Storware Backup and Recovery 8.0 Release Notes

Storware Backup and Recovery 8.0 is officially live. This major update prioritizes OpenStack environments with full support for the 2026.1 “Gazpacho” release, an intelligent single-disk attachment strategy, and native Changed-Block Tracking (CBT) for Everpure arrays. The release also transitions Nutanix environments to API v4, introduces SUSE Virtualization (Harvester) compatibility, and overhauls the underlying architecture to guarantee long-term operational stability.

OpenStack: Advanced Protection for the Latest Infrastructure

OpenStack remains a foundational pillar for Storware. Version 8.0 eliminates daily configuration overhead and ensures seamless data protection continuity for modernized cloud deployments.

• OpenStack 2026.1 “Gazpacho” Ready: Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with zero interruptions to your backup and disaster recovery protocols.
• Expanded Metadata Protection: The system now captures extended metadata tied to instances, volumes, and ports. Upon restoration, virtual machines retain their precise original configurations, drastically reducing manual post-restore adjustments. This capability is fully backward-compatible with legacy backups.
• Unified Disk Attachment Strategy (Ceph & Cinder): A consolidated attachment strategy automatically determines the optimal incremental backup methodology for each volume across underlying storage tiers. This eliminates manual backend configuration, streamlining operations in multi-backend clouds and maximizing merge efficiency.
• Everpure Native CBT: Leveraging array-level changes and Everpure (formerly Pure Storage) snapshots, Storware now executes native changed-block tracking. Full backups pull only allocated blocks, while incrementals extract strictly modified data. This shrinks backup windows, reduces production IOPS, and establishes an efficient baseline for subsequent jobs.
• Horizon and Skyline Security Groups: Network security group configurations are now integrated directly into the Horizon and Skyline UI plugins, ensuring recovered instances instantly regain their proper access controls upon restore.
• Custom Skyline Plugins: Administrators can now deploy client-specific Skyline plugin packages, accommodating highly customized OpenStack release pipelines.

Nutanix: Complete API v4 Alignment

Version 8.0 transitions all Nutanix integrations to the robust v4 API, ensuring long-term compatibility with modern Nutanix environments.

• Nutanix Volume Groups: Storware now supports Nutanix AHV environments managed by Prism Central 7.5+ via the v4.x API. This shift enables direct API-based data transfer workflows, minimizing infrastructure dependencies and accelerating operations.
• Nutanix Files: File protection now leverages the v4 API, introducing a resilient, agent-based processing model. Core functionalities—such as file-level Protected Data access and non-destructive skip/overwrite restore options—remain intact.

Kubernetes & SUSE Virtualization

The new release expands container-native protection while seamlessly absorbing emerging virtualization platforms into existing workflows.

• SUSE Virtualization (Harvester): Virtual machines hosted on SUSE Harvester are now fully protected via Storware’s Kubernetes integration. This provides a vendor-agnostic, unified management plane for organizations migrating away from legacy hypervisors.
• StorageClass Agnostic Deployments: Backup operations now execute flawlessly in Kubernetes clusters lacking a defined StorageClass, expanding coverage to encompass non-standard storage architectures.
• Modernized K8s Authentication: Deprecating insecure username/password workflows, Storware now exclusively utilizes token-based authentication to align with stringent Kubernetes security postures.

Streamlined Backup Destinations

Version 8.0 enhances source-to-destination agility, reducing storage overhead and accelerating data movement.

• 9livesdata Integration: Added support for the 9livesdata deduplication target as a scalable synthetic file system option.
• NetBackup Client 10.5.1 & 11.2: A streamlined integration bypasses intermediate file staging, streaming backup data directly to NetBackup. This significantly lowers local staging storage requirements and accelerates data transit.
• Accelerated Incremental Exports: A refined data comparison algorithm drastically speeds up incremental exports while maintaining complete backward compatibility with legacy metadata.

Architectural Foundation: Built for the Future

Extensive under-the-hood upgrades have been implemented to ensure enterprise-grade security, compliance, and maintainability for long-term deployment strategies.

Lifecycle Deprecations & Pre-Upgrade Actions

Version 8.0 introduces specific deprecations based on vendor lifecycles. Existing customers will retain functionality for current deployments.

• Red Hat Virtualization (RHV): Following RHV’s End of Life, official support is deprecated. However, existing environments remain protected post-upgrade, providing a secure operational bridge as teams migrate to alternatives like OpenShift Virtualization.
• Zadara Storage: No new Zadara environments can be provisioned, though existing configurations will continue to function normally.