Release Notes 4.4.3 Tigon v.2

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Icon archived docs.png This is not the latest version of SEP sesam documentation and, as such, does not provide information on features introduced in the latest release. For more information on SEP sesam releases, see SEP sesam Release Versions. For the latest documentation, check latest Release Notes.


What's new in SEP sesam 4.4.3 Tigon v.2

SEP sesam 4.4.3 Tigon v.2 introduces new Kopano backup (previously Zarafa backup) and Self-Service Restore Assistant.

Tigon v.2 provides enhanced backup and restore capabilities for DB2 with DB2 automatic archive log backup, simplified backup and restore for SAP ASE, restoring MS SQL database to a new location using GUI, and SEP sesam BSR Pro 2.0 new option to support backup and restore of encrypted volumes.

GUI enhancements enable you to clean up orphaned savesets from data store manually, quickly scan the success of backup jobs by toggle grouping, use improved smart grouping when generating a task for grouped VMs, and examine the progress of the replication.

The maximum initial size for Si3 deduplication store is restricted to 40 TB.

SEP sesam will automatically retain the last successful backup or migration saveset in the same pool when the next backup/migration fails. Note that this behavior is version specific and it differs from the default behavior implemented in version 4.4.3.42 Tigon. For details, see Managing EOL.

SEP sesam Server requirements

Java 8 (at least patch level 111; note that Java 9 is not supported!)
SEP sesam 4.4.3 Tigon v.2 requires a Java version equal to or higher than JRE 8u111 (≥ JRE 1.8.0_111) regardless of the operating system. (Previous Tigon versions already required Java 8 for SEP sesam Server and GUI on Windows. For other operating systems both Java 7 and Java 8 were usable.) For details, see Java Compatibility Matrix.
JavaFX
JavaFX is required for the web-based dashboard and user-defined schedules features. The dashboard can also be viewed in GUI, but only if JavaFX is present on the respective GUI client. If JavaFX is not available, the web dashboard can only be accessed by browser (http://[servername]:11401/sep/ui).
Information sign.png Note
Oracle®'s Java 8 already includes JavaFX (e.g., on Windows). Oracle®'s OpenJFX Project provides JavaFX packages that can be installed separately if some other Java version is used, such as IBM Java, which is typically installed on SuSE. Depending on your system and Java version, manually install either OpenJFX package or Oracle®'s Java 8 on your SEP sesam GUI client to have all the latest features available.
x64 or PowerPC architecture required
SEP sesam Server requires an operating system running on 64-bit x86 (x86-64) or a PowerPC (PPC) architecture. PowerPC is supported for several Linux distributions, see SEP sesam Support Matrix.

For details, see SEP sesam Support Matrix and SEP sesam Server hardware requirements.

Installation and upgrades

SEP sesam 4.4.3 Tigon v.2 was released on 5th of December, 2017. Direct upgrade for versions 3.6/4.x to version 4.4.3 Tigon v.2 is supported.

Latest released versions are:

  • SEP sesam 4.4.3.48 Linux Tux.gif – released: 5th of December, 2017.
  • SEP sesam 4.4.3.48 Windows Win7.gif – released: 5th of December, 2017.
Win7.gif Windows specific

The 4.4.3 Tigon v.2 installation package on Windows also includes:

  • VMware® Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) version 6.5 for Windows.
  • Callback File System® (CBFS®) version 6.1.181 from EldoS Corporation, used to create virtual file systems and disks for savesets which are stored on SEP sesam local data store or Si3 deduplication store.
Information sign.png Note
A CBFS driver is needed for the virtual file system layer (Cross Platform Recovery File System – XPRFS). The installation/update of this driver requires a reboot of your newly installed or updated Windows SEP sesam Server unless this driver is already installed with a previous SEP sesam 4.4.3 installation.

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 Automatic Updates and Automatic Installation on Windows.

