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Amanda

amanda.org

From $5.99/mo Free plan Open source WindowsmacOSLinuxAPISelf-hosted
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Spec score 9.5 #1 of 36 in Backup and Disaster Recovery Software

What it is

Amanda is a free backup system that lets an administrator protect multiple networked hosts from one master server. It can write backups to disk, tape drives or changers, and cloud storage; bundled drivers cover DVD-RW, RAIT, and Amazon S3. Amanda schedules full and incremental backups and distributes work over the backup cycle. Its catalog tracks files and media locations, helping identify tapes needed for a restore and manage them to avoid overwriting the wrong one. Archives can be compressed before or after network transfer. Security options include OpenSSH for server-client communication, GPG or another encryption program for archives, and Kerberos 5. The Application API supports custom backups for applications such as relational databases and special file systems. Amanda has a native Windows client, and lists Linux, Mac OS X, and Unix client platforms. It is available for Linux, macOS, Windows, and self-hosting. The community edition is free, open source, and provided as-is; the project says it continues to receive critical security updates.

Spec sheet

What it does
Amanda centrally backs up many networked hosts from one master server to disk, tape, optical media or cloud storage.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Purpose
Amanda lets an administrator use one master backup server to back up multiple networked hosts.Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Intended users
The project describes Amanda Community as a free, open-source backup option for Linux and Unix, and says it is best suited to labs and testing in its comparison with Zmanda Pro.Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Supported platforms
Windows,macOS,LinuxRead 20 Sep 2026 · amanda.org
Free plan
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · amanda.org
Security
Amanda supports secure server-client communication using OpenSSH, archive encryption using GPG or another encryption program, and Kerberos 5 security.Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Support
The project says free support is unavailable; users can seek help through mailing lists and forums, while formal or commercial support may be available from vendors.Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Application API
An application API allows custom backup handlers for databases and specialized file systems.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Application integrations
Its Application API supports custom backups for applications such as relational databases and for special file systems.Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Backup architecture
The system uses native tools such as GNU tar and dump and supports centralized scheduling across multiple clients.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Backup destinations
It can back up to disk, tape changers or drives, and cloud storage, with bundled device drivers for DVD-RW, RAIT, and Amazon S3.Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Backup scheduling
Amanda schedules full and incremental backups and adjusts the schedule to spread work across the backup cycle.Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Backup scope
mixedRead 20 Sep 2026 · amanda.org
Catalog
Amanda maintains a catalog showing which files were backed up and where their images are stored.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Cloud integration
The bundled storage drivers include Amazon S3, and release notes document OpenStack Keystone and Google Cloud storage support.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Commercial alternative
The maker positions Zmanda Pro as a modern cloud-native alternative with web management, professional support and a 15-day free trial.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Company founded
LinkedIn states that Zmanda was founded in 2005 and acquired by BETSOL in 2018.Read 21 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company headquarters
BETSOL's LinkedIn profile lists Broomfield, Colorado as headquarters.Read 21 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company size
BETSOL's LinkedIn profile lists 501–1,000 employees.Read 21 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Compression
Archives can be compressed before or after network transfer using compress, gzip or a custom program.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Computer backup
YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · amanda.org
Current steward
The official site says Amanda development is supported by Zmanda, a BETSOL company.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Device API
A pluggable device API lets developers add storage drivers and control tape libraries or other media systems.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Documentation
Project resources include a README, wiki, FAQ, forums, mailing lists, developer documentation and release notes.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Encryption
Client-side or server-side archive encryption is supported through GPG or another encryption program.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Extensibility
User-defined pre-backup and post-backup scripts can enforce application consistency and other operational policies.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Implementation
The project is written in C and Perl and is built on standard Unix archival utilities.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Licence
The documentation describes freely distributable code under a University of Maryland BSD-style licence and GPL components.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Limit: polish
A SourceForge reviewer characterized the software as functional but not especially polished.Read 21 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Limit: restore discoverability
A Capterra reviewer of Zmanda said the restore area was difficult to find during an urgent recovery.Read 21 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Limit: setup effort
A SourceForge reviewer said Amanda takes work to get running, despite finding the result worthwhile.Read 21 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Maintenance
Amanda is maintained by Zmanda, which the project identifies as a BETSOL company; the community edition continues to receive critical security updates.Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Maintenance caveat
The official site says the community edition continues to receive critical security updates while Zmanda Pro receives continuous development.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Notable limit
Amanda works best with one or more large holding-disk partitions for buffering; without a holding disk, backups run sequentially to the tape drive.Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Operating systems
Official documentation lists Unix variants, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, Mac OS X and Windows clients.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Parallel backups
Multiple machines can be backed up concurrently to a holding disk before dumps are written to final media.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Praise: flexibility
A SourceForge reviewer praised Amanda's flexibility and said a small custom plugin achieved a precise backup setup.Read 21 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Praise: installation
A SourceForge reviewer described Amanda as easy to install and use.Read 21 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Praise: recovery performance
A Capterra reviewer of Zmanda said backup and recovery performance and deduplication saved about 80% of storage space.Read 21 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Praise: scheduler
A SourceForge reviewer highlighted the scheduler's ability to back up substantially more data regularly than traditional methods.Read 21 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Project origin
Amanda was originally written by James da Silva at the University of Maryland's Computer Science Department.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Rating on Capterra
4.6 out of 5 from 10 reviews for the Zmanda listingRead 21 Oct 2026 · capterra.com
Rating on SourceForge
4.2 out of 5 from 5 reviewsRead 21 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Release status
The download page lists Amanda Community 3.5.4 as a stable release dated August 25, 2023.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Restore and media management
It catalogs backed-up files and their media locations, identifies the tapes needed for a restore, and manages tapes to avoid overwriting the wrong one.Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Restore modes
fileRead 20 Sep 2026 · amanda.org
Restore workflow
During recovery Amanda identifies the required tapes and locates the needed backup image on them.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Scheduling
Amanda includes an intelligent scheduler that balances backup levels and available resources across the backup cycle.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Security update
Amanda 3.5.3 fixed CVE-2022-37703, CVE-2022-37704 and CVE-2022-37705 affecting privileged utilities.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Self-hosting
Amanda is installed and operated on an administrator-controlled backup server rather than delivered as a hosted service.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Storage targets
Supported destinations include disk, tape drives and changers, optical media, virtual tape, DVD-RW, RAIT and Amazon S3.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Support model
The community edition is explicitly unsupported and supplied as-is; users are directed to mailing lists, forums or commercial vendors.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
System requirements
A backup host needs disk, NAS, SAN or tape capacity, networking sockets, inetd or an equivalent and shared memory or BSD mmap support.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Tape management
The software tracks media labels, avoids overwriting the wrong tape and can span a backup across multiple tapes.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Transport security
Server-client communication can use OpenSSH, and Kerberos 5 authentication with encrypted dumps is supported.Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Windows support
Amanda provides a native Windows client and the README says it backs up 32-bit and 64-bit Windows machines.Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org

