Overview & Features

Peer DRS is a generic data replication framework capable of backing up various types of databases (e.g. MS SQL Server, MS Exchange Server, etc), as well as replicating database changes to one or more remote locations acting as warm or cold standby servers based on the supported database platform's capabilities. Currently Peer DRS supports MS SQL Server and MS Exchange Server, but we plan on supporting other database platforms in future releases.

Peer DRS employs a form of log shipping which is the process of automating the backup of databases and transaction log files on a primary server, and then restoring them onto a target standby server. The key feature of log shipping is that it will automatically backup transaction logs throughout the day (for whatever interval you specify) and automatically restore them on a standby server located anywhere in the world. This in effect keeps the two databases in "synch". Should the production server fail, all you have to do is point the users/applications to the new server, apply any pending transaction log files to target (if any) and perform a database role change.

Peer DRS is unique from other products by providing a centralized way to remotely manage and monitor all of your database backups from a single location and from a single application. It has a plug-in architecture allowing it to support different types of database backups from a single application, e.g. MS SQL Server, MS Exchange Server, MySQL, etc. In addition, it is extremely flexible and can be configured to handle most any type of backup scenario. Peer DRS also has an easy and intuitive configuration wizard and management GUI making backups simple.

Peer DRS Product Comparison	Standard Edition	Small Business Edition
Support for MS SQL Server 7.0, MS SQL Server 2000 (all versions) and MS SQL Server 2005 (all versions), 2008 (all versions).	ü	ü
Maximum number of participating primary and target data sources	Unlimited (based on licensed amount)	2
Maximum number of replication jobs (1 primary database per job).	Unlimited	4
Maximum number of target standby databases per primary database	Unlimited	1
Ability to perform up to the minute incremental backups	ü	ü
Ability to perform backups on-demand or at a scheduled time	ü	ü
Ability to use the standby server as a live read-only database	ü	ü
Configure and manage all database backups remotely from a central, client-based GUI	ü	ü
Ability to run as a system service or as a standalone application.	ü	ü
Ability to resume a file copy from where it last left off for failed file copies to target	ü	ü
Ability to replicate and transfer across a WAN via FTP or a password protected Network Shared drive.	ü	ü
Ability to transfer backups securely across a WAN or LAN using SSH or SFTP	ü
Ability to configure backup jobs on a per database basis with different configurations and schedules	ü	ü
Ability to specify various archiving options and configure how long to preserve backups and transaction logs	ü	ü
Ability to perform full and incremental backups without restoring to a standby server for remote storage and disaster recovery	ü	ü
Ability to send alert emails if connection to primary database cannot be established or if a backup or restore has not occurred within a configurable period of time	ü	ü
Ability to report on all replication activity from a single control panel allowing for easy identification of current errors or for peace of mind by knowing everything is operating smoothly	ü	ü
Ability to monitor all replication activity in real-time and capable of setting different debug levels allowing for easy troubleshooting	ü	ü
All configured passwords are encrypted and out of reach of prying eyes	ü	ü
Streaming backup compression support for SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition	ü	ü
Supports Windows only platforms, both 32 & 64 bit (AMD64 / Intel EM64T).	ü	ü

Peer DRS Product Comparison	Standard Edition	Small Business Edition
Support for MS Exchange Server 2000 SP2 or greater, MS Exchange Server 2003 (all versions) and MS Exchange Server 2007 (all versions).	ü	ü
Maximum number of participating Exchange server hosts.	Unlimited (based on licensed amount)	2
Maximum number of replication jobs (1 primary storage group per job).	Unlimited	1
Maximum number of targets per replication job.	Unlimited	1
Ability to perform scheduled up-to-the minute incremental backups or continuous capture (whenever Exchange log files are committed to disk) of Exchange data, metadata, and context, including all email, folders, deletions, calendars, contacts, notes, tasks, and more.	ü	ü
Ability to perform backups on-demand or at a scheduled time	ü	ü
Protects against data loss and allows local recovery of Exchange information stores, mailboxes and disaster recovery of Exchange data to a standby Exchange Server.	ü	ü
Ability to perform on-demand recovery from latest snapshot of primary storage group to the target Exchange server for failover or other recovery purposes.	ü	ü
Guaranteed Exchange consistent backups. Checksums for all database pages are performed during backup and alerts will be sent if any errors occur, preventing data corruption from infecting the backup/replication copy.	ü	ü
Configure and manage all database backups remotely from a central, client-based GUI	ü	ü
Ability to replicate and transfer across a WAN via FTP or a password protected Network Shared drive.	ü	ü
Ability to transfer backups securely across a WAN or LAN using SSH or SFTP	ü
Ability to configure backup jobs on a per storage group basis with different configurations and schedules	ü	ü
Ability to specify various archiving options and configure how long to preserve backups and transaction logs	ü	ü
Ability to run as a system service or as a standalone application.	ü	ü
Ability to send alert emails if connection to primary Exchange server cannot be established or if a backup or restore has not occurred within a configurable period of time	ü	ü
Ability to report on all replication activity from a single control panel allowing for easy identification of current errors or for peace of mind by knowing everything is operating smoothly	ü	ü
Ability to monitor all replication activity in real-time and capable of setting different debug levels allowing for easy troubleshooting	ü	ü
All configured passwords are encrypted and out of reach of prying eyes	ü	ü
Supports Windows only platforms, both 32 & 64 bit (AMD64 / Intel EM64T).	ü	ü