BakBone Expands Linux Data Protection Support with Latest Replication and Storage Reporting Management Products

Business Wire, April 3, 2006

BOSTON -- New NetVault Offerings Provide a Unique Suite for Integrated Data Protection Including Real-time, Byte-Level Replication for Linux Environments

The only backup vendor to offer integrated real-time byte-level replication and backup for the Linux platform, BakBone Software(R) (TSX:BKB)(Pink Sheets:BKBO), a global provider of heterogeneous integrated data protection solutions, today announced the release of its latest versions of NetVault(R): Replicator and NetVault(R): Report Manager product suite designed specifically for Linux. Both products reinforce BakBone's Linux heritage and ongoing collaboration with key Linux-based application and systems vendors. These latest releases, introduced by BakBone in an ongoing series of innovative software products, offer increased data protection and availability for Red Hat and Novell SUSE Linux environments.

NetVault: Replicator version 4.2 offers real-time byte-level replication capabilities for Linux environments while interoperating in shared environments with the company's flagship product NetVault: Backup. In addition, NetVault: Report Manager version 2.5 provides greater visibility into enterprise-wide data protection and storage utilization. Together, these modular products extend BakBone's Integrated Data Protection (IDP) strategy, giving enterprises a holistic, integrated approach to supporting heterogeneous IT infrastructures while increasing data availability and lowering operational expenses.

"BakBone's continued product enhancements are a direct result of customer demand for robust storage and high-availability features to support heterogeneous environments with ever-increasing Linux deployments," said Ken Horner, senior vice president, corporate development and strategy. "BakBone's strong commitment to Linux product development, as part of its heterogeneous product roadmap, truly sets us apart from our competitors. With these latest products, BakBone enables customers to increase data availability, reduce complexity and shrink the costs of managing their IT infrastructures."

NetVault: Replicator combines secure, real-time replication of critical online information with reliable journaling technology to increase availability of data and minimize downtime across any IP network. The most recent version also features enhanced scalability for server-intensive enterprises, tighter integration with NetVault: Backup for seamless backup, recovery and replication capabilities, as well as full support for Unicode-enabled environments.

With the NetVault: Report Manager product suite, BakBone offers customers greater visibility into both Linux backup operations and application server storage growth through NetVault: Report Manager for Backup and NetVault: Report Manager for Disk Space. NetVault: Report Manager for Backup allows users to monitor backup operations across Linux, Windows, and UNIX environments through tight integration with NetVault: Backup. NetVault: Report Manager for Disk Space provides heterogeneous storage utilization and trending capabilities across Linux, Windows, and UNIX application servers. This provides users with critical information when determining future storage growth and capital acquisition requirements.

For Burdock Group, a toxicology consulting firm based in Vero Beach, Fla., NetVault: Replicator greatly improves business continuity by mirroring critical scientific and regulatory data residing on both Linux and Windows servers between company headquarters and a Washington, D.C. location. According to Tim Fritz, IT manager, it was critical to deploy a cost-effective yet robust data protection solution to support the firm's increased reliance on its enterprise-class Linux environment. "We wanted to leverage the reliability and economies of scale associated with Linux but also needed a best-of-class solution to safeguard our crucial research databases," says Fritz. "With BakBone's NetVault: Replicator, we have the best of both worlds -- complete interoperability with our business-critical Linux servers, as well as real-time data protection and heightened disaster recovery between our offices to meet the high-availability demands of our business, in the event of a catastrophic loss."

According to market research firm IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, Linux servers generated $1.6 billion in quarterly revenue, the fourteenth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, with year-over-year revenue growth of 20.8%. For the full year 2005, Linux server revenues were $5.7 billion, placing it in third place for the first time from an operating system perspective as customers continued to expand the role of Linux servers into an increasingly wider array of commercial and technical workloads. BakBone is uniquely positioned, offering the data protection and high availability solutions that allow users to support virtually every dimension of their Linux environments, including industry leading support for Linux-based applications such as MySQL.