Retrospect (software)

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For other uses, see Retrospect (disambiguation).

Retrospect is a family of software applications that back up computers running the macOS, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and classic Mac OS operating systems. It uses the client–server backup model,[1] which means there must be a backup server application running on one computer and small-footprint client applications running on the other computers being backed up in either a single platform or mixed platform network. The destination may be a tape drive instead of a hard disk drive or cloud drive. The company's backup server application runs on either a macOS or a Windows computer, but there are also versions of the client application that run on Linux or classic Mac OS.

The product is used for GUI-scripted backup in a heterogeneous network, primarily by small and medium-sized businesses.[2][3]

History[edit]

The software was first developed by Dantz Development Corporation in the mid-1980s, initially for the Macintosh platform and later for Windows. Dantz Development Corporation was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004.[4] Version 7.5, the first release of the Windows variant under EMC, added features needed by SMEs.[5] In 2009, EMC indicated an intention[6] to add an updated user interface and separate administration console similar to that of the newly-released Macintosh variant version,[7] but mandatory Windows security settings starting with Windows Vista/Server 2008 subsequently prevented it.[8]

Meanwhile the Macintosh variant languished at EMC, until "development was revived in 2008 when EMC hired back some of its former engineers".[4] This resulted in the "premature" [3] release of a version of Retrospect Macintosh that was missing former features.[4][9]

In May 2010, the software was sold to Roxio/Sonic Solutions.[3] In 2011, following the purchase of Sonic Solutions by Rovi, development of the software was turned over to a privately held company.[4] Since 2012 Retrospect Inc. has continued to sell two variants of backup server software that, while having nearly identical non-GUI code,[6] operate differently—with a view-only Dashboard substituting for a separate administration console in Retrospect Windows.[10]

Small-group features[edit]

Backup destinations 
Called Media Sets—allow media spanning and may contain one or more disks, in the Windows variant one or more superfloppies, one or more tapes or WORM tapes, one or more CD/DVD discs, or a single AFP/SMB file or Cloud storage account. If run on a non-Desktop Edition of the backup server, multiple scripts can simultaneously back up to or restore from different Media Sets.[11]
Backups 
Always versioned; do client-side file-level deduplication;[11] can be [7] incremental, of subvolumes,[1] exclude files; optional optimizations include data compression,[12] encryption of Media Sets and of data transfers between a particular client computer and the server.[9]
Avid production tool support
Supported as sources for backup, copy/duplicate, archive, and restore scripts.[13]
Validation of backups and copies of backups 
Comparing byte-by-byte or via MD5 digest; using saved MD5, can be a separate verification script run outside the network's "backup window".[11]
Proactive scripts 
Are usually left running at times that are not in the network's "backup window", back up computers—frequently but not always mobile—transiently connecting to the network in the sequence of their least-recent time of previous backup.[7]
Success validation 
With e-mailing of notifications about operations to chosen recipients; for Backup runs these are now customized to include a one-line summary at the top, a subject line that includes the script name and number of errors and warnings, and an e-mail body that consists of the script log—pinpointing the errors and warnings.[14] Monitoring with "Retrospect for iOS" is also available.[7]
Cloud Backup 
Cloud Media Set type enables backup/restore/utility operations on data stored with AWS-S3-compatible cloud storage providers including Dropbox, with Google Cloud Storage, and with Backblaze B2.[15] WebDAV is also available.

Enterprise client-server features[edit]

Retrospect also supports several enterprise client-server backup features. These include:

Performance 
Disk-to-disk-to-tape capabilities,[16] creating synthetic full backups;[16] automated data grooming,[17][18] block-level incremental backup,[19] and pre-scanning of client volumes.[2]
Source file integrity 
"Script hooks".[7]
User interface 
Administration Console,[7] user-initiated backups and restores,[7] high-level/long-term reports supplementing the Administration Console,[7][14] and integration with monitoring systems.[7]
LAN/WAN/Cloud 
Advanced network client support [20] and cloud seeding and large-scale recovery.[21]

Editions and Add-Ons[edit]

Retrospect is sold at a variety of capability levels, termed Editions, with backup server features specified through the purchase of license codes. The backup server Edition is dictated[22] and priced[23] by the number of "server OS" computers being backed up. The less-expensive Desktop Edition can be used where only desktop or mobile computers (or Linux servers) are being backed up to non-tape devices or to one non-autoloader tape drive.

