IBM Spectrum Protect Plus updates

Learn about new features and updates in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Version 10.1.

Release

New features and updates

V10.1.5

Protect Microsoft Office 365

You can protect your Office 365 data, including mail, contacts, calendar events, and OneDrive files. After you have registered Office 365 in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, you can assign regular jobs in service level agreement (SLA) policies for tenants, Office 365 Groups, or individual mailboxes.

For more information about protecting Office 365, see Microsoft Office 365.

Protect volumes in a Kubernetes environment

Backup support for containers is available in this release. You can protect persistent volumes in a Kubernetes container environment with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. You can protect container data with software-based snapshots and copy backup operations.

For more information about container support with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, see Protecting containers.

Protect your data with a new Amazon S3 storage class, Glacier Deep Archive

You can back up data to the Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) Glacier Deep Archive storage class for secure and long-term data retention. For instructions about how to select Glacier Deep Archive, see Adding Amazon S3 Object Storage.

Support is added

In this version, the following new software levels are supported:

Oracle 19c
IBM® Db2® 11.5

Protect VMs in a VMware Cloud on AWS

Protect virtual machines managed by a VMware Cloud (VMC) on AWS Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC).

For more information about this new capability, see technote 1075497.

Protect virtual machines in a Hyper-V Replica environment

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus now protects virtual machines that are enabled to use the Hyper-V Replica feature.

Depending on your Hyper-V environment, you might be required to update some SLA policies when you upgrade to IBM Spectrum Protect Plus V10.1.5.

For more information about the upgrade requirements for virtual machines in Hyper-V environments, see Additional steps for updating virtual machines in Hyper-V Replica environments.

vSnap improvements

In the case of a vSnap server failure, for example if the server is lost, the vSnap server can be rebuilt from a replicated copy so that incremental backups can continue. For instructions, see Replacing a failed vSnap server.

In addition to this recovery, vSnap active directory support is added in this version of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus to manage active directories that are associated with the vSnap server.

Enhanced performance of the vSnap server with data deduplication process improvements is also delivered in this release. For more details about this, see the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Blueprints.

Back up resources immediately by running an ad hoc backup job: When the job for a selected service level agreement (SLA) policy runs, all resources that are associated with that SLA policy are included in the backup operation. To back up only selected resources that are associated with an SLA policy, you can run an ad hoc backup job. An ad hoc backup job runs the backup operation immediately.; For more information about creating an ad hoc backup job, see Running an ad hoc backup job.

Choose a specific snapshot for your restore job

View snapshots for a single resource for a specific date, and select the storage type to restore the snapshot from. Depending on your environment, you can choose to restore data from a specific backup, from a specific date, or from secondary storage locations.

To use this feature for a specific hypervisor or database application, see the following topics:

Application or hypervisor	Topic
VMware	Restoring VMware data
Microsoft Hyper-V	Restoring Hyper-V data
IBM Db2	Restoring Db2 data
Microsoft Exchange Server	Restoring Exchange databases
MongoDB	Restoring MongoDB data
Office 365	Restoring Office 365 data
Oracle	Restoring Oracle data
Microsoft SQL Server	Restoring SQL Server data

Assess the status of running jobs at a glance: When you open the Jobs and Operations page, you can quickly assess the status of your running jobs on the Running Jobs tab. Each running job is listed with a donut chart icon that indicates the overall status of the job. In addition to this icon, you can view text that indicates the number of databases or virtual machines that were backed up or restored for the listed job.
For more information about viewing jobs, see Viewing jobs and job logs.
Retrieve more message information for errors and warnings: You can view the full text of error and warning messages to help you troubleshoot issues in your environment. Click the message ID in the job log to read more about the issue. The User Response provides you with information that can help you to resolve the issue.
Take advantage of enhancements for protecting Microsoft SQL Server data: Protection of Microsoft SQL Server databases is enhanced with usability improvements in this release.
For more information, see Backing up SQL Server data and Log backups.
View LDAP user groups and members: If you are using a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) database to manage users, you can take advantage of a streamlined process for viewing LDAP user groups. A navigation pane is now available to help you identify LDAP user groups and view the users in each group.; For more information about this enhancement, see Creating a user account for an LDAP group.

Use the "Snapshot restore" wizard to customize restore jobs: Choose options in the "Snapshot restore" wizard to add or remove resources in the job that you are running, or to change the restore method and destination.; For more information about editing restore jobs, see Editing jobs and job schedules.

