Release Notes 4.4.3 Beefalo V2

What's new in SEP sesam 4.4.3 Beefalo V2

SEP sesam Beefalo V2 brings new remarkable features that help improve managing and protecting data in your SEP sesam environment. As Beefalo V2 is regularly enhanced with new service packs that include various fixes, make sure that you use the latest Beefalo V2 version. (See SEP sesam Release Versions.)

SEP sesam now supports single file restore for all hypervisors except Proxmox.

SEP sesam Catalyst integration for HPE StoreOnce is extended with Catalyst copy, HPE Cloud Bank Storage as a Catalyst copy target, and application-side deduplication.

Support for the database modules is extended with MS SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups (AOAG) and SAP HANA housekeeping features.

SEP sesam 4.4.3 Beefalo V2 introduces support for the VMware sandbox restore via its enhanced (web) Restore Assistant.

Additionally, SEP sesam web Dashboard and Restore Assistant have been completely redesigned to provide an intuitive overview of the SEP sesam environment and a simple wizard that walks you through the restore process.

GUI enhancements include a new Install/Update tab (in the Configuration -> Defaults) that eases the update process and simplifies the deployment of clients. Schedules provide a more intuitive and responsive calendar.

Technical improvements include the possibility to set the device block size for LTO Ultrium tape drives.

SEP sesam RHV module also provides support for oVirt-based platforms within OLVM (Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager) in the same way as for RHV environments.

Changed behavior:

• Managing failed backups (EOL) has changed. SEP sesam now keeps failed backups according to the media pool retention time (previously: 3 days), but allows you to customize your backup retention policy by using retention-related keys.
• The exclude pattern range has been increased for SEP internal exclude patterns.

New in version 4.4.3.86

SEP sesam now enables faster export and import of SEP sesam Server databases, improved is license check performance, and increased security with SHA-256 algorithm.

New in version 4.4.3.84

As of v. 4.4.3.84, SEP sesam supports SAP HANA multistreaming data backups. It also introduces improvements for bigger installations.

New supported systems

SEP sesam Server 4.4.3 Beefalo V2 now also supports the following:

• OpenNebula 5.10.1 and 6.0 (since version 4.4.3.86)
• Dell EMC Unity NDMP backup client (since version 4.4.3.84)
• Citrix Hypervisor 8.2 (since version 4.4.3.84)
• Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
• SLES 15 up to SP3 with the exception of SEP sesam Server - the latter is not supported for SLES15 SP3. Also not supported with SP3: KVM backup. See also: Unsupported systems.
• oVirt-based platforms within Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (OLVM).

For a complete list of supported OS and databases, see SEP sesam Support Matrix.

Discontinued systems

Note

In SEP sesam Beefalo, SEP announced that it would no longer support: SEP sesam Server on Windows Server 2008 R2 SLES 11 SP2, SP3, SP4 This desupport has been revoked. SEP sesam Server packages 4.4.3.72–8x Beefalo V2 can be normally installed on Windows Server 2008 R2 and all SEP sesam packages 4.4.3.72-8x Beefalo V2 (Server, Client, etc.) can be used on SLES 11 SP2, SP3, SP4. However, Beefalo V2 is the last supported SEP sesam Server version for Windows Server 2008 R2 and the last supported SEP sesam version for SLES11 SP2, SP3, SP4.

For details on discontinued systems, see Unsupported OS. For a complete list of supported SEP sesam Clients, see SEP sesam Support Matrix.

Unsupported systems

	Note
	In SEP sesam 4.4.3.86 Beefalo V2, SEP announced that it does not support: SEP sesam Server 4.4.3.86 Beefalo V2 on SLES15 SP3 Currently, SEP sesam Server 4.4.3.86 on SLES15 SP3 is not supported. Upgrading existing SEP sesam installations on SLES15 from older service packs to SP3 may result in data loss.

SEP sesam Server requirements

Java xx

SEP sesam GUI is based on Java and requires a Java Runtime Environment (JRE). The required Java version depends on the SEP sesam version.

