Acronis Backup Service Version 5 ADMINISTRATOR'S GUIDE Revision: 3/9/2016
Table of contents 1 Administrator's Guide ......................................................................................................4 1.1 About this document .................................................................................................................4 1.2 What's new in version 5.............................................................................................................4 1.3 About the backup service .....................................................
2.9.4 2.9.5 2.9.6 2.9.7 Recovering files.............................................................................................................................................. 41 Recovering system state ............................................................................................................................... 44 Recovering SQL databases............................................................................................................................
1 Administrator's Guide 1.1 About this document This document is intended for organization administrators and end users who want to use Acronis Backup Service. This document describes how to quickly set up the backup service and perform backup and recovery. 1.2 What's new in version 5 Quotas for the numbers of protected machines. You can set "hard" quotas and overage for the number of workstations, servers, and virtual machines that an account (p. 8) is allowed to back up.
The following diagram illustrates two hierarchy levels—the organization and unit groups. Optional groups and accounts are shown by a dotted line. The following table summarizes operations that can be performed by the administrators and users. Operation Administrators Users Create groups Yes No Create accounts Yes No Download and install the backup software Yes Yes Manage backup Yes Yes Manage recovery Yes Yes Create reports about the service usage Yes No 1.3.
Agent for Hyper-V backs up Hyper-V virtual machines without installing agents into the guest systems. The agent is installed on a Hyper-V host. Agent for Virtuozzo backs up Virtuozzo virtual machines and containers without installing agents into the guest systems. The agent is installed on a Virtuozzo host. Agent for Exchange backs up Microsoft Exchange Server databases. Agent for SQL backs up Microsoft SQL Server databases.
1.3.3 Supported web browsers The backup service web interface supports the following web browsers: Google Chrome 29 or later Mozilla Firefox 23 or later Opera 16 or later Windows Internet Explorer 10 or later Safari 5.1.7 or later running in the OS X and iOS operating systems In other web browsers (including Safari browsers running in other operating systems), the user interface might be displayed incorrectly, or some functions may be unavailable. 1.
6. [Optional] In Identifier, type a string that will act as the identifier for the group. This identifier will appear in monthly reports, together with the group's usage data. You can use this identifier to refer to this group in other software, such as in your billing or monitoring systems. The identifier can consist of up to 256 Unicode characters (for example, numbers and Latin letters). It does not need to be unique across groups. 7.
. [Optional] Change the Backup notifications level. If you disable backup notifications, the notifications about backup failures, warnings, and successful backups will not be sent to the specified email address. 10. [Optional] Disable Business notifications. If you do this, notifications about exceeded quotas will not be sent to the specified email address. 11. Click Add. As a result: A new account appears in the Accounts tab.
4. [Optional] To generate a report immediately, click Send report now. Enabling or disabling ad-hoc usage reports Ad-hoc report covers system usage data for the specified period with one-day interval. This type of report can be generated on demand and cannot be scheduled. The report will be sent to the email address of your administrator account. 1. 2. 3. 4. In the account management console, click Reports. Select the Ad-hoc tab. In Reporting period, select start and end dates of reporting period.
Step 2: Setting up the Group Policy objects 1. Log on to the domain controller as a domain administrator; if the domain has more than one domain controller, log on to any of them as a domain administrator. 2. If you are planning to deploy the agent in an organizational unit, ensure that the organizational unit exists in the domain. Otherwise, skip this step. 3.
2 User's Guide 2.1 About the backup service This service enables backup and recovery of physical and virtual machines, files, and databases to local or cloud storage. This service is available through a web interface. 2.2 What's new in version 5 Virtualization The availability of the features listed in this section depends on the settings made by your backup service administrator. Recovery to a new VM. Define a new name and exact location for machines that are recovered as VMs (p.
