Release Information for Pure Storage FlashArray Plug-In for Veeam Backup & Replication

Before installing Pure Storage FlashArray Plug-In v2.1.388, ensure that you are running Veeam Backup & Replication 12.0.0.1402 or later. To check the version, open the main menu of the Veeam Backup & Replication console and select Help > About.

Pure Storage FlashArray Plug-In v2.1.388  supports integration with the following storage systems:

• Purity 6.3 or later

Pure Storage FlashArray Plug-In for Veeam Backup & Replication [2.0.47]

Pure Storage FlashArray Plug-In v2.0.47  supports integration with Purity 6.1 or later, and requires at least Veeam Backup & Replication 12.0.0.1402.

What's New:

Support for Universal Storage API v2, which enables the following additional functionality:

Snapshot replication orchestration – allows backup jobs to leverage existing Pure Storage FlashArray Replication relationships to create storage-based snapshot replicas as additional restore points. This also enables performing backup from secondary storage arrays, to avoid any load from backup activities on the primary storage array. 

• Snapshot archiving orchestration – allows backup jobs to manage the offload of volume snapshots to a different type of storage device via Pure Storage FlashArray Offload functionality and track them there as additional available restore points. 
• Synchronous replication support – allows backup jobs to create coordinated storage snapshots and track them as additional available restore points and perform backup from volumes on both sides on dual Pure Storage FlashArray ActiveCluster configurations that serve the same production volume from multiple storage management backends.

Also, processing of snapshot deletion attempts on arrays with SafeMode enabled no longer produces job warnings and doesn't lead to an increased Veeam Backup & Replication service load.

Known Issues:

• If the server where Veeam Backup & Replication is using a locale that uses a comma as a decimal delimiter symbol, synchronous replication relationships detection fails. As a workaround, change the delimiter symbol to a period via the following registry value:
  Computer\HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\International\sDecimal
• Source/target side selection for synchronous replication relationships occurs based on the host mapping information from the arrays.
  • If a volume only on one side of the relationship is mapped to a host, that side is considered the source. 
  • If volumes on both sides are mapped, the 'Preferred Arrays' setting in the storage management console's host settings is used. If that setting is not configured, the first array in alphabetical order is considered the source.
• Volumes that are part of a Volume Group are not supported for asynchronous snapshot replication.
• For asynchronous snapshot replication, the volume should be added to the Protection Group by explicitly selecting it in the Protection Group settings. In case you've added the volume to the Protection Group via Host/Host Group, make sure to manually trigger the transfer of at least one Protection Group snapshot before adding the target volume to Veeam Backup & Replication otherwise the replication relationship will not be detected.
• For volumes with multiple different asynchronous snapshot replication relationships, the snapshot chain is only kept on one of the targets.
• For volumes on the target side of an asynchronous snapshot replication relationship, the volume size is displayed in Veeam Backup & Replication as '0'.
• Archived snapshots that have been destroyed but not eradicated can still be visible in Veeam Backup & Replication Console and can be used for restores until being eradicated by the storage cleanup mechanisms.
• For volumes in active/active asynchronous replication setups, where automatic asynchronous replication to a DR site from ActiveCluster synchronous arrays is configured, only synchronous replication relationships are detected.
• In case a backup job with snapshot offload option enabled is not configured to keep snapshots on the primary array, the latest archived snapshot cannot be used for restore from archive. This is due to the fact that the latest snapshot is always kept on the storage as a temporary transfer snapshot so cannot be downloaded from the archive. As a workaround, it is recommended to configure the job to keep at least one primary storage snapshot.

Pure Storage Plug-In for Veeam Backup & Replication [1.3.18]

Pure Storage Plug-In v1.3.18  supports integration with Purity 4.10 or later, and requires at least Veeam Backup & Replication 10.

This plug-in version does not support storage replication technologies, but replicated volume snapshots on the target array can be used for restores.

Purity ActiveCluster configurations are supported; direct access to a single proxy server from both storage arrays in the cluster is required.

What's New:

This update resolves the most commonly reported support issues.

Known Issues:

• In case SafeMode is enabled on the array, expect warnings in backup jobs attempting to delete snapshots according to retention, on attempts to delete snapshots manually and delete temporary clones created during backup jobs, rescan and restore operations. Such snapshots are marked as destroyed by the storage array before being finally eradicated according to the SafeMode settings. Deleted snapshots may be cleaned from the user interface with delays when storage discovery actualizes snapshot list.

• For Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows jobs, enabled SafeMode may result in Veeam B&R accumulating information about such 'deleted' snapshots and trying to delete them infinitely. This may lead to an increased load on the Veeam B&R service and result in jobs not respecting the schedule. If you encounter the described behavior, please contact Veeam technical support for assistance with cleaning up the database.