Changes compared to 24.6.1

New Features​

• Added new “Back up extra system permissions and attributes” option for File and Folders Protected Items

Enhancements​

• Improved the clarity of error messages when data packs are missing from a Storage Vault
• Improved the clarity of error messages when Comet Backup fails to optimize an existing snapshot during a retention pass
• Improved the performance of backup jobs that do not take a filesystem snapshot
• Improved retry behaviour for S3 API requests that fail due to “unexpected EOF” errors

Bug Fixes​

• Fixed an issue where deleted files in a versioned S3 bucket would get undeleted if errors occurred when listing files during a retention pass
• Fixed an issue where installing Comet Backup on a Synology device would cause a warning popup to appear after installation finished successfully
• Fixed an issue where some NTFS volumes could not be recognised as NTFS partitions leading to browsing failure at the time of restore
• Fixed an issue causing Comet Server to crash when a missed backup job is generated from devices with unrecognized timezones
• Fixed an issue with SMB and FTP Storage Vaults overreporting the amount of data downloaded
• Fixed an issue causing Comet Server to crash when attempting to download a DSM 6/7 client installer when Comet Server was installed using the Linux (other) installer
• Fixed an issue with not retrying some types of network error during Reindex or Deep Verify operations
• Fixed an issue with “Hash Mismatch” error messages at the end of a job log if a user profile is being modified frequently
• Fixed an issue with Disk Image backups skipping partitions instead of affected blocks when the underlying hard drive is experiencing CRC errors
• Fixed an issue causing Storage Vault size measurements to be 8x larger against Comet Server Storage Role
• Fixed a Microsoft 365 listing issue where default permissions were receiving 403s from retrieving Site information
• Fixed an issue with restoring files from non-Windows devices to Windows devices when the file name contains a backslash
• Fixed an issue with retention passes on Storage Vaults without Object Lock showing Object Lock specific errors instead of the real retention pass error
• Fixed a cosmetic issue with “failed to list objects with prefix” error messages incorrectly being outputted when an S3-compatible Storage Vault is too busy to be used

Written by Callum Sinclair – Product Engineering Manager.

“What’s New?” is a series of blog posts covering recent changes to Comet in more detail. This article covers the latest changes in Comet Voyager over June 2024. 

There were three Comet releases during June – two in the Voyager release series, plus one update for our Mimas release series.

We’ve landed a few large and exciting features:

Faster Measurement of Storage Vault Sizes​

Enforcing Storage Vault Quotas is an important feature of Comet, providing our Managed Service Providers (MSPs) with the ability to restrict how much data a customer is allowed to back up. This feature offers flexibility to accommodate a wide range of business cases and ensures that resources are used efficiently.

In Comet version 24.6.1 and later, we’ve made a significant enhancement to how we measure the size of stored data in a Storage Vault. This improvement dramatically reduces the time required to start a back up job.

In our test cases, for a Storage Vault with a few terabytes of data stored it would take 10 or more minutes to measure how much data was stored. In Comet 24.6.1 this now takes a few seconds. This change benefits all our customers by enabling faster job initiation, which in turn means that jobs complete quicker.

This improvement not only enhances the user experience by reducing wait times but also optimizes resource usage, allowing our MSPs to provide even better service to their clients. We’re excited about this update and the positive impact it will have on your back up operations.

Software Build Role Tenant Settings​

Software Build Role is a Comet Server feature that is responsible for generating client software installers of Comet. When enabled, it activates the Download Client Software page in the Comet Server web interface.

We have now added the ability to enable or disable the Software Build Role per tenant, providing greater flexibility for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) using Comet. Additionally, we’ve introduced support to configure whether an admin account can change these settings via policy.

These enhancements offer MSPs more control over their software build configurations, allowing for tailored management and improved service offerings.

Constellation Role Memory Improvements​

Constellation Role is a Comet Server feature that provides insight across multiple Comet Servers and is essential tool for automatically removing unused storage. It works by verifying if data in a storage bucket belongs to an active user account on a Comet Server and removes data with no associated user, which can occur if a user is deleted without deleting their stored data.

In older versions of Comet, Constellation Role required a large amount of RAM to perform this function. However, in Comet 24.6.0, we have significantly reduced the RAM usage for Constellation Role, resulting in substantial speed and resource improvements. This means Constellation can prune larger amounts of data faster, and often more reliably.

This has a real benefit for our customers using Cloud Based storage, as removing unused data when it is no longer required is cost effective in the long run.

IP Rate Limiting Added to Comet Server Interface​

To improve the usability of our IP rate limiting controls, we have added the ability to configure them in our Comet Server web interface. Previously this feature was only configureable via directly editing the config file of the Comet Server.