Monitoring Centralized view for activities. The new Activities tab enables viewing and auditing activities from all machines in a single place. Each account has a view scoped to their area of control. Improved problem detection via alerts. The new Alerts tab was added. Alerts are raised not only on errors or failures, but also on frozen, missed, or corrupted backups, exceeded quotas. Once a problem is resolved, the alert is automatically dismissed. Backup Self-service backup monitor.
2.3 2.3.1 Software requirements Supported web browsers The backup service web interface supports the following web browsers: Google Chrome 29 or later Mozilla Firefox 23 or later Opera 16 or later Windows Internet Explorer 10 or later Safari 5.1.7 or later running in the OS X and iOS operating systems In other web browsers (including Safari browsers running in other operating systems), the user interface might be displayed incorrectly, or some functions may be unavailable. 2.3.
Oracle Linux 5.x, 6.x, 7.0, 7.1, and 7.2 – both Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel and Red Hat Compatible Kernel CloudLinux 6.x ClearOS 5.x, 6.x, 7, and 7.1 Before installing the product on a system that does not use RPM Package Manager, such as an Ubuntu system, you need to install this manager manually; for example, by running the following command (as the root user): apt-get install rpm Agent for Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 OS X Mavericks 10.9 OS X Yosemite 10.10 OS X El Capitan 10.
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 – all editions, SP2 or later. Hotfix http://support.microsoft.com/kb/908072 must be installed. 2.4 Activating the account When an administrator creates an account for you, an email message is sent to your email address. The message contains the following information: An account activation link. Сlick the link and set the password for the account. Remember your login that is shown on the account activation page. A link to the backup console login page.
SQL databases Agent for SQL On the machine running Microsoft SQL Server. Exchange databases Agent for Exchange On the machine running Microsoft Exchange Server. Virtual machines hosted The same as for physical on Windows Azure machines** On the machine that will be backed up. *If your ESXi uses a SAN attached storage, install the agent on a machine connected to the same SAN. The agent will back up the virtual machines directly from the storage rather than via the ESXi host and LAN.
443 and 8443 These ports are used for accessing the backup console, registering the agents, downloading the certificates, user authorization, and downloading files from the cloud storage. 7770...7800 The agents use these ports to communicate with the backup management server. 44445 The agents use this port for data transfer during backup and recovery. If a proxy server is enabled in your network, refer to the "Proxy server settings" (p.
4. Save the file. 5. If the backup agent is not installed yet, you can now install it. Otherwise, do the following to restart the agent: a. Go to Applications > Utilities > Terminal b. Run the following commands: sudo launchctl stop acronis_mms sudo launchctl start acronis_mms In Windows 1. Create a new text document and open it in a text editor, such as Notepad. 2. Copy and paste the following lines into the file: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.
1. Run the following command to find out the kernel version and the required GCC version: cat /proc/version This command returns lines similar to the following: Linux version 2.6.35.6 and gcc version 4.5.1 2. Run the following command to check whether the Make tool and the GCC compiler are installed: make -v gcc -v For gcc, ensure that the version returned by the command is the same as in the gcc version in step 1. For make, just ensure that the command runs. 3.
Installing the packages manually You may need to install the packages manually if: The machine does not have an active Red Hat subscription or Internet connection. You have the required packages on the local network and do not want to spend time for automatic search and downloading. The setup program cannot find the kernel-devel or gcc version corresponding to the kernel version.
6. [Only when installing Agent for VMware] Specify the address and access credentials for the vCenter Server or standalone ESXi host whose virtual machines the agent will back up. 7. [Only when installing on a domain controller] Specify the user account under which the agent service will run. For security reasons, the setup program does not automatically create new accounts on a domain controller. 8. Click Start installation.
2.6.6 Uninstalling agents If you want to modify, repair, or manually update an agent, do not uninstall it from the machine. Instead, run the agent setup program, and then choose the corresponding option. If you remove the agent and install it again, the machine will be duplicated in the backup service and the backups of the old machine will not be associated with the new machine. If you no longer want to back up a physical machine, do the following: 1. Uninstall the agent as described below.