Learn about terminology updates: offload is now copy: In previous releases, the process of copying data from IBM Spectrum Protect Plus to IBM Spectrum Protect was known as offloading data. Beginning with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus V10.1.5, the process is known as copying data. This new terminology reflects the fact that one copy of the data remains in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, while another copy is stored in IBM Spectrum Protect. References to the word offload were changed to copy throughout the documentation.; In the user interface, the storage option that was previously called Cloud is now renamed Object Storage. When you are configuring backup storage, in addition to the Disk and Repository Server options, the Object Storage option enables you to configure object storage.

V10.1.4

Copy snapshots to tape or to cloud archive storage for long-term data protection

For data archiving and disaster recovery purposes, you can complete a full copy of snapshots to tape or to cloud archive storage.

Copy to tape: Copy snapshots to an IBM Spectrum Protect server that stores the data on physical tape media or in a virtual tape library.
Copy to cloud archive storage: Copy snapshots to one of the following archive storage services: Amazon Glacier, IBM Cloud® Object Storage Archive Tier, or Microsoft Azure Archive.

For more information about copying snapshot data to tape or to cloud archive storage, see Copy snapshots to secondary backup storage.

Protect multi-partitioned IBM Db2 databases: Protect all your Db2 databases, including databases in multi-partitioned environments across multiple hosts, with the Db2 Database Partitioning Feature (DPF). For more information about protecting Db2, see Db2.

Simplify the data restore process by using the new wizard: When you are restoring data, you can step through the Restore wizard to select the options that you require. The wizard helps you to ensure that no options are missed when you are setting up a restore operation. For more information about how to use the restore wizard, see Protecting applications or Protecting hypervisors to find which component you want to restore.

View the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus user interface in your selected language: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is now available in different languages. All menu items, labels, and messages are displayed in the language that is chosen for operating IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.

Find message documentation in IBM Knowledge Center: All messages that are generated by IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, including errors, warnings, and informational messages now have unique identifier codes. By using the identifier code, you can look up the full message documentation in IBM Knowledge Center. The message documentation can help you to determine the system state and resolve any detected issues. For more information about messages, see Product messages.

Support is extended for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus workloads

In this version, support is extended to include the following environments for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus protected workloads:

Environment	Application or hypervisor
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019	Hyper-V
Red Hat Enterprise Linux® (RHEL) Version 7.5	All applications that support RHEL
RHEL V7.6	All applications that support RHEL
Linux on IBM Power Systems (little endian)	IBM Db2, and MongoDB
CentOS V7.5	All applications that support CentOS V7
CentOS V7.6	All applications that support CentOS V7
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) V15	All applications that support SLES
Oracle Database 18c	Oracle

For more information about supported levels, see System requirements.

Improved tracking of virtual machines and applications with real-time inventory: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus runs regular global inventories to track newly added virtual machines and applications to your environment. Real-time inventory of the objects in the job ensures that any changes to the environment are captured.

Run IBM Spectrum Protect Plus updates and hotfixes online: Update your IBM Spectrum Protect Plus environment more easily with online updates from the Administration console. Available fixes and updates are listed automatically when you have internet access, otherwise you can download the fixes and run offline updates. For more information about updating your environment, see Updating the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance.

Oracle multithreaded configuration support: Protect all your Oracle databases, including multithreaded configurations, in Oracle 12c and later versions. For more information about protecting Oracle, see Backing up and restoring Oracle data.

Set global preferences: You can centrally set global preferences for parameters for all your IBM Spectrum Protect Plus operations. This gives you flexibility to choose to modify default values once for all your operations, or choose to set values for individual operations. For more information about global preferences, see Configuring global preferences.

Do more with Jobs and Operations: Use the Jobs and Operations pages to interact with your backup, inventory, maintenance, and restore jobs. Review running jobs, job history, active resources, and job schedules. Choose to pause schedules, cancel jobs, or rerun jobs from the tabbed pages.

Security enhancements: New rules for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus password control and administrator access are applied to ensure secure connections. For more information about security and passwords, see Start IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.

Test with a service level agreement (SLA) configuration: For new deployments of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, you can use the built-in demonstration SLA configuration before you move to full production mode. The demonstration configuration automatically creates policies for a local vSnap backup repository for testing and demonstration purposes.

View What's new information in the user interface: What's new information for your version of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus can be accessed from the user interface. To read about new features for your release, go to your User ID menu and click What's New.

V10.1.3

Offload to cloud storage

Use cost-efficient cloud storage with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus for long-term data retention both onsite and offsite. Offload copies from the vSnap server are incremental forever and support any of these cloud storage providers.

