Altaro VM Backup Solutions: Hyper-V and VMware Virtual Server Backup
Altaro VM Backup ConsultingAltaro VM Backup is designed to provide small and mid-size businesses with a reliable and affordable solution for backing up and restoring Hyper-V and VMware-based virtual machines (VMs). Altaro VM Backup can be used for local, offsite, multi-site, and cloud-based environments and also supports cost-effective cloud backup to a Microsoft Azure Block Blob storage account. Top features include industry-leading Augmented Inline Deduplication to reduce backup storage requirements, Continuous Data Protection (CDP) with backup intervals as low as five minutes for reducing your exposure to data loss, military-grade encryption, granular restore options for entire virtual machines or for individual files and emails, extensive support for Windows Server Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) and VMware vCenter, and the ability to leverage Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) technology to back up live virtual machines without downtime.

Progent is a certified Altaro partner and can provide a broad range of services to help you plan, deploy, optimize and troubleshoot a backup/restore solution based on the Altaro VM Backup platform. Progent also offers ProSight Data Protection Services managed backup to provide end-to-end monitoring and management of your backup ecosystem. Progent's Hyper-V consultants and VMware experts can help you design and manage virtual machine deployments that utilize on-premises or offsite VMs or that use a hybrid architecture that incorporates both local and cloud-based resources. In addition, Progent offers business continuity/disaster recovery (BCDR) planning consulting to help smaller organizations prepare for potentially catastrophic threats to business-critical data such as ransomware, human error, hardware failure and natural disasters.

Key Features of Altaro VM Backup
Altaro VM Backup is designed to handle the backup/restore requirements of most small businesses and combines simplicity of operation with a rich feature set that includes capabilities typically found only in enterprise-grade platforms. Altaro protects the most widely used versions of Hyper-V and VMware and supports popular backup media:

Supported Hyper-V OS Supported VMware OS Supported Media
Windows Server 2016
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2008 R2 		VMware vCenter
V(5.0, 5.1, 5.5, 6.0 & 6.5)
VMware vSphere
V(5.0, 5.1, 5.5, 6.0 & 6.5)
VMware ESXi
V(5.0, 5.1, 5.5, 6.0 & 6.5)
(Free ESXi not supported) 		USB External Drives
eSata External Drives
USB Flash Drives
Network Shares
NAS devices
PC Internal Hard Drives
RDX Cartridges
Altaro Offsite Server

Altaro protects popular versions of Hyper-V and VMware and supports most backup media

Altaro VM Backup includes powerful features in three crucial areas of data protection: backup/replication, restoration/disaster recovery, plus management and reporting.

Backup and Replication
Altaro VM Backup offers fast, efficient, and secure backup for data protection and archiving plus offsite replication for disaster recovery. Major backup and replication features include:

  • Augmented Inline Deduplication: Inline variable block size deduplication sends only changed data to the backup device or site, conserving bandwidth, reducing storage requirements, and improving performance.
  • Continuous Data Protection (CDP): Rather than run daily backups, you can reduce backup intervals to as short as five minutes to lower your Recovery Point Objective (RPO).
  • Concurrency: You can back up multiple virtual machines simultaneously, which makes it possible to conduct backup operations during shorter off-hour time windows when more bandwidth is available and network performance is less critical.
  • Live/Hot Backup: Integration with Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service allows you to back up virtual machines without incurring downtime.
  • Cluster Shared Volumes & VMware vCenter: The ability to back up virtual machines running in a Hyper-V Failover Cluster (with or without cluster shared volumes) or in a VMware vCenter environment supports larger deployments.
  • Offsite Replication: To facilitate disaster recovery, you can set up the Altaro Offsite Server tool on an external server for storing a copy of your backups at a different location.
  • Flexible Scheduling and Retention Policies: You can set different backup schedules and retention policies for individual VMs.