The simple view supports a small number of machines. The table view is enabled automatically when the number of machines becomes large. Both views provide access to the same features and operations. This document describes access to operations from the table view. 2.8 Backup A backup plan is a set of rules that specify how the given data will be protected on a given machine. A backup plan can be applied to multiple machines at the time of its creation, or later. To create the first backup plan 1.
The software displays a new backup plan template. 3. [Optional] To modify the plan parameters, click the corresponding section of the backup plan panel. 4. [Optional] To modify the backup options, click the gear icon. 5. Click Apply. 6. Specify a name for the new backup plan, and then click OK. To apply an existing backup plan 1. Select the machines that you want to back up. 2. Click Backup. If a common backup plan is already applied to the selected machines, click Add backup plan.
The software displays previously created backup plans. 3. Select a backup plan to apply. 4. Click Apply. 2.8.1 Backup plan cheat sheet The following table summarizes the available backup plan parameters. Use the table to create a backup plan that best fits your needs. WHAT TO BACK UP SCHEDULE ITEMS TO BACK UP WHERE TO BACK UP Selection methods Disks/volumes (physical machines) Direct selection (p. 26) Policy rules (p. 26) File filters (p. 30) Disks/volumes (virtual machines) Policy rules (p.
Direct selection Direct selection is available only for physical machines. 1. 2. 3. 4. In What to back up, select Disks/volumes. Click Items to back up. In Select items for backup, select Directly. For each of the machines included in the backup plan, select the check boxes next to the disks or volumes to back up. 5. Click Done. Using policy rules 1. 2. 3. 4. In What to back up, select Disks/volumes. Click Items to back up. In Select items for backup, select Using policy rules.
Rules for OS X [Disk 1] Selects the first disk of the machine, including all volumes on that disk. To select another disk, type the corresponding number. 2.8.2.2 Selecting files/folders File-level backup is available only for physical machines. A file-level backup is not sufficient for recovery of the operating system. Choose file backup if you plan to protect only certain data (the current project, for example). This will reduce the backup size, thus saving storage space.
%WINDIR% selects the folder where Windows is located (for example, C:\Windows). You can use other environment variables or a combination of environment variables and text. For example, to select the Java folder in the Program Files folder, type: %PROGRAMFILES%\Java. Selection rules for Linux Full path to a file or directory. For example, to back up file.txt on the volume /dev/hda3 mounted on /home/usr/docs, specify /dev/hda3/file.txt or /home/usr/docs/file.txt.
3. Select the data that you want to back up. You can select entire instances or individual databases. If you select entire SQL Server instances, all current databases and all databases that are added to the selected instances in the future will be backed up. If you select databases directly, only the selected databases will be backed up. 4. Click Backup. If prompted, provide credentials to access the SQL Server data.
Exclude files matching specific criteria There are two options that function in an inverse manner. Back up only files matching the following criteria Example: If you select to back up the entire machine and specify C:\File.exe in the filter criteria, only this file will be backed up. Do not back up files matching the following criteria Example: If you select to back up the entire machine and specify C:\File.exe in the filter criteria, only this file will be skipped.
Cloud storage Backups will be stored in the cloud data center. Local folders If a single machine is selected, browse to a folder on the selected machine or type the folder path. If multiple machines are selected, type the folder path. Backups will be stored in this folder on each of the selected physical machines or on the machine where the agent for virtual machines is installed. If the folder does not exist, it will be created.
Custom Specify schedules for full, differential, and incremental backups. Differential backup is not available when backing up SQL data, Exchange data, or system state. Additional scheduling options With any destination, you can do the following: Set a date range for when the schedule is effective. Select the Run backup plan within a date range check box, and then specify the date range. Disable the schedule.
Store your backups both on-site (for immediate recovery) and off-site (to secure the backups from local storage failure or a natural disaster). Using the cloud storage to protect data from a natural disaster Replicate the backups to the cloud storage by transferring only the data changes. Keeping only the latest recovery points Delete older backups from a fast storage according to retention rules, in order to not overuse expensive storage space.
