Contents

The need for offsite backup storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Barriers to offsite storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Offsite tape vaulting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Eliminating tapes from backups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Symantec Online Storage for Backup Exec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Cost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Reliability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Getting started with Symantec Online Storage for Backup Exec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Fitting Symantec Online Storage for Backup Exec into the backup plan: a use case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

White Paper: Symantec online Storage

Protect Your Symantec Backup Exec™ Environment from Site and Media Failures with Offsite Storage

Symantec™ online Storage for Backup Exec

The need for offsite backup storageSymantec Backup Exec helps businesses of all sizes protect critical data from device failures or application errors. If you

are using Backup Exec, then you have done much to protect your business from the impact of data loss. you have made

sure that your business can recover from hardware failure, software error, or human error without significant loss of

data.

But can you say with any assurance that you could recover data if your business location flooded? What if your business

was under an emergency evacuation order for fire danger—how long would it take you to get up and running from an

alternate location? Are you confident that your data would be available even if your data center or main office was not?

For many businesses, the answer to this question is no, because the data backups are stored in the same physical

location as the servers where the backup originated. Storing and maintaining backups offsite adds a significant cost

to your backup processes. you have to create duplicate tapes, ship them to offsite locations, and track their location.

Because tapes are somewhat unpredictable as they age, you need to frequently recycle tapes to increase the chances of a

successful recovery.

many businesses stop short of implementing offsite backup storage for disaster recovery purposes. offsite storage can be

expensive and complex to deploy, so some businesses simply “play the odds” and go without an offsite storage service or

plan.

Symantec online Storage for Backup Exec offers customers using Symantec Backup Exec version 12 and higher a new

way to implement and manage offsite backups: as an on-demand service offered over the Internet. Rather than copying

and managing tapes, use online Storage to send a digital copy of the backup over the Internet to a Symantec data center.

From there it is replicated to another Symantec data center, protecting you from site failures at your primary site and

the backup storage location as well. Symantec staff manages the backup data for optimal security and availability, and

you can retrieve it easily from any Internet-connected computer. And because Symantec online Storage is completely

integrated with Backup Exec version 12 and above, it does not impose a learning curve or require new administrative

processes.

Adding Symantec online Storage to your Backup Exec implementation is the easiest and most cost-effective way to

complete your backup strategy with an offsite disaster recovery service. If you are using tape today to handle long-term

backup storage, you can potentially eliminate tape drives from your backup routines altogether.

This paper assumes that you are already using Symantec Backup Exec version 12 or higher. For more information about

Symantec Backup Exec, visit the Symantec Backup Exec product page at www.symantec.com/business/backup-exec-for-

windows-servers.

Protect your Symantec Backup Exec™ Environment from Site and media Failures with offsite Storage

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Barriers to offsite storageFew would dispute the need for offsite storage as an added means of protection or as a solution to the growing demands

of data storage. yet there are still companies that have not included robust and reliable offsite storage services in their

broader backup strategies.

There are several reasons businesses may give for neglecting to add this as part of their short-term backup strategy

considerations, including:

• Playing the odds. “Our business isn’t in an earthquake zone | tornado alley | fire-prone area | hurricane area | flood

zone .” Realistically, most of the United States is susceptible to at least one of these natural disasters. Additionally,

other ordinary problems (such as malfunctioning sprinkler systems, frozen pipes, electrical fires, and structural leaks

or failures) can damage or ruin your onsite media just as easily.

• Not enough time. “We don’t have the time or expertise in-house to implement a good plan—we’re strapped for

IT staff as it is .” This is a legitimate concern with traditional offsite storage approaches using tape-vaulting services.

However, a backup data vaulting service delivers the same results, and when implemented within your existing

environment can eliminate the need for new expertise or additional administrator time.

• Financial constraints. “The economy’s tough right now, we cannot justify the investment .” While a tight economy

is a real barrier, it also increases the potential risk to your business. In tough economic times, your business may be

more vulnerable to losses in cases of disaster, because of decreased budgets and resources to support your recovery.

