A quick list of the new and improved features added to Backup for Workgroups by version number.
Backup for Workgroups Version 4.1.1 Patch Update:
Improved support for the Open File Add-On under Windows 2003 64-bit - The Open File Add-On has been
improved to run under the Windows 64-bit operating system. This is a
Client-side only patch, so the Client will reflect version 4.1.1 while the
Data Repository remains at 4.1.
Backup for Workgroups Version 4.1 Update (Free Update):
64-Bit Open File Support - The Open File Add-On has been
redeveloped to perform under both the Windows 32-bit operating system and
the Windows 64-bit operating system. With the addition of 64-bit open
file support, Exchange 2007 can be backed up on a Windows 2008 Server.
Improved Support for File Restores Performed in a Remote Desktop
Session - When restoring selected files to the original location while
logged into a remote desktop session, the file overwrite prompt is now
displayed on the active remote desktop rather than the native desktop.
Backup Scheduler Prompt Improvement - If there is no interaction
with the scheduler prompt, then the default is for the backup to proceed
after a certain wait period, rather than wait for interaction with the
prompt that may not be seen at the time.
Improved Line Drop - If the Backup Client is in the backlog queue
and the DRM drops the line / becomes unresponsive, etc. the Backup Client
would interpret the error code as not in the queue any more go ahead and
start the backup. This sometimes caused the Backup Client to enter a
strange state where it was half logged in but not in active state.
This was corrected, now the Backup Client just treats this as a normal line
drop and performs the normal line drop route of retrying every 2 minutes.
ACL Security is Restored in the Order of Events – In the past
when the Backup Client restores a folder and set the folder's ACL data, then
it would restore the contents of the folder. Sometimes this created a
situation where the ACL data on the folder prevented our access to the
contents below the folder that was just restored, preventing the restore
process from restoring the files in the folder. This was changed to
restore the folder with normal ACL data first, then restore the contents of
the folder. When all of the restore process is complete, then the
folder's ACL data is restored in the order of the deepest folders first and
then works its way up the chain restoring the ACL data up to the highest
folder.
Backup for Workgroups Version 4.0.3 Patch Update:
Double backup runs – If a scheduled backup run
prompts the user if it is ok to run the backup and the UI takes more than 1
minute to respond, sometimes an extra backup is inserted into the run queue
Move Storage Location – The"Move" and "Combine"
storage location functions was modified so that if there are other files not
related to BFW under storage location, those non-BFW files are not moved in the
move / combine operations. For example, people have placed their storage
location to C:\ the root of C: and if they performed a move all of the C: drive
would be moved. This was fixed.
File Locks – When the backup process opens a file
for backup and then hits an error, the Backup Client was leaving the file open
causing a lock to be placed on the file. This was corrected to release the lock
when errors occur.
Closing Outlook – If there is a backup set that only
consists of "Close Outlook" to just backup the outlook .pst file and nothing in
between, sometimes Outlook seemed to close from monitoring its Window but it
still had a lock on the database file. Normally this lock is released very
quickly which normally the backup set has other work to do between the time
Outlook is closed and we get to the .pst file. One user chose to not backup
anything but the .pst file so the backup gets to that file faster than Outlook
closes. The close detection code was modified to wait longer for Outlook to
close.
Mirror Blackout Period – If the end time is set before the
start time, the Mirror was not blacking out the right portion of the day. This
was corrected.
Backup for Workgroups Version 4.0.2 Patch Update:
Restore Speed - Data restoration speeds have been improved with Version 4.0.2. With previous versions, the interaction
between Backup for Workgroups and the network card was sometimes negatively influenced by slow responses from Windows. As a result, the
throughput was halted unnecessarily when Windows was slow to provide accurate network card status. Version 4.0.2 bypasses this
problem by actively interrogating the networking status directly. As a result, on fast computers, restore times have improved 5X to 10X.
Slow computers did not exhibit the problem due to other factors that slowed the restoration process.
Rotating Primary Storage - When the Primary Storage is rotated, the Backup Client would detect the change in most circumstances
and properly re-sync its data with the then, current Data Repository Storage. There was a case in which the Backup Client would not
detect the change in the storage media and was not resyncing. This is corrected in Version 4.0.2.
Backup for Workgroups Version 4.0.1 Patch Update:
Scheduler - If two backups occur at the same time, and the option to detect skipped runs was set to OFF, then the second backup
run gets skipped. For example, if one backup is running and another is scheduled to run while the first is still running, the second backup
would not occur. This is fixed in Version 4.0.1. Now the backups run independently of the skipped backup run detection setting.