Amazon S3 cloud storage
IBM Cloud Object Storage
IBM Cloud Object Storage with immutable object storage
Microsoft Azure Blob Storage (Hot and Cool Storage Tiers)
IBM Spectrum Protect server.

Use instant recovery capabilities for any copies that are offloaded to the cloud or to IBM Spectrum Protect storage.

For more information, see Copy snapshots to secondary backup storage.

Back up and restore Microsoft Exchange databases: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus application support is extended to include Microsoft Exchange Server environments. You can protect all your Exchange databases such as stand-alone or database availability group (DAG) configurations. Back up databases by selecting a service level agreement (SLA) policy, which determines the backup schedule and retention rate. Restore databases on demand or schedule jobs for your needs. Use the granular restore function with the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Microsoft Management Console (MMC) GUI to restore individual mailbox items.; For more information, see Exchange Server.

Back up and restore MongoDB databases: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus application support is extended to include non-sharded MongoDB environments. You can protect MongoDB databases by selecting an SLA policy, which determines the backup schedule and retention rate. You can restore on-demand or schedule jobs to run to an alternative host. Restore options include instant access to support rapid verification and testing, test restore operations to support DevOps, and full restore-to-production operations. This feature extends IBM Spectrum Protect Plus application support to include community and enterprise editions of MongoDB workloads.; For more information, see MongoDB. For more information about supported environments, see the MongoDB requirements.

Enhanced restore capabilities for Db2 restoring to alternative locations: Restore the same databases to the same machine multiple times with different names. When you are restoring multiple copies of the same Db2 databases, you no longer need to use different target machines for each of the restore operations. Restore the same databases to the same machine multiple times if needed.; For more information about restoring Db2 databases to alternative locations, see Restoring Db2 databases to an alternative instance.

Optimize offload to IBM Spectrum Protect: Offload incremental forever replicas from a vSnap server to an IBM Spectrum Protect storage server with container storage pools. The offload operation supports all workloads that are supported by IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.; For more information about offload operations, see Copy snapshots to secondary backup storage.

Advanced backup capability

Manage your backup jobs outside of an SLA schedule, with increased capability such as the ability to run partially completed jobs or to run a backup job of a single resource.

For more information about managing backup jobs, see Rerunning partially completed backup jobs and the backup topics for hypervisors and applications.

Support is extended

Support in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is extended to include the following environments:

Oracle 18c stand-alone configuration
Windows 2019
vSphere 6.7 Update 1
File-level indexing and restore on Windows Server Core platforms 2012, 2016, and 2019
OpenLDAP servers

For more information about system requirements, see Component requirements.

Enable high availability options for IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

Use VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V high availability options to support an active-passive high availability configuration for your IBM Spectrum Protect Plus environment.

Save space by expiring recovery points of virtual machines and databases

Expire catalog entries associated with a resource from the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus catalog. This cleanup releases space in the catalog and removes the corresponding restore points from recovery screens.

For more information, see Deleting resource metadata from the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus catalog.

Automate deployment of VADP proxies

With the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus open virtual appliance (OVA) installers, VMware vStorage API for Data Protection (VADP) proxies are packaged in vSnap OVA or executable files. This inclusion means that the VADP proxy is installed automatically during the vSnap deployment. A vSnap and VADP proxy appliance server must meet the minimum requirements of both devices.

For more information, see Component requirements.

Improve security with SSH certificates

Use a Secure Shell (SSH) key for credentials and application registration to enhance the security of connections between your resources and IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. In addition to application registration, SSH keys and certificates can be used for file indexing and offload operations.

For more information about keys and certificates, see Managing keys and certificates.

Balance the workload to manage network activity

Global throttling ensures that multiple VADP proxies are optimally used to maximize data throughput. For each virtual machine that is backed up, IBM Spectrum Protect Plus determines which VADP proxy is the least busy with the most available memory and free tasks.

For more information, see Managing VADP backup proxies.

Define mount points for your instant access restore operations

Specify a mount point prefix when you are restoring your databases from the vSnap repository. When the restore job runs, it uses the specified mount point prefix instead of the default agent prefix. Instant access restore operations are available for all applications on both Windows and Linux operating systems.

Prioritize data resources to control processing order

In IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, you can assign priorities to your virtual resources to control the order of processing in an SLA policy. Select the resource in the VMware Backup pane, and then set the backup priority in the Priority field.

For more information, see Backing up VMware data.

