EMC brings Avamar backup to PCs, Macs

EMC is extending its Avamar backup software to all parts of an enterprise's infrastructure with clients for PC and Mac desktops and laptops.

The software for automated backup and recovery, which EMC acquired by buying Avamar in 2006, already backs up the contents of corporate servers and uses deduplication to more efficiently store it. Avamar 5.0, available immediately, lets enterprises add the same backup capability to individual client systems and does not require a per-client license.

Individual users will have an easy-to-use interface for restoring lost data, said Rob Emsley, senior director of EMC's storage division. The extension of Avamar to end systems allows administrators to use the same platform for all backups in an enterprise and bring client backups under central control, he said.

Avamar agents for servers already can be installed on PCs, but the new software provides an easy-to-use interface for the individual user to manage backup processes and recover data when needed. With the new version, employees can initiate and schedule their own backups and recover data on their own. IT administrators can assign policies to users to govern their use of the software.

EMC also has integrated Avamar 5.0 with vSphere 4, the latest core virtualization platform from VMware, which is partly owned by EMC. As a result, administrators can use Avamar software to manage all the backup options available in vSphere 4. Avamar 5.0 can also export deduplicated data to tape for long-term storage.

The Avamar software is available by itself or in a backup appliance, the Avamar Data Store. Along with Avamar 5.0, EMC is introducing Avamar Data Store Gen3, a hardware platform with 60 percent more backup capacity in the same data-center footprint.

The software is available for Windows XP and Vista, as well as OSX Leopard and Snow Leopard, in nine languages. EMC charges for Avamar based on storage capacity allocated for it, Emsley said. Pricing starts at US$14,450 for software alone, to support 1TB of storage capacity. The Avamar Data Store, a dedicated backup device, starts at $27,450 with 1TB of capacity.