A. Because HEROware works at the file-system level, any application that utilizes Microsoft Windows Server and SBS 2003 and above is fully supported by HEROware. Whether it be Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, Oracle®, CRM, ERP or any other third-party or home-grown application, HEROware will ensure that it's data is accurately and efficiently replicated to a remote server.

A. While snapshots are useful in providing for rapid recovery of files from different points in time, they typically do not allow for creation on a separate disk or server and are not full data images, they typically capture just the changed data. As such they are not able to provide recovery in the event a server or disk were to fail or become unavailable. HEROware on the other hand provides local and remote replication and creates a complete image of the production data that can be used for rebuilding, restoring, and failover.

A. Yes. HEROware replaces tape backup by providing a real-time online version of data that can be used for immediate recovery or failover, should an outage occur. HEROware can also greatly enhance and simplify your current backup strategy by allowing backups to be moved from the production servers to offline servers by backing up a replica of the data. This allows your application servers to dedicate all resources on the applications and not on backup. For branch office support, instead of providing backup hardware and software to each remote location, you can centralize all backup operations by utilizing HEROware to copy the remote locations data to your main data center where backups can be processed by trained personnel and archived along with all other backup media.  By using the HEROware Cloud, you will have a third total copy of your data for replication and disaster recovery purposes.

A. No. Unlike other replication products that replicate entire files or whole blocks when only small changes are made, HEROware replicates just the bytes that are changed. This allows HEROware to provide efficient use of network resources and minimize latency between the source and target servers.

A. Yes. HEROware supports WAN-based replication as well as LAN. As such, HEROware can be used to replicate data between cities, states, and even countries.

A. Yes. It provides two levels of real-time, open-file backup. First, it supports real-time transaction- based replication of open files to one or more disks or servers located anywhere on a network. Users do not have to be taken offline or close files in order for the files to be replicated by HEROware. Second, it allows another HEROware appliance (installed as a secondary backup server on-site or off) to concurrently backup the replicated data while files remain open - allowing users to implement a real-time, fault tolerant server with total High Availability and complete redundancy.  By adding the HEROware Cloud to this your company has the highest level of Disaster Recovery available today.

A. Typical disk mirroring, or duplexing, includes one server or storage array with two identical hard disks; each disk is a mirror image of the other. In this situation, the actual mirroring occurs on a block or track basis - at the disk level. As a result, only whole partitions can be mirrored or duplexed. Mirroring usually requires more data to be transmitted as every change may require an entire disk block to be re-mirrored. With HEROware, files, directories, and server volumes can be selected for replication to any other Windows server and disk/volume; no need for identical hardware. As HEROware replicates at the byte-level, transferring only the actual bytes that change, network utilization and impact is minimized as is latency between fully synchronized servers.

A. Yes. HEROware requires that a small and inconspicuous set of files be installed on each server acting as a source or a target.

A. HEROware provides asynchronous replication. Although your particular environment will yield different results, HEROware provides very fast and efficient replication of data resulting in a very small latency between the source and target data. This also allows HEROware to run without impacting production applications, as synchronous solutions require that the target data be written before the application can continue.

A. When first deployed, it is necessary for HEROware to create an initial copy of the data from the source onto the target. This is necessary to then allow replication to update it with just the changes. Synchronization is sometimes referred to as 'mirroring', where a mirror copy of the entire data set is created. The only other time it is necessary to resynchronize is after the connection between the source and target is broken, either due to a server shutdown, network disconnect, etc. Should this occur, HEROware will perform a resynchronization once the connection is reestablished. Resynchronization doesn't copy all of the source data, it copies just the differences between the source and target. Resynchronization has a few options to determine what is different on the target. It can either check file attributes such as size, modification date, etc. or copy differences based on this information or it can do a block-level checksum compare. This is configurable within the user interface.

A. Array-based solutions are much more expensive than HEROware and are not heterogeneous, meaning that they support only that one type and/or vendors hardware. Configuration is often more difficult as well requiring a greater learning curve and longer time to deployment. With HEROware, you can replicate any hardware to any hardware, between vendors, SAN, LAN, NAS, and even between Windows® OS. This allows for much greater flexibility in making new purchases, when you make them, and the vendor and products you select. With it's Windows-based GUI, deployment and configuration are simplified resulting in a smaller and less expensive learning curve and a quicker time to deployment. Some SAN-based solutions require additional hardware be purchased and implemented into your SAN, and typically require that at least two of these devices be installed; one at each end of the replication path. These solutions add complexity to your SAN, require additional learning time, and have the potential to impact the overall performance of the entire SAN.

A. No, the HERO appliances are a mirror image of your SBS/Windows Server, so no matter what you have on your server in the way of storage will be mirrored to your HERO replication Appliance.   As a best practice, we plan for growth in our designing of your system so you won't outgrow your HEROware device for years to come.

