bought Dantz. I don't know how many of the original developers or support staff went with the code, or how many are still there. I think the code base developed for NT was worked back to the Mac, and now there is support for linux as well. I'm not sure I can come up with a point by point comparison. But a few comparisons come to mind. Bacuala is free and Retrospect costs money. Bacula you can look at the code and jump in a contribute. Retrospect you can't. Assuming Bacula does the job, these may be important considerations. Although I'm not familiar with Retrospect in the linux arena, I would guess this is where Bacula would compete most evenly with it. I'm guessing Retrospect is strongest on Windows and still strong on Mac. Retrospect is a more mature product, but Bacula is developing rapidly. One edge that Retrospect may have for a while is it's snapshot image that allows it to see file deletions and moves and to see duplicate files across systems. These are features that have been under discussion on the Bacula development list. Bacula may have an edge in the richness of its backup configurations, things like migration, etc. I don't know if Retrospect can handle concurrent jobs, or whether it is still entirely sequential like it once was. Just guessing here, but I think EMC has bigger guns in its arsenal and has Retrospect firmly aimed at the small to medium market. One might argue who has the edge with regard to their backup database. Retrospect rolls its own. Bacuala uses an sql database. There are things you can do with an open sql database that you can't with a closed proprietary database. But, you are dependent on another piece of software running. That's just a few items. My familiarity with Retrospect is a bit aged, and I'm not as deep into Bacula as many on the list. --------------- Chris Hoogendyk - O__ ---- Systems Administrator c/ /'_ --- Biology & Geology Departments (*) \(*) -- 140 Morrill Science Center ~~~~~~~~~~ - University of Massachusetts, Amherst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --------------- Erdös 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Still grepping through log files to find problems? Stop. Now Search log events and configuration files using AJAX and a browser. Download your FREE copy of Splunk now >> http://get.splunk.com/ _______________________________________________ Bacula-users mailing list Bacula-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bacula-users
