eWeek Magazine
by Evan Koblentz
January 30, 2003
UltraBac Software and Lockstep Systems Inc. each released new backup software
this week for mid-size companies and enterprise workgroups.
UltraBac 7.0.3 is more secure, faster, and easier to configure than prior
versions, said Paul Bunn, CTO of UltraBac, a Bellevue, Wash., division of BEI
Corp.
"At the core of every agent, is the ability to not only compress but also
encrypt the data," he said. UltraBac uses Blowfish, a security algorithm written by Cupertino,
Calif.-based cryptologist and Counterpane Internet Security Inc. founder Bruce Schneier.
That lets UltraBac run on Windows NT4 servers, which the Windows Crypto API doesn't do, Bunn said.
The version is faster than 7.0.2 because it compresses data before it's sent
across the network, Bunn added. Blowfish helps with that too, because unlike
other security protocols, it doesn't add extra header data. "If you put 20 bytes
through, you get 20 bytes out," he explained.
A new remote installation program helps with multiple server locations, Bunn
said. In a 7.1 release this spring, UltraBac will add support for Windows Server
2003's new snapshot feature, Volume Shadow Copy
Service. Version 7.1 will also support a 32-bit option for restoring files
directly from snapshot images, he said.
Steven Miller, IS administrator for the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority, and
Rivanna Solid Waste Authority, in Charlottesville, Va., runs UltraBac 7.0.2 and
plans to upgrade this month. "When I came here they had [Veritas Software
Corp.'s] Backup Exec, and nothing was reliable. It was driving me nuts. I got tired of
trying to fix it," he said. With UltraBac, "It took me 10 minutes to write up a
set of instructions that a secretary could follow," he said.
Also, UltraBac was much less expensive than Backup Exec, and other state
agencies followed suit and switched, he added. In the future, "a Web interface
would be nice," he said.
Meanwhile, Lockstep on Feb. 5 will launch Backup for Workgroups 1.0, said
company president Karl Forster, in Scottsdale, Ariz. The product evolved from
Lockstep's better-known WebAgain software, which recovers Web sites after
they've been hacked, he said.
"We're primarily oriented for desktops today," Forster said. "Then, Exchange
Servers in the future, and then we'll probably branch out across platforms," he
said. The software is for departments of less than 200 users, and at that scale
costs about $600, he said.
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