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Arcserve ShadowProtect
Your servers fail at the worst hour. A backup nobody has booted isn’t a plan — Arcserve ShadowProtect images Windows and Linux servers and desktops as often as every 15 minutes, and ImageManager boot-tests every image — on storage you choose, with no vendor cloud in the way.
Buy through TechBag
Same software. Better outcome — at a lower cost.
How it’s rated
Full scoreboard ↓Quick answer
The Arcserve platform family
This page covers Arcserve ShadowProtect — ShadowProtect 8.0 with ImageManager 8.1, host-based Hyper-V backup and Granular Recovery for Exchange. The rest:
Quick facts
30-second orientation- Product
- Sector-level image backup and recovery, with ImageManager folded in
- Maker
- Arcserve, Eden Prairie, Minnesota; StorageCraft merged into it in 2021
- Current release
- ShadowProtect 8.0 and ImageManager 8.1, announced May 2026
- Protects
- Windows and Linux servers and desktops, physical or virtual
- New in 8.0
- Host-based Hyper-V backup next to the agent; needs Windows Server 2016+
- Price
- $47 a year per Windows desktop on the US-dollar store; servers quoted
- Offsite
- Your own sites or Amazon S3, or Arcserve Cloud CRS bought separately
- Retired
- Arcserve Cloud Services (the old DR cloud) ended 31 Jul 2024
- India
- Self-hosted: images stay on storage you choose, in India if you want
- In India via
- TechBag — server licence quote in INR with GST and a timed restore test
Understand image backup before you buy it
Most product pages skip this. We start here — so you buy a capability, not a buzzword.
What is image backup?
Image backup copies a whole disk sector by sector — OS, apps and data — so a machine can be rebuilt in one restore.
Folder copies and a USB drive vs Arcserve ShadowProtect — the honest table
What consolidation actually replaces, dimension by dimension.
| Dimension | Folder copies and a USB drive | Arcserve ShadowProtect |
|---|---|---|
| Backup unit | Copies of selected folders | A full image of the machine, then 15-minute incrementals |
| Proof it restores | Nobody checks until a restore fails | ImageManager boots each image and keeps the history |
| A dead server | Rebuild Windows, then restore data | VirtualBoot runs the image as a VM straight away |
| New hardware | Reinstall and reconfigure by hand | P2V, V2P and bare-metal restore to unlike hardware |
| Offsite copy | A USB drive taken home | Replicated chains to S3, another site or Cloud CRS |
| What it is NOT | — | A hosted DR cloud; that service closed in July 2024 |
The cheapest test is one server: image it every 15 minutes for a week, VirtualBoot the latest image, and time how long it takes to serve users.
The five pieces of the platform
Vendors love diagrams; buyers need to know what they’re actually operating. Here’s the whole platform, demystified.
Agent
Installed on each Windows or Linux server or desktop, it takes a full sector-level image and then incrementals on a schedule as short as every 15 minutes.
Hyper-V host
New in 8.0: backs up Hyper-V VMs through the host, writes SPF and SPI image files and restores a VHDX straight back; the host must run Windows Server 2016 or later.
ImageManager
Watches the image folders, tests that images mount and boot, rolls continuous incrementals into consolidated files, applies retention and copies the chain offsite.
Offsite
A remote server, colocation rack, data centre, Amazon S3 bucket, or Arcserve Cloud Cyber Resilient Storage for immutable copies, which is a separate purchase.
An agent or Hyper-V host writes 15-minute image chains — ImageManager boot-tests them and copies them to a second site.
Nine capabilities. Capture, verify, recover.
Arcserve ShadowProtect images each machine whole, then proves the image boots.
Whole-machine images, any box
Sector-level images of Windows and Linux systems on physical hardware, Hyper-V, VMware ESXi or Red Hat virtualisation.
Incrementals every 15 minutes
Continuous incrementals repeat every 15, 30 or 45 minutes or every 1 to 12 hours, with up to three schedule rules per job.
Host-based VM backup
Version 8.0 images Hyper-V guests from the host, so many VMs need no in-guest agent; agent-based backup stays available.
Images proven to start
ImageManager runs Advanced Image Verification, boots images in a virtual machine and tracks OS disk checks automatically.
Verification history you export
Version 8.1 keeps a verification history, exports it as reports and feeds it to dashboards and tools through a new API.
Consolidation and retention
Rolls long chains of 15-minute incrementals into consolidated files and prunes them by policy, so restores stay short.
Run a backup as a VM
VirtualBoot starts a backup image as a virtual machine, so a failed server can be working again while it is rebuilt.
Restore to different hardware
File, volume or full-system restore, plus P2P, P2V, V2P and V2V moves; the Recovery Environment boots bare machines.
Pre-staged copies elsewhere
Replicates image chains to another site, Amazon S3 or immutable Cloud CRS, and can pre-stage a restore to cut downtime.
A backup proves nothing until it boots. ShadowProtect images every machine and tests that it starts.
Here’s what genuinely sets it apart — and exactly where it stops.
