OpenText Data Protector Reviews

The flexibility when restoring Oracle/SAP data.

Backup of SAP/Oracle -- they are more robust than the competition.

Virtualization.

Delay when using a big Internal database.

Same as above.

Excellent when support in Brazil gets the ticket.

No.

Very easy.

Avoid using many LTO drives; when using fewer drives, the price will be extremely good.

No, but I'm very familiar with CommVault.

I'd go ahead if you're not planning on using it with Virtualization.

The simplicity of the software since when it was deployed makes the training easy for the backup operators (there is a big rotation of employees in this area).

The file system backup (by far, the most used) is the most valuable feature.

Integration with the market applications must be improved, such as MS Exchange, MS Active Directory, SAP and Oracle. Other backup tools are more efficient with the integrated backups.

We encountered some stability issues. Before 2014, the system run over HPE-UX platform when some software issues were recurrent. After it moved to the x86 platform, these were reduced a lot (almost to zero).

There were some scalability issues. In the older version 7.0, we reached the clients limit (500, if I'm not wrong).

I would rate the technical support a six out of 10. The ticket takes too long to be forwarded to the superior levels of support.

Since I have been working in my company, we have been using this software.

The setup was simple, i.e., both the setup and the administration are simple. That's one of the advantages (maybe the only one) of the HPE Data Protector.

Before, we did not look at other solutions, but now we are analyzing other solutions, e.g., probably Veeam, Commvault and Veritas.

The HPE Data Protector may not be enough to support your RPO/RTO needs, specifically for application integrated backups. Possibly, some complementary solutions will also be needed.

It provides us with reliable backups and restores.

The reliability of HP Data Protector is the most valuable feature for us.

The graphical interface needs to be improved.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

Customer Service:

It's great.

Technical Support:

It's great.

We used Arcserve 2000, and switched because Data Protector is more reliable and the licensing options are better.

It was mostly straightforward.

The implementation was done by a technical team from HP who had a great level of expertise.

We also looked at Symantec Backup Exec.

It is fast, reliable, and its licensing policy is great.

SAP R/3 Integration is what I like best because our main production systems are SAP based with Oracle database, the “save-delete archive” feature is of ultimate use. It actually saves the Oracle archive file to the disk and after the save is verified it is deleted form the disk. That way you actually keep an eye on archive space on the physical disk and at the same time you are safe that no archives have been delete from the disk without been checked.

We started using this product back in 2000. At that point we mainly used the SAP R/3 Integration along with some filesystems backups. From that point on, the software started getting integrated with Exchange Server, and lately SAP HANA. The Data Protector software is getting along with the growing needs of our company.

I haven’t found any issues that need to get improved. The main purpose of this software suite (safely backup and restore main systems) is fully achieved. It was already implemented as the company’s first backup and restore solution. As the company evolved and the technology implemented evolved along, it seemed that the software adequately supported our systems.

I've been using them since 2000.

Generally no, but there were some issues that appeared when we first tried to deploy the software to a HANA database environment. However, they happened mainly because of the HANA database Linux environment.

Mainly, I can’t say that I have encountered major stability issues. At some point in time, patches fixed some minor issues.

No issues encountered.

Customer service is excellent with a ticket per call.

Through the fifteen years of support from HP, you realize that many things have changed. But, above all, I have to say that technical support has remained at a constantly high level. Depending on the issue, each time, the support may be local or international. Nevertheless you will get your job done.

This was the first backup and recovery solution.

The initial set-up is very straightforward. Nothing special to be done, as it's got very friendly user interface.

Back in 2000 the software was implemented by HP. I wasn’t present for the implementation, but after that, some upgrades and migrations has happened. Both HP Greece and an in-house software engineer have performed the projects. I have to say that the level of their expertise is more than adequate.

As we have most of our systems integrated to HP Data Protector, and because we have many daily and even hourly backups, I must say that we have a high ROI in our case.

Pricing and licensing clearly depends on the systems that you plan to backup. How many systems do you have to backup (licensing), what kind of support do you prefer for your systems (24/7, 8/5) (pricing).

You have to check the needs of your systems before you decide on your backup solution. Do you have many different platforms? Do you want to integrate the backup solution with a SAN environment? Do you want to use integrations (SAP R/3, Exchange Server, SQL, etc.)

It is really helpful in giving us a great backup and restore environment, and it's especially a great help in doing the granular recovery for VMs, SharePoint, and Exchange servers.

