Datto Windows Agent (DWA) Version 3.0 and above: Release notes

Topic

This article contains software release notes for Version 3.0 and above of the Datto Windows Agent.

Environment

  • Datto Windows Agent Version 3.0 and above

Description

The new version represents a major change over the previous version 2.7 with multiple enhancements and performance improvements.

When upgrading from DWA 2.7 to 3.0 a reboot is highly recommended, however, Incremental backups will continue to run until a reboot is performed. The first backup after reboot will be a differential merge.

Releases

Datto Windows Agent 3.0.18.11 - 8-01-24

Bug Fixes

  • Resolved an issue where uninstalling DWA versions caused removal of the entire contents of C:\Program Files\Datto folder, potentially leaving other Datto programs like DWP and DFP in an unworking state.

Datto Windows Agent 3.0.18.10 - 6-26-24

Bug Fixes

  • Agent Interaction with "Partially Loaded" Driver: Fixed an issue where the agent failed to back up due to interacting with a "partially loaded" driver.
  • Snapshot Handling: Fixed an issue causing missed file system changes and corrupted backups due to simultaneous creation of shadow copies by other software. Our agent now handles these situations better, ensuring reliable backups.

Datto Windows Agent 3.0.18.9 - 6-13-24

NOTE  A manual agent update will need to be performed, before the automatic agent update process will resume. For more information please refer to: Manual Update Required for Datto Windows Agents

Bug Fixes

  • Agent Certificate Renewal: Resolved an issue with the agent certificate expiration, which was preventing auto-upgrades. The certificate has been renewed, enabling seamless future updates.

Datto Windows Agent 3.0.18.8 - 4-3-24

Bug Fixes

  • Blue Screen Prevention: Resolved an issue that could cause a Blue Screen showing 'Inaccessible Boot Device' error. Agent logic has been updated to monitor the state of the cbtfilter driver. If the filter driver has been blocked, all backups will run as a diffmerge until the installation is completed successfully and the system is rebooted. Please make the recommended adjustments in your AV/EDR solution as detailed here.

Datto Windows Agent 3.0.18.5 - 3-1-24

Backup & Security Enhancements

  • Optimized backups of VDI assets with 'User Profile Disks' attached to prevent bloat and errors.
  • Improved security for data storage areas.

System Integrity

  • Fixed backup integrity issues to ensured stability during upgrades. Some assets may promote the next backup to a diffmerge to ensure data consistency after this update.

Performance & Control

  • Enhanced system checks for more reliable operation.

Datto Windows Agent 3.0.18.2 - 11-30-23

Improvements

  • Improved Agent diagnostic and monitoring improvements
  • improved the way Agent obtains certificates
  • various improvements around Agent Telemetry
  • added preloading mechanism to be able to control Reusability config for debug purposes
  • improved log collection via dump file

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed the issue with VSS sometimes failed to create a backup
  • Fixed the issue preventing installation due to Certificate Server connection failure
  • Fixed the issue with NTFS compression enabled on .datto folder
  • Fixed the issue with DBMA Agent failure/crash resulting in backups and backup requests to fail due to an unhandled exception.
  • Fixed support for attaching User Profile Disk running off VDI / HyperV
  • Fixed issue when sometimes upgrade would trigger selected files to be deleted
  • Fixed issue when upon Dirty shutdown we cant get Driver status
  • Fixed issue with blocks exclusion associated with certain files (ADS)

Datto Windows Agent 3.0.12.0 - 03-16-2022

Improvements

  • The DattoCBT driver is now WHQL Certified(external link).
  • When upgrading from DWA 2.7 to 3.0, incremental backups will now continue to run until a reboot (recommended). The first backup after reboot will be a differential merge.
  • After a Windows update, only the OS volume will perform a differential merge, rather than all protected volumes. This improvement will save time in resuming a normal backup schedule.

Bug Fixes

  • Windows 11 / Server 2022 is now properly identified and reported.
  • Resolved an issue that could cause DWA to stop running if more than 5 consecutive backups were run within a short time period.

Datto Windows Agent 3.0.3.0 - 08-24-2021 (General Release)

Driver version 0.6.0.0

Improvements

  • Greater VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) integration for improved operating system stability.
  • Simplified driver stack for less risk when upgrading.
  • DWA 3.0 can now operate without a driver installed or loaded, (Only differential merge backups can be performed in this scenario)
  • DWA 3.0 has an additional fallback mechanism to take a backup with no VSS writers involved. (backups will be crash consistent)
  • We no longer require a CoW (copy on write) file for each volume to track changes, saving your drive space, eliminating the need for a minimum of 10 Gb or 10% of free space on each protected volume.

Datto Windows Agent 3.0.1.0 - 03-24-2021 (Initial Open Beta)

Driver version 0.5.0.0

Improvements

  • Better handling of the first backup after upgrading from DWA 2.1+.
  • The MSSearch Service Writer and Shadow Copy Optimization Writer are no longer excluded from VSS backups. This minimizes the impact of Copy-on-Write I/O during regular I/O on the shadow-copied volume.
  • Logging improvements to reduce noisy messages.

Bug Fixes

  • Resolved an issue where scheduling a chkdsk on boot caused a differential merge post-reboot.
  • Resolved an issue where a shutdown tracking file with an open handle could cause backup failures.
  • Resolved an issue where ReFS volumes larger than 16 TB could fail to backup.
  • Resolved an issue where unexpected changes to the database could result in failing backups.

Additional Resources