TrueImage Enterprise Server 9.1: Bug List

So I've been evaluating a demo of TrueImage Enterprise Server 9.1.3633 (3602 before that) and I'm about ready to tear my hair out, which means it's probably time to take a look at a different product suite. Here's a list of problems I've run into that perhaps someone from support can comment on.

1. I have two administrator accounts. Depending on which one I create a scheduled task with, the other one can't start the job. I receive Error 1314: A required privilege is not held by the client. If I delete the task and make a new one, then it works (for that account but then not the other one). Why is the account I create the task with tied to task execution? And how about a more useful error message, LIKE WHICH PRIVILEGE IS BEING REQUESTED. This bug has been around forever, please enhance the error message and/or fix the issue!

2. Sometimes when trying to disconnect within the Management Console, if the connection has already been broken (like a network link down), the client just sits there forever trying to disconnect. There's some kind of network thread issue going on. When the link breaks, the client should realize this and terminate the connection, not sit on the disconnecting screen forever. I should never have to use End Task on the console, but it's often my only recourse.

3. None of the columns when connected to Backup Server are resizeable. Because of this, there is no way to see the full text of the backup location, etc.

4. The archive Description column in Backup Server Manage Archives is always blank and never populated with what I typed into the original backup task.

5. I only seem to be able to backup one target/task per machine to the Backup Server. Trying to backup two partitions as separate tasks results in the agent freezing (stuck at 0%) when it tries to run the second task. It doesn't matter which order I run them in, the first one works, the second one freezes. Is Backup Server only meant to handle one archive per computer? That would seem very odd, but if so, why can I schedule two different tasks on one workstation both pointing to the backup server? Trying to create a second task should fail or at least generate a warning so that I'm aware of the conflict. It should NOT just freeze a backup task with no displayed message. I have to say, if only one task per computer can backup to the Backup Server, that pretty significantly limits its utility.

6. On a computer that has 3 partitions being backed up within a single archive, I am only able to backup to the backup server once. It runs successfully, however, if I click to run the task again it just hangs at 0% and never proceeds. A single partition appears to work fine.

7. Cancelling a task hung at 0% is not possible. I click the button, acknowledge I want to cancel, the button grays out, but it never stops. That should never happen. CANCEL MEANS CANCEL!

8. I have periodically been unable to delete backups stored on the backup server. I go to the Administrator Profiles section, select the computer name, and select Clear. It tells me it's going to delete them. Then I check the location in Manage Backup Archives (and on disk) and they're still there. What gives? CLEAR MEANS CLEAR!

9. I am unable to edit any tasks created which backup to a backup server. When I click edit, I am greeted with the well documented bug here E00640064: Cannot resolve the destination path for the backup archive. The path is unusual, however, as it says: bsp://servername/\backupserver\BackupServer

Whose brilliant idea was it to prevent someone from editing the task after an error like that? Strangely enough, the task will execute with this bizarre path and seems to work fine, but I can not edit the task. Every task on every workstation configured to use the backup server has the same issue.

10. Using the console to remotely edit the source folders of a task which backs up files and folders loses the original folder selection every time. You either have to edit the task using the local server client from that machine, or you have to sit there and reselect the original criteria. The management console should NOT lose the selections just because the task is being edited remotely.

11. Backup Server doesn't uninstall cleanly. I put it on a different machine to test if some of these issues were specific to the original server I selected, but all of the same issues were present with the backup server on a different machine. I uninstalled Backup Server, uninstalled Agent, rebooted, and reinstalled Agent but it still shows up in the backup server list from every other client. Why is it in the backup server list if Backup Server is no longer installed on it? UNINSTALL MEANS UNINSTALL!

12. E-mail notification does not send proper carriage returns so the message received is practically illegible. On top of that, the date/time stamp is not included, so the message always comes in with some 1969 year, placing it at the bottom of my inbox where it's unlikely to be noticed.

13. Scheduling time formats are inconsistent. I've noticed some screens use AM/PM, some use 24 hour format. Pick one.

14. VSS and Dynamic Disk support should be enabled in the Workstation Agent too. These are not Windows Server only features and should not be restricted to your Server only product line lest small business and home users feel like they're being taken advantage of.