It is very reliable on the server side for providing a trustworthy backend. The installation was simple and provided an easy way to install even on Unix servers. It has excellent features like deduplication.

Reporting on scheduled backups via the advanced scheduling option are non-existent, and this needs to be available.

VM backups needs to be improved. They need to make it similar to the way Veeam and Commvault are doing the virtual backups.

We've had no issues with its stability.

There have been no issues scaling it.

Customer Service:

It's not good and needs to be improved.

Technical Support:

It's not good and needs to be improved.

We were using EMC previously, and switched because this is easier to manage and it's cheaper.

It was easy and there were no major difficulties.

A vendor team came and performed the implementation. I recommend that you get a professional services team come and do it for you.

The ease of use for operators provides a quick response when restores are needed by the business.

The licensing structure provides cost savings to business.

• Customers have been able to utilize multiple data protection schemes to be implemented with a single point of contact.
• Utilizing a single point of control has helped to maximize all current data storage technologies (AIT, LTO, DLT, etc.)
• Allowed for the leveraging of the latest methodologies such as snapshots, dynamic mirrors, hypervisors, deduplication, compression (in-line, hardware and/or software), and encryption (with or without PKI integration).

• Ability to automatically detect and secure new data sources without requiring manual configuration intervention.
• Has an extensive support base for most data formats.
• Natively allows the solution to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ for any enterprise data security requirements.
• Seamlessly integrates database security (i.e., Oracle, Sybase, Microsoft SQL server).
• Utilizes product APIs: Allows for the leveraging of the latest manufacturer product innovations without compromising data security or recoverability.

Data Protector's main single point of weakness is its GUI. While being very easy to use and intuitively constructed to present users with a minimal learning curve, nonetheless:

• It can occasionally be inaccurate in its backup/recovery time estimates
• It can sometimes reflect incorrect data quantities for a specific source stream

There have been some stability issues. As with any product remaining on the cutting edge of security and protection trends, utilizing the newest features comes with its share of caution by the user.

HPE Data Protector product support is always on the lookout for customer issues and provides patches and hot fixes immediately if presented with an undiscovered flaw.

It does have some issues better left behind. I am specifically thinking of Data Protector, Version 8, which went ‘off the rails’ fairly quickly and is best avoided.

Upgrading from Version 7 directly to version 9 is supported and strongly recommended.

We did not have any scalability issues. One of the shining attributes of Data Protector is its scalability.

Data Protector can easily coordinate and maintain any user's storage deployment, regardless of the complexity. This includes:

• Backing up a single server with a hand loaded DDS tape
• Entire multi-petabyte data centers with remote site coverage
• On-site/off-site storage duplication

Customer Service:

HPE support (Tier 1) can be a bit frustrating (as with virtually all vendors) with their reliance on keywords gleamed from user support calls.

More often than not, they can point a user quickly to patches or support documentation to alleviate the issue at hand.

Backline support provides individual customer assistance with an amazing level of familiarity with any given user need.

This often leads to developing enduring lines of communications with the best and brightest developers anywhere.

Technical Support:

I would rate technical support as follows:

• Tier 1: 6.5/10
• Tier 2: 8/10
• Tier 3: 9.5/10

We previously used Backup Express and Alexandria. They were both file products. One lacked the breadth and depth of source compatibility, and the other had almost insurmountable configuration implementation issues.

The installation was very straightforward. You simply:

1. Point to a source to be secured
2. Define a pool of media
3. Define a backup device
4. Create a schedule

Poof! You’re in business.

Vendor interaction for basic to moderately complex deployments is usually not needed. For complex multi-site, multi-vendor, deployments, HPE provides a wealth of assistance to attack and resolve even the most convoluted enterprise environments.

For the most extreme, complex environments (FIPS, Tempest, DoD, etc.), HPE consulting provides excellent support from the initial design to complete overhaul/upgrade.

This is not a simple answer. ROI is almost immediate for basic, single data center deployments.

However, for complex multi-site, multi-vendor, encrypted, de-duplicated, WAN tuned deployments, ROI can be an ongoing challenge. Retention requirements can change quicker than IT budgets can be formulated.

Pricing/licensing is Data Protector's single best offering. In its most basic environment, the only license required is for whatever target device is required.

If time and quantities permit the use of a single tape device, then there is no license cost above and beyond the initial base product purchase. (This includes a single tape drive license).

