Release Notes 5.0.0 Jaglion: Difference between revisions

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{{Draft}}
{{Copyright SEP AG en}}
{{Copyright SEP AG en}}
{{note|SEP AG is pleased to announce that the upcoming version of SEP sesam, v. 5.0.0.1 ''Jaglion'', is currently in the [[SEP_sesam_Release_Versions|beta 1 release phase]]. This document describes known issues for ''beta 1 release'' as well as the most important new features and additional information for the upcoming official release.
*Note that SEP sesam provides SEP sesam ''5.0.0.1 Jaglion beta 1'' as a test program on an "as is" basis and without warranty. Beta version may contain errors and bugs and may cause problems that could lead to system failures and data loss.
*If you are interested in testing the beta version, please register as a beta tester by email to [mailto:beta@sep.de beta@sep.de]. Make sure that you fully '''understand and agree to the terms and conditions''', described in [[Hints for beta testing]], before you start using SEP sesam beta software. }}
<!--{{note|SEP AG is pleased to announce the beta release of SEP sesam 4.4.3 ''Beefalo V2''. If you are interested in testing the beta version, please register as a beta tester by email to [mailto:beta@sep.de beta@sep.de]. Before installing the beta version, make sure that you '''''understand the beta release version status and conditions''''', available at [[Hints for beta testing]].}}-->
<!--{{note|SEP AG is pleased to announce the beta release of SEP sesam 4.4.3 ''Beefalo V2''. If you are interested in testing the beta version, please register as a beta tester by email to [mailto:beta@sep.de beta@sep.de]. Before installing the beta version, make sure that you '''''understand the beta release version status and conditions''''', available at [[Hints for beta testing]].}}-->


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===== Extended SEP sesam REST API V2 =====
===== Extended SEP sesam REST API V2 =====
The SEP sesam REST API V2 has been extended to support a wide variety of use cases. A large number of new endpoints have been added. For details, see [https://wiki.sepsoftware.com/wiki/index.php/File:SEP_sesam-REST-API-V2-Jaglion.pdf SEP sesam REST API V2 Jaglion].
The SEP sesam REST API V2 has been extended to support a wide variety of use cases. A large number of new endpoints have been added. For details, see [https://wiki.sepsoftware.com/wiki/index.php/File:SEP_sesam-REST-API-V2-Jaglion.pdf SEP sesam REST API V2 Jaglion].
===== Installation with ''PostgreSQL'' on Windows =====
SEP sesam introduces support for [[Release_Notes_5.0.0_Jaglion#windows|''PostgreSQL on Windows'']]. Your SEP sesam Server can now be installed with PostgreSQL.
===== Sparse files support =====
SEP sesam now provides support for Linux sparse files to prevent running out of disk space during restore. For details on how SEP sesam handles sparse files and what options are available, see [[Special:MyLanguage/Support_for_Sparse_Files|Support for Sparse Files]].


===== Enhanced Web UI =====
===== Enhanced Web UI =====
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*Debian 11 (''bullseye'')
*Debian 11 (''bullseye'')
*RHV 4.4
*RHV 4.4
*SLES 15 Service Pack 3 (SP3) for SEP sesam Server (in previous version, SP3 was only supported for RDS, GUI and Client)


'''Improvements''': Cryptographic protocols OpenSSL 1.1.1/TLS2  
'''Improvements''': Cryptographic protocols OpenSSL 1.1.1/TLS2  
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{{Note|In SEP sesam ''Jaglion'', SEP announced that it would no longer support:
{{Note|In SEP sesam ''Jaglion'', SEP announced that it would no longer support:
*Ubuntu 16.04
*Ubuntu 16.04
*SLES11
*SLES 11
*Windows Server 2008 R2
*Windows Server 2008 R2
}}
}}
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==={{anchor|installation}}Installation and upgrades===
==={{anchor|installation}}Installation and upgrades===


