DATA SHEET What s New in Catalogic ECX 2.5 Transform IT Operations with Software-Defined Data Services This document summarizes the key new features in each release of Catalogic ECX 2.5. It includes 2.5.x releases as well as the initial 2.5 release. Features are presented with the most recent release first. For a comprehensive list of all the new features, feature enhancements and fixes, please consult the Catalogic ECX 2.5.1 Release Notes at the Catalogic ECX My Support portal. https://mysupport.catalogicsoftware.com/ New Feature Information for Catalogic ECX 2.5.1 Oracle Support Enhancements Oracle on AIX ECX CDM support for Oracle has been extended to AIX platforms. Supported versions include Oracle 11gR2 and Oracle 12c on a physical or virtual AIX machine running the following OS: AIX 6.1 TL9 and later AIX 7.1 and above Note: Oracle support for virtual servers requires Oracle data and logs to be stored on disks connected to the virtual server using NPIV. Oracle configured with virtual SCSI disks is not supported. Supported storage platforms include: Spectrum Virtualize Software version 7.3 and later, including IBM SAN Volume Controller, IBM Storwize, and IBM FlashSystem V9000. Spectrum Accelerate version 11.5.3 and later, including FlashSystem A9000/ A9000R and IBM XIV storage systems. Pure Storage FlashArray//m and FlashArray 4xx series running Pure Storage REST API version 1.5 and later. Extends Copy Data Management for Oracle to AIX platform.
Oracle Database Protection in NOARCHIVE LOG mode Protection of Oracle databases running in NOARCHIVELOG mode are now supported for both cataloging and copy use cases. You can recover a database to the point of the most recent snapshot. PIT recoveries are not supported for databases running in NOARCHIVELOG mode. Extends Copy Data Management features for additional Oracle configurations enabling additional use cases. Replace Existing Database This option replaces an existing database with the same name during recovery. Enables flexibility in Oracle recovery options Oracle 12C storage snapshot optimization The Oracle copy workflow now leverages the Storage Snapshot optimization feature of Oracle 12c to further save time and reduce the overhead on the production server by eliminating the need to put the Oracle database in hot backup mode. Full and PIT recoveries are fully supported. Improves efficiency in protection of Oracle 12 database by reducing the impact on product database servers while retaining all recovery capabilities Advanced Recovery Options Advanced Options are added to Oracle-based Application Use policies using Instant Database Recovery and DevOps workflows. Advanced Options override default ECX behavior and offer advanced database recovery options. Mount point rename option controls how mount points and ASM diskgroups are renamed when they are mounted on the destination host/cluster during recovery Init Params option controls the initialization parameters used to start up the recovered database Advanced Recovery options facilitate custom recovery use cases SQL Support Enhancements SQL version support extended SQL Server 2012, SQL Server 2014, and SQL Server 2016 standalone and AlwaysON, installed to a virtual machine using a VMDK configuration, running Microsoft Windows 2008 R2, 2012 R2, and 2016. Extends SQL Server version support Roll Back Uncommitted Transactions SQL-based Application Use policies now additionally support the option to recover a database and keep it in NORECOVERY mode. NORECOVERY allows the Database Administrator to restore additional log backups manually. While the database is in this state, users are not able to connect or access this database. Enables additional flexibility for custom recovery of SQL databases VMware vrdm support VMware and SQL Server VADP copy policy now supports protection of VMs configured with a vrdm configuration. Extends protection use cases by enabling support for additional configurations Improved IP reconfiguration The IP reconfiguration feature in Use Data policies can now leverage domain user accounts. Improves security and enables authentication flexibility 2 of 6
General Enhancements Auto Restart of failed jobs post reboot If the virtual appliance is shut down while jobs are in progress, jobs will now automatically restart once the virtual appliance is back online. Improves operational usability Identity-based Registration Identity-based registration is now supported for NetApp ONTAP, DPX, IBM Spectrum Accelerate, IBM Spectrum Virtualize, IBM Spectrum Protect Snapshot, DellEMC, and VMware providers. Improves security by providing uniform authentication method across all storage providers IBM Spectrum Accelerate Replication Replication-based workflows are now supported for IBM Spectrum Accelerate storage, including Golden Snapshot support for thin provisioned pools. Extends and leverages IBM Spectrum Accelerate storage replication functionality for additional copy data management use cases Target Volume Autogrow Target volumes and datastores can now be automatically expanded in response to space usage requirements for VADP-based VM Copy Workflow and storage replication workflow. The Autogrow feature is supported for the following storage systems: Spectrum Accelerate, XIV and Spectrum Virtualize Pure Storage systems ONTAP 8.2 and above 7-mode and Clustered Data ONTAP Improves operational usability by automatically adjusting target volume size on demand Validate Application Server Connection Connections to Application servers can be validated after registration through the new Test & Configure option. Application servers also now support auto cataloging upon registration. Improves usability View Relationship View Relationship feature added to Sites tab to view the providers that are associated with the site. Facilitates visibility across your enterprise View Last Run Session View Last Run Session feature added to the Monitor tab, which allows a user to view the details of the most recent run of a selected job. Improves usability and insight NetApp Support Enhancements NetApp ONTAP 9.1 Support NetApp Clustered Data ONTAP 9.0 and 9.1 are supported in compatibility mode. ECX 2.5.1 release doesn t support new features specifically introduced in ONTAP 9.x release. Extends support to latest NetApp operating system 3 of 6