	Note
	Java 17 is not supported by SEP sesam. For a list of supported Java versions, see the Java Compatibility Matrix.

Installation and upgrades

SEP sesam 4.4.3 Beefalo V2 was initially released on 11^th of May, 2020. A direct upgrade from version 4.4.3.X to version 4.4.3 Beefalo V2 is supported. It is strongly recommended to upgrade to the latest version 4.4.3.86 as it contains a number of fixes and improvements that were not available in the original version of Beefalo V2. For details, see 4.4.3.86 Beefalo V2 Release.

Latest released versions are:

• SEP sesam 4.4.3.86 Linux – released: 5^th of July, 2021.
• SEP sesam 4.4.3.86 Windows – released: 5^th of July, 2021.
• SEP sesam 4.4.3.84 Linux – released: 3^rd of August, 2020.
• SEP sesam 4.4.3.84 Windows – released: 3^rd of August, 2020.

Linux specific

In order to meet all required dependencies for the SEP sesam Client packages on SLES 15 SP1 or SP2, it may be required to activate the following package modules prior to SEP sesam installation:

Module-Basesystem
Module-Server-Applications
Module-Legacy

These modules are part of the installation DVD; in case no online subscription is available, they can be added via:

zypper ar dvd:/Module-Server-Applications DVD-Server 
zypper ar dvd:/Module-Basesystem DVD-BASE
zypper ar dvd:/Module-Legacy DVD-Legacy 

Windows specific

The 4.4.3 Beefalo V2 installation package on Windows also includes:

SEP sesam Server and Client components should be upgraded to the latest version during the upgrade process. This ensures that SEP sesam Clients are fully protected. Customers with a valid license are eligible for a free upgrade of SEP sesam to any new release for the duration of the license. See also Updating SEP sesam and Remote Installation of Windows Clients.

Previous release

• Release notes for SEP sesam 4.4.3 Beefalo

Known issues and limitations

	Note
	Antivirus programs may disrupt network communication and cause SEP sesam processes, such as backup and replication, to fail. One program that is known to cause SEP sesam processes to terminate is Sophos Firewall with IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) enabled. Make sure that there are no antivirus, firewall, IDS or IPS programs preventing interaction with SEP sesam.

