Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Asnwers for Product Questions:

What is SmartFiler Backup Appliance ?
SmartFiler Backup Appliance is a data backup appliance that is build with the necessary hardware and software.  It offers an easy-to-use interface to backup 50GB to 12 TB of data on the local network (onsite) as well as to a remote (offsite) location for disaster recovery.
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What is it used for?
SmartFiler Backup Appliance is used for backing up 50GB to 12TB of data onsite and to a remote offsite location.
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Who will use it?
Any business that has large amount of data can benefit from using the SmartFiler Backup Appliance solution for their daily data backup.  This product can replace tape backup, online backup and public cloud based backups.
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How is it used?
SmartFiler Backup solution is simple.  You buy a pair of SmartFiler Backup Appliances; one for onsite and the other for remote offsite.  Connect both to your LAN for the initial backup which may be very large.  After the initial backup, relocate the Offsite SmartFiler to a remote location.  The Onsite SmartFiler will continue to perform the daily incremental backup to the remote Offsite SmartFiler.
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What problem does it solve?
Every business needs an effective local and offsite backup irrespective of their budget or data size.  Unfortunately even small businesses with budget constraints have large amounts of data.  Using tape backup is unreliable and often fails to provide adequate protection as it requires daily tape management and offsite transportation of tapes.  Using an online backup service is impractical for large amounts of data due to limited Internet bandwidth.
SmartFiler Backup appliance solution is fully automated and provides the means to backup terabytes of data offsite without relying on the Internet bandwidth.   It offers an excellent and economical solution for backing up large amounts of data.
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What other solutions are there to solve the same problem?

• Tape backup has been the most common solution for large amounts data for the past two decades. 
• Though online backup service has been widely adopted in the last five years for smaller amounts of data (less than 50 GB), it does not offer an adequate solution for large amounts of data due to slow backup speeds and long restore times, limited by the Internet bandwidth.
• Hybrid solutions: A local backup on an appliance and offsite backup on cloud storage.  Though this solution provides a local backup, it suffers from the same problems of Online Backup service for the remote offsite backup.

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Why is the SmartFiler method better?
The SmartFiler Backup solution is fully automated and offers both onsite and offsite backups for large amounts of data.  It does not depend on the Internet bandwidth for huge backups or restores, hence offers high-speed backups and restores.  Other methods require either daily manual operation or are limited by Internet Bandwidth.
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What is the direct competition? Who else offers the same type of solution?

• Barracuda Backup Service
• Sonicwall CDP Appliance
• 3X Systems

Why is our solution better than their solution?

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What is the indirect competition? Who else offers different types of solutions for the same problem?

• Tape Backup solutions ( separate vendors for software and hardware)
• In-house solutions created using scripts, backup software and NAS devices.
• Onilne-Offsite Backup Service

Why is our solution better?

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What is the cost of the SmartFiler Backup Appliance solution?
See http://smartpick.com/pricing.html

How does the cost compare to competitors?
See http://smartpick.com/pricing.html

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What are the salient features and benefits of the SmartFiler Appliance solution?

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Why buy the SmartFiler Solution?
Speed. Simplicity. Savings.  See http://smartpick.com/WhySmartFiler.htm

Can we backup MS Exchange and SQL servers?
Yes. SmartFiler Backup Solution is integrated with Symantec Backup Exec System Restore 2010 to offer MS Exchange and SQL server backup and restore (more info..). SmartFilers also work with AppAssure's Reply4 for Exchange and SQL backup.

Can we restore individual mailboxes from Exchange backup?
Yes. Since SmartFiler solution is integrated with Backup Exec System Recovery 2010, it offers all the features of BESR, with the added benefits of offsite backup and ability to backup data from all servers on your network without addicional licenses.

Does SmartFiler Backup offer Bare Metal restore capabilities?
Yes. Since SmartFiler solution is integrated with Backup Exec System Recovery 2010, it offers all the features of BESR, with the added benefits of offsite backup and ability to backup data from all servers on your network without addicional licenses.

What software is installed in the SmartFiler Appliances? 
SmartFiler Appliances use enterprise class operating system (RedHat/CentOS) that is being used by most of the fortune 1000 companies.  The Backup Software installed in the SmartFiler was developed by SmartPick Backup.  SmartPick Backup has developed and implemented many storage and backup solutions for reputed big corporations, including fortune 500 companies.  Visit http://smartpick.com/aboutus.htm for more information about the company.

What hardware is used to build SmartFiler Appliances?
SmartFiler Appliances are built with reputed brand name components.  The specific hardware manufactures used in building SmartFiler Appliances are: Intel, Seagate, Western Digital, etc.
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What kind of support is available?
Email support is available 24 x 7 x 365.  Phone support is available from 9AM to 6PM PST, M-F.

What is the warranty and return policy?
Unconditional 30-day money back guarantee is offered for single drive models (1000 series).  Dual drive models (2000 series) are subject to 20% restocking fee since the returned systems cannot be sold as new (can only be sold as refurbished).  Returns are not accepted on custom models (4000 and 8000 series).  The shipping charges and insurance on the returned items are paid by the customer.
One year warranty is included on the hardware for all products.  One year software maintenance/upgrade is included for all products.
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Do you have data center facilities to host the offsite SmartFiler?
Yes.  We have data centers in California and Texas.  We offer hosting facilities for our customers’ offsite SmartFiler for a nominal monthly charge based on the physical size of the unit (not storage size).  Typical charge for hosting a 1U unit (1000, 2000 and 4000 series rack mount models) is $99 per month.