SEP sesam ''Jaglion 5.0.0.1 beta'' was released (and available for testing) on 8<sup>th</sup> of November, 2021. Direct '''upgrade''' for versions '''4.4.3.X''' to version Jaglion '''5.0.0.1 beta''''' is supported.
SEP sesam ''Jaglion 5.0.0.3 '' was released on 29 December 2021. A direct '''upgrade''' from versions '''4.4.3.X''' to version Jaglion '''5.0.0.3''''' is supported.
{{note| You always have to update the SEP sesam Server first before updating the client software. For more information on the SEP sesam software updates, see [[Special:MyLanguage/4_4_3_Beefalo:Updating_SEP_sesam|Updating SEP sesam]].}}


Latest released versions are:
The latest released versions are:
* SEP sesam 5.0.0.1 beta [http://beta.sep.de/linux/ Linux] [[File:tux.gif]] – released: 8<sup>th</sup> of November, 2021.
* SEP sesam 5.0.0.3 [https://download.sep.de/ Linux] [[File:tux.gif]] – released: 29 December 2021.
* SEP sesam 5.0.0.1 beta [http://beta.sep.de/windows/ Windows] [[File:win7.gif]] – released: 8<sup>th</sup> of November, 2021.
* SEP sesam 5.0.0.3 [https://download.sep.de/ Windows] [[File:win7.gif]] – released: 29 December 2021.
<!--
* SEP sesam 5.0.0.1 beta [https://download.sep.de/linux/ Linux] [[File:tux.gif]] – released: 11<sup>th</sup> of May, 2020.
* SEP sesam 4.4.3.79 [https://download.sep.de/windows/ Windows] [[File:win7.gif]] – released: 11<sup>th</sup> of May, 2020.
-->


;[[File:tux.gif]]  Linux specific:
===== {{anchor|linux}}[[File:tux.gif]]  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:
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-Basesystem
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  zypper ar dvd:/Module-Legacy DVD-Legacy  
  zypper ar dvd:/Module-Legacy DVD-Legacy  


;[[File:win7.gif]] Windows specific:
For details, see [[Special:MyLanguage/5_0_0:SEP_sesam_Quick_Install_Guide#linux|Installation on Linux]]. For a list of supported Linux versions, see the [[5_0_0:SEP_sesam_OS_and_Database_Support_Matrix#Linux|SEP sesam Support Matrix]].
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 [[Special:MyLanguage/Updating_SEP_sesam|Updating SEP sesam]] and [[Special:MyLanguage/4_4_3_Beefalo:Remote_Installation_of_Windows_Clients|Remote Installation of Windows Clients]].


<!--{{note|As of previous release, SEP sesam executables are single signed with SHA256. Because of the buffer limitation of the ''GetCertHash()'' function on Windows Server 2008 SP2, the SEP sesam executables which are now signed with a SHA256 certificate cannot run on Windows Server 2008. To install/upgrade SEP sesam on the respective Windows Server version, you have to install a special Windows update first. For details and update download, see any of the following links:  
===== {{anchor|windows}}[[File:win7.gif]]  Windows specific =====
;Installation
:*When installing SEP sesam Server on Windows, you can now choose to install a ''PostgreSQL'' database that is included with the SEP sesam installer (or use the SQLite that does not require a server to be set up and is used with SEP sesam by default). For details, see [[Special:MyLanguage/5_0_0:SEP_sesam_Quick_Install_Guide#windows|Installation on Microsoft Windows]].  
:*Upgrading from ''SQLite'' to ''PostgreSQL'' is currently not supported, except with the help of SEP support.
:*SEP sesam recommends the use of ''PostgreSQL'' for complex enterprise environments with many tasks, high performance expectations (due to ''PostgreSQL's'' ability to support multiple concurrent writers and read/write at fast speeds), and security and authentication requirements.
For a list of supported Windows versions, see the [[5_0_0:SEP_sesam_OS_and_Database_Support_Matrix#Windows|SEP sesam Support Matrix]].


