InformationWeek

September 29, 1997

CA Moves ArcServe For NT Closer To The Enterprise

Storage manager to be integrated into Unicenter TNG

omputer Associates this week will reposition its ArcServe for Windows NT storage-management product as more of an enterprise-class offering. CA is adding high-end features to ArcServe, acquired with the company's purchase of Cheyenne Software this year, and is integrating the product into its Unicenter TNG management platform.

Topping the new-feature list for ArcServe 6.5 is an option that lets users automatically migrate a virtually unlimited amount of data off a hard drive onto other media, such as a tape drive or o ptical jukebox.

CA is targeting organizations with many offices with a new remote disaster-recovery option. The previous version required the administrator to connect a tape drive to the server to restore it; this new feature provides recovery capabilities over a remote connection.

Other features include data compression, mainframe backup, data encryption, and the ability for administrators to create a central server for an enterprise view of all backed-up information. "In the past, ArcServe was positioned just as a backup solution," says CA marketing manager T.M. Ravi. "But Windows NT customers are looking for complete storage management."

ArcServe 6.5 will come bundled and integrated with the Unicenter TNG Framework, a scaled-down version of CA's management platform. But most ArcServe customers are relatively small shops, so there's little demand among the installed base for Unicenter integration.

For example, Halley Exchange, a data clearinghouse in Elgin, Ill., that has tested ArcServe 6.5 , has no plans to implement TNG. But Halley LAN administrator Sam Chen likes the disaster-recovery capabilities. "As you might imagine, our data is very important to us," Chen says.

ArcServe 6.5 for Windows NT/ Enterprise Edition is available now for $1,395, without the added options. The mainframe backup option is priced at $6,995; the disaster-recovery option, $395; and the data- migration option, $2,995.

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