Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup Reviews

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.

• Backup live VMs
• Backup to multiple locations
• Restore to a different Hyper-V host machine

We do not have to install backup agents onto the virtual machines anymore. Also, disaster recovery is much more reliable for our customers.

Being able to backup the actual host machine would be an improvement for us. Many SMBs do not have multiple machines, so if we could restore the host machine quickly, it would be an advantage.

I've used it for four years.

Not at all, deployment is straightforward.

Compared to the old days with tape backup software, I would say that Altaro Hyper-V backup is a product that, once installed, does not need much maintenance.

Not at all.

Their responses are always provided very quickly.

I have not yet had to use tech support.

As stated above, we used typical tape backup solutions and image applications, and these were installed on the VMs. Altaro Hyper-V backup’s price is very interesting and it is an easy solution when compared to the competition.

It's straightforward. You are guided during the setup process with a couple of logical configurations to perform. It’s hard to make a mistake.

We implement this solution for all of our clients.

The amount of time spent on finding out why the customers backup solution fails has decreased, so they are more productive.

We have used a well-known product a couple of times but, that solution has become unstable these days. Also, it was a nightmare to for us to support and even their technical support did have problems solving issues permanently. It was not a cheap one either.

Install the trial version so you can see how easy it is.

Altaro VM Backup helps me garanty a efficiant backup policy for my VM's : 

1. Backup VM in the local store of the Hyperviser, several times a day, for short retention and fast restore time

2. Remote backup on a HA NAS storage, for longer retention. If needed, this Nas could be use to restore VM or files on another Hyperviser

3. Automatic VM restore and consitancy tests

I must garanty fast recovery of a VM or files inside a VM

Altaro helps us by the simplicity of the implementation of the backup policy.

It took only several hours to find, test and implement the solution.

Furthermore, this  solution doesn't need to spend several hours a day to manage the backup policy. If someting wen't wong, you are immediately notified.

Additionnal to that technical considerations, the Altaro's support is quick to answer , it's also an important point for us.

Easy to use and to emplement
Offsite – onsite copy
Deduplication
Automatic restore and consistance tests
VMWare and MS are both supported
Boot a backuped VM directly 

Restore file level directly inside a VM.

Storage usage : you have often to manualy free disks spaces 

Yes a few, but we got quick help from support.

Not so far.

Nine out of 10.

No, not for VM.

Super straightforward, it was very easy and efficient.

I did it by me own , and I became a vendor because I'm really conviced by the product

It's difficult to estimate an ROI for a backup solution. But on my point of view, this product is not expensive, does the job what I bought it for, and he's no time consuming 

An easy licensing model, plus pricing is not too expensive.

Veeam, but it was too complex for what I needed.

Try it. It’s easy to install and manage its performance.

• The ability to backup live VMs
• Offsite backup replication to a removable drive or physical offsite location
• Granular restore ability, including Exchange Server item level restore

There is now no need for users to log out of servers while the backup is performed, aiding productivity.

The software does have occasional problems with shadow copy but restarting the services rectifies this. Also, if it happens overnight, the software keeps attempting the backup until successful.

I've used it for two years.

No issues encountered.

No, although this is mainly because the software is installed on a Hyper-Visor with very little other software to conflict or take up resources.as these are all on the virtual machines.

No issues, although we haven’t used the software to its full capacity.

Customer service is excellent, and provides polite and prompt replies to emails.

Technical support is also very good. There is a support tool within the software that saves an error report as a zip file which can then be emailed to support at Altaro. The longest I have had to wait for a reply is 24 hours, but that was for a non-standard error.

No previous solution was used, except the standard backup solutions onto a physical servers. This is the first solution we have used for virtual machines.

The initial setup was very straightforward, as the software installs easily, is very easy to configure and has a nice GUI. You just plug in your backup devices, install the software and follow the install wizard which guides you through the backup process from start to finish.

Through an in-house team.

We support our clients servers so I don’t feel I can answer this question.

The software is approximately £200 however, you also need the correct hardware in place (e.g. RDX drive for offsite backup).

No other options were evaluated.

I definitely recommend Altaro.

The great features are

• The possibility to backup Linux machines online
• Off-site backup
• Fire drills
• File level restore

It provides us with a better backup and restore solution for our Hyper-V environment.

It would be good to if they would expand the functionality to be able to backup normal servers without Hyper-V.

I've used it for around two years.

No issues encountered.

In the beginning there were issues, but that was related to the storage network.

No issues encountered.

It's great, the support is good and very fast in providing responses to queries.

it's excellent.

We previously used Data Protection Manager (DPM), but it lacked the ability to backup Linux VM's without going into saved state so we switched.

The setup is very easy.

I did it myself in-house.

The original setup took me around a day during normal production hours, so no extra costs in terms of overtime etc. Day-to-day costs are really low as there is not much work needed as long as it runs. You just have to review the daily report and add a VM if needed.

We previously used DPM then went straight onto Altaro.

Give it a try as it's very easy to setup and works like charm. Also, the pricing model is very good.

• 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.