*[https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2763674/you-cannot-run-an-application-that-is-signed-with-a-sha-256-certificat You cannot run an application that is signed with a SHA-256 certificate on a computer that is running Windows Vista SP2 or Windows Server 2008 SP2]  
;Upgrade: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 [[Special:MyLanguage/Updating_SEP_sesam|Updating SEP sesam]] and [[Special:MyLanguage/4_4_3_Beefalo:Remote_Installation_of_Windows_Clients|Remote Installation of Windows Clients]].
*[https://support.microsoft.com/de-de/help/2763674/you-cannot-run-an-application-that-is-signed-with-a-sha-256-certificat Eine Anwendung, die mit SHA-256-Zertifikat signiert ist, kann nicht auf einem Computer ausgeführt werden, der Windows Vista SP2 oder Windows Server 2008 SP2 ausführt].}}-->


'''Previous release'''
====Post update task====
Version 5.0.0.x uses the enhanced LIS file format, which increases performance at least 10 times. After updating to version 5.0.0.x, a new full [[Special:MyLanguage/4_4_3_Tigon:VMware_Backup|vSphere backup]] should be performed to allow mounting and  attaching VMDKs.
 
====Previous release====
* [[Release_Notes_4.4.3_Beefalo_V2|Release notes for SEP sesam 4.4.3 ''Beefalo V2'']]
* [[Release_Notes_4.4.3_Beefalo_V2|Release notes for SEP sesam 4.4.3 ''Beefalo V2'']]


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{{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.}}
{{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.}}
{{Box Hint Y|5.0.0 ''Jaglion'' known issues|
{{Box Hint Y|5.0.0 ''Jaglion'' known issues|
<!--===Severity: CRITICAL===
===Severity: CRITICAL===
;[[File:Warning sign.png|20px]]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
;[[File:Warning sign.png|20px]]SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 – Selective restore of Windows savesets on tapes with block size > 64KB fails 
:*(''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. [[Special:MyLanguage/SEP_sesam_Glossary#SMS|SMS]] ignores the error and continues writing the data to VTL without sufficient space. The Backup log shows ''"backup completed successfully"'' although it actually failed and no data was written to backup media. <br />(*''This behavior is seen with the QUADStor VTL only.'')
:*The selective restore of Windows savesets from tapes fails with the error message ''no valid MTF Stream ID was found''. The complete restore of these savesets works normally. This problem is caused by the block size not being retrieved from the segment file during a selective restore.
:::'''Workaround:''' -->
:::'''Workaround:''' Migrate the saveset to a data store and then:
:::* restore with the preferred media pool set to the media pool on the data store or
:::* restore files by mounting the migrated saveset.  
:::'''Resolution:''' Will be fixed with version 5.0.0.4. If you have encountered this problem, [mailto:support@sep.de SEP support] can provide a hotfix.
-----
-----
===Severity: SECURITY===
===Severity: SECURITY===
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-----
-----
===Severity: MAJOR===
===Severity: MAJOR===
;SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.1 ''beta'' – STPD shutdown may hang
;SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 – SAP HANA backup is aborted by SEP sesam
:* The Sesam Transfer Protocol Server (STPD) occasionally hangs during service shutdown due to incorrect signal function.
:* When running SAP HANA backup, SEP sesam aborts the backup job after about 18 minutes. This is due to the timeout setting, which is set to 540 seconds by default. SEP sesam multiplies this value and uses it as the limit in seconds for aborting running jobs (stop time).
:::'''Resolution:''' Fixed with version [http://download.sep.de/ 5.0.0.x].
:::'''Workaround:''' Modify the SAP HANA UTL file (Backint parameter file). Change the setting for COM_TIMEOUT to:<br /><nowiki>COM_TIMEOUT=3600</nowiki>
:::'''Resolution:''' Will be fixed with version 5.0.0.4. 
 
;SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 Citrix XenServer VM restore to selected target data store fails
:* XenServer VM restore to selected target data store (Citrix storage resource – SR) fails. SEP sesam sbc_proxy does not use the selected SR for the restore, but the default data store. Restoring to the selected SR only works if there is more than one SR with the same name on Citrix, as SEP Sesam will then restore to the selected data store that is on the same Citrix host as the restore target host. Otherwise, the default data store is used and the restore fails if this default data store is not configured.
:::'''Workaround:''' To restore to a desired SR, make this SR temporarily the default SR of the Citrix pool.
:::'''Resolution:''' Will be fixed with version 5.0.0.4.
-----
===Severity: NORMAL===
;SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 – Backup of SEP sesam client version 5.0.0 to SEP sesam Server version 4.4.3.x fails with ''"XBSA: Perform: curl error 55: Failed sending data to the peer"'' 
:* If package updates are installed on SEP sesam Clients during the regular update before SEP sesam Server is updated to the same version as the clients, the backup may fail with the message ''"XBSA: Perform: curl error 55: Failed sending data to the peer"''
:::'''Resolution:''' Update the SEP sesam Server to the same version installed on the clients. Note that you always have to update the SEP sesam Server first before updating the client software.
 
;SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 – ''sm_shutdown'' instead of ''sm_main stop'' is called to stop SEP sesam on the client 
:* The systemd unit file calls ''sm_shutdown'' instead of ''sm_main stop'' on the client. Stopping the sesam service on the SEP sesam Client does not stop all SEP sesam components, especially "sm_sshd". So it can happen that not all running SEP sesam components are stopped correctly.
:::'''Workaround:''' To fix this problem, run the following commands:<br /><tt>sed -i 's/sm_shutdown/sm_main stop/' /usr/lib/systemd/system/sepsesam.service<br />systemctl daemon-reload </tt>
:::'''Resolution:''' Will be fixed with version 5.0.0.4.
-----
-----
===Severity: MINOR===
===Severity: MINOR===
;SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.86–5.0.0.1 ''beta'' ''Initial Seeding'' functionality temporarily removed
;SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 Package download by <tt>sm_update_client</tt> fails
:*As using the ''Initial Seed'' option to set up a new Si3 deduplication store for replication resulted in an apparently successful setup, but no data was replicated, the ''Initial Seeding'' functionality is no longer available in version 5.0.0.1.
:* Package download by <tt>sm_update_client</tt> from ''https://download.sep.de'' fails with '''Package [''<sesam_package>''] not found.'''
;SEP sesam 5.0.0.1 ''beta'' – Backing up a VMware .vmx file may fail due to a line that is too long
:::'''Workaround:''' This appears to be an http/https-related issue. To enable package download, set ''http://download.sep.de'' as the update URL: ''GUI'' -> ''Configuration'' -> ''Defaults'' -> ''Install/Update'' -> under ''Use custom SEP sesam package source'', set the URL to load the SEP sesam packages to ''http://download.sep.de''. For details, see [[Special:MyLanguage/4_4_3_Beefalo:Updating_SEP_sesam#custom_package|Use custom SEP sesam package source]].<br />SEP is working on this issue and will provide a fix as soon as possible.
:*Backing up VMware virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file may result in a ''Segmentation fault (core dumped)'' error if a line is too long. (The long line comes from the ''appInfo'' feature of the VMware tools.) Consequently, the backup of the VMware configuration fails.
;SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.86–5.0.0.3 – ''Initial Seeding'' functionality temporarily removed
:::'''Resolution:''' Fixed with version [http://download.sep.de/ 5.0.0.x].
:*As using the ''Initial Seed'' option to set up a new Si3 deduplication store for replication resulted in an apparently successful setup, but no data was replicated, the ''Initial Seeding'' functionality is no longer available in version 5.0.0.3.
;SEP sesam 5.0.0.1 ''beta'' – Unable to browse backup source for Oracle VM
 
:*It is not possible to browse Oracle Linux Virtualization Manager (OLVM) client to specify the source and select the object(s) to be backed up.
:::'''Resolution:''' Fixed with version [http://download.sep.de/ 5.0.0.x].
;SEP sesam 5.0.0.1 ''beta'' – Unable to perform Hyper-V single file restore from RDS due to a failed mount
:*When performing Hyper-V single file restore from an RDS, SEP sesam fails to mount Hyper-V VM VHD on Windows RDS due to the wrong path to .map file.
:::'''Resolution:''' Fixed with version [http://download.sep.de/ 5.0.0.x].
;SEP sesam 5.0.0.1 ''beta'' – No Exchange Recovery Pro shortcut (RPEX) created when mounting the saveset
:*When performing Exchange single item recovery, the saveset is mounted successfully, but no RPEX shortcut is created on the Windows server.
:::'''Resolution:''' Fixed with version [http://download.sep.de/ 5.0.0.x].
;SEP sesam 5.0.0.1 ''beta'' Restoring vSphere COPY backups with ''single saveset'' option does not work
:*When restoring VMware COPY backups with selected GUI option ''When run with backup level 'COPY', write all data into single saveset'', the restore fails.
:::'''Resolution:''' Fixed with version [http://download.sep.de/ 5.0.0.x].
-----
-----
<!--====''Minor GUI issues''====
<!--====''Minor GUI issues''====
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== {{anchor|end}}End of maintenance and support ==
== {{anchor|end}}End of maintenance and support ==
<!--=== Obsolete SEP sesam Server version ===
SEP sesam 4.4.3 ''Tigon V1'' -> September 2020-->
===Upcoming end of support===


