Release Notes 4.4.3 Beefalo: Difference between revisions

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== {{anchor|end}}End of maintenance and support ==
== {{anchor|end}}End of maintenance and support ==
=== Obsolete SEP sesam Server version ===
=== Obsolete SEP sesam Server version ===
The following versions of SEP sesam are no longer supported:
*SEP sesam 4.4.3 -> January 2020
*SEP sesam 4.4.3 -> January 2020
*SEP sesam 4.4.2 -> January 2020
*SEP sesam 4.4.2 -> January 2020

Revision as of 13:11, 4 June 2020

Template:Copyright SEP AG en

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 Beefalo

SEP sesam new release, solid and reliable Beefalo, provides exciting new features and enhancements to many of the existing modules that help you improve and manage your SEP sesam environment.

Features at glance

New data store type is available for Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) StoreOnce Catalyst Stores which are used as backup storage. SEP sesam integrates with StoreOnce Catalyst client to provide high-performance backup and restore.

SEP sesam expands support for virtualization environments and introduces new features for the already supported ones:

  • New: Proxmox VE backup and restore
  • Enhanced backup and restore for existing virtualization platforms, e.g., VMware sandbox restore is supported to easily verify backup integrity
  • Single file restore from INCR backups is introduced for Hyper-V
  • Single file restore is supported for Citrix XenServer backups

DIFF and INCR backup level for IBM Domino (previously Lotus Domino) has changed compared to previous SEP sesam versions; DIFF now saves all IBM Domino files that have been changed from the last FULL or DIFF backup including new DBIID, and INCR saves all relevant transaction logs, all new IBM Domino files and IBM Domino files with new DBIID.

A repository with signed RPM packages is provided to ease the installation on SLES and Red Hat.

Configuration of LDAP/AD authentication has been enhanced.

EOL behavior is improved compared to the previous versions and now allows for extending retention period of the referenced savesets on other media pools (not only on the target media pool) thus increasing retention period of migrated savesets only.

In order to improve usability, SEP sesam GUI is redesigned to be more user-friendly and more appealing without significantly changing the interface logic and affecting existing functions.

  • To make sure you are running the latest SEP sesam version, SEP sesam GUI Server can be automatically updated when a new version is available in the SEP Download Center by selecting the Download and install updates automatically in the newly introduced Install/Update configuration options.
  • The new GUI has been enhanced with new features, e.g., finding a specific content item (task, client, data store ...) is made easy with integrated filtering.

With the new Oracle Java licensing and release strategy, SEP sesam introduces support for OpenJDK LTS (long term support) distributions that are available free of charge. With the relevant Java version, now also HiDPI displays are supported.

New Encryption support matrix provides detailed overview of supported encryption types with Beefalo.

New supported systems

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

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

Discontinued systems

Information sign.png Note
In SEP sesam Beefalo, SEP announced that it would no longer support SEP sesam Server on Windows Server 2008 R2. This desupport has been revoked. SEP sesam Server packages 4.4.3.70–72 and SP2 can be normally installed on Windows Server 2008 R2.

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

  • RHEL 6
  • SLES 11
  • Debian Jessie
  • Windows 7
  • All Windows operating systems with x86 architecture (32-bit)
Information sign.png Note
Currently it is not possible to upgrade IBM Domino (Lotus Notes) on Linux to version 4.4.3.70 Beefalo. Last version with IBM Domino support is 4.4.3.64 SLES11.

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

SEP sesam Server requirements

Java 11 or OpenJDK 11 LTS
For details, see Java Compatibility Matrix.

Installation and upgrades

SEP sesam 4.4.3 Beefalo beta 1 was released on 17th of Jun, 2019. Direct upgrade for versions 4.4.3.X to version 4.4.3 Beefalo is supported.

Latest released versions are:

  • SEP sesam 4.4.3.72 Linux Tux.gif – early released: 9th of September, 2019.
  • SEP sesam 4.4.3.72 Windows Win7.gif – early released: 9th of September, 2019.
Win7.gif Windows specific

The 4.4.3 Beefalo 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 known issues:
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.70-72 – 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. 4.4.3.70–72 – 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 Beefalo V2 which will be released in a few weeks or/and a service pack (SP) may be available.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.70–72 – When several paths are specified for Linux or Windows path backup, only the last path is backed up
  • Linux and Windows path backups may incorrectly back up only the last backup source, if a SEP sesam Server v. 4.4.3.70–72 Beefalo is used together with a SEP sesam Client v. 4.4.3.64 Grolar and at least two backup sources are defined for a path backup. For example, if there are more sources specified, such as /var/www, /root, /etc, only the last backup source /etc is backed up, but the backup finished successfully without any errors.
Resolution: If not yet done, upgrade the SEP sesam Server to version 4.4.3.72 and then install a service pack, available under http://download.sep.de/servicepacks/4.4.3/4.4.3.72.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.70–72 – Migration from saveset on sayTEC-sayFUSE leads to error 'Checksum of saveset copy does not match'
  • In case of VMware VMDK saveset, migration from tape (sayFUSE) to tape (sayFUSE) ends with checksum error 'Checksum of saveset copy does not match'.
Resolution: If not yet done, upgrade the SEP sesam Server to version 4.4.3.72 and then install a service pack, available under http://download.sep.de/servicepacks/4.4.3/4.4.3.72.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.72 – 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. 4.4.3.70–72 – Linux BSR backup fails if the task type is selected manually
  • If you select the Linux BSR task type manually from the drop-down list when creating a backup task for Linux BSR backup, the backup will fail. However, if you select the Linux BSR backup source by browsing and let the task type to be set automatically, the backup will work.
Resolution: If not yet done, upgrade the SEP sesam Server to version 4.4.3.72 and then install a service pack, available under http://download.sep.de/servicepacks/4.4.3/4.4.3.72.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.70–72 – Si3 service does not start if key Log_Levels is missing in stpd.ini
  • Si3 service fails to start after update because the command sm_dedup_interface exits with error message "STATUS=ERROR MSG=No such node (STPD_Logging.Log_Levels)"
  • Backups on Datastore fail with error message "Error: Could not access data store. No such node (STPD_Logging.Log_Levels) No such node (STPD_Logging.Log_Levels)"
Workaround: Locate the stpd.ini file (<SESAM_ROOT>/var/ini/stpd.ini) on the SEP sesam Server/RDS, open it using a text editor and set the log setting Log_Levels=0 1 2 under [STPD_Logging]. Execute the command sm_config_drives afterwards to regenerate the drive configuration.
Resolution: Upgrade the SEP sesam Server to version 4.4.3.72 and then install a service pack, available under http://download.sep.de/servicepacks/4.4.3/4.4.3.72.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.72 – Hyper-V single file restore only available in UI mode Expert
  • Single file restore for Hyper-V can only be used in the Expert UI mode. In addition, the single file restore function is only available after a SEP sesam Server update and not after a new installation.
Workaround: To enable single file restore for Hyper-V, go to the Defaults menu and in the tab General select the Expert UI mode. Then, if the SEP sesam Server has been newly installed, update it using the same package as used for the installation. After the update, you will be able to use Hyper-V single file restore.
SEP sesam v. ≤ 4.4.3.71 – SQL injection vulnerability in SEP sesam versions ≤ 4.4.3.71
  • The SQL injection vulnerability can pose a major security threat to SEP sesam as it can completely paralyze SEP sesam operations.
Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.72.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.71 – Using Microsoft deduplication-enabled volume for SEP sesam data store might result in data loss
