Data Protection Suite Series

This document highlights minimum, recommended, and latest code versions for Dell Technologies Enterprise and Data Center Infrastructure products. Dell carefully evaluates and monitors code deployment data to ensure that product releases meet our stringent expectations to provide our customers with reliable products and solutions.

After a reboot, Windows non-clustered devices were not coming online when using PowerShell to online the devices. Coincidentally, the AppSync plugin was recently installed.

After upgrading Cyber Recovery, the cr_users container does not start.

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When configuring PostgreSQL database backups through the PowerProtect Data Manager (PPDM) Generic Application Agent, the default pg_dump backup script uses /tmp as a temporary staging area before writing the backup data to the Data Domain. If the PostgreSQL database is larger than the available space in /tmp, the backup fills the filesystem, causes PPDM to run out of disk space, and the backup fails. This issue affects PPDM environments using the default PostgreSQL backup script parameters.

After adding a Microsoft SQL Server database asset to a protection policy in PowerProtect Data Manager (PPDM), the system job "Configuring SQL Databases" hangs indefinitely and never completes. The asset appears to be added successfully in the PPDM UI — the policy asset count increases and the asset shows the correct policy assignment — but the configuration session never finishes. Backup jobs for the newly added asset also hang. The root cause is that the PowerProtect Agent Service child process responsible for spawning configuration jobs has crashed or is not running on the SQL Server host. The reason for the child process failure is currently unknown.

The PowerProtect Data Manager (PPDM) VM Direct Protection Engine deployment fails during the initialization phase with the error "Unable to connect to External vProxy on port 9090, the host service is not running." This occurs when a firewall or network configuration between the PPDM appliance and the VM Direct Engine blocks communication on the required ports. This is an environmental/network configuration issue that applies to all PowerProtect Data Manager versions.

Virtual machine (VM) backups protected by PowerProtect Data Manager (PPDM) using the Transparent Snapshot Data Mover (TSDM) solution fail with error codes ABV0016 and ABV0006. The failure indicates the vCenter task for "Cancel SDM Snapshot" completed with an error stating "DPD Sync in progress" or "DPD Snapshot in progress." The affected VM has an orphaned vSphere Snapshot Data Mover (SDM) task that the TSDM backup workflow cannot cancel due to inconsistencies in the Data Protection Daemon (dpd) on the ESXi host. The backups were previously completing successfully before the orphaned task appeared.

PowerProtect Data Manager (PPDM) vCenter asset source discovery fails with error code ADS0001 because the vCenter Server has reached its maximum user session count (default 550). The vCenter rejects new connection attempts with a 503 Service Unavailable error indicating the session limit has been reached. Terminating existing user sessions or rebooting the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) reduces the session count below the limit and allows PPDM discovery to resume.

PowerProtect Data Manager (PPDM) can validate vSphere datastore free space at the start of each backup workflow and generate warnings or fail backups when available space drops below configured thresholds. The datastore free space thresholds are disabled by default. This article describes how to enable and configure the warning and failure thresholds through the PPDM UI so that administrators receive early notification of low datastore space conditions before they impact backup operations. This feature is available in all PowerProtect Data Manager versions.

Deploying a new Reporting Engine or upgrading to PowerProtect Data Manager (PPDM) 19.17.0-10 fails with the error "Failed to start the report service" because the certificate generation process cannot resolve the Reporting Node's IP address via nslookup. The nslookup failure is caused by a malformed /etc/resolv.conf file on the Reporting Node where multiple DNS nameserver entries are merged onto a single line instead of listed on separate lines. This is a software defect — PPDM generates the /etc/resolv.conf file on the Reporting Node during deployment, and the 19.17.0-10 build incorrectly merges multiple DNS entries onto a single line.

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PowerProtect Data Manager backup copies become stuck in an IN‑USE or RESTORING status even though no active restore operations are in progress. The affected copies cannot be expired, deleted, or used for subsequent restore operations. This is a known defect that affects all PowerProtect Data Manager versions prior to 19.22.0‑24 and 20.1.0.1‑10. Upgrading to a version that contains the fix prevents the issue from occurring on future copies but does not correct existing stuck copies. Copies already affected require cleanup through Dell Support.

A Sybase database asset-level backup performed through the PowerProtect Data Manager Generic Application Agent fails with the error "ct_connect(): protocol specific layer: external error: The attempt to connect to the server failed" followed by error code ABG0023 indicating the backup was skipped because data was unavailable. The failure occurs because PowerProtect Data Manager does not correctly pass the asset-level credentials to the Sybase backup script, which prevents the script from authenticating to the Sybase server. This defect affects PowerProtect Data Manager versions 19.22 and 20.1. Upgrading both the PowerProtect Data Manager appliance and the Generic Application Agent to version 20.2 resolves the issue.

An Oracle database backup initiated through PowerProtect Data Manager fails with RMAN‑06059 ("expected archived log not found, loss of archived log compromises recoverability"). The Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) repository contains references to archived redo logs that no longer exist on disk. Typically, the log files were manually deleted from the filesystem without first being removed from the RMAN catalog or control file metadata. Running an RMAN crosscheck to expire the missing archive logs and then deleting the expired entries resolves the issue.