4.4.3 Beefalo V2 known issues:

Severity: CRITICAL SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.84 – (Linux) Backup to VTL library* completed successfully even though there were media write errors reported and backup could not be completed (Applies only to Linux) When backing up to VTL, the VTL library cannot continue writing to the underlying block device due to insufficient space and tracks error. SMS ignores the error and continues writing the data to VTL without sufficient space. Backup log shows backup completed successfully although it actually failed and no data was written to backup media. (*This behavior is seen with the QUADStor VTL only.) Workaround: Download the hotfix from SEP Download Center to your Linux server or RDS and install it by executing the following commands as root in a terminal session. Attention: This operation will stop all running backups. #>sm_main stop node #>cd /opt/sesam #>tar xvzf <hotfix file> #>sm_main start node SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.42-79 – (Windows) A data block is not written to tape when EOM is reached together with the segment size, thus making a restore of data referencing this block impossible (Applies only to Windows) When backing up to tape, a data block is not written to tape when the segment size is reached at EOM, therefore a restore of data referencing this block is not possible. While a Path Archive can still be restored until EOM is reached, a complete restore or migration will fail. Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.84. Additionally, you should check whether your tapes have been affected by checking your savesets; for more details on solving this issue, see Restore fails due to a missing block ...:How to detect affected savesets. SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.79 – On tape devices, saveset names longer than 32 characters may lead to corrupted blocks Saveset names longer than 32 characters that are stored on tape devices may lead to corrupted blocks (e.g., saveset names created by Oracle). This happens because the SEP sesam multiplex stream format (SMS) has only supported 32 bytes. Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.84 (includes the modified SMS format and supports longer saveset names on tape). Severity: MINOR SEP sesam v. ≥ 4.4.3.82 – (Windows) SEP sesam GUI cannot be opened when the group policy option Prevent access to registry editing tools is applied (Applies only to Windows) Running the GUI fails after updating SEP sesam to version ≥ 4.4.3.82. This issue seems to be related to the group policy (GPO) setting: if Prevent access to registry editing tools is applied for a specific user or group, opening the GUI does not work for the users which are prevented from accessing the Registry. In most cases, users with admin privileges will still be able to run the GUI as they are typically exempt for a GPO (and are able to access the Registry). If this policy is disabled (or not configured), the users may access the GUI regardless of their privileges. Workaround: To enable access to the GUI for the affected users (typically non-admin users), disable the group policy option Prevent access to registry editing tools. Note that only experts should edit the registry; modifying Windows Registry incorrectly might crash your Windows operating system causing data loss. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run window. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter. In the Group Policy Editor -> User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System, double-click on Prevent access to registry editing tools setting in the right panel and select Disable. Then click Apply. SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.79 – Loader assignment of sayFUSE drive gets lost after drive configuration After updating a SEP sesam Server where sayFUSE drives are configured, these drives lose the assignment to their virtual loader during drive configuration. Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.84. SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.79 – SEP sesam update of a SLES 11 client may fail When updating a client with SLES 11 by using the command rpm -U <package name>, the update may fail due to the new signature of the RPM packages. Workaround: Update your SLES 11 client with the command rpm -U --nosignature <sesam package> if you have packages with the problematic signature. Resolution: The packages of version 4.4.3.79 for SLES 11 have been reuploaded without the new signature and newer packages for SLES 11 will not contain this signature. The RPM repository itself remains signed. SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.79 – SEP sesam installation and update on Windows Server 2012 R2 / Windows Server 2016/2019 may fail On some Windows Server 2012 R2 / 2016 / 2019 (running on Intel Xeon platform), the SEP sesam software cannot be started due to problems while reading output from child processes. Resolution: Fixed for Windows Server 2012 R2 with version 4.4.3.84; Workaround: For SEP sesam Server running on Windows Server 2016 / 2019 add a global variable by using this command: sm_glbv w gv_old_read 1 SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.70-79 – Backing up Citrix Hypervisor 8.1 might result in error "Unable to create a snapshot [['MESSAGE_REMOVED']]" As creating quiesced snapshots is no longer supported in Citrix Hypervisor ≥ 8.1 and in the version ≥ 9.0.x.x drivers, running hot backups in combination with the COPY backup level results in