We have just released the 5.2 version of RP4VMs 5.2, here’s the summary of the changes

Auto Registration of Datastores

A new feature is the automatic registration of the datastores for journal VMDKs, during the cluster installation, up to 15 datastores will be automatically registered, they are the 15 shared datastores with the most free space for the ESX cluster the vRPAs are installed, these can be used for placements of the journals, a datastore can be un-registered or the check for Auto-registration can be cleared.

ESXi cluster Auto Registration

ESX cluster registration was a protection pre-requisite in previous versions, if the cluster the VM to be protected is on was not registered, the protect VM wizard would not be able to proceed.

The auto registration feature in 5.2 streamlines the protection process by removing the need to register the ESX cluster prior to launching the Protect VMs wizard.

Automated Provisioning of VMkernel Ports

A VMkernel Port is required for every ESXi host that contains a Production VM, a Copy VM, or a vRPA. In previous versions, the VMkernel Ports would need to be manually created. This communication must be in place to run the Protect VM Wizard.

Starting with 5.2, VMKernel Ports can be created using the RecoverPoint for VMs Plug-in. They can be created during the ESXi Cluster registration process. The Splitter works with specific VMKernel Ports for communication. VMKernel Ports that are created by RecoverPoint for VMs have a unique label.

During the Protect VM Wizard, if the VM is located on an ESXi server without a VMKernel Port a warning is given. This is only displayed if the ESXi Cluster is being Auto-Registered.

New Software Features for RecoverPoint for VMs 5.2

The Journal I/O and Repository Access Filter (JIRAF) is a new automatic feature for RecoverPoint for VMs 5.2.
Here are some key points:

• For Repository and Journal access only
  
• Enhances behavior with VSANs
  
• Removes previous Journal limit of 255 GB
  
• Improves VMDK provisioning time
  
• Requires ESX 6.0U2 as a minimum
  
• JIRAF is a new software VIB
  
• Automatically installed for the ESX Cluster containing vRPAs
  
• Automatically deployed during cluster installation
  

  
  

  Here are the key points for reducing the Production Journal for RecoverPoint for VMs 5.2:
  

• Previous versions required 10 GB minimum
  
• Production Journal Only
  
• 5.2 allows for 3 GB minimum for Production Journal only.
  
• No impact on Failover
  

  
  

  Improvements to vCenter Server integration:
  

• Prior to 5.2 all vCenter Servers needed to be registered
  
• Only vCenter Servers with either vRPAs, VMs to be protected, or Copy VMs should be registered
  
• Support up to five vCenter Servers in Linked-Mode
  
• VMware supports ten configured in Linked-Mode
  
• Only vCenter Servers hosting vRPAs, Production or Copies are licensed
  

  Security enhancements
  

  • During installation, the user is required to replace the default admin user password with a unique password. This password serves also as the password for the root user across all vRPAs in the system.
    
  • The predefined admin user is granted all permissions for managing the system, including SE. For new RecoverPoint for VMs installs, the only other predefined user is boxmgmt (which is deprecated). For upgrades from RecoverPoint for VMs 5.1.1.4 or later, the other predefined users remain as they were before the upgrade.
    
  • The SE permission enables access to advanced support commands. These commands can be displayed by using enable advanced support commands in the Sysmgmt CLI.
    
  • Root access is disabled by default for remote and local access. Access can be enabled (or subsequently disabled) from the Boxmgmt CLI.
    

  One splitter communication mode
  

  
  Starting from this release, only IP communication between the splitter and vRPAs will be supported. iSCSI communication between the splitter and vRPAs is no longer supported.

  You can see a demo of the new release below

  as always, you can download the new release by clicking the screenshot below