Encryption as a machine property This option is intended for administrators who handle backups of multiple machines. If you need a unique encryption password for each machine or if you need to enforce encryption of backups regardless of the backup plan encryption settings, save the encryption settings on each machine individually. Saving the encryption settings on a machine does not affect the currently applied backup plans, but will override the encryption settings of all backup plans applied later.
2.8.8 1. 2. 3. 4. Starting a backup manually Select a machine that has at least one applied backup plan. Click Backup. If more than one backup plans are applied, select the backup plan. Click Run now on the backup plan panel. The backup progress is shown in the Status column for the machine. 2.9 Recovery 2.9.1 Recovery cheat sheet The following table summarizes the available recovery methods. Use the table to choose a recovery method that best fits your need.
Create a bootable USB flash drive by using the ISO file and one of the free tools available online. Use ISO to USB or RUFUS if you need to boot an UEFI machine, Win32DiskImager for a BIOS machine. In Linux, using the dd utility makes sense. Connect the ISO file as a CD/DVD drive to the virtual machine that you want to recover. To create bootable media in OS X 1. On a machine where Agent for Mac is installed, click Rescue Media Builder on the Applications menu. 2.
If the disk mapping fails, recover the machine as described in "Recovering disks by using bootable media" (p. 41). The media enables you to choose disks for recovery and to map the disks manually. 5. Click Start recovery. 6. Confirm that you want to overwrite the disks with their backed-up versions. Choose whether to restart the machine automatically. The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab. 2.9.3.
b. Select whether to recover to a new or existing machine. The new machine option is preferable as it does not require the disk configuration of the target machine to exactly match the disk configuration in the backup. c. Select the host and specify the new machine name, or select an existing target machine. d. Click OK. 7.
2. 3. 4. 5. Select a recovery point on the Backups tab (p. 48). Click Recover > Entire machine. If you want to recover to a physical machine, select Physical machine in Recover to. Otherwise, skip this step. Recovery to a physical machine is possible only if the disk configuration of the target machine exactly matches the disk configuration in the backup. If this is the case, continue to step 4 in "Physical machine" (p. 37).
2.9.3.4 Recovering disks by using bootable media For information about how to create bootable media, refer to "Creating bootable media" (p. 36). To recover disks by using bootable media 1. Boot the target machine by using bootable media. 2. Click Manage this machine locally or click Rescue Bootable Media twice, depending on the media type you are using. 3. If a proxy server is enabled in your network, click Tools > Proxy server, and then specify the proxy server host name/IP address and port.
2. Click Recovery. 3. Select the recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location. If the selected machine is physical and it is offline, recovery points are not displayed. Select a recovery point on the Backups tab (p. 48) or use other ways to recover: 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Download the files from the cloud storage (p. 42) Overwrite existing files Use bootable media (p. 43) Click Recover > Files/folders. Select the files that you want to recover.
5. Browse to the required folder or use search to obtain the list of the required files and folders. 6. Select the check boxes for the items you need to recover, and then click Download. If you select a single file, it will be downloaded as is. Otherwise, the selected data will be archived into a .zip file. 7. Select the location to save the data to, and then click Save. 2.9.4.
2.9.5 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Recovering system state Select the machine for which you want to recover the system state. Click Recovery. Select a system state recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location. Click Recover system state. Confirm that you want to overwrite the system state with its backed-up version. The recovery progress is shown on the Activities tab. 2.9.
To recover a database as a different one to the same instance: a. Click the database name. b. In Recover to, select New database. c. Specify the new database name. d. Specify the new database path and log path. The folder you specify must not contain the original database and log files. 10.
