Veeam Backup 4.0 Release

[Gostev]

Is it possible to get a beta version of Veeam Backup 4.0 to test the functionality with Windows 2008R2 x64 and SQL Server 2008 x64 and vSphere?

Falko, this question is actually answered in FAQ section earlier in this thread... for a number of reasons, we do not conduct public betas. We have limited closed beta only, but it is full already, and there is long waiting list too.

One reason for these limitation is due to the fact that betas are not supported by our technical support, instead I personally have to assist customers with all issues, and I do not have capacity to support more than a few customers especially given that beta code has much more issues than release code.

But do not worry, all of the platforms you mention are fully covered with our testing plans.

[typoman]

Sooo...it's early Q4....

[Gostev]

We are planning to make this release generally available in October.

[withanh]

Hopefully sooner in October rather than later It is October now after all

Signed,

Anxious!

[Gostev]

On the other hand, the further into October, the better the quality.
We are close, but our closed-beta dream team has been keeping us busy last few weeks

[withanh]

I know I'm just anxious...my boss is nervous about so many of our jobs failing and taking so long (yes, I am working with support). I keep telling him that v4 is close and will resolve some of our big issues.

[Gostev]

Not sure it will resolve the "failing" part, since 3.1.1 is quite stable based on the amount of support... most issues are environment-specific lately... of course, need to see specific issues you are experiencing, since we did fix a lot of non-critical bugs and annoyances in v4.

But faster - yes, most definitely, v4 is times faster if you are on ESX4, and a bit faster on pre-ESX4 too.

[withanh]

Failures are on replication jobs, backup jobs run fine.

And does "faster if on ESX4" include ESXi4?

[Gostev]

Yes, I should have said ESX(i) 4... multiple great enhancements for replication there in v4, and besides those mentioned in the What's New, MUCH better support for slow links.

[manse]

Hi Gostev

How are you doing with release schedule? Are we going to be getting emails in the next week or so??

[Gostev]

The release is looking good! If you want to receive 1 day before general public announcement, be sure to pre-register (link is in the first post)... sorry, just cannot name exact GA date - for many reasons all I can say officially is "late October".

[Maverick]

The release is looking good! If you want to receive 1 day before general public announcement, be sure to pre-register (link is in the first post)... sorry, just cannot name exact GA date - for many reasons all I can say officially is "late October".

Damn this is most likely going to rule out Veeam Backup for us

With no beta or pre release copy, no demonstation of version 4 and with a release date that keeps slipping I can't delay our evaluation any further as we need to get our product choice finalised next week and it's looking like we'll end up going down the path of vRanger

After problems with another product that we started to implement there is no way I'll be able to sell a product based on "claims" and unless I can find some ultra compelling reasons why we should go Veeam Backup and delay rollout we'll need to compare 3.1 to vRanger 4.1.

[Jonathan]

With no beta or pre release copy, no demonstation of version 4 and with a release date that keeps slipping I can't delay our evaluation any further as we need to get our product choice finalised next week and it's looking like we'll end up going down the path of vRanger

I'm not saying vRanger is the wrong way to go, but you might consider buying the current Veeam release and upgrade in about a month or so. We had to write off $4.000 worth of vRanger licenses because in retrospect, Veeam would have been the better choice for us.

[manse]

The release is looking good! If you want to receive 1 day before general public announcement, be sure to pre-register (link is in the first post)... sorry, just cannot name exact GA date - for many reasons all I can say officially is "late October".

Cool, Ive registered so I'll keep a close eye on my inbox over the next couple of weeks then......

[Gostev]

With no ... demonstation of version 4

This is not correct, our System Engineers have been demoing v4 on request starting 3 weeks ago. In case you missed, we have a link where you can register to live demo with our systems engineer on this page.

with a release date that keeps slipping

This is not correct, as a Product Manager for Veeam Backup I can swear that we DID NOT slip the GA date we have set for this product all the way 3 month ago (which is when the product got into condition where release date became predictable). Many of my colleagues will be reading this post and I would not lie in front of them. We did recently take attempt to release v4 a bit earlier than planned, but based on closed beta feedback we decided to stick with originally planned GA date to better polish the product and implement some feedback.

I can't delay our evaluation any further as we need to get our product choice finalised next week and it's looking like we'll end up going down the path of vRanger

I am sorry to hear, but of course it is completely your choice. I hope you are aware about at least some of the vRanger 4.1 shortcomings. Our competitive analysis against them (that you can request through our sales) is actually 5 pages long bullet list, and having evaluated vRanger in-depth I just cannot understand why would anyone prefer it over the current Veeam Backup 3.1 release (not even talking about v4).

After problems with another product that we started to implement there is no way I'll be able to sell a product based on "claims"

Completely and 100% agree on that one. Do not trust vendors, put the product in the lab instead.