NovaStor DataCenter 

Version 8.2.17 contains the same Apache Log4j (CVE-2021-45105, CVE-2021-45046, CVE-2021-44228) vulnerability fixes as 8.2.16 contains, but also fixes the Retention (Maintenance) jobs stuck as "finished" in the Monitoring section bug that was introduced in 8.2.14. Note: Those items only affect the Command Server component, not the clients.

Fixed bugs

• Retention jobs stuck as "finished" in Monitoring section is fixed.  This bug was introduced in 8.2.14 and was carried over to 8.2.15 and 8.2.16, so it is extremely advisable to upgrade to 8.2.17 to fix that. Note: This issue and the Log4j vulnerabilities issue that was fixed in 8.2.16 only affect the Command Server component, not the clients.
  

Note: Some client installers were removed starting in 8.2.16 and will no longer be included in newer versions of DataCenter.  The x86 Linux and Windows clients as well as the x64 Server 2003/XP client were removed starting in version 8.2.16, if you still need them you can keep the old 8.2.13 client version in place (the last release that shipped with the x86 clients), and do not attempt to upgrade those nodes via Nodes Management on a newer Command Server; if you need to download the complete 8.2.13 .zip that contains all of the installers, that is here and in the 8.2.13 changelog.  The Client installers for CentOS 6 x86 and x64 were removed starting in 8.2.16.  You can still utilize the older 8.2.13 CentOS 6 clients, DataCenter 8.2.13 for CentOS 6 (Clients only) [sha256], with an 8.2.1.6 Command Server.

The security gaps classified as critical in the logging module, Apache Log4j, have been closed. (CVE-2021-45105, CVE-2021-45046, CVE-2021-44228). Note: The Log4j vulnerabilities issue only affects the Command Server component, not the clients (as the clients do not utilize Log4j at all).

Improvements

• Hyper-V: The cleaning up of RCT reference points is now optional, so that several different incremental backups can be made from one and the same VM.
• The clean-up of temporary files that are created during the backup and restore process has been improved.
• The logging for VMWare backup has been improved so that error analysis is easier.

Fixed bugs

• Security: The security gaps classified as critical in the logging module, Apache Log4j, have been closed. (CVE-2021-45105, CVE-2021-45046, CVE-2021-44228). Note: The Log4j vulnerabilities issue only affects the Command Server component, not the clients (as the clients do not utilize Log4j at all).
• A possible crash of the Remote Communicator no longer occurs.
• The backup of a Linux VM hosted on Hyper-V no longer ends with an error if it was successful.
• The request mix-up vulnerability in the application server supplied was eliminated by an update of the same.
  

Note: Some client installers were removed starting in 8.2.16 and will no longer be included in newer versions of DataCenter.  The x86 Linux and Windows clients as well as the x64 Server 2003/XP client were removed starting in version 8.2.16, if you still need them you can keep the old 8.2.13 client version in place (the last release that shipped with the x86 clients), and do not attempt to upgrade those nodes via Nodes Management on a newer Command Server; if you need to download the complete 8.2.13 .zip that contains all of the installers, that is here and in the 8.2.13 changelog.  The Client installers for CentOS 6 x86 and x64 were removed starting in 8.2.16.  You can still utilize the older 8.2.13 CentOS 6 clients, DataCenter 8.2.13 for CentOS 6 (Clients only) [sha256], with an 8.2.1.6 Command Server.

Improvements

• VMWare: VMWare 7.0.1 support
• Restore: The granular restoration of files in Windows VMs now also restores the ACLs.
• The supplied SSL certificate is now valid for 5 years instead of 1 year.

Fixed bugs

• Security: The supplied application server (Apache Tomcat) has been updated. This fixes a 'Remote Code Execution Vulnerability'.
• Hyper-V: Backups to a GIR disk pool (Granular Item Restore disk pool) no longer get stuck in monitoring and not able to complete.
• VMWare: VMs with NVME controller are now backed up without errors.
• VMWare: DataStores with special characters in their names are supported.
• BMR: The current PE boot images are recognized again.
• Restore: The restoration of data on a single-tape medium no longer leads to an 'invalid block size' error in special cases.

Critical Upgrade Alert for those running a DataCenter / Network version prior to 8.2.11

Note: Starting in version 8.2.9, Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 is no longer a supported OS for the Command Server component.  The oldest Windows OS for a Command Server is Windows Server 2012 x64. To migrate a Command Server to a replacement Windows Server machine follow this Guide.

The complete download for version 8.2.13 that contains all components, is here.

Fixed bugs

• Hyper-V: The incremental backup of an enlarged hard disk now runs without errors.
• VMWare: Backups are now terminated in any case and no longer get stuck in monitoring.
• A crash of the RPC service (RCmd) when processing certain messages has been fixed.

