Symantec released the Netbackup 7 First Availability (FA) code yesterday!
More info about the FA code (which is the same as the General Availability or GA code) can be found here:
http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/336166.htm
There is a link at the bottom to sign up for the FA program, although since now that it's already released I don't know how they are handling signups that are new. We should see the GA release announcement soon!
Here's some information regarding Netbackup 7:
http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/334273.htm = Back-Level Media Server and Client Versions that are Supported
New Features of Netbackup 7 - Taken from the FA Release Notes
Symantec NetBackup increase the scalability and functionality of NetBackup for its large enterprise customers. The following list highlights some of the major features that comprise NetBackup 7.0
Integrated deduplication:
■ Client deduplication
■ Media server deduplication
OpsCenter:
■ Convergence of NOM and VBR
■ Improved ease-of-use
■ Additional base reporting functionality
■ Direct upgrade path
■ Expanded and simplified deployment
OpsCenter Analytics:
■ Turnkey operation to enable advanced, business reporting
■ Improved reporting features
NetBackup for VMware:
■ Fully integrated with VMware vStorage APIs
■ New VM and file recovery from incremental backups
■ New recovery wizard
■ Tighter vCenter integration
Guided application recovery for Oracle databases
New database agents and enhancements to existing agents:
■ Exchange 2010 support
■ Windows 7/2008R2 client support
■ Support all Enterprise Vault 8.0 databases using the Enterprise Vault Agent including the Fingerprint database, FSA Reporting database, and Auditing database
Enterprise Vault 8.0 support for granular quiescence
Enterprise Vault Migrator is now included with NetBackup
Enhancements to the NetBackup Enterprise Vault agent
Enhancements to the Netbackup for Hyper-V agent
■ New file-level incremental backups
■ Two types of off-host backup
■ Hyper-V R2 and Cluster shared volumes (CSV)
■ Flexible VM identification
Improved SharePoint Granular Recovery
This release adds the following proliferation support:
■ HP-UX 11.31 IA BMR master server support for NetBackup 7.0
■ BMR WINPE 2.1 support
■ Java user interface support on RHEL 5 systems
■ NetBackup Support Utility (nbsu) enhancements
A Little About Netbackup Deduplication (From the Netbackup 7 FA Release Notes):
NetBackup now provides integrated data deduplication within NetBackup. You do not have to use the separate PureDisk interface to deduplicate data. You use NetBackup interfaces to install, configure, and manage storage, servers, backups, and deduplication. Symantec packaged PureDisk into a modular engine, and NetBackup uses the PureDisk Deduplication Engine (PDDE) to deduplicate backup data.
You can use NetBackup deduplication at 2 points in the backup process:
■ On a NetBackup client. The NetBackup client deduplicates its own data and then sends it directly to a storage server, bypassing media server processing. Because unique data segments only are transferred, this option reduces network load.
■ On a media server. NetBackup clients send their backups to a NetBackup media server, which deduplicates the backup data. The media server writes the data to the storage and manages the deduplicated data.
