Hornetsecurity Altaro VM Backup Reviews

• Backup live VMs
• Backup to multiple locations
• Restore to a different Hyper-V host machine

We do not have to install backup agents onto the virtual machines anymore. Also, disaster recovery is much more reliable for our customers.

Being able to backup the actual host machine would be an improvement for us. Many SMBs do not have multiple machines, so if we could restore the host machine quickly, it would be an advantage.

I've used it for four years.

Not at all, deployment is straightforward.

Compared to the old days with tape backup software, I would say that Altaro Hyper-V backup is a product that, once installed, does not need much maintenance.

Not at all.

Their responses are always provided very quickly.

I have not yet had to use tech support.

As stated above, we used typical tape backup solutions and image applications, and these were installed on the VMs. Altaro Hyper-V backup’s price is very interesting and it is an easy solution when compared to the competition.

It's straightforward. You are guided during the setup process with a couple of logical configurations to perform. It’s hard to make a mistake.

We implement this solution for all of our clients.

The amount of time spent on finding out why the customers backup solution fails has decreased, so they are more productive.

We have used a well-known product a couple of times but, that solution has become unstable these days. Also, it was a nightmare to for us to support and even their technical support did have problems solving issues permanently. It was not a cheap one either.

Install the trial version so you can see how easy it is.

• Cluster shared volumes backup
• Back up live virtual machines which use Microsoft VSS technology
• File level restore

The costs of performing restores are less than ever before as we can save a lot of time with this software.

We use Linux guests on Hyper-V clusters and we really need the file level restore on these VMs (ext3 and 4 file systems) functionality.

I've been using it since November 2014.

No, the deployment was very easy.

No, I think the reliability of Altaro Hyper-V Backup is good enough.

No, as when we need another license we can buy it very easy from a reseller. After that, we can install it onto the new host and add the host to the central management. It is much easier than ever before.

We have not used them yet so I can’t judge.

The technical support is fast and very helpful fast. When we had a problem, they replied to us ASAP and they provided a solution.

Yes, we used Windows Server Backup which came with Windows Servers but we had lot of problems with stability.

It was very easy and this is a very good point of this software.

My company has its own IT Ops team which I lead. We implemented it with our own hands.

Time is money. As I said, we can save time with this software, as when we need to restore something, we don’t need repair the failed backups as before.

Yes, we used Altaro Hyper-V Backup Unlimited Edition with 30 day trial period. After that we bought it for multiple hosts.

Estimate what you need. It is very important because Altaro Hyper-V Backup has multiple editions which contain different features. For example, the standard edition doesn’t support the clusters.

• Great backup features for all my Hyper V machines.
• Excellent for offsite backup as an add on function
• Easy restore for entire virtual machine files and sandbox option
• Well priced
• Excellent support and team behind this product

• Easy of use backup
• Fully functional multiple locations of backup

No

Good

Great

Very Good

Wait for the new version 7 the beta that im testing is very quick

• The ability to backup live VMs
• Offsite backup replication to a removable drive or physical offsite location
• Granular restore ability, including Exchange Server item level restore

There is now no need for users to log out of servers while the backup is performed, aiding productivity.

The software does have occasional problems with shadow copy but restarting the services rectifies this. Also, if it happens overnight, the software keeps attempting the backup until successful.

I've used it for two years.

No issues encountered.

No, although this is mainly because the software is installed on a Hyper-Visor with very little other software to conflict or take up resources.as these are all on the virtual machines.

No issues, although we haven’t used the software to its full capacity.

Customer service is excellent, and provides polite and prompt replies to emails.

Technical support is also very good. There is a support tool within the software that saves an error report as a zip file which can then be emailed to support at Altaro. The longest I have had to wait for a reply is 24 hours, but that was for a non-standard error.

No previous solution was used, except the standard backup solutions onto a physical servers. This is the first solution we have used for virtual machines.

The initial setup was very straightforward, as the software installs easily, is very easy to configure and has a nice GUI. You just plug in your backup devices, install the software and follow the install wizard which guides you through the backup process from start to finish.

Through an in-house team.

We support our clients servers so I don’t feel I can answer this question.

The software is approximately £200 however, you also need the correct hardware in place (e.g. RDX drive for offsite backup).

No other options were evaluated.

I definitely recommend Altaro.

Our primary use for this solution is for managing backup tasks such as replication, migration and disaster recovery.

In Hyper-V, I think there are many valuable features. Replication between the different hosts, high availability, live migration — where I can migrate between one host to another — as well as incremental disaster recovery, are very good. These solutions are based on Hyper-V in two distinct geographic sites. But my interest in this feature is that I implement it in the VMware infrastructure because the rest of my infrastructure is based on the VMware.

I implement the solution based on VMware and Hyper-V. I think some of the features that either of these companies are providing should be better. As an example, the replication time between virtual machines is slow. It really depends on network latency. In addition to this, I think the GUI to manage the view of the control panel of the virtual machine is not very user-friendly. It could be improved as well.