Throttle network usage during replication and offload operations

Adjust bandwidth usage by using site throttling between vSnap repositories. By throttling workloads, you can help to avoid impact to any critical operations that use the same network.

For more information about defining throttling rates, see Changing the throughput rate.

Enhance API interactions with Swagger UI

Interact with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus REST APIs by using a Swagger user interface.

Monitor the status of your IBM Spectrum Protect Plus environment

The enhanced dashboard displays the overall condition of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus workloads. Review protection status, storage capacity, and job status in a single view that helps you to prioritize your workload. To see more details about your jobs, including job logs, go to the navigation pane and click Jobs and Operations > Monitoring > Policy and Job List.

For more information about the dashboard, see Product dashboard.

Use assistive technologies for enhanced accessibility

Keyboard functions and accessibility features are available to help you to navigate the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus user interface.

V10.1.2

Back up and restore Db2 databases: This feature extends IBM Spectrum Protect Plus application support to include IBM Db2 environments. With IBM Spectrum Protect Plus Version 10.1.2, you can back up Db2 databases and logs. Restore options include instant access to support rapid verification and testing, test restore operations to support development and testing, DevOps, and full restore-to-production operations including point-in-time recovery.; For more information, see Db2.
Enable vSnap encryption: This feature enhances the security of your backup data. Both onboard and external vSnap servers can now be initialized with encryption enabled.; For more information, see Adding a vSnap server as a backup storage provider.
Update your VADP proxy servers automatically: This feature helps to ensure that your external VMware vStorage APIs for Data Protection (VADP) proxies are always up-to-date without user interaction. VADP proxy updates are applied as soon as they become available.; For more information, see Installing a vSnap server.
Reduce system load and optimize throughput: Throttling optimizes the use of multiple VADP proxies to maximize data throughput. For each virtual machine that is backed up, IBM Spectrum Protect Plus determines which VADP proxy is the least active and has the most available memory and free capacity.; For more information, see Managing VADP backup proxies.
Save space in Oracle environments by truncating logs: Use the option to Truncate source logs after successful backup for Oracle backup operations to save the space that is used storing log files. Archived logs from successful backup operations that are no longer needed are deleted to save space.; For more information, see Backing up Oracle data.
Control throughput for application database backups: Server performance might be affected when many databases are backed up concurrently. The Maximum concurrent databases option controls the impact on Oracle and SQL servers and reduces the impact on production operations.; For more information, see Adding an Oracle application server and Adding an SQL Server application server.
Protect your IBM Spectrum Protect Plus environment: Enhancements to the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus catalog backup and catalog restore features enables you to back up your catalog to the cloud, further preserving your environment for potential disaster recovery scenarios. Additionally, imported keys and certificates are now included in catalog backups.; For more information, see Protecting IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.
Run scripts from an application server or dedicated script server: Enable scripts to extend the operations of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. Pre-scripts and post-scripts that are associated with application backup and restore jobs can now be run from an application server or dedicated script server.; For more information, see Configuring scripts for backup and restore operations.
Monitor the status of your IBM Spectrum Protect Plus environment: A redesigned dashboard offers greater insight into the general state of your IBM Spectrum Protect Plus environment. The Job Status section displays a summary of job activities over a selected time period through a wide-ranging scatter plot. The Capacity Summary section displays the usage and availability of your vSnap storage.; For more information, see Product dashboard.
Receive information about runtime errors in real time: An alert list in the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus user interface displays errors and warnings, helping to quickly identify and resolve issues. Each item in the alert list includes a status icon, a summary of the issue, and a link to associated logs.; For more information, see Alerts.
Plan backup strategies efficiently: A new Policy Overview pane displays data about the protection of your overall environment so that you can plan backup strategies with greater efficiency.; For more information, see Creating an SLA policy.
Enhance your user experience: The IBM Spectrum Protect Plus user interface is updated to improve consistency and usability.