As your data environment grows, you can add as many sources as you like with no additional costs.

It is only when expanding the number of backup devices (tape drives/arrays, disk targets, etc.) that additional licenses are needed.

I personally have deployed this product at many customer sites and I only needed the basic, out-of-the-box license to protect an entire data center.

Other products (i.e., Backup Express, Alexandria) were pre-existing solutions which had become inadequate for the task at hand and required replacement.

I cannot recommend a better solution for enterprise-wide data security and retention.

It is more user-friendly. It integrates into a virtualized environment very easily.

The major issue we are facing in this product is Sybase database integration. We had resolved this somehow with the help of HPE by making changes in some Perl file.

However, it was not included in the next patch release. In the next upgrade to Version 9.0, it was not included either.

Every update or upgrade removes the changes in all the program files and the integration is stopped.

Old bugs or old issues should be implemented in the new releases if they are discussed with the technical team.

I have been using this solution for approximately three years, starting with HPE Data Protector, Version 8.0, and upgrading to Version 9.0.

We have not had stability issues.

We have not had scalability issues.

Using technical support was a good experience. However, they were asking for more information before providing any support.

I was using a different solution previously and switched because I went to a new company and a new environment.

Product, support, and implementation costs matter.

Definitely use it.

• Ability to manage
• Ability to integrate with various products such as VMware, MS SQL, MS Exchange, and MS SharePoint
• Ability to automatically verify backups

It allows us to have confidence in our backups and our ability to restore them.

Data Protector is a very mature product that allows custom backups, scheduling, and copying in a manner that reduces the amount of time spent with backups from an administrative point of view.

I am not happy with the support structure within HPE when things go wrong.

It takes longer than competing products to get updates to cover a new OS version or product version (i.e., a new version of SQL). This is necessary so that backups within those environments work properly.

The update to Data Protector to cover Windows Server 2012 for backing up the file system took months longer than many of Data Protector’s peers.

I have administered Data Protector for almost 14 years.

I did not encounter any deployment issues.

We had no stability issues since version 9.05 came out. There were some issues with versions 9.0 to 9.02 that caused a month’s long engagement with HPE support to get a patch to fix it.

We did not have any scalability issues.

Each cell manager can handle hundreds of clients and dozens of backup jobs. If you need more, then you can add another cell manager and create a "manager of managers" setup to allow for clients to easily be moved from one manager to another. It’s hard to get the appropriate scale on the disk or tape backup system.

When a complicated fault occurs, it can take a long time to get a resolution. I have had a few cases that wind up with the programmers and it can take months to resolve in those cases.

While fixes that come from such cases have resolved the problem every time, it is maddeningly frustrating to have such long waits.

In one instance, we had to keep calling support to get updates because they would not provide them otherwise.

Once you get beyond Level 1 and wait a long time for a hotfix or patch from Level 3 or beyond, I would give them a rating of 8/10.

Considering the long waits for fixes, if it’s more than an existing patch can handle, and the near worthlessness of Level 1, I would give technical support a rating of 4/10.

We have used this product for the last 13 years. I do periodically review other solutions. Many have great features, but are too limited in scope for a shop that does not have a dedicated backup administrator.

Having to administer a different solution for each backup type would take too many resources for that kind of company.

Solutions like VEEAM are hard to justify.

Veritas NetBackup, while sporting much of the same feature set as Data Protector, does not have any compelling feature for my company to switch to it.

The initial setup was pretty simple for anyone technically minded.

We took these steps:

1. Built a server to host the Cell Manager (Windows, Linux, or Unix)
2. Installed the cell manager (Windows executable or Linux/Unix package)
3. Entered the needed information
4. Installed the needed components to the clients.

It only really gets complex when you start using integrations such as Zero Downtime backups or VMware.

Data Protector can get expensive. Each integration component is a license, mostly per client, that you have to buy,

If you are using disks for backups, it is licensed by terabyte.

If you are using tape drives, it is licensed per drive.

Once you are licensed and as long as you are paying support, the licenses can be transferred from version to version.

I have used the same licenses since Data Protector, Version 6, for my current employer. Other than adding licenses for capacity or have more integration, the base set has been the same for nearly 10 years. They are still in use with Data Protector, Version 9.

I didn’t evaluate any other options in my current job.

Read through the manuals and best practice guides. They are well written and will get you up and running smoothly.