So, while it is important to choose an offsite storage plan that is cost-effective for your business, ignoring the risk is

dangerous.

To understand the reality of these constraints, we will first examine the traditional method of protecting backup data

from disaster: offsite tape vaulting.

Offsite tape vaulting Some businesses put critical data on a USB drive and send it home occasionally with an employee. others may toss

backup tapes into a car and drive them to an offsite location such as a safe deposit box. These ad hoc offsite storage

methods have serious drawbacks: the tape is not secure in the car, the bank may not be open when you need your data,

and so on. For a more formal and secure offsite storage plan, most businesses use offsite tape vaulting services.

offsite tape vaulting incurs costs above and beyond on-premise backup costs. It also introduces its own risks and

limitations to consider.

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Costs

While it is easy to create duplicate tape backups using Symantec Backup Exec, the cost of managing and vaulting those

tapes can be significant.

Hardware costs include the upfront cost of the tape drive and the ongoing cost of tapes. For example:

• Ifyouweretouse110GBtapesat$40each,andusedoneperweek,yourcostswouldtotalmorethan$2,000ayear

for those tapes alone.

• Ifyouweretoneedatapedrivespecificallyfortheoffsitetapereplication,theaveragecostofthatdrivewouldbe

approximately$1,000(moreifyouwantanautoloader).

Consider also the productivity costs of the time needed to manage those tapes for vaulting, including:

• Managingthephysicaltapes(fromloadingandlabelingtosortingforoffsitestorage)

• Identifyingthenecessarytapeforretrievalfromthevaultonrecovery

• Implementingataperotationplantoretrieveandrefresholdtapes.Tapeswearanddegradeovertime.Itisimportant

to rotate out older tapes in storage to maintain tape reliability.

Iftheweightedhourlyrateforanadministratorhandlingtapesis$50,andtheindividualspendsatleasttwohoursa

weekmanagingthetapesforoffsitevaulting,thentheyearlycosttoyourbusinessinlostproductivityis$5,200.(These

are both conservative estimates.)

Finally, whether you pay an outsourced provider to store the tapes or do it yourself, your costs include:

• Courierortransportationcoststomovetapesbetweenyourlocationandtheoffsitestorage

• Costofstoringtapesinasecurefacility

• Coststoretrievetheappropriatetapefromtheoffsitelocationwhenneededoraspartofarotationschedule

Takentogetherwiththemediaandhandlingcosts,thetotalcosttoyourbusinessoftapevaultingcanrunatleast$9,000

per year.

Weekly Annual

Costoftapes $40 $2,080

Management $100 $5,200

(loading, labeling,

sorting, vaulting)

Transport/Storage $40 $2,080

Total recurring costs $180 $9,360

Keep in mind that these recurring costs do not include recovery-related costs: requesting and shipping the tape back from

the offsite location, loading the tape, etc. They also do not include the potential cost of lost data if the data cannot be

read from the tape when needed.

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Limitations

offsite tape vaulting may not deliver the consistent and reliable results that your business needs in a time of crisis.

• Tape errors: magnetic tapes are an inherently unstable means of storage; tapes degrade over time as the magnetic

particles realign, leading to inevitable tape errors. The likelihood of a tape error due to degradation increases if the

storage conditions are not optimal. For example, a backup tape left in a car on a hot day has a reduced chance of

surviving intact.

• Tape security: The backup tape itself must be protected. If backup tapes containing confidential customer information

are stolen or misplaced, you may have to notify your customers of the loss. Encrypting the backup dramatically

improves data security—but if the tape is lost or stolen, then it is still not available to your business if you need it.

• Time to retrieve tape: Recovery time in case of a disaster includes the time spent retrieving the tape from its offsite

location as well as the actual data restoration procedure using the recovery tape.

If you rely on offsite tape vaulting for compliance purposes, then tape errors and other problems can create legal troubles

for your business.