PowerProtect Data Manager SQL database discovery and backup operations fail with SocketException: Connection reset and ConnectionResetError(10054) errors when the network does not allow bidirectional communication between the PowerProtect Data Manager appliance and the SQL agent host on the required ports. The SQL agent may complete its discovery and backup operations successfully on the host side, but PowerProtect Data Manager cannot retrieve the results because it cannot reach the agent.

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PowerProtect Data Manager displays an alert banner in the UI warning that a certificate is due to expire in less than 30 days. The certificate has already been renewed and shows a valid expiration date.

The retention lock disable job in PowerProtect Data Manager fails with error code CPM0016 and the log message "Request entity is too large." This issue occurs when the backup targeted for retention lock removal contains a large number of files, causing the REST API request to exceed the payload size limit that the PowerProtect Data Domain system supports. The PowerProtect Data Domain system rejects the request with HTTP status 413, and PowerProtect Data Manager fails to parse the response. A permanent fix is under development; a manual workaround is available through Dell Technical Support.

Transparent Snapshot Data Mover (TSDM) backup sessions for one or more virtual machines (VMs) fail with the error "Unable to successfully complete SDM Delta Sync operation." After the failure, vSphere Storage vMotion remains unavailable for the affected VMs until restarting the Data Protection Deamon (DPD) and TSDM services on the ESXi host.

Dell PowerProtect Data Manager remediation is available for multiple security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious users to compromise the affected system.

The vSphere Lifecycle Management (vLCM) is being used to manage the ESXi hosts in the environment. The Transparent Snapshot Data Mover (TSDM) vSphere Installation Bundle (VIB) is removed from the ESXi hosts when they are remediated with ESXi host patches. The signed VIB must be added to the vLCM image to show it is compliant and ensure it remains installed during remediation.

An administrator cannot access the PowerProtect Data Manager appliance via SSH even though the PowerProtect Interface remains accessible. This issue occurs for one of two reasons: (1) the administrator attempts to SSH with a user account that was created in the PowerProtect Interface, which does not grant SSH access; or (2) the admin SSH account is locked due to repeated failed login attempts or the SSH password is forgotten. Unlocking the admin account or resetting the SSH password via the vSphere console resolves the issue.

After upgrading to PowerProtect Data Manager 20.1, Disaster Recovery (DR) backups on Windows servers fail with error code ABF0001 ("Unable to commit the metadata") when DISASTER_RECOVERY:\ and file‑system volume backups run concurrently on the same host. The PowerProtect 20.1 release removed the mutual‑exclusion conflict rules that previously prevented these backup types from executing in parallel, which causes Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) writer metadata file contention. This issue affects standalone Windows servers and can also affect Domain Controllers.

During recovery operations in PowerProtect Data Manager, the User Interface (UI) displays inaccurate progress percentages and transitions between recovery phases prematurely while data movement is still in progress. The progress percentage resets between phases, and the UI may advance to subsequent steps (such as "Unmounting backup copy") before the data transfer completes. This code defect affects all PowerProtect versions prior to 19.20 and impacts multiple restore types, including File System (FS), Active Directory (AD), and Bare Metal Recovery (BMR). Dell addressed this issue in PowerProtect version 19.20.0-18.

After completing an Active Directory (AD) system state restore using PowerProtect Data Manager, the temporary folder C:\dbapps_temp_dir remains on the target host's C drive. This behavior is by design. The PowerProtect agent creates this folder during the restore process to stage files that cannot be written directly to their original locations because the operating system holds them in use. After a successful restore and system reboot, the folder is no longer needed and an administrator can safely delete it manually.

After upgrading PowerProtect Data Manager to version 19.18, Oracle self‑service backups that run on the last day of the month or year receive incorrect retention values. PowerProtect assigns the default retention instead of the retention defined in the protection policy schedule for the "last day" interval. This defect affects PPDM builds 19.18.0‑10 and 19.18.0‑17.

The PowerProtect Data Manager interface cannot edit or modify a protection policy and displays a 503 error indicating that vCenter discovery has not been started or is still in progress. The root cause is a stale vCenter Server instance UUID stored in the Elasticsearch database (ESDB) that no longer matches the current vCenter instance UUID. PPDM cannot reconcile the mismatched UUIDs during discovery, which blocks protection policy operations. Dell resolved this issue in PowerProtect Data Manager release 19.14.0‑20.

The PowerProtect Data Manager dashboard displays a health error with a 60‑point deduction indicating that none of the configured DNS servers are accessible. The health check uses ICMP ping to validate DNS server reachability, which causes a false‑positive failure when the DNS server blocks ICMP traffic but remains functionally available for DNS queries. Dell enhanced the DNS health check in PowerProtect version 19.14.0‑20 to resolve this issue.

The PowerProtect Data Manager appliance shows Alert SYS0004 indicating low capacity detected at the '/' mount point.