What It Does & How It Works...   This new NAS-based technology performs at the block level where the actual digital 1s and 0s are captured from the hard drive, essentially eliminating failures related to open files. Because block-level data is raw information that’s independent of file structure formatting, it’s the most efficient way to write to a disk.     The Technology At Work To Keep Your Systems Working   The NAS device can be configured to backup multiple Windows 2000 and Windows 2003 servers by partition or by logical drives. There are no file or folder-level exclusions, because a snapshot of the entire partition is taken at the block level on the hard drive. Also, database applications such as Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange Server transfer data in blocks without having to worry if files are open or if they are in use.   Key Components Of The Device’s Technology Are: Base Image - The first backup taken of a server is the base image — an exact copy of the currently used space on the server. The base image is taken for each volume (or partition) on the server. Once the base image is set all future backups are incrementals. Remote Storage and Base Remote Backup Image Creation - Your data is stored (in encrypted form) in two secure online data backup centers, located hundreds of miles apart from each other. The BASE IMAGE will be sent via a SATA II drive to the primary remote storage facility. There is generally a three-week turnaround time required for this base image transfer to occur. Incremental back ups will occur in the meantime and they will collapse into the base image when the transfer is complete. Incrementals - Incrementals take place at the frequency that you schedule. If you select 24/7 backups at 15 minute incrementals 96 incremental files will be created each day. If you selected one-hour incrementals, 24 incremental files will be created each day. Incremental Forever Methodology -Incremental Forever Methodology differs from regular incrementals in that only one full backup or base image is required. This greatly reduces the time it takes to perform subsequent backups as each incremental takes only seconds to complete. Synthetic Incrementals - Incremental files are collapsed into synthetic incrementals (basically one larger incremental file). This is done to ensure chain integrity and to speed up restorations. The fewer hops from the current point-in-time back to the base image, the faster your restoration will be. Recovery Options - Recovering files and folders is a simple process where the entire image is mounted as a volume on the NAS device. The encryption is needed. Files can then be copied to the destination server over the network. We also provide utilities enabling your engineers to restore files, folders, Exchange mailboxes or messages and SQL tables and databases. Virtualization (Physical to Virtual) Standby Server Functionality - The NAS device can “virtualize” failed servers while keeping the system in the same state as it was before the problem arose. No configurations are necessary. Once virtualized, the NAS will resume the backup schedule that was in effect before the failure. Bare Metal Restore (Virtual to Physical) - When it comes time to restore the virtualized server back to physical hardware, our bare metal restore process allows restorations to dissimilar hardware. On-site and Off-site Solution with Multiple Restore Points - Multiple NAS devices can be placed on a LAN. Each NAS device, depending on the model, can be configured to backup one single server or multiple servers. Everything comes together in our NAS device to produce 15-minute incremental snapshots that safely reside within the device and are ready to be used to restore a file, a file folder, an email, or a database… all within five minutes.