Critical Upgrade Alert for those running a DataCenter / Network version prior to 8.2.11

Note: Starting in version 8.2.9, Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 is no longer a supported OS for the Command Server component.  The oldest Windows OS for a Command Server is Windows Server 2012 x64. To migrate a Command Server to a replacement Windows Server machine follow this Guide.

Improvements

• The check of the available storage space for VM media pools can be deactivated.

Fixed bugs

• The maintenance of VM media pools now provides better information in the report in the event of an error.
• The error that in rare cases duplicate reports are generated from backup jobs has been fixed.
• Searching for individual files that are spread over several tapes now always returns a result.
• The wrong error message when unmounting VM backups in parallel no longer occurs.
• The threshold for the availability graphic in the dashboard can be configured again.
• Incremental and differential file backups use less storage space again.

Critical Upgrade Alert for those running a DataCenter / Network version prior to 8.2.11

Note: Starting in version 8.2.9, Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 is no longer a supported OS for the Command Server component.  The oldest Windows OS for a Command Server is Windows Server 2012 x64. To migrate a Command Server to a replacement Windows Server machine follow this Guide.

Fixed bugs

• The cloning of VM media pools starts again if the available storage space cannot be correctly determined.

Note: Starting in version 8.2.9, Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 is no longer a supported OS for the Command Server component.  The oldest Windows OS for a Command Server is Windows Server 2012 x64. To migrate a Command Server to a replacement Windows Server machine follow this Guide.

Fixed bugs

• Certificate creation works again on German Windows Server installations.

Fixed bugs

• The Command Server now receives the correct results for the backup jobs even if the connection is lost repeatedly.
• The support for Linux BMR with ReaR is no longer broken.
• VMWare backups to GIR pool no longer stall or abort sporadically with an error message when a client executes several VM backup jobs in parallel.
• The granular restore of VMWare and Hyper-V backups now supports all special characters that are supported in the guest operating system.
• With VM retention, all temporary artifacts are cleaned up even in the event of a termination.
• Media pool configuration files can no longer be corrupted when retention runs.
• A rarely occurring abort in VMWare Replication has now been fixed.
• The SSL certificate on the Command Server now supports all IPv4 addresses of the Command Server as aliases.  It used to only contain 127.0.0.1 as an IPv4 address.  This will allow the GUI running on other machines to be able to connect using an IPv4 address.

Update release

New functionality

• The Solaris operating system is supported again for x86 and SPARC client architectures.  These client installers support Solaris 10 1/13 (aka Update 11) as well as all versions of Solaris 11.
  
• The Centos 6 operating system is supported again for 32 and 64 bit systems.

Fixed bugs

• Restore: The cross-restore of tape (library) no longer fails sporadically with the message 'No access'.
• Restore: When restoring backups from tape (library), the backup can no longer be confused.
• Hyper-V: Backups of Hyper-V 2012 now clean up the snapshots in every necessary case.
• The SSL certificate for the communication protocol between the management server and clients has been updated.  The SSL certificate that is installed on the management server now contains the IPv4 address of the management server system.
  
• The media pool configuration can no longer be corrupted by file system errors.
• Licensing no longer omits any systems when counting VM hosts.
• During storage, the last successful run is displayed again in the media pool.
• The collection of diagnostic information has been accelerated, even for large environments.
• The management server now supports the special character '_' in its host name.
• The WMI queries during license activation have been improved so that errors or missing information no longer occur.
• The problem that in rare cases, successful VMWare backups are marked as faulty has been resolved.
• Hyper-V: The very rare 'Invalid Operation' error when backing up over an encrypted network has been fixed.
• Restoring file lists during disaster recovery of a backup client no longer creates an additional empty entry.

Update release

Fixed bugs

• The Command Server now also starts if the computer name begins with a digit (number).
• Restore: The granular restoration of individual files / directories containing umlaut characters works again without errors.
• Restore: When restoring VMWare VMs, the version compatibility is checked in advance.
• Restore: The restoration of tape backups now works without a file offset index.
• The performance when browsing disk media pools in Storage Management has been improved.
• Hyper-V: When backing up all machines (without selection), no attempt is made to back up the host component.
• Hyper-V: The wrong error message when falling back to the full backup was removed.
  
• * NOTE: DataCenter 8 now requires Hyper-V Server nodes to have .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or higher) installed as a requirement. If that is not in place all Hyper-V VM backup and restore functions will fail. Hyper-V Server OS's like Server 2016/2012/R2/2008 R2 need to have .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or higher) installed.  Download the installer  for 4.7.2 Runtime here: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net472.  Download the installer for 4.8 Runtime here: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net48.  A reboot is required after installing.

