EVault Software
Agent for Hyper-V
Version 7.41.7082
Release Notes, June 6, 2017
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Contents
1	Overview
1.1	Compatibility
1.2	Release History
1.3	Supported Platforms
1.4	Supported Guest Operating Systems
1.5	Supported Storage and Disk Formats
2	NEW FEATURES
2.1	New Features in Version 7.40a
2.2	New Features in Version 7.40
3	INSTALLATION NOTES
3.1	Installation Best Practices
3.2	Installation Requirements
3.3	Licensing Requirements
3.4	Install/Upgrade
4	LIMITATIONS, FIXES, and KNOWN ISSUES
4.1	Limitations
4.2	Best Practices
4.3	Fixes
4.4	Known Issues
5	PRODUCT SUPPORT
5.1	Technical Support
5.2	Product Updates
5.3	Documentation
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1	Overview
This document contains release notes for Hyper-V Agent 7.41.
The Hyper-V Agent backs up and restores virtual machines (VMs) in Microsoft Hyper-V clusters and standalone hosts, with support for application-consistent backups. The Agent includes two components: 
·	Management service, which processes backup and restore requests from EVault Portal, and distributes the work to Hyper-V Agent Host services.
·	Host service, which backs up VMs to a vault and restores VMs to a Hyper-V host.
1.1	Compatibility
All Hyper-V Agent services in an environment must be the same version. Hyper-V Agent 7.41 services are not compatible with Hyper-V Agent 7.40 or 7.30 services.
Important: You can only register Hyper-V Agent 7.41 to Portal version 8.30 or later. However, if a Hyper-V Agent is already registered to a previous Portal version, you can upgrade the Agent to version 7.41 and continue to manage it using the previous Portal version. To determine your Portal version, sign in to Portal and go to Need Help > About. 
You cannot manage the Hyper-V Agent with the legacy Windows CentralControl interface.
Hyper-V Agent 7.41 is supported with Director 8.x vaults. You can also use the Agent with Director 7.11 vaults, but support is ending for Director 7.11 this year.
Hyper-V Agent 7.41 can restore VMs from backups created using Hyper-V Agent 7.40 or 7.30. Hyper-V Agent 7.30 cannot restore VMs from backups created using Hyper-V Agent 7.41.
If you back up VMs in a Windows 2012 environment and restore the VMs to a Windows 2012 R2 environment, the restored VMs are restored as Generation 1 VMs. You cannot restore VMs that were backed up in Windows 2012 R2 to a Windows 2012 environment.
1.2	Release History
Version 7.41.7082, June 6, 2017
Version 7.40.7071a, March 10, 2016
Version 7.40.7071, October 22, 2014
Version 7.30.5141, March 17, 2014
1.3	Supported Platforms
The Hyper-V Agent Management service is supported on the following platforms:
·	Windows Server 2012 R2
·	Windows Server 2012
The Hyper-V Agent Host service is supported on the following platforms:
·	Windows Server 2012 R2
Note: In addition to automatically-installed updates, Microsoft update 2966407 must be installed on the Windows Server 2012 R2 machine.
·	Windows Server 2012 R2 Core
·	Windows Server 2012
1.4	Supported Guest Operating Systems
Hyper-V Agent 7.41 backs up and restores VMs with operating systems that are supported by the Microsoft Hyper-V Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) writer.
Hyper-V Integration Services must be running within the guest operating system.
1.5	Supported Storage and Disk Formats
·	Shared Storage (CSV)
·	Local Storage
·	VHDX and VHD files 
·	Fixed and dynamically-expanding disks
Note: Incremental backups are sometimes inefficient for dynamically-expanding disks. Fixed disks are recommended.
Note: Disks stored on SMB3 shares, pass-through disks, and shared virtual disks are not supported.
2	NEW FEATURES
2.1	New Features in Version 7.40a
This is the first release of the Hyper-V Agent by EVault from Carbonite. 
2.2	New Features in Version 7.40
·	The Hyper-V Agent can now back up and restore VMs in Hyper-V environments running on Windows Server 2012 R2. This includes both Generation 1 and 2 virtual machines.
·	When you restore a VM that has a network adapter, the restored VM is now automatically connected to the network if the destination host has a network adapter with the same name. For example, if you back up a VM that has a network adapter named "Switch1", and restore the VM to a host that has a switch named "Switch1", the restored VM will be automatically connected to the virtual network. 
·	When you restore a VM that was configured for high availability when it was backed up, the VM is now automatically configured for high availability. 
Note: VMs that were backed up using Hyper-V Agent 7.30 are not restored with clustering enabled and must be configured manually.
3	INSTALLATION NOTES
3.1	Installation Best Practices
For complete best practice information, see the Hyper-V Agent User Guide. 
For a Hyper-V cluster, we recommend installing the Management service on a VM in the cluster and configuring the VM for high availability, and installing the Host service on each host in the cluster.
For a standalone Hyper-V server, we recommend installing both the Management service and the Host service on the Hyper-V server.
3.2	Installation Requirements
3.2.1	Hardware
Install Hyper-V Agent components on systems that meet Microsoft recommendations for Hyper-V.
The Management service needs to connect to each node in the Hyper-V environment on a LAN, not a WAN.
3.2.2	Software
The Host service cannot be installed on a host where the EVault Agent for Microsoft Windows is installed.
3.3	Licensing Requirements
The Hyper-V Agent is only licensed on a vault capacity basis. Agent-based software licensing is not available for the Hyper-V Agent.
3.4	Install/Upgrade
3.4.1	Install
The Management service installation kit name is: Hyper-V Agent Management-7-41-7082.exe
The Host service installation kit name is: Hyper-V Agent Host-7-41-7082.exe
For detailed installation information, see the Hyper-V Agent User Guide.
Note: Only English is supported with Hyper-V Agent version 7.41. However, this Agent version can be installed on a non-English operating system. Support for other languages will be available in a subsequent release.
3.4.2	Upgrade
You can upgrade the Hyper-V Agent to version 7.41 from version 7.40 or 7.30 by upgrading the Management service and then upgrading all Host services in a Hyper-V environment. The Management service must be upgraded before Host services are upgraded.
Note: All Hyper-V Agent services in an environment must be the same version.
To upgrade the Management service or Host service, run the appropriate installation kit. 
When recovering a protected Hyper-V environment or migrating VMs to a new environment, you can move to Hyper-V Agent 7.41 and recover jobs and settings from Hyper-V Agent 7.40 or 7.30. For example, you can move from Hyper-V Agent 7.30 in a Windows Server 2012 environment to Hyper-V Agent 7.41 in a Windows Server 2012 R2 environment, and recover jobs and settings from Hyper-V Agent 7.30. 
For detailed upgrade information, see the Hyper-V Agent User Guide.
4	LIMITATIONS, FIXES, and KNOWN ISSUES
4.1	Limitations
This version of the Hyper-V Agent does not back up VMs that have:
·	Virtual disks on both local and CSV storage
·	Pass-through disks
·	Virtual disks on SMB3 storage
·	Shared VHDXs
This version of the Hyper-V Agent has limited support for VMs that contain:
·	Virtual disks which are configured as dynamic disks by Windows Disk Management (within a VM)
·	FAT or FAT32 volumes
·	No Hyper-V Integration Services running
·	Linux guest OS
This version of the Hyper-V Agent does not support the following:
·	Deferring in scheduled jobs. Deferring is only available for running jobs manually (ad hoc).
·	Restoring VMs that were backed up in a Windows Server 2012 R2 environment to a Windows Server 2012 environment
·	Restoring individual disks from a protected VM 
·	Restoring individual files and folders from within a protected VM
·	Restoring VMs to system partitions
·	Safeset image (SSI) files
·	Secondary Restore Server
4.2	Best Practices
For best performance, EVault recommends the following:
·	In a failover cluster, enable the CSV cache.
·	Remove snapshots or checkpoints from VMs that will be backed up.
·	Use fixed-size VHDXs or VHDs rather than dynamically-expanding VHDXs or VHDs.
·	If multiple backup jobs use the same CSV or local volume, do not schedule the jobs to run at the same time.
Failure to follow these best practices could result in slower backups and restores. For more information, see the Hyper-V Agent User Guide.
4.3	Fixes
4.3.1	Fixes in Version 7.41
Security improvements have been made, including using SHA-2 for communication between the Agent and Portal.
4.3.2	Fixes in Version 7.40
A “Provider not supported” or “Volume not supported” error no longer occurs when a registry setting forces the system provider to take VSS snapshots on hardware-backed volumes. The Hyper-V Agent now ignores registry settings. (28286)
Conflicting schedules for Hyper-V jobs are now prioritized. When a job is scheduled to start at exactly the same time by multiple schedules, the job now runs according to the schedule that is the highest in the schedule list. The retention type associated with that schedule is applied to the resulting safeset. 
Note: After you upgrade the Agent from version 7.30 to version 7.40, you must open and save each existing job to ensure that the job schedules will be prioritized. (27977)
Restoring a VM with a custom name no longer fails if the target folder for that VM already exists. (26238)
When you restore a VM to the same cluster or to a different cluster, the restored VM is now automatically connected to the network if the destination host has a network adapter with the same name. Network adapters are now connected to the network based on name rather than internal ID. (26091)
A VM that is configured for high availability at the time of backup is now automatically configured for high availability when it is restored. 
Note: VMs that were backed up using Hyper-V Agent 7.30 are not restored with clustering enabled and must be configured manually. (24411)
Heartbeat interval log messages are now correctly logged as an information messages rather than as errors. (27680)
4.4	Known Issues
A Linux VM backup can fail with the following message: A VSS writer has rejected an event with error  0x800423f4. The writer experienced a non-transient error. If the backup process is retried, the error is likely to reoccur.
WORKAROUND: Install the hyperv-daemons package on the Linux VM, and try the backup again. (EV-6012)
On the Cluster Credentials tab in Portal, you can update information for a protected Hyper-V environment. Do not enter information for a different Hyper-V environment, or the Portal could start communicating with two Management services: the original one specified on the Computers tab and the new one specified on the Cluster Credentials tab. (28371)
If a hardware VSS provider is installed on a host, and you try to back up VMs on a CSV that is not supported by the hardware VSS provider, the backup fails. (28650)
On Windows Server 2012 R2 with Microsoft update 2919355 installed, backups of VMs on cluster shared volumes can fail with a “file is missing” message.
WORKAROUND: Install Microsoft update 2966407 on the server. See “Backing up virtual machines fails when using the CSV writer after installation of update 2919355 in Windows” (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2966407).
If you try to restore a VM with a network adapter and a snapshot to a host that does not have a network adapter with the same name, the restore fails.
WORKAROUND: Restore the VM without selecting the Enable network connectivity check box. Consistent with Microsoft best practices, we recommend not taking user-level snapshots of VMs that will be backed up in a production environment. (28320)
If you install the Management service to a directory that contains non-English characters, the Management service cannot start. (27409)
If you try to install the Host service to a directory that contains non-English characters, the installation fails. (27234)
After a power failure or disk error on the machine where the Management service is running, the Agent might not be able to back up or restore a VM. (27158)
If you remove an email address from the Notifications tab, the Agent continues to send emails to that email address for backups and restores.
WORKAROUND: Stop and restart the Management service when backups are not running. (27235)
The Address column on the Hosts tab does not display all IP addresses for a node. The IP address that appears might not be the IP address that you normally use to connect to the node. (27189)
When you rename a VM that is protected by a job, the Edit Job wizard retains the original name of the VM. 
WORKAROUND: Remove the VM from the job, and add it to the job again. (26214)
If you terminate a restore, and one or more VMs are not completely restored, partial VM files will remain on disk and must be cleaned up manually. (25962)
5	PRODUCT SUPPORT
5.1	Technical Support
Technical support is available from your provider. 
5.2	Product Updates
Product updates are available from your provider. 
5.3	Documentation
The following documentation is available for the Hyper-V Agent: 
·	Agent for Hyper-V User Guide
·	Hyper-V Agent information in Portal online help: http://onlinehelp.evault.com
To find Hyper-V Agent information, search for "Hyper-V" in the help.
·	Agent for Hyper-V release notes (this document)
Documentation is available from your provider.