WHAT’S NEW IN BDRSuite 5.3

Vembu recently released a new version of their BDRSuite, version 5.3. 

The major features in v5.3 release are below:

File Server & Endpoints backup integrated into BDRSuite

You can now add Windows and Linux (file) servers to the Data Source and configure file & folder level backup from the BDRSuite Backup Server console. The backup agents can be automatically pushed from the backup server or manually installed on the required servers. This feature allows you to manage the backup & recovery of a large number of machines from the centralized BDRSuite Backup Server.

Instead of having to capture an entire fileserver, you can now directly protect one or multiple shares and include them in your backup jobs. The capability of now adding business critical file shares (on both Windows and Linux) is a solid capability to protect them and provide them with a suitable RTO and RPO without the infrastructure overhead.

Endpoint Backup from BDRSuite Backup Server UI

Now, you can configure File & Folder Backup of many Windows & Linux Endpoints directly from the BDR Suite Backup Server console. The agents can be manually installed on the target system or pushed automatically. Also, you can add multiple endpoints in bulk using the CSV file.

Azure Blob as Backup Repository

Primary backup data and backup copy data can now be stored in Azure Blob storage directly. With this new feature, you can send (store) your backups or a backup copy directly to Azure Blob Storage. Using this Storage object Cloud feature, customers now have another repository to store their primary backups.

You can store your backup data directly outside your corporate data center (ransomware!), perhaps even on immutable Blob storage. However, I would always consider having your first backup set close by to be able to meet the RTO and prevent any bandwidth costs that might come with cloud storage.

Active Directory Integration

BDRSuite now integrates with Active Directory for user management. You can import and add AD/LDAP users to the BDRSuite Backup Server and grant them different levels of access to the BDRSuite Backup Server. 

You can now manage your BDR Suite with your AD users and groups. This option allows you to add users and group permissions from your AD. Being able to control access to your backup solution granularly is a no-brainer. And being able to do so based on Active Directory or LDAP objects helps greatly in compliance with the different industry regulations.

Integrity Check on VMware ESXi Server

You can now run the automated boot test on VMware ESXi hosts to confirm the recoverability of the backup machines. In addition, BDRSuite now allows you to test your backups on your environment. This new feature ensures that your backups are ready to be used when you need to restore them. 

One thing that organizations tend to forget is to validate their backups. Unfortunately, having a backup job that says all is well doesn’t mean you can use it to restore your services when needed. Therefore, automated integrity check capability is essential in a successful BCDR strategy.

Enhancements

Next to the major additions to version 5.3, some additional (more minor) enhancements have been made as well. 

  • Backup data retention for deleted/excluded VMs
  • Performance improvements in the server rebuild process
  • Backup support for the Microsoft 365 accounts enabled with Multi-Factor Authentication(MFA)
  • Parallel backup processing of Microsoft 365 & Google Workspace users
  • Option to exclude Microsoft 365 mailbox folders from backup
  • Breadcrumbs view for SharePoint site & Teams data restore
  • Download Microsoft 365 mail data in EML format
  • Download Microsoft 365 mail data in MBOX format
  • Microsoft 365 & Google Workspace mail recovery based on time range
  • Search option for Microsoft 365 & Google Workspace emails during the restore
  • Parallelly initiate PST export for multiple Microsoft 365 & Google Workspace user’s mail data
  • Logs download for Microsoft 365 & Google Workspace backups
  • Enhanced backup progress window for Google Workspace backup
  • Tree view for Google Drive data restore
  • Enhanced report for Google Workspace backups

These enhancements primarily focus on protecting your cloud resources in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, which is nice to see that they are still adding capabilities in this area. I feel it’s essential to take responsibility for backups of your cloud-hosted data.

Note: If you plan to upgrade to the new version, please follow the document on how to upgrade and the upgrade path.

All details about the new version can find it HERE.

Other Products and Services provided by Vembu:

·      Cloud Disaster Recovery

·      Vembu Offsite DR

·      Vembu Cloud DR

Check also the Free versions and what is included in each one :

I’m currently in the progress of installing Vembu BDRSuite in my white box environment. Therefore, prepare for step-by-step and technical review blog articles concerning Vembu BDRSuite.

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