BRU Server 1.2k review
DownloadBRU Server is a native OS X client/server backup tool.
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BRU Server is a native OS X client/server backup tool.
Based on the venerable BRU[tm] backup engine known for its reliability, BRU Server supports two networked systems to the largest of client/server topologies.
Client software is available to provide heterogeneous platform support. All OS X filesystem attributes are properly backed up and restored.
BRU solutions have been the high water mark of reliable UNIX backup for 18+ years, and Mac OS X users can now benefit from this experience.
Here are some key features of "BRU Server":
Operational
Native Mac OS X client/server backup software
Supports Mac OS X and OS X Server 10.3 and newer
Supports disk-to-disk, disk-to-tape, and disk-to-disk-to-tape backup strategies
Straightforward installation; client systems and tape devices are automatically recognized and configured
Intuitive user interface that adheres to the Aqua interface standard provides point-and-click operation to the rich feature set
Fully scriptable from the command line
Character-based and graphical management consoles provide local and remote control
Headless backup and restore operations can be managed via telnet or ssh sessions
Flexibility to define how the backup operation should be performed because very few sites have the same backup requirements
Remote log-in and administration
Performance
Industry's shortest backup window (fully verified backups) by using Data Staging and out-of-band (Anytime Verify™) data verification
Low overhead allows multiple BRU processes to write to multiple storage devices simultaneously with very little impact on system performance
Pulls data off Xserve RAID (2GB/Fibre) in excess of 130 MB/second
The most modern tape drives can be streamed
Intelligent cataloguing provides a powerful query capability to quickly recover select files contained on tape
Client system backups are not interleaved, thereby further shortening the time to restore selected files
Reliability
Ultra-reliable BRU™ engine delivers industry-leading data protection reliability and ultimate restorability of the protected data
Backups can be 100% verified without access to the original filesystems
Anytime Verify™ and Inspect Mode backup verification options can be run as an out-of-band process, freeing up the server faster
Broad compatibility - backups can be verified on a different system, and even on a different platform
Backups can be committed to a disk staging area at primary storage subsystem performance levels - virtually eliminating perceived backup windows at the client system level
Proven data restorability of BRU technology - corrupt data is reported, circumvented, and the restore continues unless the tape drive is physically unable to proceed
Catalogs copied to tape in addition to the server HDD to provide enhanced availability to backup data should the server system HDD fail.
Functionality
Highly scalable
Protects data on systems intermittently-attached to the network
Provides broadest Mac OS X tape library support available
Lights-out, automated backup operations are scheduled from the user interface
Full support for mach-o or CFM single file binaries and their resource fork and finder information, as well as full UNIX-based compatibility
Handles files and permissions skipped by other Mac OS X backup utilities
Properly backs up so-called "open files" under Mac OS X
Full support of case sensitivity under the HFS+ filesystem
Fully compatible with Panther's FileVault feature
Single archives of any size can be created
There is no limitation to the size of the catalogs
Data can be restored from any BRU backup data set without dependence on any special files contained on the server hard disk
Transport layer agnostic - whether Fibre Channel, SCSI, iSCSI, Gigabit Ethernet, Wireless LAN, etc.
Provides data backup and restore services within NAS, SAN and wireless environments
QFA (Quick File Access) provides fast access to files contained on tape
Client system data is not interleaved with other client system data
Client-side data encryption provides secure communication between client systems and the server
Network traffic data compression is configurable and can provide better utilization of available network bandwidth
Pre and post scripts may be run on a client system to freeze the state of a database running on that machine or export its state to an intermediate file
Files and directories can be excluded from the backup from the client system (excluding mp3 files, for example)
E-mail notification of all operations including interact requirements and job status
Server is localization friendly
Integrates with Apple's Xsan technology.
Requirements:
Minimum Requirements
Mac OS X 10.3 or 10.4
Mac OS X Server 10.3 or 10.4
G3 500Mhz or better Processor
256 MB RAM
All transport layers are supported (SCSI, Fibre-Channel, USB, and Firewire)
Recommended System
Mac OS X 10.3 or 10.4
Mac OS X Server 10.3 or 10.4
1 GHz G4
512MB RAM
ATTO Technologies UL3 or UL4 SCSI HBA (for SCSI Tapes/Libraries)
ATTO Technologies Celerity FC HBA (for Fibre-Channel Tapes/Libraries) or a FC switch if using Apple FC HBA.
Disk Requirements
BRU Server, 55 MB of disk for full install (server software, user interface, server agent)
15 MB of disk on client systems
3 MB of disk space for catalogs on the server per 100, files backed up
Disk staging: disk requirement defined by administrator
Network Requirements
BRU Server requires ports 14441 to 14450 open for bi-directional TCP traffic.
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