Plans and prices

Amanda Community Free Free open-source community edition · provided as-is · no free formal support Read 21 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Amanda Community Edition Free Free open-source project · provided as-is Read 2 Oct 2026 · amanda.org
Business $5.99 a month per device Linux and Windows backup · database and Microsoft 365 backup · ransomware protection · standard support Read 21 Oct 2026 · zmanda.com
Business Plus $6.99 a month per device Business features · 24/7 premium support · SSO · self-hosted servers · disaster recovery · webhooks Read 21 Oct 2026 · zmanda.com
Enterprise Priced on request Custom deployment · integrated data-resiliency solutions · automation scripts · SIEM integration Read 21 Oct 2026 · zmanda.com

Every Amanda plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • One master server can back up multiple networked hosts.
  • Supports disk, tape, and cloud destinations.
  • Schedules both full and incremental backups.
  • Catalog tracks backed-up files and media locations.
  • Community edition is free and open source.

Limits

  • Without a holding disk, backups run sequentially to tape.
  • The community edition is provided as-is.
  • Free project support is unavailable.

Who it suits

Amanda is suited to administrators backing up multiple hosts, particularly in Linux and Unix labs or testing environments. It supports a native Windows client as well as listed Linux, Mac OS X, and Unix clients.

Verdict

Amanda offers centralized, scheduled backups with several destination and security options. Its holding-disk preference and as-is support model matter when planning deployment and help.

Where Specifiction places it

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