Solution Overview

In many cases, an end-user or partner wants to store valuable data to a network location, either on the local network or to the partner’s data center.  In some cases, the desire is to store the data in its original format at the destination site so that it is available to be used as quickly as possible. That process of efficiently getting a copy of data from site A to site B is called replication. In other cases, the desire is to perform regular backups complete with encryption and data verification. The following solutions describe the backup approach using network destinations:

• A partner building their own private storage cloud for their end-users’ data rather than sending data to Axcient’s cloud.
• An end-user that wants to send their data to their own private cloud or to another server operating within the same networking environment.

Site-to-site replication differs from site-to-site backup because with site-to-site backup the data is stored in a proprietary format on the destination and has to be restored before the data can be used. With site-to-site replication, the data is stored in its original format, and can be used directly on the destination site. This is appropriate for situations where rapid use of the data is more important than storing the data encrypted and compressed on the destination site. If replication is desired, please see our Partner Center for the Site-to-Site Replication guide.

Axcient provides both site-to-site backup and site-to-site replication technologies through our proprietary network backup server software. At the destination site, the network backup server software is installed and configured on a Windows computer, at which point it will listen for connections on TCP port 5470. The Axcient backup agent is then installed on the sites that need to transmit data and i s configured to send data to the appropriate network hostname or IP address.

Setup Overview

First, the backup target(s) should be provisioned by installing and configuring the Axcient network backup server software (on any Windows-based computer). The Axcient backup client should then be installed onto each computer that will be sending backup data.

The type of solution will make a difference.  

• If an end user is sending data to their own network or private cloud, then the corresponding accounts (one for the destination or target, one for each source) need to be associated under the same customer record within the Axcient web portal.
• If an end user is sending data to a partner’s network or cloud, so that there will be multiple customers with data stored side-by-side, then the destination or target needs to be configured with an account associated with the partner’s record in the Axcient Web Portal and utilize the “Multitenant Network Server” service plan.

Configuring the Backup Target

1. On the Windows computer that will act as the backup target, install the backup client software.
2. After it is installed, start the Backup Manager and run the Network backup server command from the Tools
3. On the Configure page, choose where the backup data should be stored (using the mapped or UNC path), and then enter your credentials for an appropriate Axcient account into the appropriate fields 

IMPORTANT! If the backup target is a BDR, then you should use the account credentials you received specifically for that BDR unit and not the credentials for one of the backup source computers. If the backup target is not a BDR, create a new account in the Web Portal.

IMPORTANT! The account used for the network backup server must belong to the same end- user customer (in our Web Portal) as the accounts for all of the backup sources. If you are doing many-to-one backup for multiple end-user customers, please contact your account representative to ensure that many-to-one backup has been enabled for your account.

Finally, configure your network (routers/firewalls) so that any clients that will send the server data will be able to do so over a TCP/IP network on port 5470.

Configuring each Backup Source

1. On the Windows computer that will act as the backup source, install the backup client software.
2. After it has been installed, start the Backup Manager, and go to the My Account
3. Enter the account credentials assigned to that computer—it should be different than the account credentials you used on the backup target.
4. In the Network Server (or Local Server) field, enter the IP address or network hostname of the Network Backup Server.

5. Next, configure the Folders tab, Schedule tab, and any other necessary options to complete the backup configuration.

Separate instructions are available if you are configuring backups from Linux or Mac systems.

Preloading Data for Network Destinations

Performing a preload (initial backup to USB disk) for network destination data is quite similar to the process of performing a preload for online backups. First, you configure the account, but instead of starting the initial backup, you do the following:

1. Use the Web Portal to put the account into maintenance mode.
2. In the Backup Manager on the backup source, go to the File menu and select Preload Remote Backup (yes, even though we will be preloading for a network location).
3. In the dialog box, choose a path to the external USB disk and click OK.
4. When you are asked which backup destination you want to do a preload for, choose the network server location.
5. The initial backup job is started. Wait for it to finish.
6. When the backup is finished, physically transport the USB disk and attach it to the backup target machine.
7. On the backup target, using Explorer, open the USB disk and navigate to the top-level directory that contains the preload data. Then navigate to the brandID subdirectory (for example, generic). There should be a single subdirectory that has the same name as the account number of the account you preloaded. Use Explorer to copy this directory to the backup target underneath the NetworkServerStoragePath\brandID directory (for example, copy E:\mypreload\generic\12345001 to X:\LocalBackupRepository\generic).
8. Finally, use the Web Portal to take the account out of maintenance mode. 

IMPORTANT! Do not take the account out of maintenance mode until you have completed all of these steps. If you clear the maintenance flag too early and the backup source attempts to backup data, you will have to perform a preload all over again.

Note: You can put multiple preloads onto the same USB disk. To do this, use a different top- level directory on the USB disk for each account that you preload. When you are finished preloading multiple accounts, on the backup target there should be multiple subdirectories of the NetworkServerStoragePath\brandID subdirectory—one for each account that was preloaded. For example, X:\LocalBackupRepository\generic could contain the subdirectories 12345001, 12345002, and 12345003.

Conclusion

Axcient's backup technology allows you to efficiently and safely keep multiple copies of your customer’s data in multiple places.

Last Updated June 2014