    Altaro VM Backup Consultants

    Backup scheduling and retention options for Altaro are easy to configure, review and update

  • Application Consistent Backups: Altaro VM Backup can use Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and all VSS Writers running inside the protected VM when making a backup. Applications like Microsoft SQL and Exchange will be aware the backup has happened and automatically run the relevant maintenance tasks such as truncating transaction logs.
  • Military-Grade Encryption: Prior to saving your data to a backup device, you have the option of encrypting it using 256-Bit AES Encryption.
  • Virtual Disk Exclude: You can select which Virtual Disks to include or exclude in your VM backups.
  • Grandfather-Father-Son Archiving (GFS): In addition to your continuous and daily backups, you can set up a special backup schedule to create and archive a new backup version every week, month and year.
  • Cloud Backup to Azure: Altaro supports backup to an Azure Block Blob storage account, which is the most affordable storage option available on the Azure cloud.
Altaro VM Backup Azure Integration Consultants

Altaro lets you back up VMs that are hosted on-premises, offsite or in the cloud

Restore and Disaster Recovery
Altaro VM Backup includes a rich set of tools for point-in-time granular recovery of VMs and files that have been periodically backed up and need to be restored for any reason. In a disaster recovery scenario, Altaro has tools for quickly restoring an entire site from the latest replicated version stored offsite.

  • Restore as Clone: You can restore a VM backup to a new location with a new name, allowing the cloned VM to run side by side with the original VM. This avoids the need to overwrite live VMs.
  • Restore to Different Host: You can restore a VM backup to a different host. The VM will be restored to a new location on the new host and will be given a new name.
  • Boot from Backup: You can instantly boot any VM version directly from the backup location either for verification purposes or to achieve a significant reduction in RTO (Recovery Time Objectives) in a disaster recovery scenario.
  • File Level Restore: You can quickly restore individual files and folders from any VM backup.
  • Microsoft Exchange Item Level Restore: You can restore individual emails from within the Exchange Mailbox database.

    Altaro VM Backup Exchange Integration Consultants

    Altaro VM Backup allows you to restore individual emails from an Exchange Mailbox

  • Restore Different Versions: You can restore from multiple points in time rather than being limited to the latest backup
  • Sandbox Restores and Verification: This features lets you schedule or manually launch test drills to confirm the integrity of your backup data. You can verify backup folders without attaching the VM to your Hyper-V or VMware Host, or you can run a complete test restore to a clone and ensure that the restored VM can boot.
  • Backup Health Monitor: Backup storage integrity can be monitored proactively and repaired automatically as part of the next backup process.
Management and Reporting
The web-based Cloud Management Console (CMC) centralizes management, monitoring and reporting for Altaro VM Backup deployments. The CMC provides a single online portal for tasks such as initiating backups, setting up on-premises and offsite backup locations, configuring encryption keys, and restoring VMs. The CMC also saves time by allowing you to set custom templates with schedules, retention policies and advanced settings and assign them to multiple VMs across different hosts. In addition, you can use the CMC to monitor backup activity in real time, view historic reports on operations and errors, and configure the CMC to send email alerts for completed or failed tasks and other useful information.

How Progent Can Help You Benefit from Altaro VM Backup
Progent's Microsoft-certified Windows Server Hyper-V consultants and VMware-certified vSphere and vCenter consultants can help you plan, deploy and manage a backup/restore solution based on Altaro VM Backup. Progent's Exchange consultants can help you integrate Altaro VM Backup with your Exchange environment, and Progent's Azure hybrid cloud consulting specialists can show you how to use your Azure Block Blob storage account with Altaro to protect your VM backups. Progent's Business Continuity consultants can show you how Altaro VM Backup's replication features and offsite backup capability can help safeguard your mission-critical data and enable you to resume your core services quickly in case of a catastrophic event. Progent's GIAC-certified information assurance consultants can assess the security profile of your backup solution and can help you deploy the latest tools and follow industry best practices for operating safely in the modern threat landscape.

Additional Non-stop Technologies Provided by Progent's Consultants
Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-certified consultants can help you to design an efficient, non-stop network that resolves major challenges covering a broad range of infrastructure solutions and processes including:

Business Continuity Planning
Progent's disaster recovery engineers can show you how to create a disaster recovery plan that will allow you to resume network functionality in the event of an IT system disaster. Progent can assist you to develop a comprehensive disaster recovery strategy that incorporates periodic disaster recovery evaluations and testing. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-authorized consultants can also help you build an affordable, zero-downtime system solution that takes into account availability issues covering a broad range of network technologies and procedures. For details, visit Business Continuity Consulting Services.