the above error. Workaround 1: The SEP sesam version 4.4.3.64 Grolar is not affected by this problem. It is still possible to use a SEP sesam Client as data mover if the SEP sesam software hasn't been upgraded to the Beefalo release yet. Workaround 2: If you can afford the downtime of your affected virtual machines, you can change the settings from hot backup to cold backup as no snapshot creation is needed in this case. Workaround 3: If your license allows the use of the CBT feature in Citrix Hypervisor, back up your virtual machines with the FULL/DIFF/INCR backup level instead of COPY. SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.74 – Cancelling a Citrix XEN backup task does not abort the backup execution Aborting a Citrix Xen backup task does not prevent the backup job from running as SEP sesam does not pass a cancel request to the running sbc_proxy and sbc process. Therefore the backup process will be running without interruption. Be aware that killing the sbc_proxy or sbc process manually will keep the snapshots; in this case, snapshots must be released manually. Workaround: Only if you have aborted Citrix XEN backups manually by killing the sbc_proxy or sbc process, don't forget to release these snapshots as they are not managed by SEP sesam automatically. SEP is working on this issue and will provide a fix as soon as possible. SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.74 – The new Install/Update feature might not work as expected The newly introduced SEP sesam software update feature might not work as expected, e.g., it may not perform the automatic updates during SEP sesam NEWDAY as selected in the update mode. Workaround: Control your updates manually. Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.79. SEP sesam v. ≤ 4.4.3.74 – VMware VM backups might fail due to a new vCenter Server version: 6.7 Update 3b Due to a change in the VMware latest vCenter 6.7 Update 3b (6.7.0.42000), no VM backups can be performed by SEP sesam. This applies to all SEP sesam versions. Workaround: Add the the exclude keyword ALL to the exclude list of the affected VMware VM task. If one or more VMDKs are already excluded, add the value separated by a comma (without spaces) at the end, for example: [vmstore] myVM/myVM_1.vmdk,ALL. For details, see VMware Backup - Creating a backup task. Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.79. SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.74 – Windows Client major update may lead to problems Installing SEP sesam BSR Pro for Windows together with SEP sesam during a major update requires a chained installation, which may lead to problems. A chained installation is not supported during a major update. Thus it is not possible to perform a major update when SEP sesam BSR Pro for Windows is being installed/updated at the same time. Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.79; major update is now supported without limitations. Make sure to install the Beefalo V2 update since it is a prerequisite for future major updates. See also About Installation and Update. SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.74 – Hyper-V backup on cluster resource may fail When performing a Hyper-V backup on cluster resource, the hosting Hyper-V server may not be retrieved and backup fails with Failed to get Virtual Machine ID. Workaround: Perform Hyper-V virtual machine backup on the serving Hyper-V server node. Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.79. SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.72-74 – BSR restore on Windows from a bootable image does not work when the boot image is created on the GUI installation on D: Restoring BSR on Windows from a bootable image does not work, when the BSR ISO boot image is created on the GUI installation installed on the D: volume. Workaround: Install BSR Pro to the system volume C: or use the SEP sesam Server installation package for GUI installation, see SEP sesam Quick Install Guide. SEP is working on this issue and will provide a solution as soon as possible. SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.84 – Dell EMC Unity NDMP client configuration issue (Applies only to Dell EMC Unity NDMP backup client) When configuring a Dell EMC Unity NDMP client in the SEP sesam GUI, it is not possible to select DELL EMC Unity as the operating system. Workaround: When configuring a new Dell EMC Unity NDMP client, select EMC VNX as the operating system; for more details, see Adding NDMP host as a SEP sesam client. SEP is working on this issue and will provide a solution as soon as possible. SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.84 – In the backup task for Dell EMC Unity NDMP client, the wrong source is shown (Applies only to Dell EMC Unity NDMP backup) When creating a Dell EMC Unity NDMP backup task in the GUI and browsing for a source, NetApp is incorrectly shown in the Client File View and must be ignored. Workaround: Make sure to select the appropriate NDMP source for Dell EMC Unity NDMP backup. SEP is working on this issue and will provide a solution as soon as possible. SEP sesam v. ≥ 4.4.3 – Si3S does not work in case of changed STPD port on the Client SEP Si3 source-side deduplication (Si3S) backup of a client to a SEP Si3 deduplication store not work, if the STPD service TCP port on the client side (client properties -> Options tab -> STPD options) is changed from the default port. Workaround: Make sure that you use the default STPD TCP port on the client side. For details, see List of Ports Used by SEP sesam.

