NAKIVO Backup & Replication Reviews

We keep getting requirements, and we would like to fulfill them with a product and service by exploring what is possible, specifically in an MSP environment. We have used Rapid Recovery from Quest, NAKIVO, and older products like Veritas Backup Executive.

The cost aspect and the ease of licensing, along with simplified licensing, are most valuable. Deduplication, compression, and encryption features are delivered across most products. 

We have used it on Windows but haven't had the opportunity to implement their console on Linux. The VM, restore, and file recovery capabilities are considered gold standards. Additionally, the replication capability in Quest ensures delivery.

In general, my clients' use case for NAKIVO Backup & Replication involves small business customers who would like to build physical and logical independent backup solutions with a small budget, and of course all Synology or maybe QNAP are the most popular here in Latvia. Other vendors require generic servers and Windows licenses, but NAKIVO Backup & Replication only requires a small box and can work with limited resources.

Functionality-wise, NAKIVO Backup & Replication does great backups for Proxmox and VMware infrastructures that I work with on a regular basis. However, it makes working with Office 365 backups rather difficult, as it's very slow, and I have several customers who are quite disappointed with NAKIVO Backup & Replication about this.

The slowness is not about integration but due to how it's built; it's very slow and perhaps this is because it works on NAS devices or network-attached storages with their limited resources. Recently, I found out about one disadvantage of the NAKIVO agent that works on physical servers; they certified that they do not have a block tracking mechanism for physical Windows servers, so if a server is huge, say several terabytes, it cannot perform incremental backups and reads all the drives each time, which has left several of my customers suffering from this issue.

We implemented NAKIVO into a VMware infrastructure in order to back up all virtual servers, services, and data to two different NAS on-premise and to an AWS S3 immutable repository. 

We configured NAKIVO to perform daily incremental backups and weekly full backups. The implementation process was smooth, and NAKIVO's user-friendly interface allowed us to quickly set up and manage our backup schedules. 

We particularly appreciate the reliability and efficiency of NAKIVO's backup and recovery features. The support team has been responsive and helpful, ensuring that any issues are promptly resolved. 

This solution has significantly improved our data protection strategy and has provided us with peace of mind knowing our critical data is securely backed up.

NAKIVO Backup & Replication has significantly improved our organization by enhancing our data protection strategy and ensuring the reliability of our backups. 

Before implementing NAKIVO, our backup processes were time-consuming and often unreliable. With NAKIVO, we have automated daily incremental and weekly full backups, reducing manual intervention and minimizing the risk of data loss. 

The software's efficient storage utilization and seamless integration with our VMware infrastructure have optimized our backup operations. Additionally, the ability to backup to both on-premise NAS devices and an AWS S3 immutable repository provides us with a robust disaster recovery solution. 

The user-friendly interface and responsive support team have further streamlined our backup management, allowing us to focus more on other critical IT tasks. 

We use the solution to backup just one virtual machine running at VMware ESXi 5.5/6.0. The backup is made according to the planned schedule, e-mail notification after the success or errors were OK. Weekly reports can be enabled too.

VMware servers are at ten offices in different locations. Nakivo B&R is running at Qnap NAS with different models - TS-251A/TS-X53II/TS-X51/TS-269 - all with two disks in Raid, and 2GB or 4GB RAM is needed. Recovery is simple and quite fast for my VMs which are about 100GB in disk volume.

One instance Nakivo B&R has connected 2 ESXi hosts.

Nakivo B&R is running at Qnap NAS and is an optimal low cost solution an offers a free version for one year. There are reports for email and deduplication for saving storage space. 

It's easy to configure connections to ESXi and set backup jobs (or recoveries) with  a schedule. There is an option to copy the backup to another ESXi host.

Deduplication makes increasing backup jobs really fast and reduces the required storage.

Qnap offers a lot of collaboration solutions for a small office and Nakivo minimally affects the system load. However, in a few models, TS-231P/TS-431X, you have to run Transporter as a VM at ESXi host - which is not simple to do.

We use the solution with VMware virtual servers starting from Windows 2008 to Windows 2023, Virtual Station Windows 10 and Windows 11, UNIX, and Linux.

The solution offers reliable copying and fast recovery.

This product is worth the money and does the job perfectly. I’ve already had to restore several times and I do test restorations every month.

I recommend it to everyone. It is a proven product for a small fee.

We use Nakivo to back up our VPS servers and NAS devices. The UI and features are quite satisfactory, and there are several expansion possibilities. We liked the new MSP feature, which gives users specific access to specific machines. 

NAKIVO runs on a Linux server that requires low resources, so it gives us the option to expand our services and maintain the backup infrastructure to our budget. 

It provides very good support that responds immediately when we need help or instructions. 

It also provides an easy-to-use UI for setting it up.

NAKIVO gives us the security to retain valuable data backups and recover them in case of emergency. 

I have deployed the solution in the data center environment, managing both virtual machines and physical servers. Local backups have been implemented, and tasks that were previously done manually are now automated, increasing the productivity of the IT team, as they can focus on other tasks while the tool handles the backups. 

Additionally, the solution has been configured for database backups, which used to be a major headache for database administrators, especially when databases were damaged. Now, with both full and incremental backups, the response time for data recovery has been significantly reduced. The experience has been excellent.

Nakivo enables the automation of tasks within the organization, addressing issues related to forgetting such a critical task as data protection and mitigating the risk of data loss due to human error. 

Additionally, it provides a centralized environment for managing backups, ensuring constant monitoring and validation of both backups and storage usage, all just a click away. 

It is an investment that every institution that understands the value of every bit of data within the organization should make. Nakivo is an excellent option to consider.

Our primary application of Nakivo centers on backing up our comprehensive VMware environment. 

Operating within a VMware server, it serves as an integral component of our data protection strategy. This setup is crucial as it continuously safeguards our virtual machines, ensuring no data loss during critical workflows or unforeseen system downtimes. 

By utilizing Nakivo in this specific context, we can efficiently replicate and recover our vital data stores, providing a reliable safety net for operations. 

This reliability not only streamlines administrative tasks but also fortifies our approach to risk management, focusing on proactive measures and strategic resource allocation within our IT environment.

Nakivo has been instrumental in strengthening our data security infrastructure. By allowing the creation of cold stand-bys, it ensures immediate availability of recent backup data, minimizing potential downtime. This proactive measure is crucial for maintaining our operational resilience, ensuring consistent business continuity, and safeguarding client trust. 

The automation of these processes has also enhanced efficiency, freeing our team to focus on strategic tasks rather than routine backup management.