Bacula Systems has announced the release of version 18.2 of its backup and recovery software, introducing a suite of new features designed to enhance support for high-performance computing environments and a wide array of virtual machine types. This latest update reinforces Bacula's position as a leader in high-security, high-performance backup solutions for demanding IT infrastructures. The new version comes at a time when the industry is increasingly shifting towards more economical alternatives to traditional virtual machines.
Bacula's CEO, Frank Barker, emphasized that this release underscores its unique ability to handle backups for numerous virtual machine types, enabling organizations to boost security, comply with regulatory demands, and achieve substantial cost savings. Version 18.2 introduces several key enhancements, including improved support for various virtual machine types such as Nutanix, VMware, Hyper-V, KVM, Xen, XCP-ng, RHV, and OpenStack. The update also brings advanced security features, including data poisoning detection, centralized encryption, FIPS 140-3 compliance, and a comprehensive cybersecurity dashboard for centralized security control.
One of the standout features of the new release is the Single Item Restore capability, now available for all Hypervisor plugins. Additionally, Bacula has introduced Hypervisor to Cloud (EC2) conversion, allowing organizations to migrate on-premise backed-up virtual machines to the cloud, providing flexibility and helping to avoid vendor lock-in situations. The Hyper-V support has been significantly expanded, offering enhancements to the WinAPI that enable agentless backups of virtual machines. This includes support for various deployment types, advanced boot handling, and the ability to perform full, differential, or incremental backups without requiring additional storage space on the backup agent.
Bacula's Kubernetes module has also received updates, with intelligent automatic selection of backup modes and expanded protection for additional services within a cluster. The software now supports Amazon Relational Database (RDS) backups and offers improvements to its Microsoft 365 plugin, including enhanced SharePoint and Exchange module capabilities. For HPC environments, Bacula has introduced Quobyte support and efficiency improvements to its Big File Split module, accelerating backups in environments with billions of files. The company has also further developed its deduplication capability, offering new and more powerful scan and recovery tools.
Jorge Gea, CTO of Bacula Systems, highlighted the software's unique selling points, stating that Bacula offers licensing without capacity limits, supports 34 different operating systems, leads the industry in security, scales extensively, provides in-cloud functionality, and is compatible with more hypervisor and container types than any other backup provider. This latest release from Bacula Systems demonstrates the company's commitment to providing flexible, secure, and scalable backup solutions for organizations with complex IT environments. By expanding support for various virtual machine types and enhancing features for HPC environments, Bacula aims to meet the evolving needs of its diverse customer base, which includes government agencies, educational institutions, and large enterprises.
As organizations continue to grapple with increasing data volumes, complex IT infrastructures, and stringent security requirements, Bacula's version 18.2 offers a comprehensive solution that addresses these challenges while providing the flexibility needed to adapt to future technological advancements. The announcement matters because it represents a significant advancement in backup technology that directly addresses the growing complexity of modern IT environments, particularly in sectors where data security, regulatory compliance, and cost efficiency are paramount concerns. The implications include potential industry-wide shifts toward more versatile backup solutions that can handle diverse virtualization platforms while maintaining high security standards and operational efficiency.
