Third-Party Backup and Restore Tools

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Obviously, being able to design, prepare, and implement effective disaster recovery strategies for your SharePoint environment is an important piece of the overall administrative puzzle for the platform. Microsoft has recognized this requirement and provides options and solutions for organizations of all sizes out of the box, or through other tools commonly used in conjunction with SharePoint. This book has extensively described what these tools are and how you can use them effectively in your SharePoint environment, but at the same time it hasn’t shied away from enu-merating the tools’ weaknesses and shortcomings. As you begin to design your system’s disaster recovery plan, you may find yourself unable to overcome these shortcomings and less than satisfied with the idea of using an out-of-the-box tool. The good news is that Microsoft has also opened up the SharePoint platform and made it possible for developers to build their own tools and applications that run on or work with SharePoint, something that Chapter 7, “Custom Development and Scripting for SharePoint Disaster Recovery,” has explored in great detail.

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Third-Party Backup

and Restore Tools

Because of that openness, there’s a strong, rich third-party ecosystem of applica-tions, Web parts, administrative tools, and other add-ons for SharePoint that has been available since the first days after SharePoint was released to manufacturers. Among that wide range of third-party applications are several aimed squarely at helping with or solving the challenges inherent in backing up and restoring your SharePoint environment.

This appendix introduces you to some of the third-party backup and restore tools available for SharePoint. With the time available, it would be impossible to fully review and evaluate each of these options, which is why this appendix is in-tended to give you just a brief overview of the tools and some of their attributes. Many of the manufacturers offer trial or demo editions of these tools that you can use to test and get to know them, an activity that’s highly recommend before you decide to make any tool or solution a part of your disaster recovery planning. Fully review the requirements, licenses, and options for all of these tools, because these attributes can have a considerable impact on the tools’ effectiveness within the spe-cific conditions present in your SharePoint environment.

THE

TOOLS

The third-party tools that follow are in alphabetical order by manufacturer. Their order of display does not indicate preference or ranking. A maximum of four fea-tures were highlighted for each tool, but many offer further functionality beyond what is listed here. The tools listed are currently available for purchase and supported for use in a production environment. None of these items are in development or a Beta release.

AVEPOINTDOCAVEBACKUP ANDRECOVERY FORSHAREPOINT

Manufacturer. AvePoint, a producer of infrastructure management software solutions for Microsoft SharePoint. AvePoint specializes in comprehensive data protection, disaster recovery, replication, migration, administration, archiving, and compliance solutions for all Microsoft SharePoint products and technologies. URL. http://avepoint.com/products/sharepoint-backup.

Supported SharePoint versions. Windows SharePoint Services version 3 (WSS) and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS). Previous versions of the DocAve Backup software can be used to back up and restore previous versions of SharePoint.

Price/licensing. DocAve Backup Small Business Edition for WSS or MOSS 2007 is currently listed at $1,295 (U.S.), covers 1 front-end server and 75 users, and can be used for backup only. DocAve Backup Enterprise Edition provides the software’s full feature set, covers an unlimited number of SharePoint farms and users, and requires that you contact an AvePoint sales representative for pricing information.

Notes. DocAve Backup requires the installation of a software agent on each server in your farm to fully back up and restore it.

BLACKBLADESHAREPOINTZIP

Manufacturer. Black Blade, an information technology (IT) software company with offices located in Northern Virginia and Boston, Massachusetts.

URL. http://www.blackbladeinc.com/en-us/products/wsszip/Pages/default.aspx. Supported SharePoint versions. WSS version 3 and MOSS 2007.

Highlighted features. Allows users to select a file, folder, or entire document library within a SharePoint site and then creates a compressed folder, often referred to as a zipped folder, with a .zipextension based on the contents of the target item(s) for download to a local workstation. Compressed folders can be uploaded and expanded within a SharePoint site in a similar fashion. Provides an end user backup option for the contents of collaborative SharePoint sites. Price/licensing. SharePoint Zip 1.2 is available for free, but without support by Black Blade. SharePoint Zip 2.0 is currently listed at $1,999.99 (U.S.), includes technical support by Black Blade, and offers additional functionality such as compatibility with forms-based authentication (FBA) and load-balanced SharePoint Web Front Ends (WFEs).

COMMVAULTGALAXYDATAPROTECTION7.0 FORSHAREPOINT

Manufacturer. CommVault, a software company focused on data management. URL. http://www.commvault.com/products/data_protection.asp?sid=10134. Supported SharePoint versions. WSS versions 2 and 3, SharePoint Portal Server 2003 (SPS), and MOSS 2007.

