NAKIVO Helps an IT Company Save Hours on Backup Administration
Business Challenge
System Force IT is an IT support company based in the United Kingdom. The company develops and installs cloud solutions, server and network solutions, CCTV, and site-to-site links, among other services. System Force IT also provides internet connections, as well as domain and hosting services.
The company’s two main data centers host servers, cloud servers and customer servers. In total, there are 30 physical servers and around 120 virtual machines. Each virtual machine is different not only for System Force IT but also for each of their customers. Some virtual machines run different versions of Linux, others run Server 2008, Server 2012, Server 2016 or Server 2019. The functionality of each virtual machine ranges from file services and Microsoft Exchange email to private web storage.
Fast and reliable backup, the ability to replicate backup data to a different location, and the ability to recover that data easily are of utmost importance for the company.
Previously, System Force IT relied on various products, both paid and free, for protecting their environment. Backup jobs constantly failed and full backups took too long to complete. As System Force IT ran multiple backup jobs, administration of these backup jobs could take up to half a working day. Recoveries also failed for security-related reasons or were too slow.
Since the previous solutions relied on backup policies, there were difficulties with troubleshooting issues. That is why System Force IT decided to look yet again for a new backup solution that could provide reliable backup, fast recovery and offsite replication.
Solution
“NAKIVO Backup & Replication was not the first product that we tried. And the solution was not the only product that looked perfect on paper,” says Ross Butler, IT Support Director at System Force IT. “However, NAKIVO was the only company out of five others to reach out to us and answer all our questions while we were testing the product. As our needs were not simple, NAKIVO was flexible with our trial.”
NAKIVO Backup & Replication prides itself on ease of use and flexibility. “We enjoy the product’s flexibility with multiple installation options, especially deployment on Windows, Linux and NAS devices. The configuration process is also easy and makes sense,” says Ross. “Our current installation takes advantage of the multi-tenant option. We have a server that has a tenant setup for us and our customers. We have several storage devices, including QNAP, FreeNAS and Open-E. The whole network is 10GbE and is dedicated to the backup system. Each VM is backed up to any one of the NAS devices. These backups are in turn replicated offsite.”
“We run full backups every weekend and incremental ones during the week. I love the fact that nearly 95% of all backups complete successfully every day. Probably one of the best experiences was that one of our servers was updated. The server then failed to boot after that update was completed. Then, 45 minutes later, the whole server had been restored to another virtual host, and we just powered it on and all was working as usual,” says Ross.
“We use backup copy functionality to move the backup copy to an external location. This functionality helps with the disaster recovery,” says Ross. “We can now be at ease knowing that our data and our customers’ data are stored in multiple locations. The network acceleration feature also helped with the backup copy. We use network acceleration, as the copy is offsite through a site-to-site link. Network acceleration helps when backing up to remote locations.”
Results
“NAKIVO Backup & Replication is fantastic. I cannot recommend the product enough. The cost is reasonable and manageable when compared with similar products available on the market. NAKIVO Backup & Replication is probably one of the best backup solutions around currently. I like the sheer flexibility of the product, as the software can be configured on anything and is able to back up any machine. We no longer have any backup concerns as we did in the past with long backup time and too much time spent on backup administration,” says Ross. “NAKIVO Backup & Replication saved us hours and hours. We would lose at least 6 to 8 hours every week during which the IT team had to fix issues with the last backup solution.”
About System Force IT
System Force IT is one of Gloucestershire’s leading IT support companies, providing 24/7 network support, IT solutions and services. Their aim is to work with customers to develop their IT infrastructure, ensuring uptime, control and security. With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) designed to give control back to citizens over how their personal data is processed and used, System Force IT is working with their customers to ensure compliance. For more information, visit www.systemforce.co.uk.