1. What’s New
New Feature Information for Syncsort DPX4.1.1
As used in the NSB Data Protection Solution
With release 4.1, Syncsort updated the software product name to Syncsort DPX. This name change will be
reflected in the product user interface and user documentation. Syncsort DPX is the software component
of the NSB solution which combines Syncsort DPX software with NetApp ONTAP-based disk storage to
create a complete data protection and disaster recovery solution for any storage environment.
The following table details new features found in Syncsort DPX 4.1.1. A feature update release history
for the 4.x version follows this table.
Syncsort DPX 4.1.1 (DPX 4.1.0 PL0061)
NEW PRODUCT FEATURES
NSB
™
Powered by Syncsort®
DPX™
Feature Description Benefit
New OS Support
Windows 2012 Data protection support is added for
Windows 2012 clients. Includes file and
block level backup. Master Server and
Device server are not yet supported on this
OS. For additional information on backup
support, please consult the Release Notes
or the DPX Compatibility Guide.
Extends OS Support
Allows users to extend Syncsort DPX data
protection to Windows 2012 servers.
SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server (SLES) 11 SP2
Data protection support is added for SLES
11 SP2 clients. Includes file and block level
backup. Master Server and Device server
are also supported on this OS.
Extends OS Support
Allows users to extend all Syncsort DPX file and
block data protection and recovery features to
SLES 11 SP2 and to utilize SLES 11 SP2 for Master
and Device servers.
Solaris 11 SPARC Data protection support is added for file
level backup of Solaris 11 SPARC clients as
well as backup via NetApp OSSV Agents.
Device Server support is added for this OS.
Extends OS Support
Allows users to extend Syncsort DPX file and OSSV
data protection to Solaris 11 Clients and utilize
Solaris 11 as a Device Server.
Windows 8 Data protection support is added for
Windows 2012 clients. Includes file and
block level backup.
Extends OS Support
Allows users to extend Syncsort DPX data
protection to Windows 8 clients.
2. WHAT’S NEW IN DPX NEW PRODUCT FEATURES
Feature Description Benefit
New Application Support
Microsoft SQL Server
2012
Data protection support is added for
file and block level backup of SQL 2012
clients. Includes support for SQL AlwaysOn
Availability Groups (block level backup
only). Please consult the Release Notes for
further details.
Extends Application Support
Allows users to extend Syncsort DPX high speed
backups and near instant recovery to SQL 2012
environments.
Bare Metal Restore Enhancements
Unified Linux BMR CD A single Bare Metal Restore CD (ISO image)
is now available for all supported Linux
platforms.
Ease Of Use
DPX users can now more easily run Bare Metal
Restores for all supported Linux platforms without
the need to maintain two sets of CD images.
Virtualization Enhancements
Thin Provisioning
support
The Full VM restore process now supports
creating a thin provisioned virtual machine.
This is selected via a GUI option when
creating a Full VM restore job. Supported for
Agentless backups only.
Increased Efficiency
Thin provisioned virtual machines save on disk
space consumption. When users recover using the
DPX Full VM restore process, they can now do so
using thin provisioning which allocates less disk
space for the resulting VM.
Tape Enhancements
HP LTO-6 tape support Support is added for HP LTO-6 format tapes
across all DPX Device Server platforms,
including support for NetApp NDMP.
Encryption is supported for file-level backups
and NDMP. Please contact Syncsort support
regarding IBM LTO-6 support.
Increased Performance and Efficiency
Allows DPX users to take advantage of the
increased performance and capacity of the LTO-6
tape format.
NetApp Platform Support
NDMP support for
Clustered DATA ONTAP
8.1.1+
Support added for NDMP backups from
Clustered Data ONTAP systems running
version 8.1.1 or higher.
Adds Clustered ONTAP Support
Allows DPX users to run NDMP backups for
clustered NetApp systems.
