Veritas Software optimises space requirements and backup and recovery times for Exchange users

Veritas Software, continuing support for Microsoft Exchange Server users, has released Veritas Remote Storage for Exchange (RSE), a space management and optimisation application that moves older message attachments out of the Exchange v5.5 databases and information stores, onto a secondary storage device.

RSE is integrated with Backup Exec for Windows NT/2000(BENT) to allow sharing of any existing media libraries as well as with Exchange to provide seamless integration of the application in most environments and limit training costs.

"By working in conjunction with BENT, Remote Storage allows for faster backups and recoveries of the Exchange infrastructure by minimising the size of the Exchange system, as well providing for a better performing Exchange system in itself," says Nick van Noordwyk, regional manager, Middle East and Africa at Veritas Software.

Even though the attachments have been moved out of Exchange, Remote Storage allows users to retrieve any of these attachments whenever they need them, just by opening them within their Outlook clients.

RSE is so closely tied to Exchange and Outlook that it is transparent to the users that an attachment has been moved out of Exchange.

"The majority of space on users` Exchange Information Stores is taken up by message attachments today," says van Noordwyk. "Every time a full backup or recovery is performed on that system, these attachments are being backed up over and over again."

RSE moves these older attachments out of Exchange, but still allows users to retrieve them at any time, through their normal Outlook clients. "This method of archive and retrieval means there is little to no impact from a users standpoint in that there is no new interface to learn," he adds. RSE uses a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) interface for the administrator and it allows users to share their existing tape drives and/or libraries with Backup Exec for Windows NT.

The product also uses the same media manager, ADAMM, as Backup Exec. This protects users investments in existing data protection devices, allowing RSE to work in conjunction with them.

Remote Storage for Exchange also integrates with Veritas Software`s new Backup Exec Network Storage Executive, NSE. RSE and NSE can share a common database along with their common UI. Both products use SQL Server as their databases and both are MMC applications.