Symantec Targets Data Recovery

   Symantec has launched a new family of products designed for disk-based system and data recovery. The new Symantec LiveState Recovery products--which are based on technology from Symantec's acquisition of PowerQuest late last year--come in three different editions: Advanced Server, Standard Server, and a Desktop edition. The products capture point-in-time snapshots of operating states of servers and desktops. The captured information includes application, data, and settings in one file that's easy to restore in the event of a disaster. The file can easily be stored on another server and can be used for everything from full system recovery to restoring individual files.
   Symantec LiveState Recovery products replace the company's V2i Protector products in an increasingly crowded software recovery market. Recently Microsoft announced its entry with its new Microsoft Data Protection Server (DPS). (For more information about the DPS announcement, see "Microsoft Announces New Data Backup Server." ) "The future of recovery is not in backup. In many cases, newer technologies such as bare metal restoration, 'hot' snapshots, and point-in-time disk-to-disk copies can be used to significantly reduce recovery times and reduce or remove data loss--while minimizing downtime and increasing service levels. Enterprises must evaluate each expected recovery activity and deploy the appropriate technology to meet defined recovery time objectives," said Carolyn DiCenzo, Research Vice President, Storage and Enterprise Management Group for Gartner.
   According to the Symantec, the products can either act as complement to existing tape backup solutions or completely replace them, depending on the company size. Some of the products' features include easy backup scheduling, remote restoration based on pcAnywhere technology, Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) support, and virus scanning.
   The products are priced at $1,194 per server for the LiveState Recovery Advanced Server edition, $834 per server for Standard Server edition, and $69 per PC for the Desktop edition. The Symantec LiveState Recovery products will be available this month.
   http://www.symantec.com