Databases that have been deleted after the backup was done are displayed as offline in the instance. Delete these databases by using SQL Server Management Studio. 2.9.6.2 Attaching SQL Server databases This section describes how to attach a database in SQL Server by using SQL Server Management Studio. Only one database can be attached at a time. Attaching a database requires any of the following permissions: CREATE DATABASE, CREATE ANY DATABASE, or ALTER ANY DATABASE.
recovery fails for some reason and you are looking for a workaround to mount the databases manually (p. 47). To recover Exchange data We will refer to both databases and storage groups as "databases" throughout this procedure. 1. Click Microsoft Exchange. Machines with Agent for Exchange installed are shown. 2. Select the machine that originally contained the data that you want to recover. 3. Click Recovery. 4. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location.
The account you use to attach a database must be delegated an Exchange Server Administrator role and a local Administrators group for the target server. For details about how to mount databases, see the following articles: Exchange 2016: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998871.aspx Exchange 2013: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998871(v=EXCHG.150).aspx Exchange 2010: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa998871(v=EXCHG.141).aspx Exchange 2007: http://technet.
To delete all backups in the selected location, click Delete all. 5. Confirm your decision. To delete backups of any machine 1. On the Backups tab, select the location from which you want to delete the backups. The software displays all backups that your account is allowed to view in the selected location. The backups are combined in groups. The group names are based on the following template: - 2. Select a group. 3.
2.12 Advanced operations with virtual machines 2.12.1 Running a virtual machine from a backup You can run a virtual machine from a disk-level backup that contains an operating system. This operation, also known as instant recovery, enables you to spin up a virtual server in seconds. The virtual disks are emulated directly from the backup and thus do not consume space on the datastore (storage). The storage space is required only to keep changes to the virtual disks.
The software automatically selects the host and other required parameters. 3. [Optional] Click Target machine, and then change the virtual machine type (ESXi or Hyper-V), the host, or the virtual machine name. 4. [Optional] Click Datastore for ESXi or Path for Hyper-V, and then select the datastore for the virtual machine. Changes to the virtual disks accumulate while the machine is running. Ensure that the selected datastore has enough free space. 5.
To delete a virtual machine that is running from a backup 1. On the All machines tab, select a machine that is running from a backup. 2. Click Delete. The machine is removed from the web interface. It is also removed from the vSphere or Hyper-V inventory and datastore (storage). All changes that occurred to the data while the machine was running are lost. 2.12.1.3 Finalizing the machine While a virtual machine is running from a backup, the virtual disks' content is taken directly from that backup.
2.12.2.1 Prerequisites Before enabling the application backup, ensure that: The virtual machines being backed up meet the requirements for application-consistent quiescing listed in the following VMware knowledge base article: https://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-60/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vddk.pg.doc%2FvddkBk upVadp.9.6.html VMware Tools is installed and up-to-date on each of the virtual machines that you want to back up. User Account Control (UAC) is disabled on the machines.
3. Select a recovery point. Note that recovery points are filtered by location. 4. Click Recover, and then click one of the following: 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. SQL databases Overwrite existing files Attaching SQL Server databases (p. 46) Exchange databases Select the databases that you want to recover. Click Recover as files. Select the recovery destination. You can specify a network folder or a local folder of the machine where Agent for VMware is installed.
VMware ESXi virtual machine + + + - - Hyper-V virtual machine + + + - - Virtuozzo virtual machine + + + + - Virtuozzo container - - - - + For instructions on how to perform migration, refer to the following sections: Physical-to-virtual (P2V) - "Physical machine to virtual" (p. 38) Virtual-to-virtual (V2V) - "Virtual machine" (p. 39) Virtual-to-physical (V2P) - "Virtual machine" (p. 39) or "Recovering disks by using bootable media" (p.
3 Glossary B Backup set A group of backups to which an individual retention rule can be applied. For the Custom backup scheme, the backup sets correspond to the backup methods (Full, Differential, and Incremental). In all other cases, the backup sets are Monthly, Daily, Weekly, and Hourly. A monthly backup is the first backup created after a month starts. A daily backup is the first backup created after a day starts.
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