ONTAP Edge-T support DPX supports NetApp ONTAP Edge-T as a
data protection target, including SnapMirror
for replication.
Increased Efficiency and Flexibility
ONTAP Edge-T is a virtualized NetApp device that
runs on a VMware platform. By extending DPX
support to Edge-T, users have the flexibility of
using Edge-T as a DPX backup target. This can be
especially useful as a backup device for small sites
and remote sites.
Backup Enhancements
Dynamic backup data
throttling
Backup bandwidth utilization throttling has
been enhanced to be more consistent. This
enhancement is for block-level backups
of Windows clients and is controlled via a
Windows registry setting.
Increased Performance
Windows clients that have throttling set will now
produce a more consistent and reliable data
transfer pattern.
3. WHAT’S NEW IN DPX NEW PRODUCT FEATURES
Feature Description Benefit
Enabling Upgrade from 3.4 and 4.0
Upgrade Assessment
Tool
The Upgrade Assessment Tool (UAT) is a new
utility that scans your Syncsort Enterprise
and generates a report identifying feature
differences and upgrade concerns you need
to be aware of when upgrading from Syncsort
BEX /NSB version 3.4 or Syncsort Data
Protection Software 4.0 to Syncsort DPX 4.1.
Improves Upgrade Experience
The Upgrade Assessment Tool conducts an
extensive analysis of your Syncsort Enterprise
providing you with a complete picture so that you
can make an informed decision about when and
how to upgrade to the latest version of Syncsort
DPX.
Interoperability with
3.4/4.0 clients
The Syncsort DPX 4.1 Master Server will
interoperate with 3.4/4.0 clients to facilitate
planned upgrades from 3.4/4.0 clients to DPX
4.1 clients.
Improves Interoperability to Facilitate Upgrade
Interoperability with 3.4 and 4.0 clients allows
you to better plan your timelines to upgrade your
clients to 4.1 while continuing to protect them
during the transition phase.
Virtualization Enhancements
Enhanced Virtualization
Features
The Syncsort Instant Virtualization (IV) and
Full Virtualization (FV) features no longer
have TFTP/BOOT server dependencies.
Existing scheduled recovery jobs for IV/FV
will need to be recreated.
Improves Reliability; Simplifies Management
Eliminating the TFTP/BOOT server dependencies
enhances the reliability of IV/FV and reduces the
amount of specialized network configuration
needed.
Unified object deletion
Wizards
A unified Wizard-based tool to delete virtual
machines and their associated VMDK files
which were created by Syncsort IV or FV
recovery. The Wizard deletes the VM or
selected VMDKs along with the associated
LUN mappings and LUNs from the NetApp
secondary storage.
Simplifies Management
A single unified Wizard simplifies the clean-up of
resources created by the IV and FV processes and
frees up storage from the NetApp storage system,
optimizing resource utilization.
Security Enhancements
Changed
communication ports
used for backup/restore
functions
This upgrade changes the default
communications with NetApp storage from
HTTP and Port 80 to HTTPS and Port 443,
respectively.
Improves Security
This change ensures secure communication to the
NetApp storage system
Backup Agent Enhancements
Improved Windows
block level Agent
Enhancements to the Windows block-level
backup Agent detect system conditions that
may have resulted in a new base backup
when using previous versions of the Agent.
With this update those conditions no longer
create a rebase.
Improves Backup and Storage Efficiency
Eliminating the need for additional base backups
following certain system conditions improves
overall data protection and storage efficiency.
New OS and Application Support
Java 7 Syncsort DPX 4.1 fully supports Java 7 and
users can run the management console on
operating system platforms running Java 7.
Extends Java Support
Allows user to run the management console on a
supported OS running Java 7.
Red Hat Enterprise
Linux (RHEL] 6.0-6.3
Data protection support is added for RHEL
6.0-6.3. Includes file and block level backup.
64-bit only. Master Server and Device server
are also supported on this OS.
