Licensing irrationality

[robertdana]

I've got a client with 10 windows machines. They don't have a windows server- a file server appliance meets their needs, but they want to do backups of all machines to a rotating set of removeable hard drives, using one of the desktops as a "backup server".

 

They need proactive backup because a number of the machines are laptops and won't necessarily be available overnight. They need open file backups because these laptops will be backed up during the day, and thus applications may be in use.

 

These are the list prices, but I assume reseller pricing will be proportional.

 

Retrospect 7 Professional cost for 10 users: $408 , includes open file backup, but not proactive backup (and it can't be added on)

Retrospect 7 Disk to Disk cost for 10 users: $578, includes proactive backup, but not open file backup (which can be added on- see below)

Retrospect 7 Disk to Disk cost for 10 users + open file backup add-on: $1347

 

Someone please explain to me why open file backup is so expensive for disk to disk? Since XP includes the shadow copy service, why is "open file backup" not free, since the hard work that used to be associated with open file backups is being done by the OS anyway?

 

Confused and frustrated,

-Robert

[natew]

Hi

 

Retrospect Professional only includes open file backup for the local backup machine. It does not include open file backup for client machines.

 

The open file backup option includes support for NT,2000,XP,2003 machines with NTFS formatted disks.

 

Thanks

Nate