V10.1.1 Patch 1

Enhance the protection of Oracle databases by enabling more frequent recovery points: You can use Oracle backup jobs to back up Oracle logs files. In this way, you enable point-in-time restore operations. This feature provides more frequent recovery points and enhances Oracle database protection. For more information, see Restoring Oracle data.
Protect SQL Server system databases to vSnap: Microsoft SQL Server system databases such as the master database can be backed up to vSnap and recovered by using the Instant Access restore type. This feature broadens the scope of SQL Server protection with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. For more information, see Restoring SQL Server data.
Back up and restore SQL Server 2017 databases: Backup and recovery of Microsoft SQL Server 2017 databases is supported in stand-alone configurations on Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2016 operating systems. This feature extends protection for SQL Server.
Back up and restore encrypted virtual machines: Backing up and restoring encrypted VMware virtual machines is supported in vSphere 6.5 and later environments. Encrypted virtual machines can be backed up and restored at the virtual machine level to their original location. This feature provides an extra layer of data security. For more information, see Backing up and restoring VMware data.
Restore VMware data directly to VMware ESX hosts: Service level agreement (SLA) policies are available to restore data to a VMware ESX host directly, regardless of whether vCenter is available. The VMware restore job destination option ESX Host if vCenter is down is provided for this feature. For more information, see Restoring VMware data.

V10.1.1

Protect Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle databases: You can back up and restore SQL Server and Oracle databases with IBM Spectrum Protect Plus.; For both SQL Server and Oracle Database, full restore and Instant Access scenarios are supported. In addition, for SQL server, you can use the log backup feature for continual backup of transaction logs to a specified destination.; For more information, see Backing up and restoring SQL Server data and Backing up and restoring Oracle data.
Generate reports for supported application databases: Reports are now available that provide insight into the state of your backup operations for database applications.; With these reports, you can review the protection status of your supported application databases, the backup history of application databases, and the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) compliance status of databases as defined by their SLA Policies.; For more information, see Protection reports and System reports.
Asynchronously replicate backup data from one vSnap server to another: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus supports backup storage replication, which enables asynchronous replication of backup data from one vSnap server to a secondary vSnap server. This feature provides extra protection and configuration flexibility.; For more information, see Establishing a replication partnership for a vSnap server.
Create user roles with associated permission groups and resource groups: The role-based access control feature is enhanced to streamline the process of creating, revising, or discontinuing roles as the needs of the data protection enterprise evolve. Predefined roles are included for common tasks.; For more information, see Managing user access.
Register VADP Proxies through the user interface: The VADP proxy installation and update are enhanced. VADP proxies can now be registered by using the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus interface. Similarly, when updates to the VADP proxy software are made available, they can be installed by using the VADP proxy pane in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. New configuration options enable you to set the transport modes to be used by the VADP proxy, the compression type, and the log retention schedule.; For more information, see Managing VADP backup proxies.
Run scripts before or after jobs: The ability to upload scripts to be run at the job level is supported. Scripts can be executed before or after backup and restore jobs run. Scripts enable you to extend the features and benefits of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. Supported scripts include shell scripts for Linux-based machines and batch and PowerShell scripts for Windows-based machines.; For more information, see Configuring scripts for backup and restore operations.
Search for, filter, and expire recovery points: The capability to search the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus catalog to review available recovery points is enriched. You can filter recovery points by the associated backup job name and creation date. Additionally, you can expire recovery points by using the Catalog Retention pane. This feature enhances control of backup inventory and of recovery operations.; For more information, see Managing IBM Spectrum Protect Plus restore points.
Filter VMware resources based on tags: Tags allow you to attach category metadata to objects to make these objects more searchable, sortable, and filterable. In IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, tags are applied in vSphere, and the metadata gets assigned to virtual machines. Sorting, searching, or filtering by category is enabled.; For more information, see Backing up and restoring VMware data.
Filter audit logs by description and date: Filtering options are introduced for the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus audit log. With this feature, you can filter the audit log by specific action descriptions and date ranges during which the action was performed.; For more information, see Collecting audit logs for actions.
Exclude resources from backup job definitions: Virtual machine and application resources can now be excluded from backup jobs. The Exclude Resources option allows you to enter exclusion patterns and wildcards to remove specific resources from backup job definitions. This feature can help you improve backup efficiency and specificity.
Protect non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) files: When you back up a VMware virtual machine, the backup now includes the NVRAM file, which stores the state of the BIOS software for the virtual machine.
View REST API development guides: Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) define the criteria and protocols underlying IBM Spectrum Protect Plus. These enable the various hardware and software components to interact. You can extend the capabilities of the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus application by developing scripts that utilize the APIs. To access the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus REST API Guide, click the user icon from any window in the user interface. A separate guide is provided for vSnap APIs.
Access the application through the IBM Cloud: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus is available as an IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions service, IBM Spectrum Protect Plus on IBM Cloud.; IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions enables you to integrate or migrate your on-premises VMware workloads to the IBM Cloud by using the scalable IBM Cloud infrastructure and VMware hybrid virtualization technology.; For more information, see IBM Spectrum Protect Plus on IBM Cloud.