What’s New in ShadowProtect 4.2.0

StorageCraft logoStorageCraft has recently announced ShadowProtect version 4.2.0. There are some important points worth mentioning.

INSTALLERS
There are now only 2 installers (instead of Std, SBS, Desktop, etc.)

  • ShadowProtectSetup_4.2.0.exe (Standard)
  • ShadowProtectSetup_MSP_4.2.0.exe (MSP version)

UPGRADES

  • < 4.0.1 Installed
    If the current version of ShadowProtect installed is older than 4.0.1, you must deactivate it, uninstall it, reboot, then install 4.2.0, setup your jobs again. etc.
  • >=4.0.1 Installed
    If the current version of ShadowProtect installed is 4.0.1 or newer, you can install over top of the existing bits and your settings will be preserved. Just make sure that you’re using the right installer (MSP installer for the MSP version, Standard installer for everything else).

LICENSE KEYS

  • Desktop Edition keys – can only be used on non-server OS platforms.
  • SBS Edition keys – can only be used on SBS or Foundation Server.
  • Virtual keys – can only be used on virtual machines.
  • Server Edition keys – can be used on Server, SBS or Foundation Server.
  • MSP keys – works on any supported platform.

LANGUAGES SUPPORTED

  • English
  • German
  • Spanish
  • French
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Portuguese (Portugal)
  • Turkish
  • Chinese (Traditional and Simplified)

RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT

  • Now called Recommended Recovery Environment (RRE)
  • Based on 32-bit x86 Win7/2008R2, now comes on its own .ISO
  • Requires 768 MB physical RAM to function properly
  • Storage drivers need to be 32-bit Win7 or 2008R2 in the REE
  • Legacy Environment is gone (available as a separate download)
  • Fixed a bug that prevented keyboard-only navigation in the backup and restore wizards. (yay!)
  • Experimental support for iSCSI (select iSCSI from the Tools menu).

VIRTUAL BOOT

  • Now supports VirtualBox versions 3.1.0 – 4.1.6 for VirtualBoot

TRIAL VERSIONS

Source: ShadowProtect 4.2.0 change log

VN:F [1.9.20_1166]
Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

GFI MAX Doesn’t Detect ShadowProtect MSP

I ran into an interesting issue where our monitoring software (GFI MAX) wasn’t detecting the installation / existence of our backup software (ShadowProtect MSP Edition).

THE SOFTWARE

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 installation (brand new install)
  • Current GFI MAX monitoring agent (v 8.8.2)
  • ShadowProtect MSP Edition (v 4.15.10.125)

As you can see from the screen shot below, ShadowProtect is actually installed and showing up in the registry, but the Agent is still failing to detect it.

GFI MAX agent insists that ShadowProtect isn't installed

THE SUPPORT

Per a phone call with the good folks at GFI, the GFI Agent is looking for some specific registry keys to determine the existence of ShadowProtect. The keys are in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\StorageCraft:

  • ShadowProtect SBS
  • ShadowProtect Server
  • ShadowProtect Desktop

THE CRUX

The new ShadowProtect MSP version installs itself as “ShadowProtect”, so the missing “SBS / Server / Desktop” bit at the end causes the Agent to fail.

The FIX

I added a new registry key…

Adding a new registry key for ShadowProtect MSP version

…called “ShadowProtect Server”…

image

…and it passed.

GFI MAX agent now detects ShadowProtect MSP Edition

IMPORTANT: I did NOT modify the existing ShadowProtect registry key – I just added a new one. DON’T rename the existing key.

I called the key “ShadowProtect Server” because this is Server 2008 R2. If this was SBS 2008 or 2011 I’d call the new key “ShadowProtect SBS”.

WHY WE DIDN’T RUN INTO THIS ISSUE BEFORE

As we’ve been converting from the old ShadowProtect MSP version to the new one, that old registry key still existed (even after uninstallation).

SIDE NOTE

The two events the monitoring agent is looking for in regards to ShadowProtect in the Application Log are:

  • ID 1120 – ShadowProtectSvc – Success
  • ID 1121 – ShadowProtectSvc – Failure

Also, GFI MAX will not monitor for the following:

  • ShadowProtect IT Edition
  • ShadowProtect Granular Recovery for Exchange
  • ShadowProtect ImageManager Enterprise
VN:F [1.9.20_1166]
Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)