SEP sesam 4.4.3 ''Grolar'' -> October 2021
===Obsolete SEP sesam Server versions===
The following versions of SEP sesam are no longer supported:
*SEP sesam [[SEP_sesam_Release_Versions|4.4.3 Grolar]] -> October 2021
*SEP sesam [[SEP_sesam_Release_Versions|4.4.3 Tigon V2]] -> December 2020
*SEP sesam [[SEP_sesam_Release_Versions|4.4.3 Tigon]] -> September 2020


=== Discontinued SEP sesam Server OS ===
=== Discontinued SEP sesam Server OS ===

Revision as of 21:24, 21 January 2022

Template:Copyright SEP AG en

What's new in SEP sesam 5.0.0 Jaglion

New SEP sesam release 5.0.0 Jaglion introduces a more powerful and intuitive Web UI, handy new GUI functions, and more consistent and stable internal APIs.

Features at a glance

Improvements and bug fixes

This release contains a number of improvements and important fixes in various areas and resolves the issue with slow tape restore performance.

Extended SEP sesam REST API V2

The SEP sesam REST API V2 has been extended to support a wide variety of use cases. A large number of new endpoints have been added. For details, see SEP sesam REST API V2 Jaglion.

Installation with PostgreSQL on Windows

SEP sesam introduces support for PostgreSQL on Windows. Your SEP sesam Server can now be installed with PostgreSQL.

Sparse files support

SEP sesam now provides support for Linux sparse files to prevent running out of disk space during restore. For details on how SEP sesam handles sparse files and what options are available, see Support for Sparse Files.

Enhanced Web UI

The more advanced and intuitive Web UI offers the following in addition to monitoring SEP sesam operations: Start backups immediately, restart failed jobs, lock backups, review alerts, set UI mode, and view job and data store details.

Backup & restore
  • Now also supported: Nutanix Acropolis Hypervisor (AHV) backup and restore. The Nutanix AHV module is supported on SEP sesam Linux Server and on SEP sesam Windows Server, using a Linux Client as a data mover.
  • To simplify backing up multiple VMs, you can automate the process by automatically generating tasks for VMs that are connected to the same host; in addition, you can also automatically create clients for VMs to which the generated tasks and ACLs can be assigned.
  • The new Oracle-VM task type is available to perform agentless snapshot-based backups of all OLVM virtual machines.
  • Si3 deduplication store has been improved; the new Si3 NG deduplication store enables significantly higher deduplication performance.
  • VFS (Sesam virtual file system) performance improvements enable 100x faster access to vSphere VMs booted directly from SEP sesam data store.
  • When browsing a VMware vSphere server for backup sources, VMs are displayed in the vCenter tree along with the host and clusters. The client browser for VMware now displays a description of the configured backup tasks and details of the VM-related metadata that can be copied.
  • For direct HPE backups and especially replications to the cloud, the new data store type HPE Cloud Volumes is available.
  • For Microsoft Windows Server 2016 or later, the Resilient Change Tracking (RCT) is supported to back up Hyper-V virtual machines.
  • Since Jaglion, the locked state is automatically applied to all backups in the chain of the selected backup.
  • When backing up Citrix Hypervisor VMs, it is possible to exclude individual virtual disk (VHD) from the backup.
Web Restore Assistant
Authentication & authorization

SEP sesam v. 5.0.0 authentication concept has changed. Now only a user with Superuser privileges can configure authentication and attach permissions (ACLs) to created users. The internal users can be authenticated via a signed certificate instead of a user password.