Scheduler Icon - In previous versions, if you closed the Backup Client icon in the tray, it would shut down Backup for Workgroups
and therefore scheduled backups would not run. A lot of people just wanted to remove the icon from the tray but keep the Backup for
Workgroups program running, so we changed the right-click option menu on the scheduler icon so you can now hide the icon and keep the
scheduler running. Note, if you close the scheduler icon, backup progress will not display on the screen when the backup occurs. In other
words, the backup process still runs, but it is "quiet" in that you do not see anything on the screen.
Mirror - We have fixed an issue in which the Mirror would not update if both the Mirror and the primary storage were stored at
the root of a hard drive.
Deleted Folders - When a folder exists and is backed up then that folder is deleted, the next backup would mark the folder
deleted. If the folder was created again, the Backup Client software would not change the folder settings within the storage database to
mark the folder as "now present." The folder was stuck in this deleted state as a result, if you needed to perform a restore in
which deleted folders were not included, the folder being marked as deleted was not getting restored. This is now fixed in Version 4.0.1 -
in which the folder state in the storage database accurately reflects the state on the original hard drive.
Outlook 2007 - When the Backup Client software is set to shut down Outlook 2007 in order to perform a backup, previous versions
of Backup for Workgroups were not automatically restarting Outlook 2007 once the backup process was complete. Version 4.0.1 fixes this and
now Outlook 2007 automatically restarts after a backup.
Debug Logs - The Backup Client software has been changed to generate two debug logs. One debug log is for the user interface
(UI) and the second debug log is for the Service.
Error Reporting - If there is a problem storing a file at the Data Repository Manager, in the past the Backup Client software
would report a generic, unspecific error message. Now, the Backup Client reports a specific error stating that the Repository cannot store
the file and the Repository has more information. The Data Repository Manager places more information in the Message Log about the
specific error, making troubleshooting more straightforward.
Backup for Workgroups Version 4.0 Upgrade (Free Update):
Vista Support - You can use a Vista machine to host your Data Repository and you can install the Backup Client software on a
Vista machine to include these new computers in your backup plan. Version 4.0 is UAC compliant.
Backup Network Shares - Now you can backup network shares by providing the path in UNC format and login information to this
network share. In the past, the Backup Client required network shares to be accessed through a mapped drive letter. Now you do not need to
be logged in at the time of the backup.
Remote Desktop - The Backup Client now runs the backup process as a SERVICE. As a result, you can close a Remote Desktop
Session without interfering with the backup process. You can also open a Remote Desktop Session and view the progress of a backup in
mid-session without interfering with the backup process.
Better File Change Detection - Now the Backup Client uses additional methods to detect when a file changes to avoid skipping
files that do not change their file date/time stamp and/or their file size information. This fixes a problem detecting when a file changes
on some SQL Servers.
NAS Storage Rights - When you use a NAS or file share to store your Data Repository or Mirror, Version 4.0 can detect rights
problems and inform you of corrective actions that you need to take when access rights are incorrect to the NAS or file share. Also,
Version 4.0 takes additional actions to try to prevent file shares from closing the network share.
Backup for Workgroups Version 3.0 Premium Upgrade (Upgrade Fee Applies):
Daily Backup Summary Report
Backup for Workgroups can now send you a daily backup report that shows ALL of your Backup Clients and their backup results. This
color-coded, HTML email chart makes it easy to see who backed up successfully and who hasn't. This is a great tool allowing you to
quickly keep on top of your backup strategy without having to look through lots of individual email messages.
Click here for a sample.
Ability to Customize Backup Related Email Reports
Now Administrators can customize the Backup Summary Reports sent via e-mail to include client/computer specific information along with
their results. Variables that can be changed include: subject line, from address, and display name. This allows you to
quickly organize and read the backup results and sort messages by client.
Email Authentication
When Backup for Workgroups sends email, you can now specify login credentials to use with your SMTP email server. Email
authentication eliminates the problem of undelivered emails caused by anti-spam and anti-virus programs.
256-Bit AES Encryption
Support for AES 256 bit encryption is available to customers residing in the US and US-export friendly countries.
Storage Spanning Support - Stores Your Backup Data Across Multiple Devices
Do you have a lot of data to backup? Concerned about filling up your Data Repository? Now you can use multiple devices as part of a
storage group. Your backup data can span across these multiple hard drives, increasing your storage capacity. The devices can be of
any type, as long as Windows sees them as a hard drive.