Enhancements and changes

Single file restore from all supported hypervisors except Proxmox

SEP sesam allows for single file restore from VM snapshot backups. This feature is now available for all supported hypervisors except Proxmox: VMware, Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, Red Hat Virtualization and Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (OLVM) (supported by the RHV module with the only difference that the relevant OLVM objects should be selected instead of RHV), KVM QEMU, OpenNebula.

Extended Catalyst integration

SEP sesam Catalyst integration for HPE StoreOnce is extended with Catalyst copy and HPE Cloud Bank Storage as a Catalyst copy target for replicating your data. HPE Cloud Bank Storage stores data to public or private cloud storage and is ideal for long-term retention and archiving of backups and off-site backup copies for disaster recovery. For details, see HPE StoreOnce Replication.

Additionally, SEP sesam supports all Catalyst data deduplication modes, including application-side deduplication. This is a software-based source-side deduplication that uses the SEP sesam Client (without RDS) to perform the deduplication process and writes the deduplicated data directly to HPE StoreOnce, without using the Media Server. The application-side deduplication is enabled by selecting the HPE StoreOnce Bandwidth Optimized Data Transfer option in the properties of the HPE StoreOnce backup event. For details on available deduplication modes and their requirements, see Catalyst data deduplication modes. For details on selecting the application-side deduplication, see HPE StoreOnce Backup: Option HPE StoreOnce Bandwidth Optimized Data Transfer.

MS SQL AlwaysOn Availability Groups

SEP sesam currently supports backups of MS SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups (AOAG) on the primary replica via the listener. AOAG provide various options for better database availability. For details, see Support for MS SQL AlwaysOn Availability Groups.

SAP HANA housekeeping

Now you can use SAP HANA housekeeping to delete (purge) SEP sesam backups that are no longer needed or can no longer be used for recovery. To perform SAP HANA housekeeping, the relevant commands should be executed on the SAP HANA server. For details, see SAP HANA housekeeping.

SAP HANA multistreaming data backups (v. 4.4.3.84)

As of version 4.4.3.84, SEP sesam supports SAP HANA multistreaming – a special feature supported for large SAP HANA databases. This capability allows you to distribute backup data in parallel to multiple devices of the same pool. It is a part of the SEP sesam backup configuration. SEP sesam provides the necessary stream handling, e.g., setting up multistreaming for a backup task. During a restore, SAP HANA is able to recognize how many channels were used for backup and automatically uses this number of channels for the restore.
For details on multistreaming, see SAP HANA article Multistreaming Data Backups with Third-Party Backup Tools.

VMware sandbox restore

SEP sesam introduces an online VMware sandbox restore which can be performed via a Restore Assistant. SEP sesam sandbox restore for VMware is performed in an isolated environment where you can recover and start one or more virtual machines (VMs). It is useful for checking the VM environment, testing backups, and troubleshooting issues. For details, see VMware Sandbox Restore.

Redesigned SEP sesam Dashboard and Restore Assistant

SEP sesam web Dashboard and Restore Assistant have been completely redesigned to provide a detailed overview and improved monitoring of the SEP sesam environment. Restore Assistant is structured as a simple wizard that guides you through the restore process. It also offers some additional options when compared to GUI, such as VMware sandbox restore (see above). The availability of restore options in the Restore Assistant depends on the used UI mode (basic or advanced). Switching between Restore Assistant, Monitor and Dashboard is easy. For details, see SEP sesam Web UI and Restore Assistant.

RHV support for oVirt-based platforms

SEP sesam RHV module provides support for oVirt-based platforms within Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (OLVM) in the same way as for RHV environments (with the same options and steps). The only difference is that the relevant OLVM components should be configured instead of RHV. For details, see RHV Backup.

GUI enhancements

• The sm_update_client command has been extended. Now you can check in the SEP sesam GUI whether an update is available for your clients and select to update automatically or manually. You can update all clients within the location at once or update only the selected client. You can also exclude a specific client from the update or install SEP sesam component(s) on new Windows clients. For details, see Updating SEP sesam and Updating client(s).
• SEP sesam remote automatic installation is a Windows-only feature that enables you to remotely install any SEP sesam package (Client, RDS, etc.) to any Windows system by using SEP sesam GUI. For details, see Remote Installation of Windows Clients.
• SEP sesam calendar became more user-friendly and intuitive. It provides flexible scheduling features to customize how and when your events are processed and how your calendar is set up. For details, see Creating a Custom Calendar.

Installation improvements (4.4.3.84)

As of version 4.4.3.84, SEP sesam introduces installation improvements for bigger installations with many backups by providing enhanced data processing.

Technical improvements

• It is possible to change the default write density for tapes to achieve better tape performance by using a new Device Block Size option in the drive properties. You can increase the tape block size if you are using LTO Ultrium tape drives and your backup environment supports larger tape blocks; see Setting device block size.