It would be very helpful if local technical support could be improved. Because of sanctions we do not have direct access to Microsoft support services. There should be another way to offer support services either within the country or other means.

One last thing that would be helpful is to focus on the migration of the on-premises services to the cloud — something such as Azure, AWS. For this, it would be necessary for the manufacturer to provide a different user interface to be compatible with Amazon or Azure services.

Unfortunately, due to the sanctions in my country (Iran), I can't access the Microsoft support team. By doing this type of work, experts here have to learn the products intimately. Our organization provides solutions for state or public organizations and we also provide support for them. As an example, I'm engaged in supporting and maintaining services for customer's bank services infrastructure as a level three expert. If I have any problems, I try to connect to different forums and knowledge bases because of sanctions. We can't access the technical support from Microsoft organization. Technical support for my country should be improved.

I have used both VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V. They are very similar to each other and there is almost no difference when you use them often. When I am working for different clients or at different jobs I will use the tools that are there. 

In our country, because of sanctions, we can not access the public cloud provider. Therefore, and to keep within regulations, we have to provide backup solutions on-premises. We implement VM Backup and HP Data Protector backup in the bank data center. Because of this, I only have experience with VM Backup solution on-premises.

There is no problem in implementing and maintaining VMware or the Hyper-V infrastructure. I have experience with both and because of this experience, I think it is not very difficult for me to do the deployments and setup. It may not be so easy for everyone because it is very important to have a good understanding of the implementation options.

We did not need to consult with an integrator or technical support for the implementation because it was very easy to do.

Many countries that are faced with sanctions, the price of products is a very big problem because most of the companies don't have big budgets. They end up having to use different solutions than they would prefer. With our customers such as banks and financial institutions, there are usually no budget problems and they provide us enough finances to buy proper licensing.

VMware is more than Hyper-V. Hyper-V is a good price in comparison with VMware or other virtualization solutions.

I have evaluated many solutions but I am really working with solutions that work for my clients and make sense for a particular application.

On a scale from one to ten when one is the worst and ten is the best, I would rate Hyper-V as a seven. It is not the best but it is good.

The great features are

• The possibility to backup Linux machines online
• Off-site backup
• Fire drills
• File level restore

It provides us with a better backup and restore solution for our Hyper-V environment.

It would be good to if they would expand the functionality to be able to backup normal servers without Hyper-V.

I've used it for around two years.

No issues encountered.

In the beginning there were issues, but that was related to the storage network.

No issues encountered.

It's great, the support is good and very fast in providing responses to queries.

it's excellent.

We previously used Data Protection Manager (DPM), but it lacked the ability to backup Linux VM's without going into saved state so we switched.

The setup is very easy.

I did it myself in-house.

The original setup took me around a day during normal production hours, so no extra costs in terms of overtime etc. Day-to-day costs are really low as there is not much work needed as long as it runs. You just have to review the daily report and add a VM if needed.

We previously used DPM then went straight onto Altaro.

Give it a try as it's very easy to setup and works like charm. Also, the pricing model is very good.

Altaro VM Backup helps me garanty a efficiant backup policy for my VM's : 

1. Backup VM in the local store of the Hyperviser, several times a day, for short retention and fast restore time

2. Remote backup on a HA NAS storage, for longer retention. If needed, this Nas could be use to restore VM or files on another Hyperviser

3. Automatic VM restore and consitancy tests

I must garanty fast recovery of a VM or files inside a VM

Altaro helps us by the simplicity of the implementation of the backup policy.

It took only several hours to find, test and implement the solution.

Furthermore, this  solution doesn't need to spend several hours a day to manage the backup policy. If someting wen't wong, you are immediately notified.

Additionnal to that technical considerations, the Altaro's support is quick to answer , it's also an important point for us.

Easy to use and to emplement
Offsite – onsite copy
Deduplication
Automatic restore and consistance tests
VMWare and MS are both supported
Boot a backuped VM directly 

Restore file level directly inside a VM.

Storage usage : you have often to manualy free disks spaces 

Yes a few, but we got quick help from support.

Not so far.

Nine out of 10.

No, not for VM.

Super straightforward, it was very easy and efficient.

I did it by me own , and I became a vendor because I'm really conviced by the product

It's difficult to estimate an ROI for a backup solution. But on my point of view, this product is not expensive, does the job what I bought it for, and he's no time consuming 

An easy licensing model, plus pricing is not too expensive.

Veeam, but it was too complex for what I needed.

Try it. It’s easy to install and manage its performance.

It works fine and is easy to use.

My customer does not even know it is there and has saved him numerous times over the years.

It is constantly updated free of charge, and the customer only pays a small maintenance fee.

I've been using it since v2.0.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

No issues encountered.

Extremely good, and the turnaround is less than a day.

Extremely good, and the turnaround is less than a day.

No I didn't.

It's very simple, you just install is it and then answer a few questions to get it working.

I implemented the solution myself.

For the small cost, it's very hard to calculate the ROI, but I would say it is 100%.

It's $1000 to set up with no daily cost, but there is a small annual fee.

No other options were evaluated.

Just try it for free.