Mirror Spanning Support - Stores Your Mirror Data Across Multiple Devices
When your Mirror storage is running low on disk space, you can add additional capacity by adding a new disk-based device to your Mirror
storage group. This allows the Mirror to grow as needed. Use the Interlocked Mirror mode to correlate your Primary Storage
devices to their own, individual Mirror counterparts. And, the Mirror now supports blackout periods, to prevent the Mirror from
consuming too much of your network resources during business hours.
Auto Client Update
Save time with the new Auto Client Update feature. When you have updated your Backup for Workgroups Data Repository, the Auto Client
Update feature will automatically update the Backup Client for you. Eliminates the need to go to each Backup Client computer to
install updates. Please note: This feature is only activated AFTER you have updated all your Backup Clients to Version 3.0. In
other words, the feature's code needs to be there before you can use it! But, this will be the last time you need to manually update
all your Backup Clients.
Backup for Workgroups Version 3.0 Standard Upgrade (Free Update):
New Client and Data Repository Manager User Interface with Stretchy Windows
The new interface includes improved support for 256-color mode computers, which is compatible with most remote desktop software programs.
Screen width settings and location settings are also saved and used the next time the interface is launched.
Simplified Process of Moving Data Repository Storage
When it comes time to move your Data Repository to a larger storage device, let Backup for Workgroups do the work for you. The new
Storage panel provides a convenient way to move your Primary Storage location without interrupting ongoing backups.
Supports Real-Time Mirroring
Now the Backup for Workgroups Mirror feature runs in real-time and self-throttles, so the mirroring process does not interfere with the
speed of the backup process. And you can now receive emails letting you know when the Mirror storage device is offline or out of
disk space. And use the blackout period feature to prevent the Mirror from consuming too much bandwidth during business hours.
E-Mail Delivery Queue Enhancement
The Data Repository now queues up email messages for delivery. So, if your email server is temporarily offline or inaccessible, your
backup related email reports will queue up and will be delivered when the email server is back online. If any messages cannot be
delivered, the Data Repository will retry every 15 minutes for 3 days. After that the message is deleted and logged as an error in
the Data Repository Message Log.
Open File Add-On Enhancements
Exchange Server backup through the Open File Add-On now purges the Exchange log files. By purging the log files, the backup time
is reduced along with the amount of backup data being stored at the Data Repository.
Improved Virtual Snapshot - After the Open File Add-On makes the snapshot of a backup set, if any files change after the snapshot they
are not reported as errors and will simply be included in the snapshot of the next backup.
Fallback Cases - Some encryption programs are not Volume Shadow Server (VSS) aware and can cause the Open File Virtual Snapshot to
disappear, which effectively causes the drive to disappear from the Backup for Workgroups' point of view. The Open File Add-On now
detects these encryption programs and will fall back to a non-Open File operational mode to backup the files that are accessible.
This fallback plan cannot backup files that are in-use or locked, but at least the drive is accessible and not hidden from the backup
process by the third-party encryption program.
Disaster Recovery & Restore Enhancements
When a Disaster Recovery is in process, the scheduler is automatically stopped to prevent a backup from occurring while the computer is
being restored.
File Compression is Now an Optional Feature
Administrators can now turn off compression to increase backup speed, but please note that without compression there will be significantly
more storage space used at the Data Repository.
Data Repository Manager Uninstall Options
When the Data Repository Manager is uninstalled, Administrators can choose whether they would like to delete the data in the Data
Repository as well, or just uninstall the software program.
Backup for Workgroups Version 2.6 Update (Free Update):
Improved Scheduler Compatibility with Windows Terminal Services
Any Windows 2003 Server Client now has the Scheduler installed under the Local System Account, which allows it to be displayed in the
system tray. Also, the Scheduler now writes to a file indicating when the next backup will occur, which eliminates the problem of a
Client accessed through Terminal Services reporting that the Scheduler is not running.
Improved File Retention Functionality
The Data Repository will now purge files of any size based on user-defined Retention rules. Previous versions of Backup for Workgroups
would not purge a file greater than 4 GB. After the 2.6 update is applied, the Data Repository will be scanned and any extra revisions
(including those over the 4 GB file size) will automatically be deleted.
Individual Client Disk Space Utilization Reporting
The Data Repository now tracks and reports the storage space consumed by each Client. Information includes the total bytes backed up,
redundant bytes, and the net storage size (with compression and single file storage taken into account).