"Add-Ons", which activate additional backup server features via license codes, may also be purchased:[23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Kissell, Joe (2007). Take Control of Mac OS X Backups (PDF) (Version 2.0 ed.). Ithaca, NY: TidBITS Electronic Publishing. pp. 24 (client–server), 165 (client–server), 128 (subvolume). ISBN 0 - 9759503 - 0 - 4. Retrieved 22 September 2017. 
  2. ^ a b Engst, Adam (6 November 2012). "Retrospect 10 Reduces Backup Time with Instant Scan Technology". TidBITS. TidBITS Publishing Inc. Retrieved 25 October 2016. 
  3. ^ a b c Engst, Adam (18 June 2010). "Retrospect Backup Software Acquired by Sonic". TidBITS. TidBITS Publishing Inc. Retrieved 12 September 2017. 
  4. ^ a b c d DeLong, Derik (27 March 2012). "Retrospect's long and twisted road". Macworld. IDG. Retrieved 4 October 2016. 
  5. ^ Mitchell, Dave (20 April 2006). "EMC Retrospect 7.5 review". Alphr. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved 4 October 2017. 
  6. ^ a b Ullman, Eric (11 September 2009). "Update on Windows development". Retrospective on Backup. EMC. Retrieved 6 October 2017. 
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Retrospect ® 14.0 Mac User's Guide" (PDF). Retrospect. Retrospect Inc. March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017. 
  8. ^ "Auto Launching Guide for Retrospect for Windows". Retrospect. Retrospect Inc. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2017. 
  9. ^ a b Engst, Adam (23 March 2009). "EMC Ships Modernized Retrospect 8". TidBITS. TidBITS Publishing Inc. Retrieved 12 September 2017. 
  10. ^ "Release Notes Windows 12.5.0.177". Retrospect. Retrospect Inc. 5 September 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017. Improved: Retrospect Dashboard has a new icon to differentiate it from the Retrospect application. Improved: Retrospect Dashboard launches when Retrospect is already running in Session 0 and includes explanatory message. Improved: Retrospect Dashboard's "Relaunch Retrospect" button displays an alert message when there is an execution running. Improved: Retrospect Dashboard includes improved media request text. 
  11. ^ a b c "Retrospect ® 8 Windows User's Guide" (PDF). Retrospect. Retrospect Inc. 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2016. 
  12. ^ Engst, Adam (1 July 1991). "Retrospect Comments". TidBITS. TidBITS Publishing Inc. Retrieved 26 October 2016. 
  13. ^ "Knowledge Base". Retrospect. Retrospect Inc. 2012–2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017. 
  14. ^ a b "Retrospect ® 12 Windows User's Guide" (PDF). Retrospect. Retrospect Inc. 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017. 
  15. ^ "Cloud Storage Providers". Retrospect. Retrospect Inc. Retrieved 27 October 2016. 
  16. ^ a b "New EMC Dantz Retrospect 7 Improves Data Protection for SMBs and the Distributed Enterprise". DellEMC [current]. EMC Corp. [orig. publisher]. 31 January 2005. Retrieved 23 November 2016. 
  17. ^ "Retrospect ® 12.0 Mac User's Guide" (PDF). Retrospect. Retrospect Inc. 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2017. 
  18. ^ Schmitz, Agen (5 March 2016). "Retrospect 13". TitBITS. TidBITS Publishing Inc. Retrieved 27 October 2016. 
  19. ^ Schmitz, Agen (6 March 2014). "Retrospect 11". TitBITS. TidBITS Publishing Inc. Retrieved 27 April 2017. 
  20. ^ "EMC Announces Retrospect 8.0 Backup and Recovery Software For Mac". DellEMC [current]. EMC Corp. [orig. publisher]. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2016. 
  21. ^ "Changing paths Cloud Mac" (Video). YouTube. Retrospect Inc. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016. 
  22. ^ Gripman, Stuart (27 March 2012). "Retrospect 9.0: powerful backup for professionals, organizations". Macworld. IDG. Retrieved 3 November 2017. 
  23. ^ a b "Product Configurator". Retrospect. Retrospect Inc. Retrieved 7 October 2016. 

External links[edit]

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