Update release

Fixed bugs

• Hyper-V: The connection to the backup server is no longer closed due to a timeout during long snapshots.
• Hyper-V: If the virtual switch is not available, the restore will continue.
• Hyper-V: The option to backup the host component has been removed, as it is not required for backup / restore.
• Execution plans no longer get stuck in monitoring if a task has already been started elsewhere.
• The setting of the resources for file backups now works for all memory configurations of the systems to be backed up.
• The migration of execution plans when updating from versions prior to 7.3 no longer tolerates existing backup jobs.
• The audit report is also carried out if several media pools cannot be reached.
• VMWare Restore now indicates missing rights should the restore not be possible because of these.
• The file access rights for RMAN (Oracle) on Linux systems have been corrected.
• Linux systems with DataCenter 8 can again be updated from the GUI.
• Linux file backups now tolerate backing up / sys without aborting.
• The Management Server Service Name under Windows, which is incorrect in some cases after installation, has been corrected.
• With Windows file backup, '% ProgramData% \ Microsoft \' can now also be searched.
• * NOTE: DataCenter 8 now requires Hyper-V Server nodes to have .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or higher) installed as a requirement. If that is not in place all Hyper-V VM backup and restore functions will fail. Hyper-V Server OS's like Server 2016/2012/R2/2008 R2 need to have .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or higher) installed.  Download the web installer here: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net472.  A reboot is required after installing.

Update release

Fixed bugs

• The desktop shortcut for the web console is now updated without restarting.
• Support for Windows Server 2008 R2 has been fully restored.
• The VMWare Restore now restores the BIOS setting correctly in each case.
• If you are using Windows Server 2003, the correct installer is used again for the automatic update.
• In the system state backup no files are displayed as missing anymore.
• The service description of the Windows service when updating from 7 versions has been corrected.
• * NOTE: DataCenter 8 now requires Hyper-V Server nodes to have .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or higher) installed as a requirement. If that is not in place all Hyper-V VM backup and restore functions will fail. Hyper-V Server OS's like Server 2016/2012/R2/2008 R2 need to have .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or higher) installed.  Download the web installer here: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net472.  A reboot is required after installing.

Update release

Fixed bugs

• The VM media pool is now more tolerant of manual removal of backups via the file system.
• The license management now correctly counts Centos Linux VMs as virtual and no longer as physical machines.
• A regression when fetching results in environments without DNS has been fixed again.
• * NOTE: DataCenter 8 now requires Hyper-V Server nodes to have .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or higher) installed as a requirement. If that is not in place all Hyper-V VM backup and restore functions will fail. Hyper-V Server OS's like Server 2016/2012/R2/2008 R2 need to have .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or higher) installed.  Download the web installer here: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net472.  A reboot is required after installing.

Update release

Improvements

• Backup of Hyper-V 2016/2019 VMs is done with RCT instead of VSS. This means that significantly less storage space is required on the VM host (snapshots). *read note.
  
• * NOTE: DataCenter 8 now requires Hyper-V Server nodes to have .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or higher) installed as a requirement.  If that is not in place all Hyper-V VM backup and restore functions will fail.  All Hyper-V Server OS's like Server 2016/2012/R2/2008 R2 require .NET Framework 4.7.2 (or higher).  Download the web installer here: https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net472.  A reboot is required after installing.
• The VM media pool can no longer be corrupted by slow or temporarily unavailable media.
• DataCenter supports Windows 2003 again.
• The use of resources for file backups can now be configured to achieve better performance.
  
   

Fixed bugs

• When the network client is closed during backup / retention, a result is now always displayed in monitoring / reporting.
• The retention schedule for tape media pools can now be changed without removing them first.
• With retention over WAN, the network is waited longer so that the retention is more stable.
• When updating from versions prior to 8.0, all parts of the Execution Plans are now migrated.
• Encrypted third-party containers mounted as drives can now be reliably searched.
• Invalid UTF-16 characters in file names are now tolerated.
• When cloning for VMs, more parallel sessions are now possible.
• The Command Server now starts even without the Remote Command Client (RCmd) being available.
• The system state backup no longer tries to update the archive flag.
• Hyper-V: With backups in non-VM media pools, the backup continues even if partial backups have failed.
• Hyper-V: When INC backups fall back to full backup, if there is no full backup, the created checkpoint is removed again.
• After an update from versions prior to 8.0, all backup jobs are now displayed in the Web UI.

Update release

Fixed bugs

• The instability during remote connection establishment (RCmd) introduced with version 8.1.0 has been eliminated.
• The 'no access' error when restoring files from previously incomplete backups (e.g. backups without VSS) has been fixed.
• The specified amounts of data for Linux file backups are now displayed correctly in each case.
• The configuration of VM media pools is no longer lost in the event of errors in the Windows file system.

