Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup Reviews

We use Altaro as a VM backup solution for our clients. We utilize this for about five clients so far and have had no issues to date.

Each client has about two VMs each and our implementation works great on all Windows systems. We have a couple of each server including Windows 2008, Windows 2012, Windows 2016, and Windows 2019.

Altaro seems to have no issue backing up these OS versions and we have had no complaints from clients as to missing data or failures after backups have been completed. Altaro is always our go-to VM backup software.

The Altaro software helps us develop backups successfully and quickly. The interface is user-friendly and even if our tech isn't onsite, we can work with the owners to confirm that the data will be restored with no issues.

We have had many issues in the past with software not being user-friendly or having a bad restore causing us to restart from scratch. Altaro prevents the monthly maintenance of having to check backups to confirm they are not faulty. The worst feeling is plugging in a restore and having no backup to restore because its corrupted. Here, with Altaro, we don't have that issue.

The GUI interface is desirable we can't function without it. We love it and our clients love it. We don't get stuck in trying to navigate through a bunch of diagnostic pages, home pages, and stored data. What you need is just a couple of clicks away.

Altaro makes everything much easier to perform on time-sensitive client sites. Clients seem to like the idea of having a backup of their VM without taking a day to back up all of their data.

The application could include a feature to install a set size of data, such as the ability to store a single application with all its registry information for easy transfer. There are a couple of tools out there already that utilize this but having it all in one tool would make day-to-day IT work much faster and easier on techs.

The software already does what is expected but having a couple of new tools wouldn't hurt the value of the software. There is not much to improve and my clients seem to like the fact that I am able to provide VM maintenance service quickly and efficiently.

We have been using Altaro VM Backup for more than four years.

If you run into trouble, the support is always there to help. We hardly need support but when we do, it's great to know that we aren't placed on hold for long periods of time.

We had some free software that we used four years ago but they all seem to have their own flaws.

The price is great for the utility you get and the licensing has never caused any issues with my company.

This was four years ago and I can't recall the name but they were never as great as Altaro. I won't look back at what I have chosen as a VM backup software.

The software is great and does what I need for an application. I have no complaints and as long as the backups never become corrupt from the software, I will continue using Altaro.

We have an on-premises backup with a cloud copy. We're a network integrator. We resell it.

It is an excellent product. It is easy to deploy, stable, and fast. Their support is excellent.

The yearly maintenance fee can be improved. It is high.

Basically, how it works is that you have a single local drive, and then you have a cloud backup. It'd be nice if you could rotate the single local backup drive. As of now, you can't.

I have been using this solution for probably four years.

It is very stable.

Their support is excellent.

It's easy to deploy. The first time, you deploy it in an hour, and after that, it probably takes 30 minutes, but it can vary.

Its yearly maintenance fee is fairly high for me to renew for upgrades and support.

It is really made for smaller deployments. It is for five or six VMs.

I would give it a nine out of 10.

Valuable features for us include quick recovery, compression, and deduplication. The mix of these features leads to a reduced backup footprint while having guaranteed fast recovery in case of DR.

It has helped us with easy deployment of backed up test systems and site recovery in case of general power and connection failures.

The cloud backup and VMware support (now available in the latest releases), could do with some improvement.

We have been using the solution for over two years.

We did not encounter any issues with stability. It is always running.

We did not encounter any issues with scalability regarding any situation of environment changes while using Hyper-V.

We haven't often used the technical support as it was not needed. When we did need it, we received a prompt response to our request.

Due to poor support for Hyper-V solutions, we searched for an alternative to the previous solution.

The setup was straightforward and without issues on all hosts where it was deployed.

There is a free version for two VMs. I would advise to study the deployment environment well, prior to committing to order a license per host.

We evaluated Veeam Software, HPE VM Explorer, Backup Exec, and Trilead.

Test multiple solutions for at least two weeks, validate DR scenarios, and the storage required for each solution and scalability.

