We hold these truths to be self-evident:
- Windows Server 2012 has been available for some time now
- Backup Exec 2012 & 2010 do not support it yet.
That second part is about to change. This blog is the place to go for updates on the Backup Exec 2012 & 2010 service pack betas. Stay tuned as we are on track to go generally available in July, Juuuuuust in time for the Windows 2012 R2 preview to be released into the wild. If I were you, I’d want to know when Backup Exec 2012 will support WS12R2.
The new leadership of Backup Exec put a mandate on quality. Nothing is leaving this house that is not top of the line quality. No more shipping just to meet a public release date. That being said, the WS12 released entailed a LOT of work. Beyond just an OS, there was an entirely new file system, a new hypervisor, new VSS and, for the first time, native deduplication. All of these new items were compounded across the myriad of new Microsoft applications and 2 versions of Backup Exec. With this focus on quality, we have devoted an extraordinary amount of time to testing. We do not want a repeat of past sins.
A few things to be aware of about the coming service packs: they are all about platform support. The Backup Exec beta blog referenced above details everything that will be supported. There are a few limitations to the service packs:
- Backup Exec 2010 SP3 & 2012 SP2 will not install on Windows 2012 or Windows 2012 R2 as a media server. Users must run BE on a Windows 2008 Server or other supported media server platform
- GRT limitations
- Cannot GRT a Windows 2012 ReFS volume
- Support for this requires OS components that are not present in Windows 2008 and early versions
- Cannot GRT Hyper-V VHDX volumes larger than 2TB
- We currently convert VHDX into VHD volumes in order to perform GRT
- VHD does not support volumes larger than 2TB.
- GRT Exchange 2013
- Service packs do not support granular recovery of data from Exchange 2013. GRT is supported on earlier versions of Exchange.
- GRT SharePoint 2013
- Service packs do not support granular recovery of data from SharePoint 2013.
The next major release of Backup Exec will support WS12R2. In July, I think we’ll be able to give a 6 month window for when you can expect the next BE. As development progresses, I will be able to narrow that to a 3 month window, then again to a 1 month window. Again, follow us on Connect, Spiceworks, Twitter, Reddit or Google+, for progress updates.
WS12R2 is a much larger project than supporting the initial release of WS12. Microsoft spent a day in our Heathrow, FL development location working with our product management and engineering teams on what is coming next, and we learned that there will be a lot of changes, including Hyper-V . Since you’ve told us you depend on Windows and Hyper-V, we do not take these changes lightly.
I’m sharing all of this because we want to be as transparent as possible. In the past we’ve overpromised and under delivered but we won’t do that again. We will deliver quality, just as we are doing with these most recent service packs, and we will stick to our priorities of platform support, quality and seamless migration for future releases.
We are working hard to return Backup Exec to its position as a trusted backup solution that meets or exceeds the demands of your data center. We are breaking a lot of eggs to make this omelet. We will probably break a whole lot more. What we won’t do is ship something that isn’t ready and let you down again. Our chefs will stay in the kitchen until the solution is right. In the end though, we’re going to make one hell of an omelet. Stick around to find out.