Update release

Fixed bugs

• The central management server now waits longer for dependent components when starting, so that there are no more errors when starting the service in the event of resource bottlenecks.
• Tape: The start of the tape multiplexer when using numerous media pools is now stable even with an unstable / slow network connection.
• Tape: The network error in the configuration for the return channel of the tape multiplexer has been eliminated.
• VM: In the case of missing rights in the case of VMWare / Hyper-V Restore, the error message was improved.
• VM: The media pool database for VM backups can now be restored.
• Update: When updating from versions <7 to versions> 8, all execution plans are now migrated successfully.
• Restore: The restoration of ACLs without data no longer aborts.
• Backup: In environments without name resolution, all backup results are now retrieved successfully.

Update release

Improvements

• The resource consumption of the backup client is now lower, so that the monitoring works reliably even under load.

Fixed bugs

• Linux file recovery now completely restores all folders.
• Under certain circumstances, the backup client no longer aborts the backup / restore without recognizable errors.
• The identification of whether a system is physical or virtual now works correctly in each case.

Improvements, features and extensions

New reporting functions for improved transparency 

• All results of backup / restore jobs, execution plans and media maintenance jobs are available centrally in the Report Manager from now on.
• The audit report now also contains information about the user name and the modification date (user change log), thanks to extended user management.

Significant performance improvement for backups with billions of files

• Backup client performance and communication with the backup server for backups and restores of > 1 million files has been significantly improved.
• The backup and search times for backups with > 50 million files have been reduced.
• The compression has been increased and the backup client automatically optimizes the data stream for a more efficient transfer to the backup server, which reduces the metadata and significantly increases performance.
• It is now possible to use file lists from other systems and thus optimize the file search.

Speed ​​improvements for backups of virtual machines

• The speed of Hyper-V and VMware backups in networks with a bandwidth > 1Gbit / s has been significantly improved.

Simplified management through optimized configuration

• The settings for mailing, licenses, etc. are now available in the new Web UI.
• The backup client is now available again for 32-bit systems.

50% time saving through visual backup management

• Structured recording of a backup concept
• Illustration and management of the backup concept on one surface directly in the software
• Cost and time savings in the management of the backup processes
• Automatic maintenance of auditable reports
• Minimal effort for legally compliant data backup

Efficient management through intuitive user interface in a new design

• Modern user interface for intuitive operation and practical user experience
• Easy deployment of the GUI on desktops and devices for mobile monitoring

Legally compliant data backup through transparent processes & auditable reports

• Current backup concept & automatic maintenance with exportable backup report
• Minimal effort for company audits - “audit reports” at the push of a button for company-wide transparency to ensure compliance
• Simple compliance with internal and external requirements creates legal security and eliminates liability risks

Easy integration through documented & versioned REST API

• Connection of data backup via REST API to third-party systems, such as monitoring or billing systems
• Easy integration into internal systems and processes

Secure communication (end-to-end)

• Encrypted TLS 1.2 communication between the components
• Security for distributed environments thanks to standard protocol
• Reduction of connections, bandwidth requirements and response times

Greater stability, speed and easy handling thanks to numerous further optimizations

• Advanced reporting features
• Customizable date format
• List of file sets in the output
• Fast HTML reporting
• Simplified update procedure
• Faster monitoring, reporting & dashboard
• Optimized resource consumption thanks to fewer system services

Fixed bugs

• Over 150 bug fixes and improvements that further increase the performance and stability of NovaStor DataCenter. 

Additional fixes

• Restoring Hyper-V machines to an alternative node works reliably again
• The error tolerance of the communication protocol between backup client and server has been increased
• The management server became slower and consumed more and more memory over time
• The connections from the management server to the backup clients were sometimes unstable
• In certain circumstances, backups started in parallel were not executed
• The maintenance of single media such as USB hard drives or RDX incorrectly marked unavailable backups as deleted

• The restore from Exchange to an alternative server was faulty

• Fix for notifications 
• Cluster support recovery

• Hyper-V jobs with multiple VMs in an execution plan failed

• The cloning or the retention was not started correctly via the scheduler, so that the cloning was not carried out.

• The management server became slower with frequent disconnections by clients in the network
• Cloning VM backups timed out under certain circumstances
• Reporting of storage problems was ambiguous
• Filtering within the backup scheme view did not work correctly for storage groups

• The mailing only worked to a limited extent after an update
• A system library was missing on Ubuntu Linux that had to be installed manually
• During a new installation, some modules were not installed correctly

• Fix for using a tape library.