Eliminating tapes from backupsAt one time, tapes were the only viable option for backup media. But falling disk storage prices and increases in disk

capacity have changed the backup landscape. many businesses are now finding backup to disk an affordable alternative

that offers many benefits, including:

• Fasterbackupsandrecoveries

• Eliminationoftapecostsandtapehandlingcosts

• Fewer“movingparts” without tape drives

• Betterbackupreliability

In some cases, the need for long-term offsite storage is the only thing keeping tape in the backup plan. yet offsite tape

vaulting, as described above, is costly and potentially risky.

Using Symantec online Storage for Backup Exec to handle the long-term and offsite storage issue, you can switch to disk-

based backups without any significant changes to Backup Exec.

Symantec Online Storage for Backup ExecSymantec online Storage for Backup Exec adds site-wide and media disaster protection to Symantec Backup Exec

environments using version 12 or above. Using Symantec online Storage, Backup Exec sends copies of backup files to

secure Symantec data centers that are managed for optimal redundancy, security, and availability.

Symantec online Storage is a Symantec Protection network online service that is completely integrated with Backup Exec

versions 12 and above. If you have not yet upgraded your Backup Exec software to the latest version, the ability to use

online Storage can be a compelling reason to make the change. With Symantec online Storage for Backup Exec, you are

essentially adding cost-effective, reliable, redundant, managed data center storage as a backup device within Backup

Exec.

Cost

Using Symantec online Storage for Backup Exec, you pay based on the amount of data that you store. Scalable pricing

plansstartat$9.99permonthforupto10GBofstorage,withdiscountsforpayingbytheyearratherthanbythe

month. And you can easily upgrade the service as your needs increase.

For small and mid-sized businesses, using Symantec online Storage is much more cost-effective than offsite tape vaulting

and delivers better reliability in return.

Forexample,abusinessthatstores100GBofdatausingSymantecOnlineStoragepays$1,815peryear.Incomparison

with the basic costs of tape vaulting outlined earlier, this represents a significant cost savings.


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Figure 1. Annual cost comparison: tape vaulting vs. online storage

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Because cost is determined by storage consumption, controlling how much data you store is important. To help you track

and manage consumption, the Symantec Protection network portal enables you to monitor your storage consumption

online. There is a per-gigabyte overage fee for using more than your allotted storage, so storage consumption monitoring

is a valuable tool not for only controlling costs but also for tracking the growth of your critical data. In general, if your

storage needs exceed your allotment by more than a few gigabytes, it is more cost-effective to upgrade your storage

allowance on the service than to pay overage fees.

you can also restrict the volume of data stored on the service by taking the following steps:

• Carefullyplanwhichdatayousendtooffsitestorage.Forexample,youmaywishtostoreonlythedatamostcriticalto

your disaster recovery needs.

• Setappropriatedataretentionperiodstodeletethedatastoredoffsitewhenitisnolongerneededorisoutdatedby

new or updated information.

• Manuallydeletebackupfilesthatarenolongernecessaryandthathavebeenreplacedwithmorecurrentbackupjobs.

Reliability

By comparison, your Symantec online Storage subscription will provide you with a disaster recovery capability that is

much more reliable and robust than offsite tape vaulting services—specifically in the following areas:

• Better protection from site disasters: Symantec replicates backup data between fully redundant and geographically

separate data centers, managed for optimal levels of security and availability. Even if your place of business floods and

one of the Symantec data centers experiences a similar disaster, your data will still be safe in a redundant Symantec

data center.

• Better data availability and longevity: you need not to worry about tape degradation, or even disk failures, because

your data is stored redundantly in secure Symantec data centers. Symantec experts manage these data centers around

the clock for optimal availability and security.

• Better security: your data is encrypted at the point of origin (on your servers) and sent encrypted to the Symantec data

centers. The Symantec staff cannot access your data without the passphrase that your server used to encrypt the data.