By configuring IP rate limits you can control the maximum bandwidth for IP addresses using regular expressions and set limits in bytes per second. Multiple rules can be defined, creating rate-limiting domains that match incoming requests. Rate limits apply separately to ingress and egress traffic, allowing simultaneous upload and download limits.

IP rate limiting can help maintain consistent performance and fair bandwidth usage across all users, and with our latest Comet release, it is even easier to configure.

Impossible Cloud Webinar​

If you haven’t seen it, check out our recent blog post announcing our Impossible Cloud Integration as well as our joint webinar on Premier Cloud Storage & Backup for Europe’s MSPs on Wednesday, July 17th at 11am CET (Central European Time).

New Charging Model for Hyper-V and VMware Protected Items​

You will notice that Hyper-V and VMware Guests will be charged daily per Protected Item from July.

This updated charging model can lead to a reduction in your overall bill. By charging per day per Protected Item, we align costs more closely with actual usage, potentially lowering your expenses.

We’re committed to continuously improving our services and look forward to delivering even more enhancements in the future. Thank you for your continued support!

We’re proud to announce our partnership with cloud storage provider, Impossible Cloud. As a European-based company, this is a great option for IT Providers with GDPR compliance requirements. All data is securely stored within a European Cloud Provider in top-tier, GDPR-compliant, and ISO-certified data centers, eliminating the need for additional investment in data storage compliance.

Who is Impossible Cloud?​

Impossible Cloud is Europe’s premier cloud storage solution, designed to provide businesses with secure, scalable, and cost-effective data storage.

Their platform features built-in ransomware protection, unlimited hot storage, and 100% S3 API compatibility. Advanced security measures and significant cost savings makes Impossible Cloud an ideal choice for businesses looking to enhance their data storage capabilities.

How the Integration Works​

Comet’s user-friendly integration with Impossible Cloud allows you to easily select Impossible Cloud as your storage solution.

The integration includes Storage Template support for provisioning direct-to-cloud buckets for individual end-users. This feature can use Impossible Cloud’s IAM functionality for end-user support, as well as their partner API for MSPs who are looking to start reselling Impossible Cloud storage.

Object Lock for Protecting Data from Ransomware​

Another great feature we have with Impossible Cloud is Object Lock integration for creating immutable backups. Object Lock puts the data in an immutable state—it’s accessible and usable, but it can’t be changed or deleted. This provides complete defense against ransomware attacks, giving you peace of mind for data stored in the cloud.

Impossible Cloud IAM Storage Template with Object Lock

Cost Savings​

Another aspect that makes Impossible Cloud competitive for IT Providers is their price €7.99 per terabyte per month, with no egress or hidden fees. Impossible Cloud’s has a pay-for-what-you-use pricing structure which is designed to be transparent and predictable. This price is competitive with Wasabi, Backblaze and our own Comet Storage offering, with the benefit of allowing you to pay in Euros if you wish.

More Resources​

Find out more about the Comet Backup and Impossible Cloud partnership in our documentation and on Impossible Cloud’s website.

Webinar​

If you want to learn more about our integration partnership, join us for our joint webinar on Premier Cloud Storage & Backup for Europe’s MSPs on Wednesday, July 17th at 11am CET (Central European Time). If you can’t make it live, you can still register to get the recording sent to you after the webinar.

Register for the webinar here.

Changes compared to 24.5.1

Enhancements​

• Updated Microsoft 365 account listing to append “Disabled” attribute to user mailboxes for later informed inclusion at the UI level

Bug Fixes​

• Fixed an issue where Comet would not retry when cleaning up deleted tombstoned file versions from an S3-compatible target causing the job to fail
• Fixed an issue where granular restores are unable to open VMDKs from vSAN and snapshot extents for VMWare Protected Items
• Fixed an error in Microsoft 365 account listing caused when a personal site is missing an associated user
• Fixed an issue with backups being triggered on client upgrade when new the user profile’s LastStartTime had not yet been set
• Fixed an issue with Windows Server 2008 fallback upgrades where the upgrade fails due to support for TLS 1.2 being dropped

Changes compared to 24.6.0

Enhancements​

• Added a new option in the admin account policies that allows top-level admins to grant tenant admins permission to configure Software Build Role settings
• Significantly improved the performance of measuring Storage Vault sizes before a backup job starts

Bug Fixes​

• Fixed an issue causing Comet to occasionally crash when performing a granular restore from an NTFS file system
• Fixed an issue with the impersonating user banner showing incorrectly for direct user SSO logins
• Fixed an issue with Windows Server 2008 fallback upgrades where the upgrade fails due to support for TLS 1.2 being dropped
• Fixed a cosmetic issue where the Tenant name and “Online” status in the User’s page were not distinguishable in the Comet Server web interface