Media management

Expiring a tape provides a new option to delete all metadata, which erases all tape media metadata and initializes the tape (if the tape is loaded in a drive), removing access to all existing data on the tape.

New supported systems

SEP sesam Server 5.0.0 Jaglion now also supports the following:

  • Nutanix AHV
  • HCL Domino 12
  • Debian 11 (bullseye)
  • RHV 4.4
  • SLES 15 Service Pack 3 (SP3) for SEP sesam Server (in previous version, SP3 was only supported for RDS, GUI and Client)

Improvements: Cryptographic protocols OpenSSL 1.1.1/TLS2

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

Discontinued systems

Information sign.png Note
In SEP sesam Jaglion, SEP announced that it would no longer support:
  • Ubuntu 16.04
  • SLES 11
  • Windows Server 2008 R2

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

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.

Information sign.png 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 Jaglion 5.0.0.3 was released on 29 December 2021. A direct upgrade from versions 4.4.3.X to version Jaglion 5.0.0.3 is supported.

Information sign.png Note
You always have to update the SEP sesam Server first before updating the client software. For more information on the SEP sesam software updates, see Updating SEP sesam.

The latest released versions are:

  • SEP sesam 5.0.0.3 Linux Tux.gif – released: 29 December 2021.
  • SEP sesam 5.0.0.3 Windows Win7.gif – released: 29 December 2021.
Tux.gif 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 

For details, see Installation on Linux. For a list of supported Linux versions, see the SEP sesam Support Matrix.

Win7.gif Windows specific
Installation
  • When installing SEP sesam Server on Windows, you can now choose to install a PostgreSQL database that is included with the SEP sesam installer (or use the SQLite that does not require a server to be set up and is used with SEP sesam by default). For details, see Installation on Microsoft Windows.
  • Upgrading from SQLite to PostgreSQL is currently not supported, except with the help of SEP support.
  • SEP sesam recommends the use of PostgreSQL for complex enterprise environments with many tasks, high performance expectations (due to PostgreSQL's ability to support multiple concurrent writers and read/write at fast speeds), and security and authentication requirements.

For a list of supported Windows versions, see the SEP sesam Support Matrix.

Upgrade
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.

Post update task

Version 5.0.0.x uses the enhanced LIS file format, which increases performance at least 10 times. After updating to version 5.0.0.x, a new full vSphere backup should be performed to allow mounting and attaching VMDKs.

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.
5.0.0 Jaglion known issues:

Severity: CRITICAL

Warning sign.pngSEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 – Selective restore of Windows savesets on tapes with block size > 64KB fails
  • The selective restore of Windows savesets from tapes fails with the error message no valid MTF Stream ID was found. The complete restore of these savesets works normally. This problem is caused by the block size not being retrieved from the segment file during a selective restore.
Workaround: Migrate the saveset to a data store and then:
  • restore with the preferred media pool set to the media pool on the data store or
  • restore files by mounting the migrated saveset.
Resolution: Will be fixed with version 5.0.0.4. If you have encountered this problem, SEP support can provide a hotfix.

Severity: SECURITY

SEP sesam v. 5.0.0 – (Windows) STPD automatically disables the HTTPS port on Windows
  • (Applies only to Windows) The Sesam Transfer Protocol Server (STPD) automatically disables the HTTPS port if CPU instructions are missing due to unsupported AVX. Consequently, the SSL key and certificate cannot be created.
Workaround : Make sure that you use CPUs with supported AVX versions (AVX, AVX2 or AVX-512) as well as FMA3 (Fused Multiply-Add 3-operand Form) or FMA4 (Fused Multiply-Add 4-operand Form). For the list of supported AVX versions, see Advanced Vector Extensions.