A. We would recommend that you purchase the HERO VBCA 10, which can support up to 10 servers.  We suggest the customer to size for growth.  Please review   http://www.heroware.com/content/herovca

A. Since Double-Take (HEROware's Software engine) isn't the principle application on the server (and we don't really "require" a significant amount of memory to run - it's primarily for the memory queue), a good rule of thumb would be 1GB more than required for the application of the server.

A. HEROware is a driver-level application that captures changes at the file-system level as they are made on the source server. If configured appropriately, and the network bandwidth is available, these changes will be immediately replicated to the target server(s). Most often this is the case, however there are times when your business may require changes to be transmitted at a lower priority than other tasks currently occurring. In this case, HEROware offers numerous configuration options that allow transmissions to be controlled to best suit your needs.

A. Yes. HEROware does not by default lock the data on the target server. This allows read and write access on the target data. This is very useful for data distribution to remote branch offices, testing, etc.

A. Yes. All ACL's are copied to the target replica during the initial synchronization and are also maintained during replication. Unlike other replication products, if an ACL is changed on a source file, this change WILL be replicated to the target. This is critical in maintaining file and data security in your environment.

A. Yes. Any source file or folder that has a share defined for it will have it's share properties replicated to the target during initial synchronization. Any changes or additions to shares will be replicated to the target as well during real-time replication.

A. Yes. All encrypted files will be copied during the initial synchronization and will continue to be replicated during the real-time replication process. Encryption remains enabled on the target replica to ensure proper security is maintained.

A. Yes. During a synchronization, HEROware can also perform real-time replication. This ensures that any changes taking place during the synchronization process are also captured and replicated. Once the synchronization is complete the target replica is an exact copy of the source at that point.

A. Yes. HEROware has numerous settings to allow customized control of how and when it runs and how much bandwidth it can use.

A. Because HEROware replication uses native "server-to-server" IP communication, customers have multiple options for encrypting the data when deemed necessary: 1) Hardware-level encryption from the Routers or other Infrastructure appliance is usually the best solution. Many of our customers use the Internet to connect between their company sites by leveraging VPN's which provide encrypted tunneling. This provides a secure path between sites. One of the empowering features of HEROware for managing this encryption is that HEROware uses defined ports (default 1100 and 1105). This allows customers simply define those ports as "to be encrypted", as opposed to "everything" on the corporate WAN. 2) In those cases where a customer wants encryption within a given site, we recommend that they use the native "server-to-server" encryption capabilities of Windows 2000 & 2003. Those O/S can define a policy such that all communication from one IP address/range to another is automatically IPSEC/L2TP encrypted - while the "server to workstation" communication isn't. Third-party Hardware Adapters (e.g. TOE cards) can also be used, as long as they are "under" the networking layer of the server. In short, HEROware hands all network communication to the Windows O/S. Any technology that a customer wishes to employ from the network layer down will be transparent to HEROware.

A. Because HEROware is a REAL-TIME replication system, it does not require identical hardware or dedicated server links. Working with another disk or server located on a LAN or WAN, HEROware only requires that the secondary server(s) have adequate disk capacity to hold the data being replicated from the primary server. This flexibility provides for solutions such as migrations from one storage media to another, from DAS to a NAS or SAN, from one OS to an upgraded OS, etc.

A. While compression of transmitted data can have a very positive impact on the data protection solution, it is not always optimal to utilize it, for a few different reasons. Compression requires additional processing which results in higher CPU usage. While some servers and applications can allow for this, there may be some where this is not acceptable. For this reason, HEROware chose to allow its customers to determine when and where compression is suitable for their business and their data. HEROware not only allows users to configure compression for on or off, but also allows users to set compression to one of three different levels, depending on the particular data being replicated. As the leader in enterprise data protection solutions, HEROware provides the flexibility to meet the varying needs of its customers by allowing them to choose the level that is right for them.

A. HEROware provides numerous methods of notification for events occurring in the replication and data protection environment. Events and messages can be viewed via the Windows Event Viewer as standard Windows events; can be viewed via a framework or other SNMP-compatible source via our SNMP traps, or via standard email, which could include pagers and cell phones enabled for SMTP. Separate notification methods and recipients can be configured on each dataset being replicated within HEROware providing for different service levels for each dataset.
 
You can e-mail HEROware/Double-Take event messages to specific addresses. The subject of the e-mail will contain an optional prefix, the server name where the message was logged, the message ID, and the severity level (information, warning, or error). The text of the message will be displayed in the body of the e-mail message.

   1. Open the Replication Console and right-click the BCA server on the left pane of the Replication Console.

   2. Select Properties.

   3. Select the E-mail Notification tab.

   4. Select Enable notification.

Note:
   
Any specified notification settings are retained when Enable notification is disabled.

