Overview
Before you can begin taking backups of your systems, you must first install the backup agent.
Agent installation can take various forms, depending on:
- the operating system you are deploying
- if you backup to an appliance (NOTE: Additional licenses may be required)
- whether you perform backups using Direct-to-Cloud (D2C)
- if you are manually installing agent software or using remote deployment (RMM)
Need details on how to deploy a D2C agent via ConnectWise Asio?
Refer to Deploy D2C agents via ConnectWise Asio
STEP 1. Windows, macOS or Linux?
For Windows operating systems, continue with the following steps.
- For macOS, see (macOS) Install an agent - x360Recover
- For Linux operating systems, see (Linux) Install an agent - x360Recover
STEP 2. Download the agent installer
The x360Recover agent installation file can be downloaded from several locations.
- The appliance Login page
- The appliance Downloads page
- The vault Clients page (for client-specific Direct-to-Cloud installer image)
What's the difference between the download locations?
- When manually installing the agent in Direct-to-Cloud mode, the vault Clients page provides a download to a special version of the agent installer. This special version contains client information and a token ID in the filename. This token ID is used to identify which client the agent will register.
- When deploying in appliance mode (or for bulk distribution via RMM tools in either appliance or Direct-to-Cloud mode) you can use command-line parameters with the normal agent installer file to (a) perform silent install and/or (b) define the token ID for D2C.
Note: To obtain the token ID for RMM deployment, you must first download the client-specific installation package and then examine the file name. (See below for details.)
2.1. Download the client-specific agent installation package from that clients’ vault page:
2.2. Click on the Windows icon in the row belonging to the desired client.
- All protected systems deployed with this installer will register as belonging to this selected client.
Notes on token IDs:
The installation file for Windows downloaded from this page contains a temporary token and identifying information embedded in the filename. Client-specific agent installation packages have a custom naming format that identifies the client and contains a special registration token ID specific to the client.
Starting with Agent version 2.41 and newer, it is no longer necessary to use the custom filename agent deployment method.
When using the standard ‘agentInstaller.msi’ named installer, the agent will (a) prompt you to select from appliance or Direct to Cloud mode, and (b) request the Token ID.
Clicking the ‘Key’ icon for the client will display the Token ID.
Token ID’s are now permanent and no longer expire automatically.
To revoke a Token Id, click the ‘Key’ icon to display the current token and click Replace to revoke it and generate a new one.
RMM tools may be used to deploy the agent in bulk or via policy
• We recommend using the standard ‘agentInstaller.msi’ file when deploying the agent for Windows and pass the /TOKENID command-line parameter to invoke silent installation of the agent
IMPORTANT NOTES: If you are converting an existing protected system on an appliance to Direct-to-Cloud, you must first uninstall the existing agent. (When an agent is already installed, the D2C installer cannot re-install in Direct-to-Cloud mode.) ALSO: Make sure you do not delete the agent installation folder after uninstalling the appliance agent. The configuration information left behind (after uninstalling the agent) is used to correctly identify the agent to the existing vault replica of the data.
For step-by-step instructions on how to convert an existing appliance agent to Direct-to-Cloud (D2C), refer to Convert an existing appliance agent to Direct-to-Cloud (D2C)
STEP 3. Choose an installation method and perform install
Below are instructions for two methods available for installing the agent:
3.1. Perform interactive installation (User interaction is needed)
3.1.1. Copy the agent installer to the system (or to a network file location accessible from the system.)
3.1.2. Double-click on the installer to begin the installation.
3.1.3. Click Next to begin the agent installation.
3.1.4. Accept the license agreement and click Next.
3.1.5. Specify the installation directory for the agent. (Typically, you will accept the default value.) Click Next to continue,
Note: The agent needs space for index and hash files in the installation directory. Normally, the required space is approx. 500KB for each TB of total disk size for every volume in the system (plus space for log files, etc.)
If your C: drive is tightly constrained on free space, you may wish to install the agent onto another drive with more space available.
3.1.6. Select the agent installation mode (either Direct-to-Cloud mode or Appliance mode) and click Next to continue.
3.1.7. You will now install the agent, using either Direct-to-Cloud mode or Appliance mode.
Direct-to-Cloud installation
If you have selected to install the agent in Direct-to-Cloud mode, enter the TokenID value for the client and vault being configured.
Note: When you are installing using a client-specific Direct-to-Cloud agent, the appliance IP field will be greyed out. The vault address will be automatically retrieved, based on the token ID you provided in the agent installer filename.
Click Next to continue,
Appliance mode installation
(NOTE: Additional licenses may be required for appliances)
3.1.7.a. (Required step) Enter the appliance IP address
Note: Enabling the System Tray Application will display an agent-monitoring application to the user in the Windows System Tray. For further details see: (Windows) Systray Monitor Utility - x360Recover
3.1.7.b Optional step: You may choose to assign an appliance access control password to this agent.
Enter the password twice in the fields provided to confirm you typed it correctly.
IMPORTANT: If you choose to enter an optional password, the specified password will be required every time you wish to access the backup data on this protected system. This means you will need to provide the password when you perform any data recovery, when you make agent configuration changes using the application UI, and when you delete the protected system or any of its snapshots.