Managed Cloud Backup: ProSight Data Protection Services
ProSight Data Protection Services from Progent offer small and medium-sized organizations an affordable end-to-end solution for reliable backup/disaster recovery. For a fixed monthly rate, ProSight Data Protection Services automates your backup activities and allows fast restoration of vital files, apps and virtual machines that have become unavailable or damaged as a result of component breakdowns, software bugs, natural disasters, human error, or malware attacks such as ransomware. ProSight DPS can help you back up, retrieve and restore files, folders, applications, system images, as well as Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware virtual machine images. Critical data can be backed up on the cloud, to a local storage device, or to both. Progent's cloud backup specialists can deliver world-class support to set up ProSight Data Protection Services to to comply with government and industry regulatory requirements like HIPPA, FINRA, and PCI and, whenever necessary, can help you to restore your business-critical data. Read more about ProSight DPS Managed Backup.

Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Disaster Recovery
Progent's Windows Server 2016 disaster recovery experts can help you to plan and deploy a disaster recovery solution built around Microsoft's most advanced Failover Clustering tools such as Cluster Operating System Rolling Upgrade for non-disruptive migration to Windows Server 2016, Storage Replica for crash-consistent Recovery Point Objective (RPO), Storage Spaces Direct for high-performance storage clusters using commodity hardware, VM Load Balancing for improving the speed and resilience of Failover Clusters while reducing TCO and operational expenses, and Cloud Witness for fast, affordable deployment of a failover cluster quorum arbitration point. To read more, go to Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Help.

Windows Server 2012 Failover Clusters
Windows Server 2008 R2 introduced enterprise-class availability and recoverability to Microsoft's clustering solution. Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 adds to this technology and delivers important new and enhanced features offering increased extensibility, non-stop storage uptime for server applications, simpler management, quicker automatic failover, and more options for designing clusters. For more information, visit Windows Server 2012 Clustering Integration.

VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) Disaster Recovery Solutions
VMware's Site Recovery Manager (SRM) is a component of VMware vCenter that allows you to define, automate and test a consistent workflow for recovering applications and services quickly after a breakdown. Site Recovery Manager supports centrally controlled and automated recovery, application mobility, plus transparent site relocation, failback and site re-protect. Site Recovery Manager also allows non-disruptive testing for site recovery, upgrades and fixes and can produce audit reports to verify complete service restoration, validate SLAs and prove DR compliance. Progent can provide the skills of a VCDX certified VMware SRM consulting expert to assist you to design, configure, test and administer a disaster recovery solution based on VMware SRM.

NetApp MetroCluster Disaster Recovery Platform
NetApp MetroCluster is a high-availability and disaster recovery platform that uses failover storage clustering with replication to deliver rapid, zero RPO disaster recovery between sites located as far as 300km apart. Progent offers the skills of a NetApp MetroCluster consultant who can help your business to design, deploy, manage, update, test and troubleshoot a disaster recovery system based on NetApp MetroCluster. Progent can assist you to select a topology for your MetroCluster environment that meets your technical needs and IT budget. Progent can ensure you follow leading practices for installing your MetroCluster environment by delivering guidance with tasks like assigning disk pools, arranging plexes layout, setting up NetApp FlexVol volumes, setting up Data ONTAP configuration replication service, provisioning Cisco and Brocade switches, designing a tiebreaker mechanism, designing a TCP/IP configuration replication network between your storage clusters, and verifying your DR solution to verify adherence with information assurance standards and regulatory requirements.

High Availability Load Balancing
Progent offers fault tolerant load balancing support covering network load balancing, load balanced applications, LAN/WAN infrastructure routing, and content dispatching products such as Cisco Content Engine. High availability load balancing solutions for which Progent can provide consulting expertise include Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and 2008 Network Load Balancing Manager, Citrix Metaframe and Access Gateway, Cisco CSS, Cisco Content Distribution Manager and LocalDirector 400 series, and F5 Networks BIG-IP. To read more, see High Availability Load Balancing.

Fault Tolerant Data Centers
Progent's Data Center engineers can show you how to find fault-tolerant data centers that match the specific needs of your company. Fault tolerant off-site data centers are particularly appealing to small and mid-size organizations due to of their affordability and convenience in comparison to pursuing a do-it-yourself strategy. Trying to design an in-house data center that offers even a basic degree of fault tolerance is financially prohibitive for the majority of small businesses. Progent can show you how to get all the advantages of 24x7 Internet data centers by providing a complete range of engineering and maintenance services. To read more, see High-Availability Colocation Expertise.

24x7 Interoffice Connectivity
Progent’s inter-site connectivity professionals can help companies create non-stop inter-site connectivity solutions via fully redundant system architectures featuring automatic failover. Progent’s Cisco-premier CCIE network engineers can design and deploy ultra-reliable Inter-office connections based on fault tolerant EIGRP routers or fault tolerant OSPF deployment of Cisco routers. Progent can demonstrate how redundant connections and transparent fail-over offers affordable 24x7 interoffice networking. To read more, see Non-stop Inter-office Networking.