Extends OS Support
Allows users to extend all Syncsort DPX file and
block data protection and recovery features to
RHEL 6.0-6.3 (64-bit only).
Syncsort DPX 4.1 Release
4. WHAT’S NEW IN DPX NEW PRODUCT FEATURES
Feature Description Benefit
Management and Usability Enhancements
Mount Point Display
Enhancements
The visual display of
server mount points has
been enhanced to be more
user friendly.
Superior Ease of Use
Mount points are now displayed using the full mount point path and
name (for example: D:mountpoint1). Previously, mount points were
displayed using only the Volume GUID. The new display makes it
easier to identify volumes for backup purposes, especially on systems
with a large number of mount points.
New OS and Application Support
Red Hat Enterprise
Linux (RHEL) 6.0
and 6.1
Data protection support
is added for RHEL 6.0 and
6.1 clients. Includes file
and block backup. 64-bit
clients only.
Extends OS Support
Allows users to extend all NSB file and block data protection and
recovery features to RHEL 6.0 and 6.1 clients (64-bit only).
SharePoint 2010 SP1
Object Recovery
Support added for object
level recovery with
SharePoint 2010 SP1.
Extends Application Support
Allows users to rapidly recovery objects (e.g. documents) from
backups of SharePoint 2010 SP1 document repositories. This extends
SharePoint object recovery to the most current SharePoint release.
Syncsort Data Protection Software v 4.0 SP1 Release
Feature Description Benefit
New OS and Application Support
CentOS Linux 6.0-6.3 Data protection support is added for CentOS
6.0-6.3. Includes file and block level backup.
64-bit only. Master Server and Device server
are also supported on this OS.
Extends OS Support
Allows users to extend all Syncsort DPX file and
block data protection and recovery features to
CentOS 6.0-6.3 (64-bit only).
New OS and Application Support continued
vSphere 5.1 Syncsort DPX virtualization features now
support vSphere 5.1.
Extends VMware Support
All Syncsort DPX virtualization features work with
vSphere 5.1, allowing users to make use of the
latest enhancements in VMware.
Novell OES 11 SP1 Data protection support is added for Novell
OES 11. Includes file level backup and Device
Server support
Extends OS Support
Allows users to extend all file level data protection
and recovery features to Novell OES11 SP1.
Novell GroupWise 12 Support added for Novell GroupWise
12 backup and recovery. File-level backups
only.
Extends Application Support
Allows users to extend all file data protection and
recovery features to GroupWise 12. This extends
NSB support to the most current GroupWise
release.
5. WHAT’S NEW IN DPX NEW PRODUCT FEATURES
Following are the new features released as part of Syncsort Data Protection Software v 4.0. These features
are also included in the 4.0 SP1 release.
Syncsort Data Protection Software v 4.0 Release
Feature Description Benefit
Virtualization Enhancements
Agentless VMware
backup
VMware virtual machines
can be protected without
the need to install an
Agent in the guest OS.
Superior Ease of Use, Reduced Management
Through use of the VMware VADP protocol, users can now easily and
reliably protect virtual machines without the need to install an Agent.
This simplifies administration and reduces management overhead.
Agentless Backup
Recovery Options
Multiple recovery options
are available from
Agentless backups.
Best of Breed Recovery Options
Users have a wide range of recovery options available. These include
the same Instant Virtualization and Full Virtualization features
available with NSB agent-based backups. In addition, “Instant VMDK”
allows rapid mapping of VMDK images back to the same VM or an
alternate VM. VMDKs can also be mapped to physical servers to share
data across physical/virtual boundaries.
Automatic protection
of VMs
New VMs created in
vSphere can automatically
be included in backup
protection.
Helps Ensure Backup Coverage
By automatically including new VMs into backup schedules, users
can ensure that VMs aren’t accidentally left outside of data protection
plans. Users have the option of configuring backups to include new
VMs or not based on their vSphere groupings.
