Sonasoft's SonaSafe application software takes the heavy lifting out of Microsoft SQL
Server and Exchange Server backup and recovery and database replication for standby servers, as well as file system backup and recovery. Although for this article, I focus on
SonaSafe for SQL Server, SonaSafe works much the same way with Exchange servers
and file servers. Created for backing up to disk, the SonaSafe Backup server supports local
disk, SAN, and NAS for backup storage. SonaSafe for SQL Server supports SQL Server
2005 or SQL Server Express, SQL Server 2000 (including Microsoft SQL Server Desktop
Engine—MSDE), and SQL Server 7.0 and includes support for SQL Server clusters.
SonaSafe installs on a system running Windows Server 2003, Windows XP Professional
Edition, or Windows 2000 Server and requires Microsoft IIS. Sonasoft recommends a
minimum of 1GB RAM and a 2GHz processor on the backup server.
Architecture
Note that although I use the term backup
server to refer to the system you install the
SonaSafe application on, understand that
backup server also refers to standby servers.
SonaSafe supports both one-to-many and
many-to-one standby server database structures. When restoring backups, SonaSafe
supports both point-in-time and point-of-failure restores, in addition to full and
redirected database restoration.
The application installed on the backup
server communicates with agents installed
on the SQL Server machines it works with.
Because SonaSafe is a Web-based application, the management console is accessible from most anywhere. Sonasoft says
the SonaSafe agent uses about 15MB of
memory and about 2 percent to 3 percent
of the processor on target servers. The agent
executes the jobs you define and manages
the movement of data between a SQL
server and the backup or standby server.
Within the Web console, you tell SonaSafe
about the SQL Servers systems it'll work
with and the work you want it to do.
Sonasoft requires a license for each server
and application that participates (e.g., a
license for the SonaSafe backup server and
a license for each SQL Server machine that's
a source, target, or standby server—multiple
SQL instances are allowed).
Hands On
Installing SonaSafe wasn't difficult. Sonasoft
provides a preinstallation check routine to
ensure that the server has the prerequisite
software installed. Next, I installed the
SonaSafe for SQL agent on several SQL
Servers—nothing unexpected here. I made
frequent use of the browser-based SonaSafe
for SQL Server User's Guide, which was
clearly written and logically organized. I
later discovered one glitch, however, when
none of the jobs I created would run:
SonaSafe needs the NetBIOS form of all
server names, and I had entered the full
DNS form.
The console interface is organized functionally. On the left, Backup, Recovery, and
Standby menu options expand to expose
related tasks. The Disaster Backup Plan demonstrates the simplicity of the template-based approach—fill in a few fields,
and SonaSafe creates and schedules jobs
to perform daily full database backups and
hourly differential backups with transaction
backups every minute for each database of
the instance.
SonaSafe for SQL Server is a great
concept for a product. The current version,
however, has a number of rough edges I
found myself working around. Rough edges
or not, SonaSafe's ability to create, schedule,
and track database backups will save you a
lot of time. SonaSafe's ability to select the
correct set of backups for the task—often
an arcane task done manually—can not only
save you time, but also the consequences of
restoring from the wrong set of backups.
If that's attractive to you, give SonaSafe for
SQL Server an audition and see how it
works for you.
SonaSoft SonaSafe for SQL
Server verSion 3.5.9.6
PROS: Simplifies creating, scheduling,
and tracking SQL Server database backups;
automates log shipping to maintain standby
database servers; automates several scenarios
of database recovery
CONS: Somewhat clumsy UI; lacks an ease-of-use I'd expect in a version 3 product
RATING: 2 1/2 out of 5
PRICE: Pricing starts at $1995 for the
application, $1295 for each standby server,
and $995 for each SQL Server backup source
or target.
RECOMMENDATION: It's still a bit rough but
can save a lot of time. Give it a test drive if you
prefer not to create backup scripts manually.
CONTACT: Sonasoft • 408 927 6200 • http://www.sonasoft.com
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