NetBackup 7.6 First Availability (FA) Program announced for October
Recently, a letter was sent out announcing the NetBackup 7.6 First Availability (FA). If you didn't receive it, here is a crossposting. (Note that I personally have no information beyond what's in this letter - please use the contact address below if you have any questions.)
Dear NetBackup Customer:
We are pleased to inform you that Symantec NetBackup 7.6 will have a First Availability (FA) program. The FA is expected to be available in early October, 2013. Just as with NetBackup 7.5, Symantec is offering the opportunity to obtain and run production-ready General Availability (GA) NetBackup 7.6 as soon as it becomes available. Through the First Availability program, you can take advantage of the latest feature capabilities that have been made available in NetBackup.
What are the key new features NetBackup 7.6?
- NetBackup Accelerator support for virtual machines including applications
- VMware Instant Recovery
- Oracle Policy Framework
- 3X faster backup and restore with MSDP (Media Server Deduplication Pool)
- SLP (Storage Lifecycle Policy) windows and targeted AIR (Auto-Image Replication)
- Replication Director VMware, Application, and Block Array Support
- Extensive support for Windows 2012
Is this an alpha or beta program?
No. First Availability software is production ready GA software that has passed stringent Symantec release and quality criteria. This is not an alpha or beta program and we encourage and fully support FA code in production environments. The First Availability program provides GA quality software to you as soon as it becomes available.
What is the difference between First Availability and General Availability?
The First Availability program allows customer access to software at the same time that it is ready to begin the GA hosting process. The GA software will be available via FileConnect/DVD Media, this will be the same version you receive through the First Availability program and no further upgrade or action is necessary.
When does the First Availability program end?
NetBackup FA code is fully supported through support. Once the GA posting is complete on the Symantec web-site, the software and the e-mail address will be removed from the download site.
What’s next?
Please register here if you are interested in the NetBackup 7.6 Program: https://symbeta.symantec.com/callout/?callid=E473ECD54F244C5A86197A3A555A107F
If you have any additional questions then please send email to: DL-ENG-NBU-First-Avail@symantec.com.
For those who express an interest in participating, expect to hear from us again once the software is available for download.
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