Release Notes V8 build is 10695 (24 February 2017)
Core
Synchronous Replication
We recommend checking with StarWind Support and Knowledge base before upgrading old versions.
Release Notes V8 build is 10547 (26 January 2017)
Core
iSER Protocol
iSER can be used for client connections and for Synchronous Replication. Mixed scenarios are supported: iSCSI access for client connections and iSER protocol on HA synchronization channel.
Please join our forums for discussion.
VMware Virtual Volumes
Cache
Flash Cache
Synchronous Replication
Tape Redirector
SPTD driver installation is required for this mode. SPTD mode is used automatically as soon as the driver is installed.
LSFS
Experimental version of LSFS module included. This version contains a lot of performance optimizations and the capability to store metadata on Flash storage instead of RAM
Virtual Tape
Added option for storing Virtual Tape files on custom path.
Known Issues
Pausing the VM with running service under load may lead to split brain issues in devices with Synchronous Replication and data corruption.
Release notes V8 build 9996 (25 August 2016)
ASynchronous Replication
Old format assumes direct reference to .img file from HA device. Starting from V8 version HA devices use simple device as a storage.
Release Notes V8 build 9980 (23 August 2016)
Virtual Tape Library
Flat storage
Release Notes V8 build 9781 (30 June 2016)
Cache
Flash Cache
Service can be switched to experimental cache module with Management Console: select the server, switch to Configuration page, Experimental Features section.
Switching to experimental cache module affects operation of L1 cache as well.
Experimental features are not recommended for use in production environment.
Flat storage
Core
In case when network interface is being turned on and off periodically during certain period, service could crash on processing changed list of network interfaces for iSCSI server.
Web access to Management Console
Release Notes V8 build 9611 (2 June 2016)
ASynchronous Replication
Source node creates snapshots by schedule and these snapshots are replicated to remote node. Local snapshots that have been replicated are deleted.
The number of snapshots to be kept on synchronous and asynchronous node are configured at the stage of replica creation.
Source device can be Flat storage or LSFS storage, replica is always created as LSFS device.
In case the source node is Flat device, additional disk space for write log is required.
Minimum network speed required for aSynchronous Replication operation is 100 MBps.
Notes
Upgrade from previous version: existing asynchronous replicas must be re-created after update to this version to ensure proper operation.
Synchronous Replication
Cache
Tape Redirector
Release Notes V8 build 9052 (19 May 2016)
Core
Release Notes V8 build 8730 (11 November 2015)
Updates in this build:
Management Console
Fixed error with processing Cluster configuration records. If previous version was installed having configured Clusters in Management Console and installation was then updated to build 8716, Management Console crashed in a short time after start.Release Notes V8 build 8716 (6 November 2015)
Updates in this build:
Management Console
Files of devices are stored in separate folders to simplify management.L2 cache settings for synchronous replica can now be set up on replica creation without issues.
Health Status section added to device properties with Synchronous Replication to simplify sync channel status monitoring.
Cluster section has been removed. It will be part of new management functionality, which is being developed now.
Minor changes.
Synchronous Replication
Solved issue where RAID rebuild on the currently synchronizing node affected performance of other nodes.If active node is being synchronized and its partner detects that is has limited performance, it stops synchronization and retries attempt after a certain timeout.
Optimizations for operation with LSFS devices.
Cache
Cache size limit of 600GB removed.LSFS
Fixed error processing when mounting device from existing files.Performance optimizations conducted.
Fixed issues of snapshots management, which in some cases (example: removing device with mounted snapshot) could lead to service crash.
Processing of errors of underlying disk fixed, errors are now translated to client correctly.
Added command that starts forced defragmentation of device.
Important: It is recommended to move data from existing LSFS devices, created on previous versions of the software, to newly created devices after update due to changes in internal data structures.
Flat storage
Performance fixed. Disk access mode changed to use internal disk cache more efficiently. On some SSD drives and some RAID controllers, this error caused lower write speed with small data packets.Core
Service now requires 64-bit OS for installation. Management Console, VSS provider and StarWindX can be installed to 32-bit OS or to 64-bit OS.Known issues
For case of replicated devices, VAAI command may introduce overhead due to additional data synchronizations between replicas.It is recommended to remove CHAP authentication settings before converting single-node device to replicated device. CHAP settings can be applied again once replica is added.
Release Notes V8 build 8198 (11 June 2015)
Fixes and updates in this build:
Core
Fix for error with ACL management: when access rights are edited in management console and service is rebooted after that, some access rights disappear.Management Console
Fix for error with empty Browe window. It relates to old installations, which have been updated from version 5.8 to v8.In some dialogs, where management console shows browse window to open the file or select file name for the new file, open dialog is empty and does not contain files and directories of the server.
It was caused by changes in default access rights for file browser in v5.8.
Virtual Tape Library
Added new virtual device type, MSL8096 (4 tape drives and 96 slots)Added option to split virtual tape image file to parts for more effective file management.
Native Microsoft Windows deduplication works more effectively with files of size less than 1TB (https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh769303%28v=vs.85%29.aspx).
Added option to set custom size for virtual tape image.
VTL management functionality added to StarWindX (PowerShell module and COM-object).