15. For the backup of sensitive information, I have concerns about the security of the archives. The user names and passwords appear to be stored in various scripts and configuration files using what appear to be reversible symmetric algorithms. Assuming someone gains access to those files, it seems reasonable to assume those ciphers will be decoded and the archive password retrieved. In addition to the archive password, I don't like that my Backup Operator or Administrator accounts are also stored in this format. Asymmetric algorithms such as RSA are infinitely more secure than what appears to be this basic ciphered password approach.

16. Why aren't your release notes for each version made public? It's not a trade or government secret. We need to know what changes and fixes are made between version releases.

From searching the forums, it seems like many of these issues have been around for some time, which boggles the mind considering how as a developer myself I know tweaking the resizability of a column, printing more useful error messages, or allowing editing of a task with a bad target path takes only 5 minutes to fix!

In the past I've had good experiences with your Home edition, but your Workstation and Server editions have some serious flaws that don't seem to be getting noticed or corrected. I can't count the number of posts here where someone responds to these bug reports, "yes we're looking into that for a future version," and then I check the date and it's from 3 years ago and still hasn't happened. I urge you to devote some additional resources to Quality Assurance and to Development to nail down the growing defect list. As many of the ones I listed above are showstoppers, I can only recommend Acronis for casual home use at this time.

 

Hello athos,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis Remote Server Backup Software.

Could you please make a screen shots illustrating the issue or at least let us know which exact screens of the Schedule Task Wizard show different time formats?

Please note that we do have plans to implement the support for Windows Dynamic Disks in the future Acronis True Image Workstation versions. I'm afraid that the exact time frame for this feature to be implemented is not decided yet.

Please be aware that we have already received similar requests from other people. They have already been forwarded to the respective person and will certainly be considered.

I've forwarded other issues you reported to the responsible support engineer and will inform you about the results of his investigation as soon as possible. As this can take a few days we apologize in advance in any delay with the response.

Thank you.
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Alexey Popov

 

The Schedule Task Wizard is AM/PM, but the Automatic Consolidation and Backup Management Wizard (from Backup Server) is in 24 hour format. A screenshot is attached.

I appreciate you having someone look into the other defects. Having good experiences with the Home edition of your product, I did not expect to run into so many issues in the Server edition, and it made for a frustrating, time-consuming evaluation. That 1314 error I mentioned occasionally plagues even the Home install (also documented here in the forum), so I really hope some steps are finally taken to enhance that particular error message to aid system administrators in assigning the correct privilege.

 

I forgot to mention, when you schedule that consolidation task, one would expect to be able to monitor it somewhere -- see when it runs, kick it off manually, cancel it, change the schedule, etc. With that wizard, once you schedule the task, you never see it again. It would be useful if this task showed up in the regular backup tasks view on the backup server so it has greater visibility. I haven't tested the scenario, but seeing it in Group Server would also be useful so an administrator would know whether or not it is a good time to shutdown the server. Otherwise, a reboot might be issued in the middle of consolidation.

 

Hello athos,

I'm very sorry for the possible misunderstanding. I've just checked the time setting in the Schedule Task Wizard and was unable to find any references to the AM\PM format (see the screen shot below). Could you please clarify the issue once more?

I've forwarded your suggestion to our Development Team so that they will certainly take it into consideration. The corresponding functionality will probably be implemented in the future Acronis True Image Enterprise Server for Windows builds\versions. Your collaboration on this matter is very much appreciated. If you have any further suggestions concerning Acronis True Image functionality please feel free to post them in Acronis True Image WISH-LIST thread.

Thank you.
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Alexey Popov

 

Hmm - let us not edit our posts 4 hours after they've been responded to anymore, please.

 

The edit was to correct a typo as I'm sure Mr. Popov can attest to if it bothers you that much.

 

Very unusual, this is what mine looks like from the Management Console.

 

Hello athos,

Well, I made some testing and found out that the time format shown in Acronis True Image wizards depends on the time format selected in Windows options (Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options -> Regional Options tab -> Customize). In other words, 24 hour time format is shown in the Automatic Consolidation and Backup Management Wizard because Backup Server is installed on the machine where Windows has 24 hour time format settings and AM\PM time format is shown in the Schedule Task Wizard because Windows installed on the client you connected to has AM\PM time format settings.

As for another issues you reported, they are still in the process of the investigation. I'll inform you about the results as soon as I'll receive a response from our experts.

Thank you.
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Alexey Popov

 

That's actually a nice feature. But, I haven't changed those settings since I installed Windows on either machine. And as you can see from the attached screenshots, both are in 12 hour format yet I still get 24 hour on the backup server screen I mentioned (not on the schedule tasks screen).