Newer release

Previous release

Known issues and limitations

Information sign.png 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 Tigon v.2 known issues:
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3-4.4.3.84 – 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.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.42–48 – (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 the patch for Beefalo V2, contact SEP sesam support at support@sep.de for assistance.
SEP sesam version ≥ 4.4.3.48 – SEP sesam backup for hypervisors (VMware, Hyper-V, Citrix XEN, KVM, OpenNebula) cannot back up the data on the independent disks or Raw Device Mapping (RDM) disks
  • When backing up via hypervisor and using external disk, SEP sesam cannot back up the data on the independent or RDM disks, because hypervisors are not able to back up such devices. The data of such disks is silently skipped from backup, hence the backup saveset contains no data for the independent or RDM disks while the backup succeeds and no warning about the missing data is issued. If a restore of a VM with independent/RDM disk is performed to the original VM by using the option overwrite, the independent/RDM disk is re-created and all existing data on the restore target is lost.
Workaround: To back up virtual machines that contain independent disks and RDMs, you have to install the SEP sesam Client in the virtual machine and perform an additional file or application backup to back up this data.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.48 – Using old disk_info Linux backup task may result in data loss
  • The disk_info backup task is no longer supported. It has been replaced by BSR Linux/REAR. If you still use the obsolete disk_info backup task, you will no longer be able to restore your data.
Resolve: Reconfigure your old disk_info Linux backup tasks by selecting the Linux BSR as a task type in the task properties or create new backup tasks with type Linux BSR. For details, see Disaster Recovery for Linux 3.0. Note that SEP AG is not responsible for potential data loss that may occur as a result of backing up data with unsupported backup task.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.48 – Excluding VSS writers from backup on Windows may fail
  • When backing up the system on Windows with source all and selecting to exclude one or more VSS writers (e.g., exclude all Oracle VSS writers), SEP sesam may fail to exclude the specified VSS writers and the backup may fail.
Resolve: Fixed with the upcoming Grolar release.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.48 – Exchange Recovery Pro V7.3 does not work on Exchange 2016
  • SEP sesam Exchange Recovery Pro v. 7.3 does not work on Exchange 2016.
Resolve: Upgrade to the latest SEP Exchange Recovery PRO V7. For details, see Exchange configuration guide.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.48 – Microsoft SQL Server restore may overwrite the original database
  • In SEP sesam 4.4.3.48, the restore of a Microsoft SQL Server database to a new location may overwrite the original database without a warning. When the Microsoft SQL restore mode is set to overwrite and the target database is set with format {server}/{instance}/{new_database}, the restore procedure eliminates the target database name {new_database} and uses the original database name from the MTF saveset instead. This may result in overwriting of the original database. For example, the specified target database SQLSRV1/MSSQLSERVER/restore_db is shortened to SQLSRV1/MSSQLSERVER and consequently the restore procedure reads the specified database name from the MTF savesets. In our case, if you have selected SQLSRV1/MSSQLSERVER/production, where production is the name of the original database, the restore will overwrite this database instead of using the given name restore_db.
Note: While Microsoft SQL Server 2012 does not allow you to overwrite an online database, this is allowed in Microsoft SQL Server 2016!
Workaround: If you specify the target database with format {new_database} only (without providing the preceding {server}/{instance}), the database will be restored correctly into the specified target database.
Resolve: Immediately update all Microsoft SQL Server clients (or SEP sesam Server if Microsoft SQL Server runs on it) by installing the sbc patch, available at https://download.sep.de/servicepacks/4.4.3_Tigon/4.4.3.48/windows.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.25 and 4.4.3.29 – Potential data loss when manually reducing the EOL of individual savesets