A desktop price you can see
Most backup software for servers is a quote. ShadowProtect’s StorageCraft-branded store lists the Windows desktop subscription at $47 for one year or $83.96 for two, and Granular Recovery for Exchange at $499 for 250 mailboxes. Server licences are quoted, and no rupee price is published.
Proof, not just a green tick
ImageManager does more than store images. It mounts them, boots them in a VM, tracks disk checks and, from 8.1, keeps a verification history you can export or pull through an API. For an MSP that has to show clients and auditors a backup restores, that record is the product.
Short intervals, storage anywhere
Incrementals as frequent as every 15 minutes keep the gap between backups small, and images can be written to local disk, a NAS, another office, a colocation rack, Amazon S3 or Cloud CRS. Arcserve keeps no copy by default, so where images live is your design.
Where it stops
The Arcserve DR cloud that ShadowProtect partners used shut on 31 July 2024, so failover in a hosted cloud is no longer part of it. Server prices are a quote. Cloud CRS lists 10 regions without naming one in India. Host-based Hyper-V needs Windows Server 2016 or later.
The numbers behind the platform
What your Arcserve ShadowProtect rollout looks like
List machines and recovery points
Count servers and desktops by OS, flag the Hyper-V hosts, and set how many minutes of work each can afford to lose.
Get the server quote and storage
Buy desktop SKUs at the store price, get server and host licences quoted, and choose the local and offsite targets.
Deploy agents and ImageManager
Install agents or host-based Hyper-V, start 15-minute incrementals on a pilot group, and point ImageManager at them.
Boot one and time it
VirtualBoot a pilot server, restore one to new hardware, and check that ImageManager’s boot tests pass and export.
Roll out and copy offsite
Add the remaining machines, replicate image chains to S3, another site or Cloud CRS, and file monthly verification reports.
The review scoreboard
Modelled on Gartner Peer Insights structure. *Counts and breakdowns are illustrative pending verified review collection.
Quick poll — what’s driving your evaluation?
Talk to an advisor“A client’s file server died on a Friday evening. VirtualBoot had it serving shares from the last image while we ordered a disk.”
“The ImageManager verification export now goes into our monthly client report. It ended the arguments about whether backups work.”
“We lost our hosted DR target when Arcserve closed the cloud in 2024. Moving the replication to S3 took a weekend per client.”
“Desktops were easy to budget at the store price. Our eight servers needed a partner quote, which took two weeks to arrive.”
“Host-based Hyper-V meant uninstalling twelve guest agents. Our host was on Server 2012 R2, so we upgraded it first.”
“Fifteen-minute incrementals on the accounts server mean month-end close can lose a quarter of an hour of work, not a day.”
Where everyone sits — the grids
Analyst firms bury this view behind paywalls, and G2 retired its Grid. So here’s TechBag’s synthesis of the image backup market — tap any vendor to see why it sits where it does.
TechBag Backup & Recovery Grid
Execution strength vs product vision — the classic market map, minus the paywall.
$47 a year per Windows desktop; server licences quoted.
Storage Control × Recovery Proof
The grid nobody publishes — how much of the storage and schedule stays in your hands vs how much evidence the product produces that a backup will actually boot.
Your storage; ImageManager boot tests and exportable history.
Positions are TechBag’s illustrative synthesis of public review-platform data and vendor documentation — not a reproduction of any analyst graphic. Verify before relying on it.
Arcserve ShadowProtect vs the image backup field
Against Veeam Agent / Data Platform, Acronis Cyber Protect, Datto Endpoint Backup, N-able Cove and NAKIVO for physical servers — on deployment, coverage, price, recovery testing, ransomware defence, support and India.
| Dimension | Arcserve ShadowProtect | Veeam Agent / Data Platform | Acronis Cyber Protect | Datto Endpoint Backup | N-able Cove | NAKIVO (physical servers) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Image backup + verifier | Agents inside Veeam | Self-run backup + AV | Direct-to-cloud images | Cloud-first backup | Physical jobs in B&R |
| Deployment | Agent or Hyper-V host | Free agent or managed | Your servers | Agent to Datto Cloud | SaaS, optional local | Director on box or NAS |
| Systems covered | Windows + Linux, any VM | Win, Linux, Mac agents | Servers, VMs, PCs | Depends on the SKU | Win, Mac, Linux, M365 | Windows and Linux |
| Pricing model | Per machine subscription | VUL per workload | Per device a year | Per licence, MSP quote | Flat rate, storage in | Per workload, packs of 5 |
| Published entry price | $47 a year, desktop | Free agent; VUL quoted | From $85 a device/yr | No list price | Quote-only | $2.45 a workload/month |
| Included vs add-on | Cloud CRS bought apart | Orchestrator is Premium | Security in the agent | Cloud boot on DR SKU | Storage and M365 in | No failover for physical |
| Scale and limits | 15 min to 12 h interval | 10 free, then licensed | Mid-size estates | Pooled storage, excess | 10-year retention | Essentials stop at 50 |
| Recovery and testing | VirtualBoot, boot tests | Instant VM, SureBackup | Bare-metal, any hardware | Screenshot checks on DR | Standby Image, boot test | Bare-metal restore |
| Ransomware defence | Immutable via Cloud CRS | Hardened repositories | Active Protection | Immutable Datto Cloud | Isolated cloud copies | Immutable, but a KEV |
| Integrations | Autotask, ConnectWise | Veeam ONE, hypervisors | One agent, one console | IT Glue, PSA, RMM | N-able RMMs | Tape, dedupe, clouds |
| Governance and SSO | Central console; no SSO | Roles on your server | Roles; ask about SAML | Forced 2FA, MSP keys | 2FA; SSO is not SAML | 2FA; RBAC top tier |
| India storage | Yours; Cloud CRS unclear | Yours; Vault in India | Your own storage | Singapore nearest | None in India | Yours; AWS Mumbai |
| Support and lock-in | SPF/SPI images | 24/7, portable VUL | 10x5; own format | MSP; nothing kept | 24/7; history in cloud | 24/7; restores persist |
| Best fit | MSPs imaging servers | Teams already on Veeam | Backup and AV together | MSP clients, no server | Hardware-free MSPs | Mixed VM and physical |
Which approach fits you?