I look forward to hearing from you on those. They are, of course, a lot more important since they prevent the application from functioning.

I have one more item to add to the list. After taking a few backups, I've noticed that I can not restore any of them. When I select the restore option, pick the backup server, and then give an admin login, it just gives me the all too familiar hour glass and won't progress to the next screen. After leaving it for about an hour, I killed the task. It seems to happen with every backup on the backup server.

Here's a brief recap of my recent backup server tests and failures:
1) On a workstation, use the console to connect to another workstation with agent installed. Create a new task. On the screen just prior to schedule, it hangs. I kill the console app, switch to a different administrator account and if I'm lucky I can create the entry. Maybe it has to be the same admin account I installed agent from? Shouldn't matter though or I don't see the point in backup server allowing multiple admins to be assigned.
2) Once a task entry is created that targets a backup server, I can not edit the task again due to the error I reported, but I can run it depending on the account I use to start the job.
3) Scheduled tasks launch but sit at 0% and never progress.
4) I am unable to restore backups that are created. After selecting the backup server as the source for archives, the console hangs.

I'm working with a group of 5 machines and these issues happen on every single one of them. I've installed backup server on 2 of the 5 and have the same issues regardless of the backup server I choose. As mentioned, I am also unable to fully uninstall the backup server from one of them even though I've verified the files and service are gone.

As you can see, the backup server is not functional in any useful manner for me. I can not reliably launch backup tasks, I can not modify a backup task once I've created it, and I can not restore a backup even if I do manage to take a successful one.

 

Hello athos,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis Remote Server Backup Software.

Please accept our apologies for the delay with the response.

I would like to provide the results of the investigation concerning problems in your posts.

The issues 1, 2, 3, 7,10,11 have been reproduced by our Testing Team and forwarded to our Development Team. They will be fixed as soon as possible.

The issue 9 has been already fixed and the fix for this problem will be available in the next build of Acronis True Image 9.1 Enterprise Server we release. We plan to release it in the nearest future as soon as we finish testing it.

The issue 4 can't be reproduced by our Testing Team, I'm afraid.

The issue 5. Please note that Acronis True Image doesn't allow to run 2 tasks simultaneously. When first task is running, the second one stands in line. However, we recommend you to install build 3666 and see how it works.

The issue 6. We can't reproduce this problem. Please go at C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Acronis\TrueImage\Scripts and provide the script of failed task.

The issue 8. We can't reproduce it too. Please provide us with Backup.fbd file and logs files of Backup Server which you can find in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Acronis\Backup Server.

As for issue 12, our Expert Team says that this issue is related to the setting of your Windows. It isn't related to Acronis software.

Please install the latest build (3666) of Acronis True Image 9.1 Enterprise Server and see how it works. If the problem still persists, please create Windows System Information of the computer where Backup Server is installed as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

If you send us Windows System Information requested above, we will try to investigate this problem.

If your trial version has expired, please contact our Support Team and they will provide you with the new one or full version for testing purposes.

Please submit a request for technical support using Ask a question before you purchase Acronis software link. Attach all the collected files and information to your request along with the step-by-step description of the actions taken before the problem appears and the link to this thread. We will try to help you as soon as possible.

Thank you.
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Tatyana Tsyngaeva

 

Thank you for investigating the reported issues. I have some additional feedback.

Issue 5: I'm aware the jobs are queued and run sequentially. The reported problem occurs after the first job has completed and the second job beings. It starts, but then sits at 0% and never progresses. This may have been related to Issue 6 or to the alternate Administrator account issue I reported.

Issue 12: Please check with your Expert Team and provide additional details as to how my "setting of Windows" could be responsible for an improperly formatted e-mail and a constant 1969 timestamp. We use a few other applications that send automated e-mails and it is only this Acronis product that has a problem. Given that these other applications work fine, it is unlikely that this is anything but an Acronis issue. However, if you can indicate which settings would cause this behavior, we can resolve this.

I have uninstalled all Acronis products from these machines (and I had to use the registry editor to do it because your uninstalls leave a ton of garbage behind, even after reboot). If time permits I will try the new version, attempt to reproduce the outstanding issues, and then send you the information you requested.

 

Actually I am experiencing issue 8 as reported above as well.

When I attempt to CLEAR the backup server's location, the files remain - nothing is cleared.

Is there any other update on the issues that HAVE been reproduced by the development team? This is an important thread...


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