Replication
3-node replication on LSFS: fix for issue when nodes do not synchronize correctly after fail in some cases.Licensing
Error reporting for license registration procedure has been extended to make it more informative.Cache
L2 cache: stability issues are fixed, library works as expected now.Release Notes V8 build 7929 (17 April 2015)
Fixes and updates in this build:
Virtual Tape Library
Fix for error, which led to service crash on tape unload in some conditions.LSFS
Deduplication option enabled. There was an issue with referencing deduplicated blocks, now it is fixed.RAM Cache
Several optimizations to make cache working with optimal performance in cases of cache miss. Implemented asynchronous processing of SYNCHRONIZE_CACHE command, now it doesn't block command queue during execution.Known Issues (fixes are planned for the next update):
3-node replication on LSFS: in some cases nodes does not synchronize correctly after fail.
L2 cache: stability issues found in current implementation.
Initial synchronization for Asynchronous replica for LSFS device can’t be executed after creation.
Release Notes V8 build 7774 (26 February 2015)
Fixes and updates in this build:
Core
Added support for new license types (check the Web site for more information).Fix for processing device records that reference missing header files. Now they are shown in device list as non-active. If device files are removed from disk manually while service is not running, they was not showing in device list after the service is started. This could lead to error, when configuration file contains several records with the same device name (for example, several "ImageFile1" records).
Replication Manager
Fix for issue with switch partner operation. If device has been created in V6 or older version of StarWind, and partner is changed with V8 replication manager, new partner received wrong Vendor ID and Product ID.It was needed to change these values in new partner's header files manually. Now the issue is fixed.
LSFS
Performance optimizations.Defragmentation issues fixed. In some cases, defragmentation process could stop, and device files take more disk space then required. Currently during the normal operation, device files can take disk space up to 3.5 times more compared to nominal device size. Snapshots increase disk space requirements by unique data size in snapshot.
Deduplication option temporarily disabled for new devices.
Release Notes V8 build 7509 (29 December 2014)
Fixes and updates in this build:
Core
Fixed processing for UNMAP/TRIM commands. Virtual device was failing in cases when underlying storage doesn't support UNMAP/TRIM commands, but client use these commands to manage storage.In the same situation, Windows system that is connected to Target with iSCSI Initiator was reporting to system log event with ID 7: "The device,
Release Notes V8 build 7471 (11 December 2014)
Fixes and updates in this build:
Fixed processing for UNMAP/TRIM commands. Virtual device was failing in cases when underlying storage doesn't support UNMAP/TRIM commands, but client use these commands to manage storage.Release Notes V8 build 7354 (5 November 2014)
Fixes and updates in this build:
Core
Fix for issue with service stopping. In some cases service could hang up when stopped under high load. In case of update from build 7145 it's recommended to disconnect clients before update to prevent old version from hanging up. Fix for processing VAAI XCOPY command. When used with VMWare vSphere, virtual device could fail during migration of virtual machines. Performance optimizations for SSD-based flat devices.Caching
Fix for working with extremely small cache size.Management console
Fix for error on managing target groups.Replication
Fix for saving changes in list of network interfaces.Virtual Tape Library
Fixes for reporting device properties to client software. Now different serial IDs are used for tape drive and changer devices.Release Notes V8 build 7145
Fixes and updates in this build:
- Performance fixes for ImageFile (including usage with SSDs).- VTL now works with MS DPM. It still can’t make backup that use several tapes with DPM.
It is not major issue, as DPM has the same problem with other tape libraries ( for example, Falconstore VTL).
Also BackupExec and ArcServe write multi-tape backups to StarWind VTL without any issues.
- Replication manager: fixes for networks validation on adding third node. In some cases this error led to error messages on adding third node to 2-node HA devices.
- Replication manager: ability to select network interfaces that reside in different subnetworks.
- Physical tape autoloader export: in some cases tape drive selection list was empty on the second step of Autoloader exporting wizard. Now filtering can be turned off in this list to make possible selection of tape drive.
- Fix for error on updating existing 6.0 HA devices that use CHAP authentication.
- Fixes in GUI.
Release Notes V8 build 6884
Fixes and updates in this build:
Licensing:
- Free license now have no limitations for single-node devices, as it was in V6.Management interface for Virtual Tape devices:
Fixed bug with display of Virtual tape devices in Management Console.They could be created but was not displayed properly in case of Virtual SAN for Hyper-V license.
LSFS container:
- Fixed bug in LSFS plugin. Deduplication could stop processing duplicated blocks in some cases.This had two consequences:
1) slowdown of storage performance on writes
2) deduplication ratio stays around 1-1.1 even when disk stores a lot of duplicated data.
- Fixes on LSFS container compatibility with beta-2 and beta-3 versions.
In some cases LSFS devices that are created with beta-2 and beta-3 versions of StarWind could not be mounted properly with release V8 version.
Core:
- Fixed issue with processing of stacked devices on license registration.Stacked devices are devices which use one or more underlying simple devices. Example: HA on LSFS with L2 cache (ImageFile).
If service started without license and license is registered, these devices become functional only after restart of the service.
- Fix for error with processing information about physical format of existing physical devices on server.
Service could crash on start when some of existing storage devices report incorrect sector size with values more than 1 megabyte.