Zmanda Virtual Backup Appliance

Zmanda, in open source backup and recovery software, announced Zmanda Backup Appliance (ZBA), a pre-configured virtual backup server powered by SUSE Linux Enterprise Server which runs on any VMWare infrastructure such as VMWare Server, vSphere4, ESX, and ESXi.

ZBA enables IT organizations to quickly and easily install a backup and recovery solution for heterogeneous desktops and servers. ZBA can backup information to local disk, tape, and is the first virtual appliance that can backup to a public or private cloud. Zmanda developed the ZBA solution as part of the SUSE Appliance Program, a comprehensive business and technology program that enables Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to rapidly build, update, configure and go to market with fully-supported software and virtual appliances.

ZBA simplifies the installation and configuration process of backup and recovery software. It is ideal for IT professionals at businesses and government organizations who are tasked with managing the backup and recovery process. Instead of spending days downloading packages, patches and configuring systems, IT professionals can download the ZBA backup appliance and be up-and-running within minutes.

“The SUSE Appliance Program enables Zmanda and other ISVs to quickly configure and customize software and virtual appliances,” said Carlos Montero-Luque, vice president of Business and Product Management at Novell. “By leveraging the SUSE Appliance Program to tailor SUSE Linux Enterprise and their appliance, Zmanda is able to give its customers confidence that the Zmanda Backup Appliance is a fully supported, easy-to-use backup and recovery solution that runs on any IT environment, including public and private clouds.”

“ZBA significantly simplifies the backup and recovery process thus freeing IT professionals to focus on higher level functions,” said Chander Kant, chief executive office, Zmanda. “The backup and recovery process remains ad hoc, cumbersome and complex. ZBA takes the guesswork out of choosing the right backup solution because it is easy to implement, feature rich and allows businesses and government organizations the flexibility to save data both locally and to a storage cloud.”

ZBA runs a minimal set of services to provide one function, making it a highly available and highly secure backup solution. It is simple to use, easy to install and does not require users to figure out package dependencies prior to installing the software. ZBA can backup data to a local disk, tape drive or a public or private storage cloud. ZBA is powered by SUSE, and is fully compatible with all other Zmanda backup clients, agents and options. It is managed through the Zmanda Management Console running on a browser.

Pricing for ZBA starts at $600 per year, which includes a one-year subscription of Amanda Enterprise Server. ZBA places no limitation on the amount of data that can be backed up to disk, tape or storage clouds. ZBA is shipped in Open Virtualization Format (OVF) and VMX format. ZBA is immediately available for purchase and download.