StorageCraft ShadowProtect Server 4.0 ($995)

StorageCraft Technology Corporation released StorageCraft ShadowProtect Server 4.0 and StorageCraft ShadowProtect Small Business Server 4.0. The newest version in the ShadowProtect line of backup, disaster recovery and system migration technology addresses the Recovery Time Objective (RTO) for businesses, the need to integrate disaster recovery planning with virtualized systems as well as centralizing management of backups.

ShadowProtect Server 4.0 includes several recovery options that allow you to improve RTO by reducing the time your systems and data are offline. ShadowProtect gives you the flexibility of choosing granular recovery of files and folders or full bare metal recover of your server in a matter of minutes. Hardware Independent Restore (HIR) technology makes it quick and easy to recover to the same system, to dissimilar hardware or to and from virtual environments. ShadowProtect’s HIR feature also makes system migration to new servers or consolidation to virtual environments a straightforward process.

“Business continuity is key,” said Deni Connor, principal analyst with Storage Strategies NOW, a research firm focusing on storage technologies. “Having a disaster recovery plan, recovering data quickly with a minimal loss of productivity, can mean the difference between staying in business and closing your doors. That’s why backup and disaster recovery software such as ShadowProtect can be critical for maintaining access to your Windows servers and all of the business-critical applications and data on them.”

Virtualization Technology
ShadowProtect Server 4.0 improves on its virtualized technology features such as HIR with new VirtualBoot technology to give administrators the ability to boot any ShadowProtect backup image into a virtual machine using Sun VirtualBox. The backup image file can be booted into a .VMDK or .VHD format. In addition, ShadowProtect Server 4.0 can convert any ShadowProtect backup image into a virtual machine without the need to use any third-party technology.

“We could not be more excited about VirtualBoot and the other features that ShadowProtect 4.0 is bringing to the table,” said Sean Furman, president of STF Consulting. “The new functionality is truly game changing for us and we look forward to utilizing ShadowProtect 4.0 in our managed services offering.”
 
Centralized Management
ShadowProtect Server 4.0 includes a management console, at no additional cost, for central management of ShadowProtect on multiple servers. IT Administrators may push an agent simultaneously to multiple machines, group servers, import or export node information or check the status of ShadowProtect backups.

In addition, ShadowProtect ImageManager allows administrators to verify and re-verify ShadowProtect backup image files as well as consolidate backup image files to minimize storage usage and streamline management. Additional features are included in ShadowProtect ImageManager Enterprise.

Recovery Features
ShadowProtect Server 4.0 also includes Resume on Interruption – the ability to continue a restore, even after it’s been halted by a power failure or other disruption. In addition, it has an updated user interface.

ShadowProtect Server 4.0 includes the following features:

• Hardware Independent Restore (HIR),
• Bare metal recovery,
• Granular recovery of files and folders in moments,
• Resume on Interruption,
• Central management console,
• VirtualBoot,
• Virtual converter,
• ShadowProtect ImageManager,
• Image verification and re-verification,
• Image consolidation.

“The new features in ShadowProtect Server 4.0 will give IT administrators flexible options for getting their systems and data back online very quickly,” said Scott Barnes, StorageCraft CTO. “Backup is easy and everyone is doing it. Restoring massive amounts of data quickly and making it accessible is the difficult part. ShadowProtect’s advanced technology helps get business back online in minutes, not hours or days.”

Availability
ShadowProtect Server and ShadowProtect Small Business Server are available from authorized StorageCraft distributors and value-added resellers (VARs). Volume discounts are available.