CA Enhances BrightStor

CA plans to unveil tomorrow BrightStor Enterprise Backup version 10.5, the key feature of which will be integrated support for backups done with the com-

pany's ARCserve midrange backup application.

By integrating ARCserve backup with BrightStor Enterprise Backup, data backups and restores at both the enterprise and department levels can be handled under a common architecture, said Ed Cooper, product manager for storage solutions at the vendor.

The agents that are used to back up data in the enterprise and in the department typically are different, Cooper said. "Now they're the same," he said. "Now both applications can use the same tapes, so data can be migrated between them."

With the new version of BrightStor Enterprise Backup, the company's BrightStor Portal has been enhanced for the first time to work with data managed by the full range of CA, Veritas and Legato backup applications from a single console, Cooper said.

Also new is an integrated agent for BrightStor Storage Resource Manager, which allows information from backups and from the SRM application to be used to make combined reports on the data, Cooper said. For example, such information might be used to ensure backups are meeting regulatory needs, he said.

With version 10.5, the licensing and upgrading of the BrightStor backup applications can now be automatically distributed through and managed by CA's UniCenter framework, Cooper said.

The integration with ARCserve and the new best practices support are welcome features, said Doug Marlin, managing partner at Independent Technology Group, a La Canada, Calif.-based solution provider. "Customers need the library support," he said.

However, Marlin added, while having an integrated solution is conceptually a good idea, there is a risk of any product becoming too complex.

Pricing of BrightStor Enterprise Backup version 10.5, which will be based on the number of server licenses, optional modules and optional agents, will be the same as that of earlier versions, Cooper said.

The company is now also bundling the product with a license for five concurrent users of its BrightStor Portal, which Cooper said is worth about $15,000.