The Symantec data centers are SAS-70 Type II certified, and they use stringent physical and data security measures.



8

Getting started with Symantec Online Storage for Backup ExecSymantec online Storage for Backup Exec leverages the backup expertise you already have in-house to perform your

existing Backup Exec backups and recoveries.

Symantec online Storage is completely integrated with Backup Exec versions 12 and above, and can be managed from

the Backup Exec Admin Console. once you install the Symantec Protection network agent on your Backup Exec server,

create a backup folder that appears and functions like a backup-to-disk (B2D) folder. The Symantec Protection network

storage device appears like any other device within the administrative console. When you send duplicates of backups to

this device, you are actually sending them over the Internet to remote, redundant Symantec data centers.

Symantec Protection Network device as it appears within the Backup Exec Admin Console

likewise, when it is time to retrieve data you can use the Backup Exec Admin Console to identify and restore only the

data you need. The only tasks for the backup administrator are to purchase the service, create the duplicate backup jobs

to send to offsite storage, and run restore jobs. once online Backup is configured in the Backup Exec Admin Console, the

process can then be automated to keep ongoing backups occurring regularly.

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Fitting Symantec Online Storage for Backup Exec into the backup plan: a use caseConsider Acme Products, a hypothetical small business that relies on Backup Exec to perform backups of all of its servers

as well as its users’ desktop systems. one administrator is responsible for backup and recovery processes, which are

automated using Backup Exec.

The company uses disk-to-disk-to-tape backups; backups occur first to disk, and from there to tapes in case of disk

failure. The administrator occasionally takes backup tapes home and stores them there, 20 miles from the business, but

knows that this is not a reliable disaster recovery solution.

The backup administrator decides to use Symantec online Storage for Backup Exec to deploy offsite storage for the most

critical business data. Acme Products signs up for Symantec online Storage, making a rough estimate of the total storage

required to determine the appropriate storage tier. Working with the management and technical staff, the administrator

identifies the most critical set of data required in a disaster recovery scenario. This data includes:

• Thecustomerdatabase

• Employeeinformation

• TheBackupExeccatalogitself

• Accountingandfinancerecords

The company makes the decision not to back up all users’ files to the Symantec online Storage service, but does identify

specific shared folders with critical legal or business information that needs protection.

With that information in hand, the administrator creates a backup job for this critical data, with a duplicate backup

sent to the Symantec Protection network online storage device. This job supplements the company’s existing backup

procedures with an added measure of protection. The administrator defines the appropriate retention periods required

for regulatory compliance.

The administrator then schedules the backup job, and it starts running automatically. monthly or bi-monthly, the

administrator connects to the Symantec Protection network portal and tracks the business’ storage consumption, to

determine if it is time to move to a higher storage tier in keeping with Acme’s storage needs.

Acme Products’ backup administrator now has a remote staff of Symantec experts working for him, replicating and

protecting Acme’s most important data, and making sure it is available when it is needed.

SummarySymantec online Storage for Backup Exec offers a hybrid approach to offsite backup storage. Using online Storage is less

expensive than offsite tape vaulting services or practices, and it delivers better protection with greater reliability. Best

of all, it leverages the processes, investments and software you already have in place with Backup Exec, adding disaster

recovery capabilities without adding administrative overhead.


About Symantec

Symantec is a global leader in

providing security, storage, and

systems management solutions to

help businesses and consumers

secure and manage their information.

Headquartered in Cupertino, Calif.,

Symantec has operations in more than

40 countries. more information is

available at: www.symantec.com.

For specific country offices and

contact numbers, please visit

our Web site. For product

information in the U.S., call

toll-free1(800)7456054.

Symantec Corporation

World Headquarters

20330 Stevens Creek Boulevard

Cupertino,CA95014USA

+1(408)5178000

1(800)7213934

www.symantec.com

Copyright©2009SymantecCorporation.Allrightsreserved. Symantec, the Symantec logo, and Backup Exec are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. 02/0914173840

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