The last Status Report was in June of this year, so I would like to bring you up to date on a few items.
I would like to discuss the following subjects:
1. Bacula Release Status
2. Bacula Binaries
3. Windows Binaries
4. Next Bacula Version
5. New Website
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1. Bacula Release Status
The latest Bacula version 9.2.2 was released today to Source Forge and to www.bacula.org. This is a small update to the previous version.
2. Bacula Binaries
Thanks to the build support from Bacula Systems, we now have binaries for a number of popular distributions (the 9.2.2 binaries will be coming shortly). If you need additional distributions, please notify us on the bacula-users email list. However, please realize that it takes time to make new distribution releases, and if it is not a platform that is supported by Bacula Systems, it takes even longer for us to install and configure those platforms for the binary build process.
The release format is with standard packaging using debs rpms, … that are specific to each system. However, unlike most Linux distributions, we install the Community Binaries into the directory /opt/bacula as recommended in the Bacula manual and as used by the Bacula Enterprise Edition. This Bacula file release standard is not uncommon and vastly simplifies installation, support, backup and recovery of Bacula itself. Basically, most of the release will be installed into /opt/bacula except for the few system files that must be placed in certain locations such as the start/stop scripts and the man text.
One change is that we ask you to register to get access to the binaries. This is very similar to signing up for the email lists. We have always been interested in who is using Bacula, and provided you supply correct information, this registration will help. You will be asked a few simple questions and also be given an opportunity to receive the Bacula Enterprise Newsletter. If you decline the newsletter, you will not be bothered. The advantage of getting the newsletter is you will be informed what is coming in the next Enterprise releases, which means that most of those features will follow into a subsequent community release.
To register and get access to Bacula pre-built binaries please go to www.bacula.org and on the main menu bar select Downloads -> Bacula Binary Package Download, then fill out the registration. Note, ultimately you will receive a special download link that will give you access to the binaries. Please keep that link for future access to the binary repository for updates and new releases.
3. Windows Binaries
Since version 9.0.0, we have re-integrated the Windows File daemon source code, and built Windows Binaries packages. They can be found in www.bacula.org -> Downloads -> Binary Download Center. Version 9.2.2 are currently available.
4. Next Bacula Version
We have begun working on the next version of Bacula. This release will most likely be called version 9.4.0. Aside from backports of minor new features and bug fixes from Bacula Enterprise, it also includes Cloud drivers that work with Amazon S3. It will also work with any truly S3 vendor. Please note: Oracle and Google has so called S3 service but they are not compatible. Windows, of course, has Azure, which is very different. Thus, Oracle, Google, and Windows Azure are not compatible with the up coming release 9.4.0. Hopefully this release will be available before the end of the year or at the latest, early next year.
5. New Website
As many of you have noticed, we now have a new more modern Website. Many thanks to Sasha, Andrei, Davide, and Rob for making this happen. Due to the complexity of current websites that user WordPress as we do, it is a tremendous amount of work to make this kind of change. I also would like to thank all of you who gave your comments on preliminary versions of this new website. We took into account every comment and many of them were extremely helpful.
Thanks for using Bacula — be happy.
Kern