   5. Specify your e-mail settings.

·       Mail Server (SMTP)—Specify the name of your SMTP mail server.

·       Log on to SMTP Server—If your SMTP server requires authentication, enable Log on to SMTP Server and specify the Username and Password to be used for authentication. Your SMTP server must support the LOGIN authentication method to use this feature. If your server supports a different authentication method or does not support authentication, you may need to add the HERO BCA as an authorized host for relaying e-mail messages. This option is not necessary if you are sending exclusively to e-mail addresses that the SMTP server is responsible for.

·       From Address—Specify the e-mail address that you want to appear in the From field of each HEROware/Double-Take e-mail message. The address is limited to 256 characters.

·       Send To—Specify the e-mail address that each HEROware/Double-Take e-mail message should be sent to and click Add. The e-mail address will be inserted into the list of addresses. Each address is limited to 256 characters. You can add up to 256 e-mail addresses. If you want to remove an address from the list, highlight the address and click Remove. You can also select multiple addresses to remove by Ctrl-clicking.

·       Subject Prefix and Add event description to subject—The subject of each e-mail notification will be in the format Subject Prefix : Server Name : Message Severity : Message ID : Message Description. The first and last components (Subject Prefix and Message Description) are optional. The subject line is limited to 150 characters.

If desired, enter unique text for the Subject Prefix which will be inserted at the front of the subject line for each HEROware/Double-Take e-mail message. This will help distinguish HEROware/Double-Take messages from other messages. This field is optional.

If desired, enable Add event description to subject to have the description of the message appended to the end of the subject line. This field is optional.

·       Filter Contents—Specify which messages that you want to be sent via e-mail. Specify Information, Warning, and/or Error. You can also specify which messages to exclude based on the message ID. Enter the message IDs as a comma or semicolon separated list. You can indicate ranges within the list.

Note:
   
You can test e-mail notification by specifying the options on the E-mail Notification tab and clicking Test. (By default, the test will be run from the machine where the Replication Console is running.) If desired, you can send the test message to a different e-mail address by selecting Send To and entering a comma or semicolon separated list of addresses. Modify the message text up to 1024 characters, if necessary. Click Send to test the e-mail notification. The results will be displayed in a message box. Click OK to close the message and click Close to return to the E-mail Notification tab.

E-mail notification will not function properly if the Event logs are full.

If an error occurs while sending an e-mail, a message will be generated. This message will not trigger an e-mail. Subsequent e-mail errors will not generate additional messages. When an e-mail is sent successfully, a message will then be generated. If another e-mail fails, one message will again be generated. This is a cyclical process where one message will be generated for each group of failed e-mail messages, one for each group of successful e-mail messages, one for the next group of failed messages, and so on.

If you start and then immediately stop the Double-Take service, you may not get e-mail notifications for the log entries that occur during startup.

By default, most virus scan software blocks unknown processes from sending traffic on port 25. You need to modify the blocking rule so that HEROware/Double-Take e-mail messages are not blocked.

   6. Click OK to save the settings.

A. While HEROware does not prevent administrators from viewing or managing certain servers, it does allow individual administrators to create custom views of just a particular set of servers. Instead of searching through tens or hundreds of servers in the HEROware management console looking for a particular one or few, administrators can create a view that will display just the server(s) that they are concerned with. Scalability is not an issue with HEROware as hundreds of servers can be viewed in smaller subsets for separation of tasks between administrators and for ease of management.

 

A. Yes. You will be required to reboot your servers just once during the initial installation of HEROware. Once running, HEROware requires no additional reboots of the server for any reason, including new files, applications, write-locks, start/stop of applications, etc.

A. Yes. HEROware can be configured to replicate to one or more servers and can also replicate from many servers to a single server. One-to-many replication enables additional data protection and allows for data distribution; the ability to push production data to remote locations. Many-to-one replication allows for the consolidation of many servers replicated data onto a single server. This is very useful when doing centralized or serverless backups.

A. Yes. The failover module runs on the target server and continuously monitors the source servers. Whenever a source server fails, the failover module tells the target server to pick up the failed server's name, shares and IP address. It can also run a failover script, allowing you to automatically restart key applications on the target server.

A. Yes. If the primary server fails, users can easily login to the secondary server and continue operations with minimal downtime and data loss. In fact, HEROware can either automatically or manually have users redirected to the target server the instance the production server fails. Users do not need to make any changes and are likely to not even know there was a failure.

A. The revert process refers to the procedure which immediately follows a failback from a HERO BCA or HERO VBCA. Once production has been resumed on a production server, the HERO BCA or VBCA needs to be reverted, or just setup back to its factory settings so mirroring and replication can again resume.

Today's process is simple:
        1. For the HERO BCA, HEROware will supply the user with a downloadable ISO image that can be burned to disk or saved as a bootable flash drive. Insert the disk or flash drive and follow the instruction in our HERO BCA Restore Document found online at www.heroware.com/content/support.

