This document compares the costs associated with a plan to backup 40 desktop computers within a workgroup using 3 different backup solutions: the backup program that comes with Microsoft Windows^TM, Computer Associates' ArcServe^TM product, and Backup for Workgroups^TM.

Many backup products require you to purchase additional software or equipment to get the entire job done!  After reading about the extra costs associated with other backup solutions, we think you will agree that Backup for Workgroups (Solution #3) is the most economical solution available, and gives the greatest return on your investment.  In other words, Backup for Workgroups is the solution providing the minimum TCO (total cost of ownership) allowing you to achieve ROI (return on investment) even faster than with other solutions!

Goal -

The goal is to backup 40 desktop computers.  We want complete disaster recovery - each computer must be restorable without the need to reinstall every application by hand.  As a result, file copy products are not a viable solution.  Plus, we would like to rotate media offsite to ensure we can recover all computers in the event of a disaster(see also - Remote Backup).

Assumptions -

• We are going to backup 40 desktop computers. We will assume the servers are already being backed up by a backup solution that does not extend to the desktop computers.  Most server backup solutions ignore the desktop computers, which is why we are concentrating only on these desktops.
   
• We assume that we have a computer that can operate as our backup server, therefore no additional computers will be purchased in this example.
   
• Each user has a hard drive that contains about 4 GB of data. This data consists of about 2 GB of standard items such as the Operating System, Microsoft Office, Outlook, and other applications used within this workgroup such as an accounting program. Each user has about 2 GB of unique data that consists of their individual files of correspondence, email messages, reports, etc.
   
• If each user performs an individual backup they would need about 2 GB of storage media assuming their data compresses at the rate of 50%. If they use centralized storage that uses non-redundant storage, then the common data may consume between 2 and 3 GB at the central repository and each individuals' unique data would occupy approximately 1 GB per user assuming 50% compression for a total storage need of 43 GB at the central backup server.
   
• We want enough media to perform a 5 day backup rotation. This means we perform daily backups and the media is reused every 5 days.
   
• All prices are quoted in Maltese Lira (Lm).  All hardware and tape media pricing is based on prices posted on www.Insight.com, as of January 2003.  All software is quoted at MSRP.

Solution 1: Using the free backup that comes built into Windows

Windows ships with a backup program built into the operating system. This backup program can backup the computer to a tape drive installed on the computer. To use the free backup utility in Windows, we would need to buy each user a tape drive. And since we need a 5 day supply of rotation of media, we need to buy each user 5 tape cartridges.

Since each user has 4 GB of data, we only need a small tape drive for each user. We will standardize on one brand and buy a little extra capacity to allow for growth. The tape unit we have selected is the Seagate Travan 20 IDE for Lm 87. This drive supports 10 GB of data and will easily hold the data for each user and provide room to grow. Because this is an IDE drive, we do not need to buy any additional adapters. The cost per tape is Lm 16. Thus, the cost for a 5 day rotation of tapes will be Lm 16 X 5 = Lm 80, making the total cost of the tape drive and media at Lm 165 per user.

The total cost for using the "free" backup program that comes with Windows is:

Software: Lm 0
Hardware: Lm 166 for the drive and 5 days of media x 40 users = Lm 6,610
Total cost = Lm 6,610

Solution 2: Centralize the backup using CA ArcServe

In this solution we are going to centralize the backup using a server we already have. We want to eliminate the cost of buying 40 tape drives. Instead, we will buy just one tape drive and attach it to the server. W will be able to backup all 40 users to this single centralized tape drive. This will reduce the number of drives and tapes we need to buy, and therefore saves us money.

We selected CA ArcServe for this example because it supports a centralized approach to backup. We can install it on a server and backup our users to a tape drive directly connected to this server.

Next, we need to purchase a tape drive.  If we backup everyone’s data to the server, we will need 4 GB X 40 users, which equals 160 GB of storage space. Because ArcServe supports non-redundant storage, we will need about (1 GB compressed, unique data X 40 users) + (3 GB compressed, shared, redundant data), which equals 43 GB. So, we will need about 43 GB of storage space for our 40 users. The tape drive should accommodate a minimum of 43 GB, but it is smart to purchase additional storage space to allow for growth.