• Hyper-V VM & Hyper-V host or node backup and retention schedules
• Exchange item level restore
• In the new version, you do not have to install the backup software itself onto a Hyper-V host

• Backward compatibility with earlier versions
• Auto-update features
• Hyper-V 2008 core OS should be supported to run the management console on it, this was a need by one of our customers
• The amount of jobs performed at the same time should be increased

I've used it for between six and 12 months.

I did not manage to import my old configuration, in v4, into v5 just after it what was released, however, I believe this functionality has been improved.

Version 5 is much more stable. Because the management console itself is running on a Windows machine, you may encounter some time-out, or lag, because of a delay in the Microsoft component relating what is on your hardware environment. However, this could happen with all of your Windows based applications if you do not have enough supplements supporting it.

I have not had any scalability issues yet.

10/10.

10/10.

I did, but we did not totally switch. We are still using other products because of our different VMware environments.

It is really straightforward, and the software has a great step by step manual.

I implemented two environments on my own with the help of the web based manual.

We did. My company used Veeam, PHD Virtual and Unitrends software solution before. We looked for a cheaper Hyper-V backup solution, and Altaro is the best choice for this purpose.

If you only have a Hyper-V environment with several nodes, you should dedicate one server for hosting the backup solution (depending on the number of the virtual machines hosted on each node). Or you can install several Altaro Hyper-V Backup instances and connect them to one management software. I am sure that guys at Altaro will help you out with the deployment scenario.

• Item level restore
• Offsite copies

It provides much faster restoration of VMs.

It could be improved by including support for REFS files system and restoring brick level items directly into Exchange as opposed to a PST file.

We've used it since it was first released so it's been a few years.

No issues encountered.

Sometime there are stability issues with older kit, for example, it can take a long time to compress the primary backup.

No issues encountered.

8/10.

8/10.

We used Symantec Backup Exec but it wasn't up to the job for virtual servers so we switched.

It's straightforward as you just run a small download and the program is really to go.

We're an Altaro reseller so we buy it in-house and then deploy it for our customers.

• High as the product is considerably cheaper than the time it would take to restore servers an old fashion way
• DR time has been massively reduced.

We use VMWare in-house, but the setup cost is our price plus around an hour to configure it, depending on how many off-site host locations there are.

No other options evaluated.

• Make sure you have the relevant expansion/space for growing VMS and VSS
• If there is not enough free disk space for VSS to run you will get crash consistent state backups
• Enable shadow copy (previous versions) restore on files servers if using REFS files system as its not supported

The primary use case of this solution is for virtualization and duplication.

The Disaster and Recovery features, as well as the Cloning Technology, can be improved.

I would like more cloud integration with disaster recovery.

This solution is stable.

This solution is scalable and we have one thousand users.

We don't plan to increase our usage of this product.

I have not used the technical support.

The initial set up was complex, and I was not able to do the set up myself.

I didn't deploy the solution, so I don't know how long it took.

The pricing is okay. I don't know the exact cost.

I recommend this solution, although I have encountered some complexities with it.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

VM backup and the item level recovery are the most valuable features.

They are fast to restore in an emergency.

It would be nice to be able to recover the items to their original location.

I have been using this solution since it was first released.

Sometimes, due to disk space and VSS, we have experienced stability issues.

Technical support is good, i.e., if you keep up the maintenance agreement.

Previously, we were using the Veritas Backup Exec. However, we haven't used it since 2012.

The setup was very easy, i.e., a step-by-step process.

We looked at Veritas Backup Exec.

Make sure you have enough disk space, especially if you use replication. Also, as the two have managed to butt heads on occasion, causing VMs to be put into a paused state due to snapshots that haven't merged. It can then be a timely job to shut the machines down and merge them back in.

• Great backup features for all my Hyper V machines.
• Excellent for offsite backup as an add on function
• Easy restore for entire virtual machine files and sandbox option
• Well priced
• Excellent support and team behind this product

• Easy of use backup
• Fully functional multiple locations of backup

No

Good

Great

Very Good

Wait for the new version 7 the beta that im testing is very quick