Highlighted features. Offers granular protection and point-in-time restoration of SharePoint data. Optimized for 64-bit operating systems, software, and hardware. Provides a centralized management interface. Compatible for inte-gration with AD, Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 (MOM), and tape-based storage media.

EMC BACKUPMANAGER FORSHAREPOINT

Manufacturer. EMC Corporation develops, delivers, and supports information infrastructure technologies and solutions. It offers a wide range of backup and recovery tools across several technical platforms, including SharePoint. URL. http://www.emc.com/products/detail/software/backup-manager-for-sharepoint.htm.

Supported SharePoint versions. WSS version 3 and MOSS 2007. The previous version of the EMC Backup Manager software can be used to back up and restore previous versions of SharePoint.

Highlighted features. Leverages the Windows Task Scheduler for the automa-tion of backups at designated times. Backs up content down to the item level within SharePoint, which can be restored to the original or an alternate loca-tion. Allows for the bulk import of files into the document library. Backups are compressed to lower storage costs.

Price/licensing. EMC’s Web site provides contact information for its sales de-partment. No further information on the pricing or licensing of its product is publically available.

GATWEB—EXTENSIONS FORSTSADM

Manufacturer. The GatWeb extensions are an open source project on Microsoft’s CodePlex Web site intended to add new operations to the STSADM.exe administrative tool. The project was created and is maintained by SharePoint Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Gaetan Bouveret.

URL. http://www.codeplex.com/gatwebstsadm.

Supported SharePoint versions. WSS version 3 and MOSS 2007.

Highlighted features. The backupwebappoperation adds the ability to back up every site collection for a given Web application with a single command, based on the Web application’s URL supplied as an input parameter.

Price/licensing. This tool is provided free of charge, as is. No support is offered for the product.

HYPERBAC FORSHAREPOINT/SQL SERVER

Manufacturer. HyperBac produces database backup software for a variety of platforms and databases. The company was founded by the original developers of the LiteSpeed SQL Server backup tool and is focused on storage optimiza-tion, security, performance, and bandwidth utilization.

Supported SharePoint versions. HyperBac’s product documentation states that all versions of SharePoint are supported. It is unknown if this includes ver-sions prior to the current releases of SharePoint.

Highlighted features. Designed to enhance the functionality of SharePoint’s built-in backup and restore tools found in the Central Administration Web site and STSADM.exe. Offers up to 90% compression of backup files for greater storage and bandwidth utilization. Backups are secured with integrated Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption. Compressed backups are

.zipcompatible.

Price/licensing. You can download a free evaluation copy of the software from HyperBac’s Web site. The Web site also provides contact information for its sales department, because no further information on the pricing or licensing of its product is publically available.

IBM TIVOLISTORAGE MANAGER FORMICROSOFTSHAREPOINT

Manufacturer. IBM’s Tivoli software line offers a wide range of IT manage-ment solutions, in areas such as asset managemanage-ment, security administration, and infrastructure management.

URL. http://www-01.ibm.com/software/tivoli/products/storage-mgr-sharepoint/. Supported SharePoint versions. WSS versions 2 and 3, SPS 2003 and MOSS 2007.

Highlighted features. Backups can be scheduled to run at specified times. Backs up content down to the item level within SharePoint, which can be restored to the original or an alternate location. Preserves all metadata and document versions. Integrates with Tivoli’s Storage Manager server so SharePoint data can be synchronously or asynchronously stored offsite for additional protection. Price/licensing. This product is licensed on a per-processor basis. According to IBM’s Web site, it costs approximately $2,000 to purchase the product for a server running a dual-core Intel or AMD chipset. Contact IBM directly for purchasing information based on your system’s specific configuration. Notes. The Tivoli Storage Manager for Microsoft SharePoint is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) product. Version 5.4.5 of the Tivoli product is identical to version 4.5.3 of AvePoint’s DocAve product.

IDERAPOINTADMINTOOLSET

URL. http://www.idera.com/Products/sharepointtoolset/default.aspx.

Supported SharePoint versions. Idera’s online product documentation does not indicate which versions of SharePoint are supported.

Highlighted features. Allows for backup scheduling. Provides e-mail notifica-tion of backup status. Individual files can be restored from a site backup with this tool set. Backups can be created in local files.

