Percona XtraBackup vs. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows

Xtrabackup has many excellent features that are supposed to be in any backup solution. It's well suited for all MySQL deployments but it's not appropriate for any other database. If you are using any MySQL flavor (MySQL, MariaDB, Percona Server for MySQL), it's your only and perfect solution for backup and disaster recovery.

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is an extremely versatile backup software so it can be used in a variety of different ways. We have it running on some user machines that require it as the user deals with sensitive data that cannot be lost and Windows based servers ranging from server 2012 to 2025.

Incentivized

• The ability to stream backups (using netcat or socat) to a target destination has many uses, for example, 1)We do not need to store a backup locally on the database server 2) We can stream backups into object storage using GCSFUSE.
• The hot-backup functionality is probably the most important function. We are able to take backups of our primary instances with minimal impact on the database instance.
• XtraBackup has many parameters that can be tuned, allowing us to increase performance or reduce by using the parallel thread parameter for example.
• Partial backups.
• The ease of use when doing restores. Simplified, fast and accurate.

• Relatively speedy backups for a traditional backup solution
• Good efficiency solutions used to shrink backup sizes
• Robust synchronization capabilities for offsite backups
• Veeam can perform a full metal restore of a physical server
• If needed, Veeam can convert a backup of a physical server to a virtual server

Incentivized

• Remote execution: Xtrabackup doesn't support remote backup. The backup process has to run locally and have to store data locally.
• LifeCycle management: Xtrabackup doesn't support backup lifecycle management. Users have to manage it themself.
• Stability for large databases.

• Stop the backup job from the console instead of having to stop from the client.
• Don't consume too many resources while taking a backup.

Incentivized

Takes a bit of getting used to when you first set it up.

Incentivized

Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows is really straightforward to both deploy and use on a daily basis. the high level of successful restores we have experienced is testament to the quality of the file verification processes and encryption Veeam use within their software. Support is simply excellent should you need to engage them. there is nothing they haven't been able to solve either via phone or email.

Incentivized

Great support, detailed online documentation, and examples in many scenarios. Bugs can be logged and are tracked. Great community support has been built-up due to Percona XtraBackup being a great product. Frequent releases ensure bug fixes are committed as soon as possible. Over and above this, the development team stays up to date with the latest releases of MySQL and ensures it is 100% reliable.

Percona XtraBackup saves us time and money. Besides the performance and reliability, the support and documentation are top-notch. It's not just about the cost savings, but about the functionality and the minimal impact that XtraBackup has on the database server during a backup window. Percona XtraBackup has been integrated into Percona XtraDB Cluster which makes adding nodes easy and fast.

I used Clonezilla several times, and while it's very rock solid since it's Linux-based and works very well, it's not for large deployments, and it's more of a one-time use. (You need to take an image before reinstalling something or such.) With Veeam, you can deploy it organization-wide.

Incentivized

• It is free and the best backup tool that I know of. Using this for free means we save on having to purchase other backup software.
• As a DBA it is the standard backup tool that is used everywhere I have been.

Incentivized

• Allowed us to move from usind two different backup providers to Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows exclusively, improving our costs considerably
• Verified backups - before there was no checks or verification on the backups
• Much more cost effective cloud storage than the provider we moved from

Incentivized