  • In SEP sesam versions less than or equal to 4.4.3.25 and 4.4.3.29, when manually reducing the retention time (EOL) of individual savesets on a data store, followed by purge, the list of available savesets is not refreshed automatically. The displayed old, not refreshed saveset list can be confusing for the administrator and may lead to unnecessary repetitive action of setting the selected saveset EOL to expired again, which in turn results in setting all savesets to expired and purging the whole data store.
Workaround:
  • To refresh the savesets list immediately, close the data store properties and then open it again.
  • To improve handling of manually modified EOL, it is recommended to upgrade to version 4.4.3.48 and apply the patch which provides the improved savesets list view with the number of rows affected by modified EOL. Download the file sm_ui.jar from https://download.sep.de/servicepacks/4.4.3_Tigon/4.4.3.48/hotfix/gui/sm_ui.jar into <SESAM_BIN>/gui folder on SEP sesam Server. Then restart the SEP sesam UI server by running the command sm_main reload rmi. The GUI Clients can be updated the next time they connect to the SEP sesam Server.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.48 – Slow performance with Linux backup which uses Blowfish Encryption, *.lis files are missing
  • In SEP sesam version 4.4.3.48, backup on Linux/UNIX client which uses the Blowfish Encryption causes the entire backup process to slow down due to high STPD output logging which halts generation of *.lis files. SEP sesam uses the *.lis files to create information about the backup unique files, which are then used by the restore wizard, therefore any potential restore would be incomplete and data would be lost.
Workaround: Create a new set of backup tasks for your Linux/UNIX clients with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption. SEP support is working on this issue and will provide a STPD patch as soon as possible.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.48 – Hyper-V restore – import fails if only a Windows Client package is installed on the Hyper-V Server
  • In SEP sesam Windows Client package 4.4.3.48, a hyperv_import.dll is missing. Consequently, Hyper-V restore – import fails if only the SEP sesam Windows Client package is installed on the Hyper-V standalone server or on Hyper-V cluster nodes.
Workaround: Uninstall the SEP sesam Client package and install the SEP sesam Server package (includes the Client and GUI components) on your Hyper-V standalone server and, if clustered, on Hyper-V cluster nodes. For details, see Microsoft Windows installation.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.48 – Installation is aborted with a misleading error message
  • In SEP sesam version 4.4.3.48, Java 8 requirement is checked during installation. If the required Java version (at least patch level 111 ≥ JRE 1.8.0_111) is not present or the existing version is too low (e.g., Java 1.8.0_101), SEP sesam installation is aborted with an incorrect error message; instead of reporting that SEP sesam requires at least Java 1.8.0_111, a message similar to the following is shown: Unable to launch <path>sm_db_update.exe ...SetVDDK failed. sm_db_update.exe returned 2., and the installation is aborted.
Workaround: Make sure that you install the required Java version and repeat SEP sesam installation/update procedure.
Resolution: Fixed in the next SEP sesam release 4.4.3.64 Grolar
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.48 – The Loader content in GUI may show incorrect status
  • In SEP sesam version 4.4.3.48, the Loader content is not updated in GUI if only the slot content has been changed manually. The Loader content is only updated if a drive-related change was performed, such as unload or load. In case you have changed the content of your tape device manually and then performed archive adjustment by using the option Adjustment by barcode only (checking the barcodes of all tapes which are not in drives – without loading them into the drive and reading the label), the manually changed slot content is not recognized and the Loader content in GUI is not updated.