DATA SHEET New Feature Information for Catalogic ECX 2.5 Pure Storage Support Copy Data Management for Pure Storage FlashArray Copy and Use Data policies VMware Copy Data Management VMware Copy Data Services (VADP) for Pure FlashArray storage targets Pure FlashArray support includes: //m series FA-400 series Utilize automated Copy Data Management workflows for snapshots, replication, and intelligent reuse of copies in your Pure Storage FlashArray environment. Extended IBM Storage Support Copy Data Management for IBM Spectrum Accelerate Family Copy and Use Data policies VMware Copy Data Management VMware Copy Data Services (VADP) for IBM Spectrum Accelerate storage targets IBM Spectrum Accelerate support includes IBM FlashSystem A9000/ A9000R, IBM XIV Storage System Utilize automated Copy Data Management workflows for snapshots, replication and intelligent reuse of copies in your IBM Spectrum Accelerate Environment. Incremental FlashCopy Support for Global Mirror Workflows with IBM Spectrum Virtualize Storage Incremental FlashCopy functionality for Global Mirror (GMCV) is supported in IBM storage workflows for use with your Copy Data policies. Provides the ability to refresh a volume in a FlashCopy relationship, enhancing efficiency. Microsoft SQL Server Support Ease of Deployment ECX for SQL Server is delivered as a VMware OVA that is easily deployed in a matter of minutes and requires no host agents. ECX eliminates the complexity of manually deploying and maintaining application agents on SQL Servers. Multiple SQL Server Version Support Supported SQL Server versions include: SQL Server 2012, SQL Server 2014, SQL Server 2016 standalone and AlwaysOn OS Platforms: Windows Server 2012 R2 running on vsphere Virtual Machine using VMDK configuration Supported SQL Server storage platforms include: Spectrum Virtualize Software, including IBM SAN Volume Controller, IBM Storwize, and IBM FlashSystem V9000 systems IBM Spectrum Accelerate including IBM FlashSystem A9000/A9000R, IBM XIV Storage System Pure FlashArray //m series and FA-400 series NetApp Storage system running Data ONTAP software SQL Server residing on any storage can also be protected to one of the supported storage system using the VADP copy policy. Supports a broad range of storage platforms and SQL Server versions. 4 of 6
DATA SHEET SQL Server Copy Data Management Self-Service Provisioning for SQL Server Copies Data Masking This feature to be released in 2.5.1 service pack End users can provision their own copies of SQL data or SQL virtual machines. ECX includes integrated data masking workflows with the ability to leverage third party masking tools. ECX also supports built-in dynamic data masking for SQL Server 2016. Data consumers, such as DBAs or reporting teams, can access their own data as needed without IT intervention, improving productivity and time-to-market. Enhances security of confidential data; assists with meeting compliance requirements. SQL Server Log Management ECX supports SQL Server log backup at specified frequencies. ECX automatically truncates logs of SQL Server databases that it backs up. Point-in-time recovery from logs enables recovery of transactions that occur between hardware snapshots. Pre/Post Script Support ECX supports invocation of pre- and post-scripts for SQL Server copy data and use data policies. Enables further customization for application integration support. SQL Server Use and Recovery Multi-Purpose Snapshots Each ECX snapshot can be used for multiple purposes, instantly and with no network impact. Uses include dev-test, DevOps, recovery, business analytics, auditing, reporting, etc. Instant Point-in-Time Recovery Through the Instant Access feature of ECX, snapshotted databases are cataloged and instantly recoverable with no physical transfer of data. Point-in-time recovery is supported with log forwarding. Meet stringent RPOs and RTOs. Oracle Support Enhancements Log Management Improvements Oracle Application Copy Data policies support additional archive log destinations as well as universal destination mount points. One or more databases can be selected with each database having its own log destination. Archived logs are automatically deleted when no longer required for Point-in-time recovery. Point-in-time recovery from logs enables recovery of transactions that occur between hardware snapshots. RMAN integration Improvements ECX now supports On-Demand RMAN cataloging during Instant Access application server recoveries. Improved flexibility and usability. Pre/Post Script Support ECX supports invocation of pre- and postscripts for Oracle copy data and use data policies. Enables further customization for application integration support. 5 of 6
DATA SHEET Additional Storage Array Support Oracle copy data management is now supported for the following storage arrays: Pure Storage FlashArray IBM Spectrum Accelerate Broadens supported arrays providing flexibility and choice. DevOps and IT Modernization DevOps Plug-ins for Puppet and Jenkins ECX Puppet plug-in available via Puppetforge. https://forge.puppet.com/catalogic/puppet ECX Jenkins plug-in available via Catalogic ECX Marketplace. Plug-ins make it easier to integrate Catalogic ECX with Puppet and Jenkins DevOps tools to provide automated infrastructure as part of the DevOps process AWS Storage Gateway AWS Copy Destinations Additional Region support Usability Improvements View Associations Worldwide region support for AWS S3 destinations. ECX provides a visual representation of resources that are associated with resource pools and roles. Make use of popular and cost-effective AWS storage repository for long-term data retention. Helps ensure that associations among resources remain intact. User Interface Improvements ECX interface consistency and theme are improved. Improves overall user experience. Reporting Application-based Reports SQL Server Application Configuration Report and Application RPO Compliance Report are provided. Tracks application resources. Reporting Enhancements Existing reports are updated to support IBM Spectrum Accelerate and Pure Storage FlashArray. Extends reporting for new storage platforms. Copyright Catalogic Software 2016 50 Tice Boulevard, Suite 110 Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677 201.249.8980 U.S.A. catalogicsoftware.com United Kingdom: +44 (0) 207 712 1667 Germany: +49 (0) 2102 307614 0 Netherlands: + 31 (0) 20 347 23 88 Catalogic is a registered trademark of Catalogic Software Inc. ECX is a trademark of Catalogic Software Inc. All other company and product names used herein may be the trademarks of their respective companies. Alliance Partner ECX 2.5 WHAT S NEW, DECEMBER 2016