Veeam Vs. vRanger

In a previous post I discussed the differences between Traditional / Enterprise backup applications, and dedicated VMWare / virtual backup applications. After some positive feedback, I have decided to delve down a bit deeper and compare the two main products currently competing in the VM backup space, Veeam and vRanger. 

I should start by clarifying that as of yet, I do not have any first experience in using either of these applications, and although I do intend to do so, I have not yet run an eval on either package. The information used in the comparison has been sourced from various other blogs on the subject, speaking with customers using the products, online forums, and marketing collateral and support documentation from Veeam and Quest Software / vRanger including white papers, product datasheets etc. Wherever possible I have confirmed in at least two places any information relayed below, and included links to referenced materials. As mentioned in my blog intro, I have tried to do my upmost to ensure all of the information is accurate, but it has been a tricky process to sort through the marketing terminology and occasional misinformation provided on forums and blog posts out there, so if anyone has any additional information or comments on this comparison, please feel free to post a comment!

So, disclaimer aside, let’s get started. To make this a bit easier to digest, I have broken this comparison down into a number of smaller posts, the first of which I have included below, and the remainder of which I will put up over the coming weeks (time permitting!)

Veeam Vs. vRanger Part 1: The Companies

vRanger was first launched by Vizioncore, who were founded in 2002, and was the first specialist VMWare backup application to market. Quest Software acquired Vizioncore in January 2008, on the back of acquisitions of Invirtus, a provider of virtual machine optimization, conversion and automation products, and Provision Networks, a leader in virtual client and desktop management solutions in 2007, as part of the companies ‘plan to support increasing customer needs for managing their virtual environment.’ Since the acquisition of Vizioncore, Quest has further strengthened its hand in the virtual and data protection markets with additional acquisitions including Bakbone / NetVault Backup in 2011, and vKernel in November 2011 (a full list of their acquisitions is here.) Quest software currently claims to have more than 38,000 customers using vRanger, and over 2000 using NetVault Backup, to protect their virtual infrastructure.

Veeam was founded in 2006, by the team previously behind Aelita Software, and specialise in developing ‘innovative products for virtual infrastructure management and data protection.’ Their range of VMWare solutions includes Veeam Backup & Replication, Veeam Nworks VMWare Enterprise monitoring tools, and Veeam ONE™, a solution for optimizing the performance, configuration and utilization of VMware environments. Veeam Software currently claims to have more than 30,000 customers worldwide, and are adding new customers at the rate of 1500 per month.

Rivalry between Veeam and vRanger is fierce, vRanger offer a direct comparison to Veeam on their website here, and Veeam have written a number of scathing blogs on their website directly attacking vRanger, including Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures, and Who is the industry leader in VMware backup? The two companies recently had a very public argument about the release of similar features in their releases last year that offer instantaneous recovery of virtual machines from a backup image, and there has also been a war of words on twitter with each company disputing the others claims to be the number #1 VMWare backup solution. 

Clearly there is no love lost in the quest to be the number one VMWare backup solution in the market. So whose product has the edge now? What can they both do well, and what are the differentiators?  These are the questions I will seek to answer in my upcoming posts…