Resolve: Fixed with a patch available at https://download.sep.de/servicepacks/4.4.3_Tigon/4.4.3.48/hotfix/gui/sm_ui.jar. Download the file sm_ui.jar into <SESAM_BIN>/gui folder on SEP sesam Server. Then restart the SEP sesam UI server by running the command sm_main reload rmi. The GUI Clients can be updated the next time they connect to the SEP sesam Server.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.48 – The data store cannot be deleted in SEP sesam GUI
  • In SEP sesam version 4.4.3.48, it is not possible to delete a data store via SEP sesam GUI even though the data store does not contain any valid or locked data.
Resolve: Fixed with a patch available at https://download.sep.de/servicepacks/4.4.3_Tigon/4.4.3.48/hotfix/gui/sm_ui.jar. Download the file sm_ui.jar into <SESAM_BIN>/gui folder on SEP sesam Server. Then restart the SEP sesam UI server by running the command sm_main reload rmi. The GUI Clients can be updated the next time they connect to the SEP sesam Server.
Fixed with SEP sesam Server 4.4.3.48 Tigon V2:
SEP sesam version ≤ 4.4.3.45 – Throughput for local backups is very low
  • In some Linux systems, e.g., SLES 12, the local loopback device lo is often configured with MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) size 65536 (64K). This may decrease the local transfer throughput because the MTU size is equal to the transfer buffer size used in SEP sesam.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.45 – Hyper-V backup of several VMs silently skips some VMs
  • While trying to backup multiple virtual machines, only the last VM is backed up. The other VMs are skipped. This happens because SEP sesam erroneously backs up only the last VM in the source list.
SEP sesam ≤ 4.4.3.45 – Migration ignores client defined by migration schedule/event
  • In SEP sesam versions equal to or lesser than 4.4.3.45, if you select a client as a migration source in the schedule/event rather than in migration task, the data is not migrated because SEP sesam erroneously ignores the client.
SEP sesam Lotus Notes Linux sbc < 4.4.3.45 – Exclude pattern with leading \. does not work
  • In SEP sesam versions lesser than 4.4.3.45, the exclude list, defined on Linux/UNIX in a Lotus Notes backup task, does not work if specified with \..
SEP sesam sbc Windows from 4.4.3 to 4.4.3.42 – A UNC path backup silently excludes files without file extension
  • As of SEP sesam v. 4.4.3, if the backup source of the UNC path backup is set at the top level to //server/share, e.g., //myserver/users, files without file extension are silently excluded from backup. Even though no exclude is defined, they are excluded because the source //server/share is extended with wildcard *.*, which is checked for regular files as of sbc Windows 4.4.3. This issue only occurs if the source is set at the top level; if the source is defined at the lower level, e.g., //myserver/users/anonymus, all files are backed up normally.
Linux
SEP sesam unable to start necessary amount of processes since Systemd 228:
  • Linux: Since Systemd 228 and up from kernel 4.3 SEP sesam is not able to start more than 512 processes. The message "Resource temporarily unavailable" is visible in sm_qm_main log.
SEP sesam version 4.4.3.42 – Starting Si3 deduplication server fails
  • In SEP sesam 4.4.3.42, starting Si3 deduplication server fails with the following error: Starting dedup sever fails with java.lang.VerifyError: Uninitialized object exists on backward branch 209.
SEP sesam version 4.4.3.42 – Windows
IBM Domino Server aborts when starting INCR backup but 'ARCHIVE' logging style is not enabled:
  • In SEP sesam 4.4.3.42, when running IBM Domino INCR backup but 'ARCHIVE' logging style is not enabled then the Domino Server aborts.
SEP sesam version 4.4.3.39/.42 MaxDB backup fails
  • In SEP sesam 4.4.3.39/.42 MaxDB/SapDB backup ends with ssb-error.
SEP sesam version 4.4.3.39/.42 - Setting the Client filter in 'All Results' throws Java Lang NPE
  • In SEP sesam 4.4.3.39/.42 - Setting the Client filter to a specific name in the status view 'All Results' aborts the GUI with a Java Lang Null Pointer Exception.
SEP sesam version 4.4.3.39/.42 - Changing the default interface in a drive group restarts the drives
  • In SEP sesam 4.4.3.39/.42 - Changing the default interface in a drive group restarts the drive configuration for all drives connected to same Server or RDS.
SEP sesam version 4.4.3.39/.42 – Log files in SMS directory grow too large
  • In SEP sesam 4.4.3.39, the sm_dedup_fsck log file in the <SESAM_VAR>/var/log/sms is growing too fast and is too large. This can cause performance issues and consume valuable disk space.

