A: The 3X RBA was created from the ground-up to deliver a feature set that rivals the most expensive, sophisticated online backup solutions at a price affordable to the SMB. To achieve this, the RBA employs a powerful, intuitive management console and a unique communications model to backup and restore data remotely from any location in the world with a broadband Internet connection. What's more, with the 3X Systems Locator Service, the RBA can configure IP/DNS settings dynamically, with no need to reconfigure settings if the Vault's location on the Internet changes.

In short, the 3X RBA:

• Is easy to control with its web-based management console
• Executes backups automatically in the background
• Encrypts all files on your computer/server before transmission
• Uses file-level and block-level deduplication
• Saves storage space by transmitting only changed data during backups
• Backs up open files

In addition to its extensive feature set, the RBA offers complete ownership and control of your business-critical data, because you own the appliance.

A: The 3X Locator Service is a unique patent-pending configuration technology that totally eliminates the use of IP addresses, port numbers or even host names altogether, using the security key itself to identify, install and authenticate individual desktops, laptops and servers. This happens automatically, and adds an additional level of security over other backup solutions that require manual configuration. It makes your entire system truly independent of any geographic location when it comes to backup, and does not require a VPN or any other third party software or service. It is a leading-edge technology service provided by 3X Systems at no charge for end clients, and RBA users always retain the option to bypass the service if they so choose.

A: The 3X RBA currently supports the following platforms:

Servers:

• Windows Server 2000
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows Server 2008
• Microsoft Exchange 2003
• Microsoft Exchange 2007
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005
• Microsoft SQL Server 2008
• Active Directory

Endpoint Clients:

• Windows XP
• Windows Vista
• Windows 7

A: RBA capacity depends on the model type, deployment environment, and the type of data being protected.

There are two RBA models, each with different physical capacities:

• 500 Series: Scalable to 450 GB of physical capacity
• Tera Series: Scalable to 1.8 TB of physical capacity

With their deduplication and compression technologies, each model can potentially attain a protected* storage capacity that is significantly higher than its physical storage capacity. As a general "rule-of-thumb", the physical protection ratio between the RBA and source data is 1:1 -- meaning the RBA requires 100 GB of physical storage space to protect 100 GB of unique source data. However, the RBA can protect multiple backup versions (points in time) of that 100 GB of source data using the same 100 GB of physical storage space.

To put this concept of protected capacity into perspective, consider an image-based backup system. In order to retain 3 backup versions (points in time) of 100 GB of source data, the image-based system must use 300 GB of physical storage space -- each version is a separate full backup. Unlike an image-based system, the RBA can differentiate between new source data and redundant data which has already been saved, eliminating the need to create a separate full backup for each version. Accordingly, deployment environments with a large number of workstations that share common files and operating systems will see a greater protection ratio than deployment environments with many unique files to protect.

*Protected capacity equals the amount of physical storage space consumed by source data multiplied by the number of stored versions.

A: No. Since the RBA comes with unlimited endpoint and server licenses, you can protect all of your devices without purchasing additional licenses.

A: All 3X RBAs come with a one-year maintenance program that includes hardware support (including replacement), software updates, and technical support. After the first year of ownership, coverage can be extended by three or five years.

A: 3X Systems provides a complimentary SMTP service at no charge to facilitate RBA alerts and notifications and as a means of enhancing device portability. As with the 3X Systems Locator Service, users can bypass the SMTP service if they so choose.

A: Any time the RBA transmits data, that data is encrypted in transmission to and from the Vault itself using SSL technology. In addition to this powerful layer of protection, RBA users can choose to encrypt data that is "at rest" on the Vault using the on-disk 128-bit AES encryption built into the RBA.

A: Your data is safe with the RBA because it incorporates a RAID 1 disk-mirroring strategy. In other words, there are actually two drives inside the Vault that save your data. In the unlikely event of a drive failure, the RBA will continue to operate, and all of your data will remain safe on the duplicate – or mirror – drive. The failed drive can then be replaced when convenient.

A: Restoring data takes only a few mouse clicks on a user's local Client or on the centralized web-based Manager. Also, the Manager enables RBA administrators to initiate restores from any place in the world with an Internet connection.

A: Included in every RBA Backup Set are instructions defining how long the data in the set should be retained on the Vault – these instructions are known, collectively, as a Retention Policy. Retention Policies can be customized to store data according to your unique business needs. Once the time period dictated by a Retention Policy expires, the corresponding data is cleared automatically from the Vault. Otherwise, data can be stored on the Vault indefinitely. The storage drives themselves are server-grade with an MTBF rating of 1.2 million hours, meaning they can be reasonably expected to last 137 years before failure.

A: The RBA is designed to validate data at four specific times. The RBA verifies data:

• Every time a new file, or changed data within a file (Delta), is transmitted to the Vault
• While conducting automatic maintenance
• During Vault defragmentation
• While conducting hardware parity checks

Through these four processes, the RBA continually verifies your data. If, for any reason, a file is not verifiable, the RBA administrator(s) will receive an automated email alert giving them an opportunity to immediately resolve the issue before the problem impacts a restore.

A: If a Client Computer(s) and the Vault are physically located in different time zones, backups will execute with respect to the location of the Client Computer, not the Vault's location.

A: Yes. Any time the RBA transmits data to or from the Valut, that data is encrypted using SSL technology. In addition to this powerful layer of protection, RBA users can choose to encrypt data that is "at rest" on the Vault using the on-disk 128-bit AES encryption built into the RBA. The best practice is to always take advantage of this encryption security so that data is available in usable form only to your business, so that even if it could be lifted or intercepted it would still be inaccessible to any third party.

A: Depending on your data environment, the first – or "seed" – backup can take a significant amount of time to complete. For greater speed, perform the Seed Backup with the Vault connected to the same Local Area Network as your protected device(s).

More specifically, sites with approximately 20-30 GB of data can generally be "seeded" across the Internet via a WAN. For sites with 30-100 GB of data, the 3X Best Practice is to perform the seed locally via a LAN. Sites with 100 GB or more of data should be seeded locally via a LAN during an extended period of downtime (i.e. weekend hours).

A: After all files are copied to the Vault in their entirety during the first – or "seed" – backup, the RBA transmits only the changed data within those files during subsequent backups. The changed data – or "Deltas" – within the files are typically a fraction of the size of the complete original files. As such, subsequent backups typically require brief or negligible amounts of time and bandwidth to complete.

The sudden addition of very large files, or the need to restore a large file or series of files, can impact time and bandwidth. In version 2.5 and higher, bandwidth throttling settings can be used to moderate bandwidth usage. And the portable appliance can always be brought in and connected directly to the LAN to greatly increase the speed of transmission for these special cases, and then returned to its safe location offsite.