(LinuxWorld) -- This week I discuss my experiences with Arkeia backup software, which is available in both fee and zero-cost licenses. Arkeia backs-up heterogeneous systems on a network. The good news for Linux users is Knox Software, the company behind Arkeia, charges bupkis for personal and commercial use of its Linux version.

System backups are the lifeblood of disaster prevention, and are often overlooked. I use the term "prevention" because both hardware and software break. That is an unpleasant fact. However, a "disaster" is achieved when systems are not in place to assist with a speedy recovery. Thus, a good backup can be used as disaster prevention. Disaster "recovery" is what happens when all systems fail, including backup systems.

Initially, I evaluated the free version of Arkeia, which comes with one Linux server (Arkeia server software) and two client licenses. For more client licenses, Knox charges a fee starting at $700. The packages were available in RPM format, so installation was a problem-free process. (Red Hat, SuSE, and Mandrake users should look on their installation CDs, as some versions of these distributions include the software.)

After installation, we started the graphical client by executing /usr/knox/bin/arkx, which presented us with a horrendously designed GUI, at least in terms of its color choices.

However, looks aren't everything (just look at Windows XP), and sometimes looks are deceiving (unlike Windows XP). After the system initialized, I began the configuration process. The Linux system under the microscope sports the following configuration:

• Red Hat 7.2
• P233
• 64 megabytes of RAM
• Adaptec 2940 SCSI controller
• Onstream SC 50, a 50 gigabyte tape drive
• 4 gigabyte IDE drive

We use this modest machine for backups only, and usually via NFS, so it should be more than capable. As tape drives go, the SC 50 is a bit of an oddball, as it doesn't follow all the rules that other SCSI tape drives I've used do. The Linux kernel supports the drive, and I assumed Arkeia would handle it as well. Of course, I assumed incorrectly. I had severe problems with the SC 50 and thus was unable to test tape-based backup.

The failure of my ability to use my SC 50 did not deter me from my task. The Arkeia backup system has the ability to backup to a file. Some of you may scream, "Sacrilege! Give me my DLT or DAT!" but backing up to file is very cost effective. The use of a file backup can also be very secure if you use a detachable hard drive, such as a Firewire drive, to store the files.

Like all good geeks, I jumped in without reading the documentation, but the Arkeia prompts were more than enough to get me started. Almost. For example, I clicked on Interactive Backup, but the software informed me that I couldn't start a backup without a drive pool.

The basic steps that I took to get my file-based network backup to work are:

1. Create a drive
2. Create a drive pack within the drive
3. Create a tape pool
4. Create a tape within the pool
5. Create a savepack
6. Create a new library
7. Start the drive library

I then clicked on interactive backup and it fired up. Or so I thought.

It asked me to insert the tape tape_file into drive file_backup. I thought this was odd, considering the tape_file was supposed to be an actual file. Okay, diagnostic time. After digging around a little bit with no luck, I decided to call technical support (shhhh, don't tell anyone). A gentleman by the name of Sam Brown assisted me with my issues.

The main issue (and this is important) that I had was this: The free version of Arkeia does not support file-based backup or tape libraries. If you want the opportunity to utilize the advanced facilities of Arkeia you will have to cough up the cash for the Professional version. Us Linux folk may actually have to pay for good software (eek).

The file-based backup does not move the file to the client administrating the backup. Instead, it creates a backup file on the hard disk of the Arkeia server. If you decide to use the file-based backup, make sure that you have enough space available. This was unfortunate, because I can see benefits in having the backup write to file and then automatically transfer the backup file to the client machine. This way, when I click backup, the backup is performed, and then I just take my 60-gigabyte Firewire drive home with me. Alternatively, Knox Software could just have the system backup directly to the client machine, and support auto-resume if the network connection is interrupted.

On the downside, the software seems needlessly complicated for small shops. I will say the software complexity does seem to be indicative of backup software as a whole. In the past, I evaluated ArcServe and BRU, and like Arkeia, they all seem to want a lot of information just to run a simple backup. If you are in an enterprise backing up 30 machines with a single backup server, I could see the usability of drive pools and library management, but for a small shop that wants to manage half a dozen servers, all of these required options might seem excessive.

Arkeia supports a wide range of features, including compression and encryption, and after running several backups with it, I found that I am happier with Arkeia than the alternatives I've tried. For simple tasks, nothing beats tar, of course. Arkeia impressed me. I might even purchase the software as I have been searching for a reasonably easy to use network backup software for some time.