Managing failed backups (EOL) has changed

How SEP sesam manages failed backups depends on its version. Starting with Beefalo V2, SEP sesam keeps the failed backup(s) according to the media pool retention time together with the last successful backup or migration saveset (in previous versions failed backups were automatically deleted after 3 days). At the same time it introduces retention-related keys that allow you to customize your backup retention policy and control how long the failed backup(s) should be kept. For details, see Customizing retention policy.

Increased exclude pattern range

With Beefalo V2 the exclude pattern range ExcludePattern900 and higher is used for SEP internal exclude patterns. Now the lower numbers should be used in order to define specific exclude patterns. For details, see section Using sm.ini to completely exclude files from backups on the client.

End of maintenance and support

Obsolete SEP sesam Server version

SEP sesam 4.4.3 Tigon V2 -> December 2020

SEP sesam 4.4.3 Tigon V1 -> September 2020

Upcoming end of support

SEP sesam 4.4.3 Grolar -> October 2021

Discontinued SEP sesam Server OS

The following table lists the last available version of SEP sesam Server or RDS components for specified operating systems. You can continue using the last available version of SEP sesam on these operating systems, but SEP AG no longer provides updates or fixes for the specified versions.

For SEP sesam Client versions, backward compatibility is maintained and the last available versions for a platform are continuously supported. On older platforms you can use older versions of SEP sesam Client component, but it is recommended to combine such clients with the latest versions of SEP sesam Server and RDS components.

SEP sesam Release Versions

Operating system	Last available version	Release	Notes
Windows Server 2012	5.1.0.7 Apollon	5.1.0 Apollon
RHEL 7	5.1.0.7 Apollon	5.1.0 Apollon
Debian 9 »Stretch«	5.0.0.15 Jaglion V2	5.0.0 Jaglion V2
SLES 11 SP2, SP3, SP4	4.4.3.x Beefalo V2, see notes	4.4.3 Beefalo V2	SEP announced that it would no longer support SLES 11 SP2, SP3, SP4 with SEP sesam Beefalo, but has re-established support for Beefalo V2, where all SEP sesam Beefalo V2 packages (Server, Client, etc.) can be used. However, Beefalo V2 is the last available SEP sesam release for SLES 11 SP2, SP3, SP4 .
Windows Server 2008 R2	4.4.3.x Beefalo V2, see notes	4.4.3 Beefalo V2	SEP announced that it would no longer support SEP sesam Server on Windows Server 2008 R2 with SEP sesam Beefalo, but has re-established this support already in Beefalo. This actually means that the last available SEP sesam Server release for Windows Server 2008 R2 is Beefalo V2.
Ubuntu 16.04	4.4.3.84 Beefalo V2	4.4.3 Beefalo V2
RHEL 6	4.4.3.64 Grolar	4.4.3 Grolar
Debian 8 »Jessie«	4.4.3.64 Grolar	4.4.3 Grolar
Debian 7 »Wheezy«	4.4.3.64 Grolar	4.4.3 Grolar	Version 4.4.3.64 only available for sesam-cli on amd64
Windows Server 2008	4.4.3.64 Grolar	4.4.3 Grolar
Windows 7	4.4.3.64 Grolar	4.4.3 Grolar
Ubuntu 14.04	4.4.3.48 Tigon V2	4.4.3 Tigon V2
All 32-bit operating systems	4.2.2.40	4.2.2	For some operating systems SEP sesam client is still available in 32-bit.
SLES 10	4.2.2.40	4.2.2
RHEL 5	4.2.2.40	4.2.2
Debian 6 »Squeeze«	4.2.2.40	4.2.2	sesam-cli also available in version 4.4.1.22
Windows Server 2003	4.2.2.40	4.2.2
Debian 5 »Lenny«	4.2.1.34	4.2.1
SLES 11 ≤ SP1	4.2.1.34	4.2.1	Initial SLES 11 Release and Servicepack 1

Major fixes and changes

• See changes at SEP sesam download – changes.

See also

SEP sesam Release Versions