When you shop for tape drives, keep in mind that almost all of them advertise the drive capacity in terms of compressed storage. For example, a drive that claims it can store up to 20 GB may really only be a 10 GB tape drive, because the ad is phrased in such a way that states that the drive "stores 20 GB of data" and the fine print reads that this statement is true when 20 GB of data is compressed down to 10 GB, which is what the drive actually holds. So, read tape drive specs very carefully, because it is easy to purchase a drive that is actually half the size you really thought it was! In our example, we need 43 GB AFTER compression, which means that we need a tape drive that advertises a capacity of 86 GB.

We have the option of choosing between one large drive or a tape loader. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of drives over 40 GB to choose from, so we decided on the Seagate DAT Scorpion Tape library autoloader. The Scorpion Tape library autoloader uses 6 individual 20 GB tapes to achieve up to 120 GB pre-compression (60 GB after compression). This set up gives us some room to grow. The cost for the drive is Lm 975. The cost for media is Lm 6 per tape, plus Lm 16 for a container to hold the 6 tapes in the auto loader - a total of Lm 47 for one day's backup. A supply of rotation media for 5 days costs Lm 47 X 5 = Lm 235.

The cost for the server version of ArcServe (which will run the tape drive) is Lm 303. Please note that Computer Associates advertises that each ArcServe license includes the ability to backup unlimited clients for free!  Wow, this sounds great, but there's a catch. The catch is that does not backup the System Registry on these free clients, so it's an incomplete solution.  To comply with our disaster recovery assumptions above, we must buy an agent to backup each computer. The agent software which allows for the System Registry backup is Lm 85/computer, so our cost is Lm 85 X 40 users = Lm 3,400.

The total cost for the ArcServe solution is:

Software: Lm 303 for the Server and Lm 85 X 40 for the clients = Lm 3703
Hardware: Lm 975 for the autoloader drive; Lm 235 for 5 days media = Lm 1209
Total cost = Lm 4,912

Solution 3: Backup for Workgroups

Backup for Workgroups uses centralized storage and hard disk based backup. The centralized storage eliminates the need to add hardware to each client computer and the use of a hard drive eliminates the cost of the tape drives and tape media.

To setup Backup for Workgroups, we need to add one base hard drive at the backup server. This base hard drive will serve as the primary backup media. We will also buy 5 additional hard drives to use as the rotation media. To facilitate removal, we will need to purchase 5 removable hard drive trays.

Keeping consistent with the capacity of the tape loader in Solution #2, will need to use 60 GB hard drives, which cost Lm 40 each. We will need a total of 6 hard drives: one to mount permanently in the backup server and 5 additional drives for rotation. The cost of the hard drives is Lm 40 X 6 for a total of Lm 240.

To make the 5 rotation drives removable, we will buy one Mobile Dock kit that mounts to the backup server and holds one drive, plus 4 additional trays for the remaining 4 drives.  The cost for the Mobile Dock Kit is Lm 7 plus Lm 7 per additional tray X 4 for a total of Lm 35.

The total cost of the hard drives and the removable hard drive trays is Lm 275.

Backup for Workgroups is licensed by the client and there is no cost for the server component that manages the backup repository. The total cost for 40 client licenses of Backup for Workgroups is Lm 1,040.

The total cost for the Backup for Workgroups solution is:

Software: Backup for Workgroups 40 client licenses = Lm 1,040
Hardware: 6 X 60 GB drives plus removable drive trays = Lm 275
Total cost = Lm 1,315

Cost Comparison Summary:

Solution What to buy Cost Cost per user Free backup within Windows Client software - free with Windows 40 X Seagate tape drives 200 Travan 5 tapes   Lm 6,610 Lm 165 CA BrightStor ArcServe ArcServe Server ArcServe Clients X 40 Seagate Tape drive with autoloader 5 tape containers and 30 tapes   Lm 4,912 Lm 123 Backup for Workgroups 40 Client License 6 X 60GB hard drives and removable trays   Lm 1,315 Lm 33

Pease note that Backup for Workgroups has another cost advantage: if you outgrow your current setup, the cost to replace a hard drive with a larger capacity hard drive is much cheaper than the cost to replace a tape drive. If you need to increase your tape storage capacity from the 60 GB used in our example, the next step up in tape drives is to go to 100 GB, which costs Lm 1,650. And, don't forget that you probably will need to buy different tapes, because your tapes are tied or associated with the first tape drive.