Improved Support for Rotating Data Repository Hard Drives
The new 2.6 version has added support for situations where the drive that is currently holding the Data Repository is removed and replaced
with a new drive. Backup for Workgroups will now automatically retain the Client list and preferences from the old drive. The
next backup performed by each Client will be a new baseline backup, and each Client will also retain their preferences.
When a Data Repository storage device is removed, the Administrator is presented with a dialog allowing them to specify the location
of the new Data Repository storage device
Changing the location of the Data Repository while the service is running does not alter the Backup for Workgroups Client databases,
which allows the Data Repository service to connect to the new storage device
Deleting the Data Repository storage location while the service is running will cause Backup for Workgroups to create a new Client
database using the cached Client list and preferences from the past
Improved Support for Exchange Server Backup
The new 2.6 version has improved support for backing up Exchange Server (version 5.5, 2000 and 2003), whether the Client is using the Open
File Add-On, the Exchange Server Add-On, or using the "Stop Services" method.
If an Exchange Server has more than one store, the Client will backup all of the stores instead of just the first one.
When deleting a Client that was backing up Exchange Server data, the Data Repository will completely delete any files corresponding
to the Exchange Server backup. This prevents the storage device from being consumed with files that are no longer needed by the
Client.
When a user tries to perform a restore of the Exchange Server data to an alternate folder location, the user is warned that Exchange
Server data cannot be restored to an alternate location and the restore process is aborted. Users can repeat the restore of the
Exchange Server data to the original (and usually active) Exchange Server location if they choose. This also applies to Active
Directory data restoration as well.
Optional ACL / Stream Data Backup
A Client can now select whether or not to backup ACL and Stream data (under Preferences > Backup Options). By default, the ACL
option is set to "on" for Windows server Clients and set to "off" for desktop Clients. Accessing the ACL and
Stream data information requires the Client to open the file twice, which slows down the backup process and also increases storage
requirements.
Improved Recovery from a Client "Line Drop"
If the connection between the Client computer and the Data Repository computer is disrupted (i.e. "line drop"), the Client will
try to reconnect. If the the reconnect occurs within the time that the Data Repository detects the line drop, the the Client will
continue at the exact same place it left off at, even if it was in the middle of backing up a file.
Streamlined Client Backup Panel
Backup Client main user interface now has only one "Backup Now" button that has the ability to choose which backup set to run.
If only a single backup set exists, that backup set will automatically run.
Re-Sizeable (Stretchy) Windows
Data Repository Manager interface has re-sizeable windows on all main panels. Backup Clients also have re-sizeable windows throughout
the restore dialogs, allowing for better viewing of restore data filenames and paths.
Mapped Drive Prompts
If a mapped drive in a backup set is not accessible, Backup for Workgroups now reports that the drive letter was not available.
Also, when mapped drives cannot be used in association with Windows services, the user is now prompted to switch to the acceptable
UNC (\\) path.
Storage Device Format Prompt
If the Data Repository is going to be stored on a hard drive that is formatted FAT32, the installation is not stopped, but a prompt warns
the user about general file size limitations with the FAT32 format. (NTFS formatting is recommended.)
Disaster Recovery Report Includes Service Pack Info
Custom Client Disaster Recovery reports now include information instructing the user to install the appropriate Service Packs for XP, 2003
and 2000. (Because all of these Service Packs change the Windows Registry, they must be re-installed before the Disaster Recovery is
initiated.)
Backup for Workgroups Version 2.5.2 Update (Free Update):
Improved support for Windows Terminal Services
Backup for Workgroups is now compatible with Windows Terminal Services, allowing administrators to remotely access Backup Clients.
Retroactive support for Client revision limits
Changing a Client’s revision limit now applies to both actively changing files as well as older files that have remained dormant for a
period of time.
Client backup size information available at the Data Repository
The Data Repository Clients panel now includes the time, status and data size (in bytes) of a Client’s last backup.
Support for re-baselining Clients through the Data Repository
Administrators can use the "Delete" and "Create" buttons on the Data Repository Manager to completely remove all of a
Client’s past backup data from the Data Repository. All Client configurations and settings remain intact for the subsequent
re-baseline backup.
Enhanced support for Data Repository storage devices
Clients now retain all configuration settings when the Data Repository storage device is moved, rotated or changed.
Throttling support for Mirror connections
Administrators can now specify the amount of data written to the Mirror storage device on a per- second basis, which prevents Backup for
Workgroups from consuming the entire amount of bandwidth available.
Version 4.1
Supports Windows 2008
(32-bit & 64-bit)
Exchange 2007 & Vista