Severity: MAJOR

SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 – SAP HANA backup is aborted by SEP sesam
  • When running SAP HANA backup, SEP sesam aborts the backup job after about 18 minutes. This is due to the timeout setting, which is set to 540 seconds by default. SEP sesam multiplies this value and uses it as the limit in seconds for aborting running jobs (stop time).
Workaround: Modify the SAP HANA UTL file (Backint parameter file). Change the setting for COM_TIMEOUT to:
COM_TIMEOUT=3600
Resolution: Will be fixed with version 5.0.0.4.
SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 – Citrix XenServer VM restore to selected target data store fails
  • XenServer VM restore to selected target data store (Citrix storage resource – SR) fails. SEP sesam sbc_proxy does not use the selected SR for the restore, but the default data store. Restoring to the selected SR only works if there is more than one SR with the same name on Citrix, as SEP Sesam will then restore to the selected data store that is on the same Citrix host as the restore target host. Otherwise, the default data store is used and the restore fails if this default data store is not configured.
Workaround: To restore to a desired SR, make this SR temporarily the default SR of the Citrix pool.
Resolution: Will be fixed with version 5.0.0.4.

Severity: NORMAL

SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 – Backup of SEP sesam client version 5.0.0 to SEP sesam Server version 4.4.3.x fails with "XBSA: Perform: curl error 55: Failed sending data to the peer"
  • If package updates are installed on SEP sesam Clients during the regular update before SEP sesam Server is updated to the same version as the clients, the backup may fail with the message "XBSA: Perform: curl error 55: Failed sending data to the peer"
Resolution: Update the SEP sesam Server to the same version installed on the clients. Note that you always have to update the SEP sesam Server first before updating the client software.
SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 – sm_shutdown instead of sm_main stop is called to stop SEP sesam on the client
  • The systemd unit file calls sm_shutdown instead of sm_main stop on the client. Stopping the sesam service on the SEP sesam Client does not stop all SEP sesam components, especially "sm_sshd". So it can happen that not all running SEP sesam components are stopped correctly.
Workaround: To fix this problem, run the following commands:
sed -i 's/sm_shutdown/sm_main stop/' /usr/lib/systemd/system/sepsesam.service
systemctl daemon-reload
Resolution: Will be fixed with version 5.0.0.4.

Severity: MINOR

SEP sesam v. 5.0.0.3 – Package download by sm_update_client fails
Workaround: This appears to be an http/https-related issue. To enable package download, set http://download.sep.de as the update URL: GUI -> Configuration -> Defaults -> Install/Update -> under Use custom SEP sesam package source, set the URL to load the SEP sesam packages to http://download.sep.de. For details, see Use custom SEP sesam package source.
SEP is working on this issue and will provide a fix as soon as possible.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.86–5.0.0.3 – Initial Seeding functionality temporarily removed
  • As using the Initial Seed option to set up a new Si3 deduplication store for replication resulted in an apparently successful setup, but no data was replicated, the Initial Seeding functionality is no longer available in version 5.0.0.3.

Important fixes

Fixed with SEP sesam Server 5.0.0 Jaglion:
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.75 – Tape restore performance is slower than backup performance
  • When restoring from tape the performance is 2-3 times slower than the performance of the backup.
Resolution: Fixed; fill the second buffer while processing the first buffer, EOF handling adapted.
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 (in sm.ini and/or stpd.ini) is changed from the default port.
Resolution: You can now set the STPD service TCP port on the client (client properties -> Options tab -> Listen port) to the new TCP port.

Enhancements and changes

Nutanix AHV

With Jaglion, SEP sesam provides efficient data protection for Nutanix AHV virtual machines (VMs). The Nutanix AHV module is supported on SEP sesam Linux Server and on SEP sesam Windows Server, using a Linux Client as a data mover. You can easily back up and restore Nutanix AHV VMs, as described in Nutanix AHV Backup and Nutanix AHV Restore.

Authentication and authorization

The authentication and authorization concept is enhanced with two new user types - superuser, which replaces the previous admin role, and backup user. Now only a user with Superuser privileges can configure authentication and attach permissions (ACLs) to created users. For details, see About Authentication and Authorization and Using Access Control lists.

Certificate-based authentication

Now it is possible to authenticate users via a signed certificate instead of a user password if a database-based authentication is enabled. Note that the users from external authentication sources (LDAP/AD) cannot be authenticated using a certificate (only by using a password). For details, see Configuring Certificate-Based Authentication.

