Xen Orchestra 4.11

Last release of the year! This 4.11 is among the biggest releases ever (45 issues/enhancements closed!)

Some features of this version:

  • Delta backup
  • CloudInit support
  • Improved filtered search
  • XMPP alert plugin
  • VDI resizing and moving (working on any XenServer version!)
  • better XenServer 6.1/6.2 support

The complete change log is here.

Delta backup

Delta backup is a great and major feature of this release. After a full export, you can now only save the delta from the previous backup. That's really exciting because it's:

  • very fast
  • space efficient (store only delta after a full backup)

Want to discover more about this feature? Read our previous article on incremental backup with XenServer!

CloudInit support

Xen Orchestra is now capable to leverage XenServer and provide a CloudInit configuration to a freshly created VM. I also wrote a detailed blog post about using CloudInit in Xenserver, but also a guide to create a CentOS VM ready with this software (you'll also find a template to download!)

Better support for old XenServer

XenServer 6.1 and 6.2 are slightly different than 6.5: we managed to enhance the XO support for those versions, it should be far better to use now.

Improved search

Our search feature is now faster and better. By using filters like "types" or "states", you can make powerful combo to find exactly what you need!

For example, to find all your disconnected SRs:

XMPP alert plugin

What about to receive alerts on your IM software when a backup is finished? That's now possible!

Auto plugin discover

No more configuration to edit: any installed plugin will be displayed automatically in your plugin view!

Recover mode

You can now recover a VM (even a PV!) if you have troubles with the bootloader for example. Read our complete blog post about it.

Offline VDI moving

Because it's not possible to move a VDI when it's offline (ie: not used in a running VM), we made ourselves a solution for this. And it's compatible with ALL Xenserver versions! Check our full article on this topic.

VDI resize

It's now trivial to resize a VDI, indifferently of its state (online or offline).

Misc

We also improved/add other features, like:

  • setting a default SR
  • improving patch retrieval
  • manual run for backup jobs
  • read-only connection to hosts
  • and more!

Next?

Next release will have:

  • SMB support for remote backup
  • probably something like a "Continuous Replication"...
  • ...and a "Forever Forward Incremental Backup"!
  • spawn multiple VMs at once
  • and much more :)

Don't miss any news! Follow us on Twitter (@xenorchestra) or subscribe to our RSS feed (top right on this page).