Release overview 

x360Recover Agent 2.28 is a feature release.

The primary focus of this release is to provide support for Direct-to-Cloud local cache and to enable data compression by default in Direct-to-Cloud mode.

Summary of enhancements

• Direct-to-Cloud local cache option
• Direct-to-Cloud agent data compression

Summary of Direct-to-Cloud hardening

• Increased Backup Complete Check timeout to reduce artificially failed backup occurrences.
• Increase default number of connections in Direct-to-Cloud mode to improve upload performance.
• Fixed internal error causing unnecessary failed backups if flushing data fails to complete.
• Enabled patching dirty hash files downloaded from cloud if local bitmaps are available to eliminate unnecessary full backup attempts.

Summary of bug fixes

• Fixed issue with missing logical partitions inside extended partition when using Smart Recovery.
• Fixed issue with Dynamic Disks incorrectly detected as basic disks in Windows Server 2003/R2.
• Fixed several issues where intermittent connectivity was causing unnecessary failed backups.
• Fixed missing volumes from Extended Partitions when using Smart Recovery.
• Fixed issue with Server 2003 Dynamic Disks not being recovered as Dynamic with Smart Recovery.
• Fixed incorrect internal error case when flush on server fails.

Agent configuration parameters

Agent configuration documentation has been updated to include all parameters implemented in recent versions, including local cache configuration.  The full parameters listing is available at x360Recover - Agent Configuration Parameters

Summary: Local cache feature

Local cache is a new optional feature enhancement for Direct-to-Cloud backups. Local cache stores and maintains a local copy of the backup block data, which can be used to accelerate recovery of the protected system from the Cloud.  Local cache is a deduplicated block store of unique data block and is  maintained on a directly attached storage device (such as a USB drive) or network accessible share point (such as an NAS server.) For complete details on configuring and using local cache, see x360Recover - Direct-to-Cloud (D2C) - Local cache.

Agent data compression

Starting with version 2.28, the agent now supports compression for data transmitted over the network to the server. 

• Agent data compression is enabled by default in Direct-to-Cloud mode and disabled in appliance mode. 
• Enabling compression imposes added CPU overhead and data handling workload on both the protected system and the receiving appliance or vault. 
• Compression is very helpful in cases where data transmission speeds are limited (for example, when internet connections with less than 20Mbps upload bandwidth).
• However, compression can actually hinder backup performance if enabled on very fast network connections (for example, on 100+ Mbps internet connections or on local LAN networks, etc.) 

For complete details on agent data compression, see x360Recover - Agent data compression