Price/licensing. Idera’s Web site indicates that the tool set currently costs $954 but does not indicate if the product is licensed per server, per farm, or on some other basis.

IDERAPOINTBACKUP

Manufacturer. Idera builds products for managing, administrating, and secur-ing Microsoft Windows Server operatsecur-ing systems and the platforms that run on them. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Idera’s products are sold and sup-ported directly and via authorized resellers and distributors around the globe. URL. http://www.idera.com/Products/Pointbackup/.

Supported SharePoint versions. WSS version 3 and MOSS 2007.

Highlighted features. Features a custom search engine for searching within backup files. Offers self-service recovery for site and site collection administra-tors beyond the constraints of the built-in recycle bins. Backups can be flexibly scheduled to meet specific requirements. Offers data compression and targeted backups for storage optimization.

Price/licensing. Idera’s Web site provides a download link for a trial version. The full price for the product is $2,500 (U.S.) per SharePoint farm (no delin-eation between WSS and MOSS is mentioned), plus $500 (U.S.) per frontend server in the farm. See the Web site for information on how to contact Idera’s sales department.

KWIZCOM SHAREPOINTOFFLINE—SHAREGO

Manufacturer. KWizCom develops SharePoint components and add-ons for both IT administrators and information workers. It is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

URL. http://www.kwizcom.com/ProductPage.asp?ProductID=212& ProductSubNodeID=254.

Highlighted features. Designed to seamlessly integrate a SharePoint site and a user’s desktop environment by synchronizing document libraries with local folders on the client. Synchronization can be flexibly configured to run on a scheduled, event-based, or rule-based frequency. Able to handle collisions between files updated both locally and on the server. Synchronization is two-way, taking updates from the client to the server and vice versa.

Price/licensing. Standard edition is currently listed at $40 (U.S.); the Standard edition plus Standard Support is currently listed at $47. Contact KWizCom’s sales department for more pricing information, as well as volume and educa-tional discounts. An evaluation version is also available for download from the Web site.

GARYLAPOINTE’SCUSTOMBACKUPEXTENSIONS FORSTSADM

Manufacturer. Gary Lapointe is a Senior Consultant for Statera and a SharePoint MVP. He has written several custom extensions for STSADM.exe and made them freely available via his Web site.

URL. http://stsadm.blogspot.com/search/label/Backups. (The pertinent exten-sions can be downloaded at http://www.thelapointes.com/blog/Lapointe. SharePoint.STSADM.Commands.WSS.wsp.)

Supported SharePoint versions. WSS version 3 and MOSS 2007.

Highlighted features. Offers two backup commands: one to back up several site collections at once and includes the IIS metabase in the backup, and one to add the IIS metabase to STSADM.exe’s standard site collection backup. Both commands simply extend STSADM.exe’s standard site collection backup oper-ation, adding new functionality by using the existing command rather than creating a whole new approach.

Price/licensing. Offered as is for free, but without support.

MICROSOFTSYSTEMCENTERDATA PROTECTIONMANAGER2007 FORSHAREPOINT

Manufacturer. Microsoft, the manufacturer of SharePoint, SQL Server, Exchange, Office, and a wide range of other products. While technically not a third-party product, Data Protection Manager 2007 (DPM) requires the pur-chase of an additional set of licenses beyond the normal SharePoint licenses to be used.

URL. http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/dataprotectionmanager/en/us/ protect-sharepoint.aspx.

Highlighted features. Allows the restore of a full SharePoint farm to a specific point in time from backup. Backs up content down to the item level within SharePoint, which can be restored to a recovery farm to avoid corrupting the production environment. Compatible with both disk- and tape-based storage media. SharePoint files can be restored to a network folder, rather than a SharePoint-based location.

Price/licensing. DPM Server is currently listed at $579 per server. For each server to be backed up by DPM, you must purchase a Standard Management License (ML) (currently $157 per server) or Enterprise ML (currently $431 per server). The Standard ML only allows for the backup of a server’s file system. To back up and restore a SharePoint farm with DPM, you must purchase the Enterprise ML.

NETAPPSNAPMANAGER FORMICROSOFTSHAREPOINTSERVER

Manufacturer. NetApp creates innovative storage and data management solu-tions to assist customers with their business and lower costs. It provides tools to ensure the availability of critical business data and simplify business processes so companies can deploy solutions with confidence and improve revenue. URL. http://www.netapp.com/us/products/management-software/ snapmanager-sharepoint-server.html.