Expanded operating
system coverage
Agentless backup works
with any operating system
supported by VMware.
Increased Scope of Coverage
Because Agentless backup isn’t dependent on specific Agents for
each operating system, it works with any operating system supported
by VMware. This increases the number of OS’s that can be supported
by NSB, and also eliminates the need for LVM on Linux clients.
Multi-threaded proxy
servers for backup
Agentless backups are run
through load-balanced
proxy servers which
can support multiple
simultaneous backups.
Scalable and Efficient Performance
Proxy servers used to process Agentless backups are multi-threaded
to support many simultaneous backups. This allows the environment
to scale while still remaining efficient in terms of the number of proxy
servers to manage. Backup processing can also automatically load
balance across however many proxies are defined in the environment.
Proxy servers can be physical systems, virtual machines, or both.
ESX Cluster support Extends NSB protection to
clustered ESX servers.
Extends VMware Support
By supporting clustered ESX servers, NSB now delivers protection to
highly available VMware environments. This extends the reach of NSB
protection.
vSphere 5.0 support NSB virtualization
features now support
vSphere 5.0.
Extends VMware Support
All NSB virtualization feature work with vSphere 5.0, allowing NSB
customers to make use of the latest enhancements in VMware.
6. WHAT’S NEW IN DPX NEW PRODUCT FEATURES
Feature Description Benefit
Management and Usability Enhancements
New Graphical
User Interface
A simplified graphical
user interface (GUI).
Simplifies Management, Reduces Learning Time
A newly designed GUI features a more intuitive design while removing
legacy features no longer needed. The result is an easier experience
for end users with reduced learning time. This release also is labeled
as NetApp Syncsort Integrated Backup, removing all BEX references.
Object deletion Wizards Wizard-based tools to
delete VMs and mapped
drives.
Simplifies Management
Two new Wizards simplify clean-up of resources created in NSB.
• Delete VM Wizard easily removes virtual machines and associated
VMDKs and LUNs created by either Instant or Full Virtualization.
• Unmap Wizard removes LUN mappings created by VMDK
Instant Access.
Rerun failed backup
enhancements
Individual failed backups
within a multi-backup job
can be directly re-started.
Simplifies Management and Troubleshooting
Interface enhancements make it easy to re-start individual failed
backups that are part of a multi-backup job definition. This eliminates
the manual steps required to determine the failed systems and
makes backup management easier and faster, thereby reducing
management time. These enhancements also make it easier to put
multiple clients into a single backup job, thereby further decreasing
management time.
Automatic secondary
storage deletion
Cleans-up storage that is
no longer needed due to
backup changes.
Simplifies Management, Improves Space Utilization
When backup jobs are deleted or destinations changed, this
enhancement will automatically clean-up the no longer used target
space (qtrees) on the NetApp storage. The clean-up takes place as
part of the Catalog Condense process.
Remote Backup/Cloud Enhancements
Enhanced resiliency Remote site backups
(cloud backups) are more
resilient to inconsistent
network connections.
Enhances Reliability
Enhancements to NSB backup retry logic have made remote backups
more resilient to inconsistent network connections. This greatly
reduces the need to re-send a full set of backup data during remote
backups when the network connecting the client to the NetApp FAS
has inconsistent service. Time out and retry values are configurable
and can be raised from default values to deal with especially
poor connections.
Efficiency Enhancements
Enhanced deduplication Increased deduplication
performance to maximize
storage savings
Increased Solution ROI
NSB makes better use of NetApp Deduplication, thereby further
decreasing the total amount of disk storage capacity needed to hold
backup data.
Data compression NetApp data compression
creates significant disk
savings
Increased Solution ROI
NSB leverages NetApp storage compression found in ONTAP 8.1 to
further shrink total storage footprint. Compression is effective on
data types that do not necessarily deduplicate very well, such as MS
Exchange and database data.
