Release notes for IBM Spectrum Protect for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware Version 8.1

IBM Spectrum Protect™ for Virtual Environments: Data Protection for VMware Version 8.1 is available. Read this document to find important product information such as system requirements, compatibility with earlier versions, installation instructions, and limitations and known problems.

Contents

Description

Data Protection for VMware V8.1 helps you to protect your virtual machine (VM) data by offloading backup workloads from a VMware ESXi-based host to a centralized server. Backups are available for full VM, file level, and instant restore operations. Instant restore is available at the disk volume level and full VM level.

Multiple interface components are included to help you protect your VMs, including the IBM Spectrum Protect vSphere Client plug-in. The IBM Spectrum Protect vSphere Client plug-in is a VMware vSphere Web Client extension that provides a subset of the functions that are available in the browser view for the Data Protection for VMware vSphere GUI and some additional functions. Depending on your environment, you can use this extension to configure backup policies to fit your backup management needs, such as excluding or including VMs in scheduled backup services, changing the retention policy of backups, selecting the VM disks you want to protect, setting the data consistency for backups, and providing application protection for VM backups.

You can also use the extension to start on-demand backup and restore operations and to view the most recent backup information for all VMs that are in a vSphere object. This information includes identification of VMs that are at risk of being unprotected.

For a list of the APARs that Data Protection for VMware V8.1 resolved, see the list of fixes at Update History: Data Protection for VMware V8.1.

Announcement

The Data Protection for VMware V8.1 announcement is available at IBM Offering Information.

See the announcement for the following information:
  • Detailed product description, including descriptions of new functions
  • Product-positioning statement
  • Packaging and ordering details
  • International compatibility information
To search for the product announcement, complete the following steps:
  1. Go to the product announcement website at IBM Offering Information.
  2. In the Search for field, enter the product identifier (PID) for your product. The PID for Data Protection for VMware is 5725-X00.
  3. In the Information Type field, select Announcement letters, and click Search.
  4. From the Search in list, select Product Number.
  5. Optional: In the Refine Your Search pane on the left side of the window, select the country where you reside.
  6. In the Sort by section, select Newest first.

System requirements

For system requirement information, see Hardware and Software Requirements: Data Protection for VMware V8.1.0 .

Compatibility with earlier versions

For compatibility with earlier versions, see Compatibility Information: Data Protection for VMware V8.1 .

Installing Data Protection for VMware V8.1

For information about where to download Data Protection for VMware V8.1, see the Download Information document.

Step-by-step installation instructions are available in IBM Knowledge Center at Installing Data Protection for VMware.

Limitations and known problems

Documentation updates, limitations, and known problems are documented as technotes in the Support knowledge base. As problems are discovered and resolved, IBM® Software Support updates the knowledge base. By searching the knowledge base, you can find workarounds or solutions to problems.

For further information about limitations and known problems, see the following links: