SIOS Insider

SteelEye DataKeeper and DataKeeper Cluster Edition 7.3 Available

On October 25th, we released version 7.3 of SteelEye DataKeeper and DataKeeper Cluster Edition.  This release adds:

• Replication performance improvements specifically targeting high-performance disk and network environments

If you own annual support, the upgrade to this release is free.  Contact support@us.sios.com to request the new bits.

Complete details on version 7.3 are available in the release notes at Technical Documentation.

David Abercrombie

Product Management

• Replication performance improvements specifically targeting high-performance disk and network environments

SteelEye DataKeeper and DataKeeper Cluster Edition 7.2.2 Available

On September 13th, we released version 7.2.2 of SteelEye DataKeeper and DataKeeper Cluster Edition.  This release adds:

• A fix in the DK/DKCE driver that significantly improves performance in synchronous mirror scenarios where an application is single-threaded, performs small writes and large Ethernet frames sizes (e.g. Jumbo Frames are enabled) are in use

If you own annual support, the upgrade to this release is free.  Contact support@us.sios.com to request the new bits.

Complete details on version 7.2.2 are available in the release notes at Technical Documentation.

David Abercrombie

Product Management

SteelEye Protection Suite for Linux v7.4 Now Available

On August 15th, we released version 7.4 of the SteelEye Protection Suite for Linux.  Included in this update are:

• Support for IPv6 in Core, IP ARK and SDR ARK
• NFS version 4 support
• RHEL 6.1 support
• LVM tag support
• Improved file system detection performance
• Maintenance updates

If you own annual support, the upgrade to this release is free.  Contact support@us.sios.com to request the new bits.

Complete details on version 7.4 are available in the release notes at Technical Documentation.

David Abercrombie

Product Management

MySQL Application Recovery Kit v7.4 Now Available

On June 30th, we released version 7.4 of the MySQL Application Recovery Kit.  Included in this update are:

• Support for versions 5.0, 5.1 and 5.5
• Support for multiple MySQL versions on the same server
• Support for the mysqld group option (mysqld_multi)
• Maintenance updates

If you own annual support, the upgrade to this release is free.  Contact support@us.sios.com to request the new bits.

SteelEye Protection Suite for Windows v7.2.1 Now Available

On May 26th, we released version 7.2.1 of the SteelEye Protection Suite for Windows.  Included in this update are:

DataKeeper and DataKeeper Cluster Edition 7.2.1

• Improvements in volume locking in complex configurations
• Enhanced stability
• 64-bit performance counters
• Support for disks with sector size other than 512 bytes
• Online documentation updates
• Maintenance updates

LifeKeeper for Windows v7.2 and Protection Suites

• Enhanced stability
• Improved switchover/failover performance
• Online documentation updates
• Maintenance updates

If you own annual support, the upgrade to this release is free.  Contact support@us.sios.com to request the new bits.

Complete details on version 7.2.1 are available in the release notes at:

DataKeeper Release Notes
LifeKeeper Release Notes

David Abercrombie
Product Management

DKCE Now Fully Supports Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

Microsoft has identified a workaround to address the issue described in this post.  Details below:

Changes were made in SP1 to support symmetric storage; however, these changes actually make deploying multisite clusters more complicated in some circumstances. If you are using SP1 and want to add a node to a multisite cluster that is using a 3rd party storage class resource like DataKeeper, the only way to add a node without causing the cluster disks resources to be added back into the cluster (which really causes a mess to clean up) is to use PowerShell to add the node as described here:http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee461047.aspx

 

Check out this great article on continuous application availability...

...written by our CTO, Surendra Reddy, for the Disaster Recovery Journal.

 

Article here

Important Information Regarding DKCE Support for Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

Please note the following caveats associated with DataKeeper Cluster Edition support for Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1:

Mixed shared/replicated storage clusters using DataKeeper Cluster Edition are not supported on Windows Server 2008 R2 systems running the recently released SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2.  The unsupported cluster configurations included two or more nodes connected to shared storage replicating to one or more nodes.

The crux of the problem is in new features in SP1 which are supposed to make supporting multisite clusters easier, but actually in the case of multisite cluster solutions that implement custom storage resource types (such as the DataKeeper Volume resource) in lieu of Physical Disk resources makes the initial configuration process extremely difficult and error prone.  As such, we are recommending that DataKeeper Cluster Edition customers who are using a mix of shared and replicated storage to NOT upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 at this time.

With SP1, we currently support cluster configurations that use only replicated disks and we are working with Microsoft to provide a solution for DataKeeper Cluster Edition customers who want to run Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 in a mixed shared/replicated storage environment.  We will post here when this issue has been resolved.

SteelEye Protection Suite for Linux v7.3 Now Available

On February 15th, we released version 7.3 of the SteelEye Protection Suite for Linux.  Included in this update are:

• Support for RedHat Enterprise Linux 6
• Support for hardware and software watchdog timers
• Automated subscription licensing renewal notification and license updates
• A new chapter in the Planning and Install Guide that documents expanded I/O fencing options for cases where reservations will not be used
• Enhanced support for STONITH Using IPMI

If you own annual support, the upgrade to this release is free.  Contact support@us.sios.com to request the new bits.

Complete details on version 7.3 are available in the release notes at Technical Documentation.

David Abercrombie

Product Management

SteelEye Protection Suite for Windows v7.2 Now Available

On February 17th, we released version 7.2 of the SteelEye Protection Suite for Windows.  Included in this update are:

DataKeeper and DataKeeper Cluster Edition 7.2

• Updated support for Microsoft Data Protection Manager (DPM)
• Updated support for Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager support (SCVMM)
• Compatibility with LifeKeeper for Windows 7.2
• Updated support for File Server Resource Manager support - Quotas
• Automatic creation of a DataKeeper Volume Resource in WSFC
• Subscription-based licensing support
• New CHANGEMIRRORENDPOINTS Command for Added Efficiency
• Maintenance updates

LifeKeeper for Windows v7.2 and Protection Suites

• DataKeeper 7.2 compatibility
• Subscription-based licensing support
• Updated support for File Server Resource Manager support - Quotas
• Maintenance updates

If you own annual support, the upgrade to this release is free.  Contact support@us.sios.com to request the new bits.

Complete details on version 7.2 are available in the release notes at Technical Documentation.

David Abercrombie

Product Management