Maritime Paper Products Switches to AppAssure

AppAssure
Software, Inc announced that Maritime Paper Products (MPP), a
privately-owned corrugated packaging business in Canada, switched to
AppAssure Replay 4 backup and recovery solution for its
critical applications running on SQL and a virtual
environment for disaster recovery.

With Replay 4, MPP is reported to keep their
data safe without productivity interruption, while performing reliable P2V/V2V
snapshot conversions and export to virtual machines for migrations and testing.

"We serve the local region, overseas, the
Caribbean, and the U.S.
markets," says Rob MacCara, System Administrator at MPP. "We have
four locations all centrally managed from our main plant in Nova
Scotia. We’ve a long-term, very loyal work force,
with more than 140 past and present employees that have been with us for more
than 25 years. MPP is a great place to work!"

"MPP’s success throughout the years has been dependent
not only on its committed staff, but also on the forward-thinking automation
and technology that supports the team’s work," says MacCara. "With modern
corrugating and converting machines creating over 20,000 boxes an hour,
networked locations throughout the Atlantic Provinces, critical applications
running on SQL, and a virtual environment for disaster recovery, MPP depends on
both its people and its superior technology to get its work done. Which is why MPP switched from Backup Exec to Replay
4", MacCara notes.

"Prior to Replay our backup procedure involved
Backup Exec, rotating tapes and full backups to removable disks," explains
MacCara. "When we had major failures, it meant building everything from
scratch, updating the OS and installing software and then crossing our fingers
as we restored from disk & tape."

As the costs for an increasingly-unworkable process
kept rising, so did the "frustration meter," as MacCara calls it.
"We knew we were not safely backed up, and in the event of a catastrophe,
we would be in trouble," he explains. "This had been growing over the
years so that by the time we went with virtualization, our existing backup
software wasn’t up to the task. We’d either have to pay for an expensive
upgrade, or have greatly reduced backup capability. It all came to a head that
we couldn’t ignore any more. That’s when we found Replay, and it’s been like night
and day."

MacCara says he knew they were in a different world
with Replay. MPP has seen over 300GB of data reduced to just 15GB – a 95% storage
space savings. "Of course, it’s difficult to compare storage savings from
our old method to Replay’s, as we were never able to back up entire
servers-data only," notes MacCara. "We now are backing up a total of
10 servers ranging from SQL, BES, Terminal servers, Domain Controllers, file
and application servers, and of course our Replay servers, easily and quickly."

According to MacCara, one of the key requirements that
MPP had as they sought out an advanced backup
and disaster recovery solution, was the ability to back up to both virtual and
physical servers, and then be able to restore either back to physical or to a
VM. "Our Disaster Recovery project was already in the early planning
stages," explains MacCara, "and our solution would be playing an
important role (once implemented) by replicating to the DR site."

"Replay was the
only one that was able to fit into our mixed environment and handle all our
requirements. Depending on the season, a server failure for a
box manufacturing company could mean a plant shutdown, work stoppages, remote
plant closures, and more. If a disaster were to happen in the middle of
summer when our beer and vegetable boxes are made around the clock," says
MacCara, "this would have a huge impact. We run 24/7 and three shifts
during that time, so the peace of mind that Replay gives us for the replicated
servers is priceless."

"The single biggest factor with Replay is that
our data is safe and being continually backed up," sums up MacCara.
"We know that if we need to restore a single file, email, or server, it
can be done quickly and without any hassle. I’m actively involved in Spiceworks
and other technology forums, and I tell people that I couldn’t be happier with
how Replay has made my job simpler."