Do you offer leasing options or can the SmartFiler Appliance solution be used as a service?
Yes.  We offer an offsite backup service using the SmartFiler appliance, if you prefer not to invest on any hardware.  It comes with all the benefits of the SmartFiler solution without any initial investment.  See purchase options 2 and 3 at http://smartpick.com/pricing.html.

Is there a per server licensing fee if I want to backup many server?
No.  You can backup as many servers as you want to one SmartFiler without any additional licensing fee.

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Answers for Technical Questions:

Can I backup data from Unix and Windows servers?
Yes.  You can backup Windows, Unix/Linux, and Mac servers using the SmartFiler.  No special software or agents need to be installed on any system.

How do I know if my backups are happening?
The Dashboard on the SmartFIler UI always shows the details of the most recent backup.  You can also configure the SmartFiler to send you an email notification after each backup is completed.

How do I verify the integrity of my backup?
It is not complicated like tape backups.  You can view all the files in all your historical backup from any Windows system via Windows Explorer.  You can copy/paste or drag/drop any file or directory to your Windows system, open the files with the appropriate application to verify the integrity of the backup.

What about security? Is the data encrypted?
As the first measure of security, the onsite and offsite SmartFilers are paired together, by exchanging security keys, to ensure that any communication or data transfer can only happen between these two systems.  No other computer is allowed to login to a SmartFiler, except the paired SmartFiler.  In addition, any data that is transferred in/out of a SmartFiler is encrypted with 128 bit encryption – the same level of encryption as any bank transaction.

How much storage capacity do I need in the SmartFiler Appliance?
It depends on a number of factors:

• Amount of data you want to backup (Selected Backup Size).
• The number of historical revisions of backup you want to retain. (Daily,Weekly)
• Daily Incremental Size: Total size of all new files created daily + Total size of all files that change daily.
• Expected Growth in 3 years.
• Whether you want to use the hourly Snapshot feature or not.

In general, for a typical use, assuming that your Selected Backup Size is 100GB, you want to retain 7 daily backups and 2 weekly backups, not using hourly Snapshots feature, and estimated daily incremental size to be 10GB and you expect your data size to be doubled in 3 years:

The backup storage capacity you need = (Selected Backup Size + Number of revisions * Daily Incremental Size) * Expected Growth in 3 years.

The backup storage capacity you need = (100 + 9 x 10) x 2 = 380GB. 

Allowing 30% of error/assumption margin, you should plan for 380 x 1.3 = 494 GB.
The right model of SmartFiler for you is the one with 1TB capacity.

NOTE: 
(1) When the disk drives publish the capacity as 500GB, it is usually about 476GB (Because they don’t use the binary math!).  And the SmartFiler uses about 40GB for its own operating system and software.  So, the effective usable capacity is about 436GB.
(2) Important consideration: If you have a huge file, say 40GB in size, that changes daily it will substantially increase your backup storage requirements since your Daily Incremental Size in the formula above will be substantial.

What happens if I run out of capacity?
Your need to buy a higher capacity SmartFiler.

What is Snapshot and how do I use the snapshot feature?
The hourly Snapshot feature allows you create several snapshots of your data during the day.  Using these point-in-time snapshots you recover lost or deleted files without having to revert back to previous night’s backup.  But remember, the snapshots consume additional disk space, the same amount as would a backup and their historical revision.

What if a drive fails? RAID? Hot-swap?
In the single drive models, if the disk drive fails it can only be replaced and loaded with the required software by SmartPick Backup.  The 2, 4, and 8 drive models come with RAID.  The disk drive is also hot-pluggable in these models.  We can ship you a disk drive or you can purchase a compatible disk drive and replace it.  The failed drive will be automatically rebuilt with the right data by the RAID algorithms.

What if a disaster destroys my onsite SmartFiler or what if my onsite SmartFiler fails?
You can bring the offsite SmartFiler from the remote location (may be by overnight shipping) and connect it to your LAN, configure it with new IP address and designate it as Onsite.  Now all you data is available locally (No need to download for 100s of hours, like other online/offsite backup services).

What if my offsite SmartFiler fails?
Repair or replace the offsite SmartFiler.   Pair the new offsite SmartFiler with the onsite SmartFiler by connecting it the same LAN for the initial full backup.  Relocate it to the offsite location as before.

How often do I have to do a full backup?
The SmartFiler will automatically perform the right type of backup – whether full or incremental.  We know that the initial (first) backup is always a full backup and is usually the biggest backup.  We recommend performing it by connecting the two SmartFilers in the same LAN to take advantage of the LAN speed and complete the initial backup in hours instead of months using Internet speeds.

How long will the backups be stored?
This is defined by your backup policy.  All files will be retained in the SmartFiler unless it is deleted at the source (your server, the original data).  When you delete a file from you server, it will no longer be part of any future backups.  However, the historical copies will remain on the SmartFiler as per your backup policy.  For example, if your policy is to keep 7 daily backups and 2 weekly backups, your oldest backup will be 2 weeks old.  Your deleted file will be available on the SmartFiler for 2 weeks and then it will be deleted from the SmartFiler.

Can I use SmartFiler for onsite backup only?
Yes.  Offsite is optional.

Can I use SmartFiler for offsite backup only?
No.  To use offsite SmartFiler, you need an onsite SmartFiler.

Can I back VM images?
Yes, like any other file.

Are there any special considerations in configuring Backup Exec System Recovery when used with SmartFilers?
Yes. To enable uninterrupted daily offsite backup there are some special considerations in configuring Backup Exec System Recovery 2010. Please download the White Paper "Using SmartFiler for Microsoft Exchange Server Backup" or view as html for more details.