The new Backup Exec 11d, for small to medium-size businesses, includes other major upgrades, with features such as continuous data protection (CDP) for Windows file servers and Microsoft Exchange as well as encryption for data protection.

During a press and analyst dinner at Storage Networking World in Orlando, Symantec also announced Version 2.0 of its Ghost Solution Suite enterprise imaging and software deployment application with support for x64-bit Windows servers.

Symantec's Backup Exec 11d for Windows Servers software now offers 128-bit and 256-bit AES encryption that can be applied at the server, disk storage and tape-drive levels. Backup Exec 11d also supports disk-to-disk-to-tape backup.

In conjunction with CDP, which alleviates the need for daily backups, Backup Exec 11d offers point-in-time recovery for Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, SharePoint and Active Directory. The backup software now also supports IBM DB2, Oracle RMAN/RAC, Mac OS X (PowerPC), HP-UX, Linux and Network Data Management Protocol, an open-standard file-sharing protocol used on Network Appliance Inc. network-attached storage arrays.

"This is our biggest release ever," said Brian Greene, director of product management for Symantec's data and systems management group. "We've been working on this release for the past two years."