Limitations

SEP sesam backup for hypervisors (VMware, Hyper-V, Citrix Xen, KVM, OpenNebula) cannot back up the data on external disks

The data of such disks is silently skipped from backup, hence the backup saveset contains no data for the external disk while the backup succeeds and no warning about the missing data is issued.

  • In case of VMware, SEP sesam cannot back up the data on the independent or Raw Device Mapping (RDM) disks due to a VMware limitation that does not support including independent/RDM disks in virtual machine snapshots. To have a successful backup, you should exclude the independent disks/RDMs from the backup task or install a SEP sesam Client in the virtual machine and perform an additional file or application backup to back up this data.
  • In case of other hypervisors (Hyper-V, Citrix Xen, KVM, OpenNebula), SEP sesam cannot back up the data on the RDM disks or on a VM without attached SCSI controller(s). To back these hypervisors, you have to add one or more SCSI controller to the virtual machine before performing a backup, even if there are no devices to use the SCSI, or you have to install a SEP sesam Client in the virtual machine and perform an additional file or application backup to back up this data.
SEP Warning.png Warning
If a restore of a VM with external disk is performed to the original VM by using the option overwrite, the disk is re-created and all existing data on the restore target is lost.

Enhancements and changes

Kopano backup

Zarafa re-branded to Kopano in 2016; SEP sesam provides efficient data protection for this mail and messaging collaboration suite in place of Zarafa. SEP sesam backup extension for Kopano Collaboration Platform provides backup and restore of single user mails, mailboxes and public folders. For details, see Kopano Backup.

Self-Service Restore Assistant

As of v. 4.4.3. Tigon v.2, it is possible to restore savesets online with the Self-Service Restore Assistant. After authentication users can restore their own data, if they belong to the user group restore and the following conditions are met: backed up data belongs to an ordinary Path backup (no special task types, such as system state backup, SAP Hana, Exchange Server, can be restored online); if a backup is encrypted, the password must be stored in the SEP sesam database (SEP sesam does not provide an option to enter the encryption password online). For details, see Self-Service Restore Assistant.

Simplified SAP ASE backup and restore

The SAP ASE backup extension is now implemented as an internal backup appliance to provide efficient data protection for SAP ASE and simplify the restore process. It performs online backups of SAP based on Sybase ASE databases using the Sybase SQL API. For details, see SAP ASE Backup.

DB2 automatic archive log backup

In order to enable online backups of DB2, you have to enable archive logging for DB2 by modifying the LOGARCHMETH1 and LOGARCHOPT1 database configuration parameters. This enables automatic archive log backup to SEP sesam. For details, see DB2 Backup.

Restoring MS SQL database to a new location using GUI

SEP sesam GUI now provides a simple way of restoring a SQL Server database to the same machine while retaining the old one in place. This is an alternative to the move option which lets you define the new name of the database files as well as new location for these files. For details, see GUI restore wizard relocation.

BSR Pro 2.0 supports encrypted volumes

Direct forensic can be specified as a special option to back up and restore encrypted drives. The data remains encrypted even after the image is restored. This option can be set in the backup task properties. For details, see SEP sesam BSR Pro – Backup Configuration.

GUI enhancements

  • You can manually remove orphaned savesets from the data stores by using the new Clean up option in the Data Stores content pane. This is useful in cases when a data store seems to be inaccessible, its storage space is occupied, or SEP sesam space check shows non-sesam data. For details, see Data Store.
  • You can use additional Toggle Grouping option in the Backups content pane to group the same backup task states in one item and display its current status. Grouping allows you to quickly scan the success of backup jobs. For details, see Toggle Grouping.
  • When automating backup of virtual machines by creating VMware tasks, you can use the improved Create VM tasks option with a powerful Attributes feature to enable smart grouping of existing or new VMs that fit certain criteria for backups. For details, see Automating Backup of Virtual Machines.
  • In the Migration and Replications content pane you can examine the progress of the replication and see how much data is being transferred; you can check data size, physical and nominal data in the new columns Data Size, Transferred, Transferred (Brutto) and Progress. For details, see Checking replication status.

Limited maximum initial size of Si3 deduplication store

To avoid issues arising from combination of too large Si3 deduplication stores and inefficient hardware, the maximum initial Si3 deduplication store size is restricted to 40 TB since Tigon V2 (4.4.3.46). This restriction is valid when creating a new Si3 deduplication store in GUI.

Information sign.png Note
Customers with special requirements for larger Si3 deduplication store should contact SEP support to be able to increase the value up to an optimum size for their specific environments.

End of maintenance and support

Obsolete SEP sesam Server version

No changes since SEP sesam version 4.4.3 Tigon.

Unsupported SEP sesam Server OS

No changes since SEP sesam version 4.4.3 Tigon.

Major fixes and changes

See also

SEP sesam Release Versions