Honest fit signals — because the fastest way to lose your trust is to pretend one product wins every scenario.
Choose Arcserve ShadowProtect if…
- ✓You protect Windows and Linux servers machine by machine and want incrementals as often as every 15 minutes
- ✓You need written proof that images boot — ImageManager’s exportable verification history provides it
- ✓You want images on storage you control — your Indian site, a NAS, an S3 bucket — not a vendor’s cloud
Compare alternatives if…
- ✓You want a server booted in a hosted cloud — Datto’s DR SKU and Cove’s Standby Image do that
- ✓Your VMs and physical machines should share one licence and console — Veeam or NAKIVO fit better
- ✓You want anti-malware in the backup agent — Acronis Cyber Protect combines the two
Do not expect…
- ✓The Arcserve Cloud Services DR target — it closed on 31 July 2024
- ✓A published server price, or any rupee price from Arcserve
- ✓A documented India region for Cloud CRS, or single sign-on in the console
Arcserve ShadowProtect is one of 27 backup & recovery products TechBag carries. The Backup & Recovery guide narrows them to a shortlist and shows the reasoning. →
What does rebuilding machines by hand cost you?
Drag the sliders (machines you image; technician-hour cost). Estimates model technician time spent rebuilding failed machines by hand, chasing backups nobody checked and carrying offsite copies, at an assumed 1.5 hours per machine a year, with 70% of it removed by whole-machine images, VirtualBoot and automatic boot tests. Both figures are assumptions. Illustrative.
Loaded cost = salary + overheads per productive hour. Illustrative only — your TechBag quote models your actual environment and modules.
Three ways to consume it
Partly published, in USD. The StorageCraft-branded store (buy.storagecraft.com) lists the ShadowProtect SPX Desktop (Windows) subscription at $47 for one year or $83.96 for two, and Granular Recovery for Exchange at $499 for 250 mailboxes. Server licences and host-based Hyper-V protection are quoted. Arcserve Cloud Cyber Resilient Storage, for immutable offsite copies, is a separate purchase. Arcserve shows no rupee price. TechBag sorts your machines by licence type, gets the server quote, then quotes in INR with GST.
ShadowProtect Desktop (Windows)
Best for protecting PCs and laptops
- $47 a year, or $83.96 for two years
- Published on the US-dollar store
- Image backup, VirtualBoot, restores
+ Platform add-ons
Best for a broader rollout
- Scoped to your estate
- Add-on modules as needed
- Phased, right-sized deployment
ShadowProtect for servers
Best for Windows and Linux servers and Hyper-V hosts
- Quoted by Arcserve or a partner
- Host-based Hyper-V needs Windows Server 2016+
- Cloud CRS immutability bought separately
Buy it for less — TechBag pricing beats list
Whatever the list prices above, TechBag negotiates a significantly better deal — with GST-compliant INR invoicing and local support. Ask us for your discounted quote.
Get an India-ready quote
Tell us your requirements and current tools — we’ll model it against what you spend today.
The 8 questions to ask every vendor
Take this into your next vendor call — including ours.
How many servers and desktops, on which OS? The $47 store SKU covers Windows desktops; servers are quoted.
Will you back up guests from the host? Host-based mode needs Windows Server 2016 or later on that host.
How much work can each server lose? Incrementals can run every 15 minutes, or as rarely as every 12 hours.
Where does the second copy go now that Arcserve Cloud Services has closed — S3, another site, or Cloud CRS?
Is one copy immutable and out of reach of domain admins? In this product that means Cloud CRS, bought apart.
Who reads ImageManager’s verification history each month, and who files the export for clients or auditors?
If you buy Cloud CRS, which region will hold it? Arcserve names 10 regions but not an India one.
Who VirtualBoots a server and restores one to bare metal each quarter, timing each against your target?
Questions buyers ask
Ready to evaluate Arcserve ShadowProtect?
Count your servers, desktops and Hyper-V hosts first, or let a TechBag advisor get the server quote, pick an offsite target and quote in INR with GST.
Stats, ratings, review counts and pricing are illustrative and sourced from public materials; verify before purchase.