Backup Exec is backup software for Microsoft Windows environments currently developed by Symantec. Backup Exec has a long history of being sold from one company to another. Its earliest roots stretch back to the early 1980s when Maynard Electronics created a bundle of software drivers to help sell their tape drive products. A version of Backup Exec, called NT Backup, was included in Windows NT 3.5.

Today, Backup Exec is a data protection solution that provides continuous disk-to-disk-to-tape backup and recovery. Continuous protection is now available for Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server in addition to file servers and workstations, eliminating daily backups and providing point-in-time recovery.

History

Major Releases

Symantec Backup Exec 12, February 2008

Symantec Backup Exec 11d, November 2006

Symantec Backup Exec 10d, September 2005

VERITAS Backup Exec 10.0, January 2005

VERITAS Backup Exec 9.1, December 2003

VERITAS Backup Exec 8.0, January 2000

Provenance

1982 - Maynard Electronics started. Maynard's software is known as "MaynStream."

1989 - Maynard is acquired by Archive Corp. MaynStream is available for DOS, Windows, Macintosh, OS/2, and NetWare.

? - Quest Development Corporation is independently formed to develop backup software under contract for Symantec.

1993 - Archive is acquired by Conner Peripherals. Conner renames the software "Backup Exec."

? - Quest acquired rights to FastBack for Macintosh, and hired its principal author, Tom Chappell, from Fifth Generation Systems.

1994 - Conner creates a subsidiary, Arcada Software, by acquiring Quest and merging it with their existing software division.

1995 - Arcada acquires the SyTron division from Rexon, including their OS/2 backup software.

1996 - Conner is acquired by Seagate Technology and Arcada is merged into its subsidiary Seagate Software.

1999 - VERITAS Software acquires Seagate Software's Network and Storage Management Group, which included Backup Exec.

2005 - Symantec acquired VERITAS, including both Backup Exec and NetBackup, a completely different backup software package.

Architecture

Backup Exec systems have one or more media servers, which move data from one or more locations to a storage medium, such as disk or tape. The data may be from the local system, or from a remote system using a remote agent. The core Backup Exec product can have extra functionality unlocked through the addition of licenses. Existing options for version 11d include the ability to back up filesystem snapshots and synthetic backups, and the ability to back up databases such as Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle. Multiple media servers can be managed using the Central Admin Server Option.