agentless backup

Title : Agentless backup
Source : http://www.backupanytime.com/whitepaper.htm
Posted : Aug 07
Copyright : backupanytime original content.
Redistribution as is : No permission required (with credits)
Modification : With written permission from backupanytime..

Ok, so what is agentless backup?
Agentless backup incorporates a data backup system which doesn't require software installations on a per system basis to backup infrastructure wide data. Lets clarify this with comparable examples. Most popular online data backup systems use agent based software to backup data. This involves installing software on a significant number of company wide computers. In addition to the installation headache and cost, management of agent based backup from one location is rarely an option and software issues may need to be dealt with on an individual basis. This is not a major issue for small to medium sizes business but as the number of systems grows the need to centralize and manage from one location becomes a significant issue. Agentless backup offers exactly that. Agentless backup allows an effectively unlimited quantity of connected systems to backup from one administrator system. This is not to be confused with the use of one agent based backup licence to backup data across a mapped network drive. Agent based backup can backup across a network. In the agentless based system we are talking about large networks of certainly more than 100 systems.

Is agent based backup now superceded by agentless backup?
No, both systems have their merits and broadly speaking, agent based backup is preferable in the small, medium enterprise market. Most agent based backup systems can be used in an always running method and provide self authentication. These are important benefits and are a major reason for administrators with small numbers of systems (1 to 100) to select agent based backup.

So why would anyone use agentless backup.
The biggest difficulty with agent based backup is the need to manage an agent on large numbers of systems. When the numbers exceed 100, agentless backup has to be considered in the interest of data compliance more so than data backup. While data backup lends itself greatly to automation, data management with regard to compliance is a hands on job and management from a singular location is attractive.

The world leader in agentless backup (date of print Nov 07) is Asigra technologies. They provide services to multinational corporations and online backup companies. It is important that you establish your intended online backup providers source if using agentless backup as even quality partnerships of this type represent an outside company with which you have no relationship being an important factor in your online backups. This also raises the contentious issue of your backup system depending on your providers ability to maintain their relationship with that outside company.

One of the few difficulties with agentless backup is the need to use existing network protocols and the associated requirement of privileged passwords to access all areas. Many system administrators are more than reluctant to provide this to any outside provider so agent based backup remains the most suitable option for most people with 100 systems or less and the preferred system for even large scale corporations with strict password and rights protection policies.

These clear distinctions do not present a dilemma choice here as it is relatively easy to identify the suitability of one system over another given the client system count and password protection policy. The two systems are not competing with each other and no industry road map indicates either replacing the other. Quality providers should be able to offer information and service for both options. This is an important issue as an inability to provide either system could result in you being offered one system based on provider system capability rather than the suitability of the system to your needs.

As a very basic rule of thumb, if you have a small number of systems and / or are nervous about sharing global admin passwords, then agent based online backup is likely your best option.

If you have an inordinate number of systems and your provider will physically sign off on confidentiality then you may consider agentless backup.

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