        2. For the HERO VBCA, no revert is necessary since the HERO VBCA utilized Microsoft's Hyper-V technology. After failback, simply run through the set up wizard again to configure protection of your production server.

A. If your HERO appliance is covered under the Warranty Support or you have purchased additional yearly support after your warranty has expired, you should contact HEROware by calling the phone number listed on our Contact Support page or contact your HEROware Partner if they are authorized for support fulfillment on HERO appliance products.  If the Warranty Support period for your HERO appliance product has expired and you do not have an active support contract, you should contact your local HERO appliance partner for assistance in purchasing a new support contract.  Once your product is covered under an active support contract you may open a support case.

A. Use the online help. Every HERO appliance includes Web-based online help available from the HERO Control Center management interface. Online help can get you the latest answers to frequently asked questions. Each appliance arrives with the Getting Started Guide printed and inside the box. This provides you with instructions on how to connect and start your HEROware appliance. Once you have booted your appliance, additional help and guide documentation is available through the HERO Control Center application, which starts automatically, or from our web site at www.heroware.com.  Look in the latest release notes for your product at www.heroware.com/support/releasenotes to see if the symptoms you are seeing might be due to a known issue that has been resolved in a more recent version of the firmware.  If so, consider updating your firmware to see if it resolves the symptoms. You will need to have an active support agreement to download the latest firmware version for your product. You can find the latest release notes in the Support section of www.HEROware.com.  Check the product documentation. Read the Getting Started Guide and the User Guide included on the Resource CD or through the HERO Control Center application that comes with your HERO appliance. Or, you can go to the Support Reference Library on www.HEROware.com to find a digital version (PDF) of the latest guide, technical note or FAQ you need.  Perform diagnostics. The system diagnostics in the management interface provides a series of diagnostic tools to help you troubleshoot common network problems.
 
If you are still unable to resolve the issue, please review this document prior to contacting HEROware, and have the following information ready:

The name and serial number of the appliance or software solution

Your first and last name

Your e-mail address

Your telephone number

A detailed description of the problem, including when the symptoms first occurred and how frequently they are occurring

The severity of the problem

A detailed description of the troubleshooting steps you have performed and the results of those steps

The firmware version currently running on the product

Any applicable log files, screen shots and error messages

A. No. When a power surge or power outage occurs, or when power is restored after an outage, your HERO appliance product might be subjected to current and/or voltage that is outside of the published environmental specifications for the products. Because your HERO appliance Hardware Warranty does not apply to defects caused by the product being operated outside of published environmental specifications such as the voltage range, this kind of damage is excluded form coverage as stated in the "Exclusions and Limitations" paragraph of the Support Services Licensing Agreement.

A. Yes, if the modification is not authorized by HEROware. As stated in the "Exclusions and Limitations" paragraph of the Support Services Licensing Agreement, HEROware is not obligated to repair or replace a product that has been damaged due to unauthorized modification, maintenance or repair.

A. HERO appliance's Hardware Warranty does not apply to defects resulting from customer-or third-party-supplied software, interfacing or supplies, nor from improper use or operation outside the specifications for the product.  If you are experiencing an issue with a HERO appliance product, HEROware may request that you temporarily remove the customer or third-party software, interfacing or supplies to determine whether or not it is causing or contributing to the defect.

A. If you transfer your HERO appliance product to another user, the remaining days of Hardware Warranty for the product are available to that user until the Hardware Warranty expires. With written consent by HEROware, if you transfer an active support contract for the product to another user, the remaining days of the active support contract for the product are available to that user until the support contract expires. You may not assign the support contract to another user without written consent from HEROware and any attempted assignment without HEROware's consent shall be null and void.

A. Warranty Support called "HEROware Protection Plan" is the initial support coverage that must be purchased with your new HERO appliance product. The terms of the initial support contract run for two years, which provides for technical support, software and firmware updates, hardware replacement and more. Please contact your partner for additional years support.

A. Yes. Go to the main Customer Support page download the latest software and firmware updates and download the latest product manuals.  If you have questions that you are unable to answer with this information, you can submit a Service Request online or you can contact HEROware by calling the phone number for your region listed on the Contact Support page. Online and phone assistance is for product-specific questions on product features, capabilities and specifications, and basic configuration and troubleshooting. If your product is covered under Warranty Support or by an active 9x5 support contract, there is no charge by HEROware for using this service.   Advanced topics including network design, consultation and configuration recommendations are not available through this online or phone service, however they are available through other services from HEROware or your local HEROware Partner. Please see the next question for additional information on services offered by HERO appliance.

A. For more information on support for HEROware appliance products, please visit the Support page on our website. You can also contact your local HEROware Partner who can provide information on HEROware services as well as their own services.