Windows Server Backup - Limitation

1.  Windows Server Backup cant use to back up file and folders on volumes that require more than 2040 GB (or 2 TB). However, as long as the data size is less than 2 TB, you can perform a file or folder backup. For example, you can back up 1.5 TB of data from a 3-TB volume. But, a full server or volume recovery using the backup will recreate a 2-TB volume instead of a 3-TB volume.

2. Only NTFS-formatted volumes on a locally attached disk can be backed up.

3. You cannot store backups on tape. (However, support of tape storage drivers is still included in Windows Server 2008). Windows Server Backup supports backing up to external and internal disks, optical and removable media such as DVDs, and remote shared folders.

4. You cannot recover backups that you created with Ntbackup.exe by using Windows Server Backup. However, a version of Ntbackup.exe is available as a download to Windows Server 2008 for users who want to recover data from backups created using Ntbackup.exe. The downloadable version of Ntbackup.exe is only for recovering backups for older versions of Windows and cannot be used to create new backups in Windows Server 2008

FreeNAS 9.3 Released

This FreeNAS update is a significant evolutionary step from previous FreeNAS releases, featuring a simplified and reorganized Web User Interface, support for Microsoft ODX and Windows 2012 clustering, better VMWare integration, including VAAI support, a new and more secure update system with roll-back functionality, and hundreds of other technology enhancements. We’re quite proud of it and excited to make it publicly available.

You can get it here and the list of changes are here. We encourage all existing 9.2.x users and 9.3 beta testers to upgrade.

Limitations for VMware Fault Tolerance

1. FT protected virtual machine should be running on the supported Guest operating system

2. FT protected virtual machine’s guest operating system and processor combination must be supported by Fault Tolerance.


3.Physical RDM is not supported for FT protected virtual machines but virtual mode RDM is supported

4.FT protected virtual machine should have eagerzeroed Thick disks. Virtual machine with  thin provisioned disk will be automatically converted to thick disk, while enabling FT for the virtual machine. Make sure enough free space is avaialble in the datastore for this operation.

5.SMP (symmetric multiprocessing) is not supported. Only 1 VCPU per virtual mahcine is allowed.

6.Only 64 GB of  maximum RAM is allowed for the FT VM’s.

7.Hot add and remove devices are not allowed for FT protected VM’s.

8.NPIV is not supported for FT VM’s.

9.USB Passthough and VMDirectPath should not be enabled for FT VM’s and it is not supported.

10. USB and Sound devices are not supported for FT VM’s.

11.Virtual Machine snapshot is not supported for FT protected VM’s.FT virtual Machines cannot be backed up using the backup technology like (VCB, vmware data recovery),which uses snapshot feature.

12. Virtual machine hardware version should be 7 and above

13.Paravirtualized Guest OS and paravirtualized scsi adapter for FT protected virtual machine is not supported.

14.Windows Guest OS should not be using MSCS (Microsoft Cluster services) to Protect the Virtual Machine using FT.

15.FT Protected virtual machines should not be HA disbaled by Virtual Machine level HA settings.

16. FT protected virtual machines cannot be migrated using svmotion. If want to migrate FT protected virtual  machine, disable the FT on the VM, Migrate the VM using svmotion and re-enable the FT.

17. IPv6 is not supported by VMware HA so, it is not supported for FT.