Automating backup process

To simplify backing up multiple VMs, you can automate the process by automatically generating tasks for VMs that are connected to the same host; you can also automatically create clients for VMs that can be assigned the generated tasks and ACLs. It is recommended to use these features when a new hypervisor is added and many new VMs need to be backed up. For details, see Automating Backup Process.

HPE Cloud Volumes storage

In addition to HPE StoreOnce Catalyst stores and HPE Cloud Bank storage, you can now use HPE Cloud Volumes as backup storage. The HPE Cloud Volumes solution provides efficient direct backup, replication, and restore. Although you can use HPE Cloud Volume store for direct backups, it is recommended that you use it more as a secondary target repository for replication. For details, see HPE Cloud Volumes Backup.

Resilient Change Tracking for Hyper-V

For Microsoft Windows Server 2016 or later, the Resilient Change Tracking feature (RCT) is supported to back up Hyper-V virtual machines. Similar to CBT for VMware and Citrix, incremental backup technology RCT for Hyper-V detects block-level changes and backs up only the data that has changed since the last incremental backup. This allows you to back up VMs faster while saving storage space. See RCT for Hyper-V.

Oracle-VM task type

The new Oracle-VM task type is available to perform agentless snapshot-based backups of all OLVM virtual machines, regardless of their workload or operating system. See OLVM Backup.

New and improved with web Restore Assistant

The web Restore Assistant supports new task types and offers new features and an intuitive user experience that makes restoring data online quick and easy. For details, see Restore Assistant.

Web single file restore (SFR) for VMs

In the web interface Restore assistant, you can now restore individual files from VMware, Hyper-V, RHV/OLVM, Citrix Hypervisor, KVM/QEMU, OpenNebula and Nutanix AHV virtual machines online, if you have been granted the appropriate permissions. SFR for Proxmox VE VM is currently not supported. For details, see Web Single File Restore for Virtual Machines.

Web Exchange restore

Now it is possible to restore a single Exchange mailbox database using SEP sesam Exchange Recovery Pro via the web interface Restore Assistant. Exchange Recovery Pro is only supported on Windows systems and must be installed on the system serving as SEP sesam Server or SEP sesam RDS. See Web Exchange Restore.

Web VMware sandbox restore

Enhanced VMware sandbox restore via the web Restore Assistant can be performed in advanced restore mode. It provides improved functionality and usability of the recovery options, i.e. the use of run and execution commands of the VMware guest tools. See VMware Sandbox Restore.

Web MS SQL restore

Online restore of MS SQL Server databases is supported with specific recovery state options (leave the database ready for use by rolling back uncommitted transactions, etc.) and additional execution options (overwrite existing items with newer/older items from backup and skip ACL settings during restore). See Web MS SQL Restore.

Web UI enhancements

SEP sesam Web UI now provides a more detailed overview of jobs and tasks, improved monitoring of the SEP sesam environment, and the possibility of performing different operations, e.g., running or locking the backups, restarting failed jobs, etc. For details, see SEP sesam Web UI.

GUI enhancements

  • Under the Configuration -> Defaults -> General tab, two additional options are available. Now you can use Sort case insensitive option to ensure that upper- and lowercase letters are treated the same when sorting results. Additionally, new filter option allows you to set a delay for reloading data when changing the filter(s). For details, see Configuration: Defaults.
  • When creating a backup task on Linux, you can now set that deleted or modified files are not reported as errors. For details, see Creating a Backup Task.
  • Now you can start the replication immediately under the Activities -> Immediate Start -> Replication, see Activities.

Technical improvements

  • In previous SEP sesam versions, the backup locked state (savesets of the backup cannot be deleted) is applied to the selected backup only, so you have to lock all backups of a backup chain manually. As of Jaglion, the locked state is automatically applied to all backups in the backup chain. See Backups by State.
  • When backing up Citrix Hypervisor VMs, you can exclude individual virtual disk (VHD) from Full/Diff/Incr backup in the SEP sesam GUI to avoid storage occupancy. For details, see Citrix XenServer Backup.
  • Expiring a tape provides a new option to delete all metadata, which erases all tape media metadata and initializes the tape (if the tape is loaded in a drive), removing access to all existing data on the tape.

End of maintenance and support

Obsolete SEP sesam Server versions

The following versions of SEP sesam are no longer supported:

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