Sorting Out Laptop Backup

For storage managers, the issue of backing up data from laptops is troublesome but can't be put off. Businesses are getting more "virtual," even as data volumes are growing exponentially.

It's not that there aren't a slew of products designed to help individual end-users back up their laptops. The problem is that products for individuals don't help the IT pro back in the data center. Relying on these same users to back up their machines becomes a management problem extending beyond technology -- and not one most IT managers care to deal with.

Backup for laptop users is a challenge that typically calls for lots of extra hands-on help (read: budget-breaking operations hires). On top of this, laptops are always at risk of theft and loss, making it key to maintain some form of centralized control over their contents. (See Portable Problems Prompt IT Spending and Laptop Liabilities.)

One user describes a typical solution: "We have a policy for the majority of laptop users not to save anything of business importance on their laptops," says Joe Meyer, a senior architect (storage) at Level 3 Communications. For executives, there is scheduled backup that usually involves some manual intervention from data center personnel.

Going forward, however, Meyer says his group will be using software from Avamar (now part of EMC) -- which they purchased earlier this year to back up servers and NAS heads -- to back up some laptops to achieve greater efficiency.Meyer's case is just one of many, apparently. Software and services that back up laptops are in greater demand these days. The products back up to a central data center or off-site location automatically, when the user logs onto the VPN or Internet. Some of these suppliers have been on the market for a long time; others are fairly new. All report an increase in the level of interest in their wares.

Table 1: Automatic Backup for Laptops: A Sampler

"Yes, we see an increase... CIOs we talk to are taking a look at how well protected their mobile and edge devices are. There are a lot of questions about that," says Brian Reagan, chief marketing officer at Arsenal Digital, a service provider that uses the Axion software from Avamar (now EMC) as the basis of services for remote backup of PCs and laptops. Arsenal doesn't sell the services directly, but wholesales them to telecom providers like AT&T, BellSouth, and a range of other carriers. Prices typically range from about $5/month per Gbyte to about $20/month per Gybte, depending on features, functions, and configuration.

Iron Mountain offers a similar service with its Connected Backup/PC, which is fueled by the software Iron Mountain acquired with the purchase of Connected and the online service infrastructure it got from the acquisition of LiveVault. (See Iron Mountain Lands LiveVault.)

Sources say services offer some advantages over in-house software: A service won't cram the network and there are no operational expenditures. Services also allow for Internet access automatically, with Web management reports delivered by the provider as part of the deal.Software products, on the other hand, typically work with VPNs, and their use on the Internet sometimes calls for the manual adjustment of server and firewall ports. That said, a software product often comes with additional features and functions that go way beyond simple backup.

Packeteer, for instance, plans to release laptop backup combined with traffic acceleration in a Mobiliti release by the end of 2007. Peer Software, which is among the longest-running laptop backup products available, is undergoing a company revamp that will include support of mobile PDAs and other gear next year.

While most services and software offer encryption for the backup link, some software products will require a bit of tinkering to activate it over Internet links, as opposed to VPNs.

As data continues to mount and companies continue to encourage remote and mobile workers, backup products for laptops will continue to improve. Expect lots more in this space.

Mary Jander, Site Editor, Byte and Switch