  • SEP sesam data store check function does not recognize deduplicated data files correctly and will report the corresponding backups as missing. If clean-up of a database is selected, all unrecognized (deduplicated) files will be removed from the data store.
Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.72.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.70–71 – Restoring a Hyper-V VM with setting a target path results in restore to original VM
  • Restoring a Hyper-V VM with setting a target path for a VM leads to restoring to the original VM. This may cause permanent data loss if the original VM is online and it still exists in the specified location as all its data may be overwritten.
Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.72.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.71 – Hyper-V VM restore reports error although successfully executed
  • When restoring a Hyper-V VM, the restore process may report an error message, such as "DB Module: [ [ CHyperVManagementShell::ImportVM: IHyperVManagemenentShell:_ImportVM - System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object." However, the import of the VM is actually successful, but an attempt to trace the property of the restored VM may fail.
Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.72.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.68–71 – Setting task option Descend directories on other file systems has no effect for newly created or modified backup tasks
  • When creating a new backup task (or modifying an existing task) in v. 4.3.68–70 with the option Descend directories on other file systems enabled, nothing from the underlying file systems (mount points) is backed up due to incorrect setting of DB entry.
Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.72.
SEP sesam v. ≤ 4.4.3.70 – Restoring a Hyper-V VM to the original location might lead to corruption of other VMs
  • When restoring a Hyper-V VM on Windows to the original location which is also used for other VMs, the restore process tries to merge all AVHDX files to their parent VHDX files. This might lead to corruption of all VMs in the same target location.
Workaround: Do not restore any VMs to original location with v. 4.4.3.70; update to a newer version (≥ 4.4.3.71) of SEP sesam.
Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.71.
SEP sesam v. ≤ 4.4.3.70 – IBM Domino backup on Windows ends with a warning
There are 2 known problems with SEP sesam 4.4.3.70 IBM Domino backup on Windows.
  • Problem 1: IBM Domino full backup on Windows with source all may not truncate the transaction log files and backup ends with "The specified transaction log file is not in the list of files to be archived."
  • Problem 2: IBM Domino backup on Windows by using the Exclude List may skip non-excluded items and backup ends with warnings, such as: [6716] DB Module: [finishBackupFile(): file full path [ows] is not valid.] or [6716] Retrieving of standard attributes for item [D:\DData\dbdirman.ntf]: [WIN32 API error: 2 - The system cannot find the file specified. ] failed.
Workaround: Do not use SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.70 for IBM Domino backup on Windows; update to a newer version (≥ 4.4.3.71) of SEP sesam.
Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.71.
SEP sesam v. 4.4.3.60–70 (Univention UCS ≥ 4.3) – Backup on Univention UCS 4.3 and higher may fail due to incomplete SBC logging
  • Running backups on Univention UCS ≥ 4.3 may fail due to a different OpenSSL version that remained linked to SBC. The following error is shown: "SBC logging without final state message."
Fixed: Note that you should only apply the following patch for your Univention UCS ≥ 4.3 (not on Debian or any other Linux distribution) and only if your backups are failing with the above error. The patch is available under https://download.sep.de/servicepacks/4.4.3/4.4.3.64/linux/ucs/ or directly by clicking UCS patch.
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. When using Java 8 the user-defined calendar still works.
Resolution: Fixed with Beefalo V2 which will be released in a few weeks or/and a service pack (SP) may be available.
SEP sesam v. ≤ 4.4.3.70 – Mounting a backup via VFS does not display the correct content (not all subfolders are shown)
  • When mounting a backup via VFS (virtual file system), the subfolders are not shown due to errors in sm_vfs that result in displaying the wrong content. This problem also applies to Exchange Recovery Pro.
Resolution: Fixed with version 4.4.3.71.
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 StoreOnce Catalyst stores

The Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) StoreOnce backup appliance allows you to configure more Catalyst stores which can be used as a backup storage. HPE StoreOnce fully controls the backup data and enables efficent encryption, deduplication, replication, and recovery. For details, see HPE StoreOnce Configuration, HPE StoreOnce Backup and HPE StoreOnce Restore.

IBM Domino

Lotus Domino has been rebranded as IBM Domino. DIFF and INCR backup levels are enhanced to simplify backup configuration for differential and incremental backups, as described in IBM Domino Server Backup. In previous SEP sesam versions, only the databases which were open were backed up with temporary copy (and applying recent changes), however with version 4.4.3 Beefalo all databases are backed up with temporary copy which may affect backup performance. Additionally, processing backups on Linux differs slightly from processing on Windows where two concurrent threads are introduced with version 4.4.3 Beefalo.

Proxmox VE

SEP sesam provides efficient data protection for Proxmox VE, an open-source server virtualization environment that supports a variety of guest operating systems as well as a variety of storage devices, allowing you to back up your Proxmox VE to any virtual machine-supported storage. You can use the integrated Si3 target deduplication for Proxmox backups and benefit from reduced disk capacity and increased overall storage performance. For details, see Proxmox VE Backup and Proxmox VE Restore.

VMware sandbox restore

SEP sesam introduces support for the VMware sandbox restore (SBR). SEP sesam sandbox for VMware is an isolated environment where you can recover and start one or several virtual machines (VMs). It is useful for verifying the VM backups, performing a training, troubleshooting issues, etc. For details, see VMware Sandbox Restore.

Hyper-V

Single file restore

Item-level restore of files and folders can now also be performed from an INCR backup of Hyper-V virtual machine by mounting VHD or VHDX on a device server and browsing the content of a virtual disk file. For details, see Hyper-V single file restore.

Start virtual machine after restore

Automatically starting a virtual machine directly after it has been restored can now be performed from a Hyper-V backup. For details, see Hyper-V Restore.

Citrix XenServer single file restore

Now you can restore single files from the FULL, DIFF or INCR Citrix XenServer backup if the saveset is stored on a data store or Si3 deduplication store. For more information, see Citrix XenServer single file restore.

RPM packages

SEP sesam provides RPM packages for installation on SLES and RedHat. Now you can use distributions package manager (zypper, yum) to ease installation and validation of the packages via signatures. For details, see RPM Repository.

Configuration of LDAP/AD authentication

Configuration of LDAP/AD authentication has been slightly remodeled; configuration windows are redesigned, options are renamed and some options are only visible if UI mode is set to Expert. For details, see Configuring LDAP/AD Authentication.

EOL-related improvements

Improved handling of modified backup EOL

Modifying the backup EOL – retention time for all data that belongs to the same backup – now results in expected behavior of the changed retention setting being applied to only individual savesets based on the same backup as follows:

  • If you are extending the backup EOL (expiration date), the EOL is now adjusted only for the saveset that already has the longest EOL, while EOL of other backups is not affected. This behavior has changed compared to the previous versions, where extended backup EOL resulted in extended EOL for all save sets based on the same backup, i.e., original backup, migrated backup, replicated backup, as well as for all backups in a backup chain, if a save set with adjusted backup EOL was part of it.
  • If you are reducing the backup EOL, it is now adjusted only for the savesets with EOL longer than the newly given EOL, while the savesets with the shorter EOL are not affected; their EOL remains unchanged. For details, see automated EOL adjustment.

Allowed extending retention period of another media pool for migrated savesets

It is now possible for migration to increase EOL of the referenced savesets on other media pools too, not only on the target media pool. This is achieved by adding the following key to global settings in GUI: eol_adjust_migration_on_other_pool|1|sesam. For details, see Managing EOL.

HiDPI display

Now HiDPI displays are supported. These screens with a high resolution in a relatively small format (e.g., high-end laptops and monitors) provide a very clean and crisp display, however, the HiDPI mode may not be supported by all user interfaces, browsers and other accompanying software. Therefore, SEP sesam v. ≥ 4.4.3 Beefalo user interface might not be appropriately displayed and you may need to adjust your environment for SEP sesam HiDPI display. For details, see HiDPI Display Support.

Automatic updates of GUI Server

SEP sesam GUI Server can be set to automatically update when a new version is available at SEP Download Center. Automatic updates can be enabled from the SEP sesam menu bar -> Configuration -> Defaults -> tab Install/Update -> Update mode. For details, see Configuration: GUI update.

GUI enhancements

In addition to GUI redesign and improved functionality with integrated filtering, GUI enhancements enable you to update the clients, change the view mode, check a trace log for finished backups and restores, set additional notification options, etc.

  • SEP sesam provides additional View Mode button that enables you to switch between the table and tree view easily. It is also possible to group the same backup tasks states in one item. For details, see View Mode.
  • New Trace Log tab is introduced in the properties of a finished backup or restore which records detailed information about the backup or restore process depending on the configured log level. For details, see Trace Log.

Encryption support matrix

New encryption matrix shows supported encryption types according to the operating system and task type. If the backups are performed externally by another utility, SEP sesam encryption is replaced by external encyption, done outside SEP sesam. For more information, see Encryption Support Matrix.

End of maintenance and support

Obsolete SEP sesam Server version

The following versions of SEP sesam are no longer supported:

  • SEP sesam 4.4.3 -> January 2020
  • SEP sesam 4.4.2 -> January 2020
  • SEP sesam 4.4.1 -> January 2020

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