Supported SharePoint versions. WSS version 3 and MOSS 2007.

Highlighted features. Reduces backup and recovery times from hours or days to minutes. Automatically discovers the configuration and architecture of your SharePoint environment to assist with data management throughout it. Provides automation capabilities for SharePoint data management. Recover an entire MOSS portal, site, or subsite, or choose to restore a single document or a document version.

Price/licensing. NetApp’s Web site provides contact information for its sales department. No further information on the pricing or licensing of its product is available.

NEVERFAIL FORMICROSOFTSHAREPOINT

Manufacturer. The Neverfail Group is dedicated to affordable and accessible solutions for high availability, disaster recovery, and data protection. Neverfail products failover in seconds, with the vision of zero business downtime to ensure your business remains productive, secure, and available.

Supported SharePoint versions. WSS versions 2 and 3, SPS 2003, and MOSS 2007.

Highlighted features. Support for both local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) environments, using a data compression tool to optimize data transmission. Backups can be restored to a specific point in time. Monitors the status of and changes to your SharePoint environment. Offers high availability functionality and customizable failover capabilities.

Price/licensing. Neverfail’s Web site provides contact information for its sales department. No further information on the pricing or licensing of its product is available.

QUESTRECOVERY MANAGER FORSHAREPOINT

Manufacturer. Quest Software delivers, manages, and controls complex appli-cation environments—from end user to database. It delivers comprehensive migration and management capabilities to simplify, automate, secure, and ex-tend your Windows infrastructure, as well as offer database and virtualization management tools.

URL. http://www.quest.com/sharepoint/recovery-and-auditing.aspx.

Supported SharePoint versions. WSS versions 2 and 3, SPS 2003, and MOSS 2007.

Highlighted features. Leverages backups created by other tools, such as SharePoint’s built-in backup tools, Microsoft DPM, SQL Server backups, and so on. Restores backups to any specified time and location. Shows all available backups for a given content database. Allows for searching within a backup or range of backups for documents by title or type.

Price/licensing. Quest’s Web site provides contact information for its sales de-partment. No further information on the pricing or licensing of its product is available.

SYNCSORT BACKUPEXPRESS3.0

Manufacturer. Syncsort Inc. develops, markets, and services high-performance software for data management and data protection. With an emphasis on tech-nical excellence and superior service, Syncsort products assist customers around the world in realizing the performance potential of their data process-ing systems.

Supported SharePoint versions. SPS 2003 and MOSS 2007. (Syncsort lists the supported product as “SharePoint Portal Server 2007.”)

Highlighted features. Offers full, differential, and incremental backup options. Databases remain online during backups to avoid service interruption. Provides auto-discovery of SharePoint objects for backup selection and point-in-time recovery capabilities. The tool allows the creation of custom scripts to meet specific business or technical requirements, such as backing up the IIS metabase.

Price/licensing. Syncsort’s Web site provides contact information for its sales department. No further information on the pricing or licensing of its product is available.

SYNTERGYREPLICATOR FORSHAREPOINT

Manufacturer. Syntergy is a leading provider of products, solutions, and ser-vices for Collaborative Knowledge Management (CKM) systems specializing in Microsoft and Open Text technologies. Their mission is to rapidly provide cost-effective products, services, and solutions that scale from the department to the enterprise.

URL. http://www.syntergy.com/sharepoint/products/replication/index.html. Supported SharePoint versions. WSS versions 2 and 3, SPS 2003, and MOSS 2007.

Highlighted features. Replicates content and security settings from one SharePoint site to another. Replicated data includes check-in/check-out state and metadata such as content types and site columns. Replication procedures are event driven and involve no crawling to minimize server load. This is not explicitly a backup and restore product, but you can use it to create backup copies of SharePoint content.

WEBFOXBACKUPELITESC V5 2007

Manufacturer. Webfox, Inc., creates business automation solutions for organi-zations worldwide. They build simple yet powerful business automation tools that save their clients time and money and allow them to be more efficient and profitable.

URL. http://www.webfox.ca/products/sharepoint_2007/ backupelite-overview.htm.

Supported SharePoint versions. MOSS 2007 (listed as SharePoint Portal Server 2007). Previous versions of the Webfox Backup Elite SC software (ver-sion 4.0) can be used to back up and restore previous ver(ver-sions of SharePoint. Highlighted features. Provides the ability to back up and restore SharePoint site collections, subsites, lists, and items within lists.