Note: If you later decide to add, change, or remove this optional password, you can do so using a Powershell script located in the agent installation folder. For instructions, see Change or reset an agent access control password
3.1.7.c. Optional step: You may specify a limited set of disk volumes to be backed up.
- By default, this value is left blank, indicating that all supported volumes are to be included in the backup.
Note: Volumes which are always excluded (by default) from backup include:
- Volumes using incompatible filesystems, like FAT or ReFS
- Volumes being used by the agent for Local Cache
- Nested volumes (such as a VHDX file on C: mounted as C:\VMDisk; The mount point will be excluded, because Microsoft VSS cannot snapshot both the mount point and the physical disk image file in the same dataset.)
3.1.7.d. Optional step: Enable the Systray Agent Monitor Utility
Enabling the System Tray Application will display an agent-monitoring application to the user in the Windows System Tray. For further details see: (Windows) Systray Monitor Utility - x360Recover
3.1.8. When you have completed all desired fields, click Install.
3.1.9. Click Finish to close the installer.
Delete3.2 Perform silent agent installation (For mass deployment using scripting or RMM)
REQUIRED parameters for silent install
The x360Recover agent supports a set of command-line parameters for performing a silent install during mass agent deployment using scripting or RMM tools.
The presence of one of these parameters implies that the agent will be installed silently, with no user interaction.
- One of these two parameters is REQUIRED
- Only ONE may be specified
The agent understands the following parameters:
| One of these mandatory parameters is REQUIRED | Example |
|
SERVER=<appliance IP address> Specifying the parameter SERVER=<appliance IP address> installs the agent in appliance mode and registers it with the appliance as the specified IP address |
SERVER=192.168.90.201 |
|
TOKENID=<Token ID> Specifying TOKENID=<Token ID> installs the agent in Direct-to-Cloud mode and registers it with the vault from which the token ID was retrieved (the client account used to create the token) |
TOKENID=8858e64411f942a3b55497120d50587e |
Optional parameters
| Description of optional parameter | Example of parameter | |
| Specify volumes to include in the backup |
BACKUP_VOLUMES=<Drives> |
BACKUP_VOLUMES=C,E,G |
| Specify the Access Control password |
PASSWORD=<Access Password> |
PASSWORD=MyP@55w0rd! |
| Configure presence of the Agent Monitor System Tray Application | ENABLE_SYSTRAY=[true\|false] | ENABLE_SYSTRAY=true |
| Specify the path to use for maintaining a Local Cache (Direct-to-Cloud only) |
LCPATH=<path> |
LCPATH=\\MyNAS\Shared\LocalCache |
| Specify the network share User Account for Local Cache (Direct-to-Cloud only) |
LCUSER=<User Account> |
LCUSER=MyDomain\CacheUser |
| Specify the network share User Password for Local Cache (Direct-to-Cloud only) |
LCPASSWD=<Password> |
LCPASSWD=L0c@lC@ch3!! |
Notes on local cache:
- Local cache should only be used when deploying in Direct-to-Cloud mode. (It serves no purpose in local appliance mode.)
- The local cache path must be specified as a local drive path when using locally-attached storage, such as a USB disk.
For example: LCPATH=Q:\LocalCache -
IMPORTANT: The local cache path CANNOT BE specified as a local drive path when using network storage. You must use UNC path nomenclature, like ‘\\<Server>\<Share Name>\<Folder Name>’ etc. Network shares mounted to a drive letter in the user environment are not accessible to the agent services, so the agent needs to know where the actual shared folder exists on the network.
Perform a silent installation of the agent
Important: Always use the generic agentInstaller.msi package when performing command-line installation. Do not use the client-specific agent installer package.
Note: If you have downloaded the client-specific agent installer package, simply rename it to 'agentInstaller.msi' to remove the token and client information from the installer before deploying.
STEP 1. Launch the agent installer from the command-line, either
(a) directly inside a Windows CMD.exe shell, or
(b) via scripting run via Group Policy or via RMM management utilities.
The agent uses Microsoft Installer:
| msiexec /i <installer file name> /q SERVER=192.168.90.201 <more parameters> |
STEP 2. Deploying in Direct-to-Cloud mode looks something like this on the managed system:
| msiexec /i AgentInstaller.msi /q TOKENID=6484c41f970d49ac8156b9c967e7a295 <more parameters> |
STEP 3. You may also include other command-line options (such as PASSWORD) to set the agent password/ passphrase, etc.
Or for defining local cache parameters.
Note: To completely hide the installation in the background, include the ‘/q’ option. Omitting ‘/q’ will display the installation progress window during installation.
Managing the Systray Agent Monitor Utility
Configuration of the Systray Agent Monitor Utility can be managed on existing agent deployments using the agent installer.
Using your RMM or other tools, issue the installer command
msiexec /i AgentInstaller.msi /q ENABLE_SYSTRAY=[true|false]
to enable or disable the presence of the systray utility on the protected system
For further details see: (Windows) Systray Monitor Utility - x360Recover
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