Release Notes 4.4.3 Beefalo V2

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This article is in the initial stage and may be updated, replaced or deleted at any time. It is inappropriate to use this document as reference material as it is a work in progress and should be treated as such.


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.

Now you can use flexible and scalable HPE Cloud Bank Storage as a Catalyst copy target where you can replicate or restore your data.

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 has been completely redesigned to provide an intuitive detailed overview of the SEP sesam environment and a simple wizard that walks you through the restore process, where the availability of restore options depends on the used UI mode (basic or advanced).

GUI enhancements include a new Install/Update tab (in the Configuration -> Defaults) that ease the update process and simplifies the deployment of clients. Schedules provide a more intuitive and responsive calendar. It is now possible to set the device block size for LTO Ultrium tape drives.

The exclude pattern range has been increased for SEP internal exclude patterns.

New supported systems

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

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

Discontinued systems

As of v. 4.4.3 Beefalo V2, the following operating systems are no longer supported for update:

See also Unsupported OS. For a complete list of supported SEP sesam Clients, see SEP sesam Support Matrix.

SEP sesam Server requirements

Java xx
For details, see Java Compatibility Matrix.

Installation and upgrades

SEP sesam 4.4.3 Beefalo V2 was released on xxth of xx, 2019. Direct upgrade for versions 4.4.3.X to version 4.4.3 Beefalo V2 is supported.

Latest released versions are:

  • SEP sesam 4.4.3.xx Linux Tux.gif – released: xxth of xx, 2019.
  • SEP sesam 4.4.3.xx Windows Win7.gif – released: xxth of xx, 2019.
Win7.gif 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 Automatic Updates and Automatic Installation on Windows.

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 Beefalo V2 known issues:
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.72 – It is not possible to mount a saveset if RDS has version 4.4.3.72 installed
  • If RDS has version 4.4.3.72 installed, mounting a saveset results in error even if the mount operation succeeded.
Workaround: To mount a saveset on RDS 4.4.3.72, you have to update it to v. 4.4.3.74.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.70–71 – User-defined calendar configuration is not working
  • With the Beefalo release support for Java 11 was introduced in SEP sesam. Both Oracle Java 11 or OpenJDK 11 no longer include JavaFX. As the user-defined calendar is JavaFX-based, it is no longer working.
Workaround: Use List All Calendars instead. SEP support is working on this issue and will provide a solution with the next version of SEP sesam Beefalo. When using Java 8 the user-defined calendar still works.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.70 – Hyper-V restore from a powered-on VM fails with VSS API error
  • The restore of a Hyper-V backup from a powered-on VM to another Hyper-V server fails with: VSS API error: NHyperV::FindSingleObject: Failed to enumerate objectsClass name is "Msvm_ComputerSystem"
Workaround: You can only restore a Hyper-V VM to another server if the VM is powered off. SEP support is working on this issue and will provide a solution as soon as possible.
SEP sesam v. ≥ 4.4.3.xx – NDMP selective restore fails to restore empty directories
  • When performing a selective NDMP restore to restore a directory and its contents and there are also empty directories on the restore list together with normal directories and files, no empty directories are restored (created) on the target.
Known issue: Closed as a known issue as it is too minor to warrant fixing. Will not be fixed in this release.

Enhancements and changes

HPE Cloud Bank Storage

As of v. 4.4.3 Beefalo V2, it is recommended to set up HPE Cloud Bank Storage as a Catalyst copy target for replicating your data. It stores the data to public or private cloud storage and is especially suitable for long-term retention and archive of backups and offsite backup copies intended for disaster recovery. For details, see HPE StoreOnce Replication.

MS SQL AlwaysOn Availability Groups

SEP sesam currently supports backups of the 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 run on the SAP HANA server. For details, see SAP HANA housekeeping.

GUI enhancements

  • The sm_update_client command has been extended. Now you can check in the SEP sesam GUI if an update for your clients is available. You can update all clients within the location at once or update only the selected client. You can also exclude a particular client from being updated or install SEP sesam component(s) on new Windows clients. For details, see Updating client(s).
  • It is possible to change the default write density for tapes to achieve better tape performance by using 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.

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

No changes since SEP sesam version 4.4.3 Beefalo.

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 also

SEP sesam Release Versions