Linux recovery environment ISO can now be built without Docker on Linux
Creating the Linux recovery environment ISO using Comet Backup on a Linux endpoint can now be done without requiring Docker to be installed. This simplifies the install requirements to build the Linux recovery environment and also reduces how long it takes to build the recovery environment.
VMware Protected Items configured using Changed Block Tracking can now fallback to a full backup
VMware Protected Items that have been configured to use the Latest VM state (Changed Block Tracking) mode will now fallback to performing a full VM backup when Comet detects that more than 50% of the disk has changed. This speeds up the backup peformance when large parts of the VM has been modified.
As part of our efforts to improve the experience of using Comet, in Comet 25.3.0 we have added functionality to automatically change Storage Vault access keys for some of our supported storage providers, allowing admins to manually unlock compatible Storage Vaults without the risk of data loss.
Vaults can also be automatically unlocked when specified criteria, configured in user policy settings, have been met.
The following Storage Vault types are currently supported:
To make it easier to find vaults that are shared with other devices, the "Show Storage Vaults in use by other devices" option has been moved directly under the Storage Vault selector.
This makes it significantly easier to backup to or restore from a Storage Vault that is owned by other devices in the same user account.
Rhea is the latest entry in our quarterly rollup series. It branches off from our main rolling Voyager development into a fixed target for our partners to qualify and build upon.
This Quarterly release is named after Saturn's moon Rhea. Fun fact: Rhea might have its own ring system, which would make it the only moon in our solar system to have rings.
As for the software, Comet 25.2.0 Rhea brings 11 new features and 14 enhancements, including direct virtual machine restores into Hyper-V and VMware, User Grouping, Single device ownership of storage vaults and more.
As part of our efforts to improve the usability of Comet, all Comet Server Roles have been renamed.
Auth Role has been renamed to Management Console.
Storage Role has been renamed to Storage Gateway.
Constellation Role has been renamed to Cluster Manager.
Software Build Role has been renamed to Backup Agent Downloads (and moved to a setting of the Management Console).
These changes better reflect the capabilities of each role making it easier for new and existing customers to understand what each role does.
As part of this change, the Comet Server Service Manager (CSSM) has been renamed to the Comet Core Service Manager (CCSM).
The Comet Server web interface has also been update to reflect this changes, grouping the related side menu pages and settings under each of the new names.
Storage Templates are Comet's recommended way to configure and deploy Storage Vaults for your backup infrastructure. Findng the Storage Templates settings on a Self-Hosted Management Console has been made significantly easier.
In older versions of Comet, the Storage Template settings were found as part of the Management Console (previously Auth Role) settings. This has now been moved to its own settings section which is a lot easier to find.
Restore Hyper-V and VMware Protected Items directly into new Hyper-V virtual machines
Comet 24.12.5 introduces the ability to restore virtual machine Protected Items directly into new Hyper-V virtual machines.
This brings:
Restore Windows & Linux virtual machines: Both Windows & Linux virtual machines can be restored.
Faster VM Restores to Hyper-V: VMs are converted on the fly at restore time into a format Hyper-V can boot.
VM Migrations: VMware (vSphere or VCenter) virtual machines can be restored to Hyper-V using Comet.
Direct restores into Hyper-V is available from the Comet Server web interface and from the Comet Backup desktop app. The following screenshots are from the Comet Server web interface.
NOTE: For direct Hyper-V restores, the Comet Backup desktop app must be running on the same endpoint as Hyper-V is installed on.
Restore Hyper-V and VMware Protected Items directly into new VMware (vSphere or VCenter) virtual machines
Comet 24.12.5 introduces the ability to restore virtual machine Protected Items directly into new VMware (vSphere or VCenter) virtual machines.
This brings:
Restore Windows & Linux virtual machines: Both Windows & Linux virtual machines can be restored.
Faster VM Restores to VMware: VMs are converted on the fly at restore time into a format VMware can boot.
VM Migrations: Hyper-V virtual machines can be restored to VMware using Comet.
Direct restores into VMware (vSphere or VCenter) is available from the Comet Server web interface and from the Comet Backup desktop app. The following screenshots are from the Comet Server web interface.
Restore Disk Image Protected Items Directly into Hyper-V or VMware (vSphere or VCenter) virtual machines
Comet 24.12.5 introduces the ability to restore Disk Image Protected Items directly into a new Hyper-V or VMware (vSphere or VCenter) virtual machines.
This brings:
Restore Windows & Linux: Both Windows & Linux Disk Image Protected Items can be restored.
Physical to Virtual (P2V) Migrations: Physical devices can be migrated to virtual machines.
Faster Disk Image Restores: Disk Image Protected Items can be restored to virtual environments, without requiring physical hardware.
Disk Image restores into Hyper-V or VMware (vSphere or VCenter) is available from the Comet Server web interface and from the Comet Backup desktop app. The following screenshot is from the Comet Server web interface.
Improved User Experience when deleting Default Protected Items created by Policy
Previously, deleting a default Protected Item from a Policy would delete the Protected Item from all Users and Devices the Policy is applied to. This meant it was impossible to remove the Default Protected Item from the Policy, but keep the Protected Item.
In Comet 24.12.5, new Comet Server web interface dialog prompts have been added to give admins greater control over what Default Protected Items should be kept and should be removed. This means admins can make changes to Policies at any time without impacting the Default Protected Items configured.
URLs for Malware and Failed Access Files Are Now Outputted During a Microsoft 365 Protected Item Backup
When Comet skips a file during a Microsoft 365 Protected Item Backup, this can be due to the file being reported as Malware by Microsoft 365 or because Comet does not have the correct permissions to access the file. Now, Comet will list the exact URL of the file it failed to backup and list the reason why. This makes it much easier to debug and diagnose why a file was not backed up correctly.
Automatically Rescan LVM2 Partitions after Disk Image Restore in Linux Recovery Environment
After restoring LVM2 partitions, Comet will now automatically show the new devices in the recovery environment. This means you are able to confirm the Disk Image restore worked as expected without needing to leave the recovery environment.
IP Whitelist Settings Available for Admin Accounts in the Comet Server web interface
Self-Hosted Comet Server Only
To improve secure access to a Comet Server, in Comet 24.12.3 it is now possible to configure allowed IP addresses for admin accounts when logging in. This means Comet will only allow admin logins from a predefined list of IP addresses. These addresses can be configured in the Comet Server web interface.