Fault Tolerant Internet Access
Progent's Cisco-certified IT engineers can show you how to build an affordable, fault tolerant Internet connection architecture that can deliver 24x7 Internet connectivity through a wide array of high availability Internet network solutions including non-stop BGP, automatic fail-over, and redundant Internet Service Providers. Progent offers Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert professionals to show you how to utilize the latest techniques for high availability Internet connectivity to implement an economical, fully redundant Internet network with automatic failover and other features to deliver non-stop Internet connections. To find out more, see High Availability Internet Access Architecture.

Backup and Restore Solutions Consulting
Progent offers affordable remote access to engineers with expertise in a wide range of utilities and technologies that deliver solutions for backing up Windows, Apple Mac, and Linux servers and workstations plus notebooks and smartphones. Progent can provide expertise for leading backup platforms including Acronis, Symantec Backup Exec, BackupAssist, CrashPlan PRO, Double-Take Software, Mozy, Retrospect, Time Machine, VMware Data Recovery, and Solaris FLARs. Progent can help your company to implement, upgrade, or maintain data backup systems for a range of environments such as on-premises, edge to datacenter, cloud, or hybrid. For more information, see Backup and Restore Technology Consulting.

Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager Data Recovery Consulting Experts
Progent's expert System Center Data Protection Manager support professionals can assist your company to create a practical workplace recovery strategy, design a cost-effective fault-tolerante IT architecture, configure a Microsoft SCDPM-powered backup and recovery solution, comprehensively test your system, train your administrative staff or local service providers how to maintain System Center Data Protection Manager, or provide complete IT support outsourcing including remote housing of virtual or physical SCDPM servers in Progent's data center. To find out more, see System Center Data Protection Manager Consulting Services.

Barracuda Backup Cloud and Offsite Data Backup and Disaster Recovery
Barracuda Backup is a low-cost, subscription backup and disaster recovery service for small and mid-size organizations. A Barracuda Backup solution can include a custom-designed physical storage device built by Barracuda or a software-based appliance with comparable features but which uses your own storage infrastructure. Barracuda Backup safeguards vital company data produced locally, at one or multiple remote locations, or in the cloud. For disaster recovery, you can replicate data to the Barracuda Cloud, to Amazon Web Services (AWS), or to any site with a physical or virtual Barracuda appliance. Progent is a certified Barracuda partner and Progent's Barracuda Backup consulting experts offer a broad array of consulting support services to help you to design, configure, manage and repair a backup and disaster recovery solution based on Barracuda technology. For more information, go to Barracuda Backup and disaster recovery consulting.

Consulting Services Double-Take Software for Data Backup
Double-Take Software publishes a family of products designed to deliver small and midsize companies a variety of affordable alternatives for backing up and restoring vital workloads such as Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, RIM Blackberry, and SharePoint. Progent’s disaster recovery planning consultants have extensive backgrounds incorporating Double-Take Software products into small business information networks to achieve an advanced state of availability and disaster recovery capability at an affordable price. For details, visit Consulting for Double-Take Solutions for Backup.

CRISC-Premier Network Risk Mitigation
The Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) program was initiated by ISACA in 2010 to validate an IT professional's ability to design, implement, and maintain IS controls to reduce risk. Progent offers the services of a CRISC-certified engineer to assist your company to develop and carry out a business continuity plan based on industry best practices identified by CRISC and geared to match your organization's risk tolerance, business goals, and IT budget. To learn more, go to CRISC-Certified IT risk mitigation experts.

Why Choose Progent for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning?
Because Progent is a Microsoft Certified Partner and offers specialized application expertise for a broad range of business software programs, Progent can help customers to arrive at complete information technology solutions that optimize the productivity of your IT network. As a Registered Partner for Cisco, Progent offers the expertise of premier engineers and specialists with experience in architecting, installing and managing networking environments based on Cisco products. The extent of Progent's IT experience and Progent's appreciation for the requirements of small and midsize businesses make Progent the ideal partner for creating and running an affordable, dependable information system.

How to Contact Progent's Consultants for Disaster Recovery Solutions Support
To ask Progent about technical expertise for workplace recovery solutions, phone 1-800-993-9400 or see Contact Progent.

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