©XSIBackup-Pro Classic 8.0.0 ::: A huge leap forward (Jan. 2017)

Version 8.0.0 constitutes the biggest advance in new improvements and stability since ©XSIBackup-Pro Classic 5.0.0. The most remarkable new features are:

• Support for Borg backends: Borg Backup (https://github.com/borgbackup) is one of the fastest Open Source backup utilities out there. It is a fork of the probably better known Python backup software Attic Backup. It features full block deduplication combined with block compression. This two characteristics make it an ideal companion tool to XSIBackup-Pro. On top of that it also offers encryption for your sensible data. But the best part is how easy it is to install, just copy the binary to your Borg server's path.

• Rsync backup to any type of *NIX: now you can backup your VMs to any sort of Linux/Unix compatible OS by means of Rsync. You just need two basic requirements: OpenSSH & Rsync itself. ©XSIBackup Classic uses Rsync 3.1.0 compiled for 32 bit OSs, you just need to be sure your Rsync version on the other end is compatible with it. Rsync is quite flexible in regards to inter-version compatibility, thus, if your remote Rsync binary is not too outdated, it will most likely work. You can even use the provided binary xsibackup-rsync, it will work on most x86/x64 RHEL/CentOS 5/6 and Fedora equivalent. We have also added support for FreeBSD 11, no doubt, one of the best OSs ever made.

• Command line restore feature with VM browser: so far restoring a VM backed up with XSIBackup was quite easy, just copying contents back to their original location, or using the VM directly from its backup location by adding it to the inventory and switching it on were the two available options. Nevertheless with the advent of Borg Backup support, a tool to help restore the contents started to be necessary, and adding Borg restore support without extending it to the other backup methods available was not an option. Now you can browse and restore all your backups at a DS or a remote Borg Backup server and recover a VM from any Rsync server by just parsing its location to the --restore-vms argument.

• Backup certification md5|sha|sha1: ©XSIBackup-Free Classic and ©XSIBackup-Pro Classic use vmkfstools and Rsync, in case of the first and also Borg Backup in case of the Pro version, as the binary copy methods. All of them have their own inner checksum verification mechanisms, which ensure a reliable copy. In any case "paranoia is a mental disease, but it helps to live longer". This is a quote that I heard somewhere and probably has some basic wisdom attached to it. Although it's not strictly necessary, ©XSIBackup-Pro Classic provides a way to certify the contents of the stored files (except in the case of Borg Backup) via applying any of the well knows algorithms (md5|sha|sha1) to both the original and backed up files. This is done after the backup has finished and the checksum is applied to all data files (...-flat.vmdk).