Methods to access an archive
When you need to access the data in an archived recovery point, you have two options.
- For archives created with Rapid Recovery Core version 6.0.1 and later, you can attach the archive. The attached archive is displayed in the left navigation menu of the Core Console. You can browse the recovery points in the archive, and take the same actions on that data as with any other recovery points currently in your repository, without importing that data into your repository.
- You can import an archive, restoring those recovery points to your repository. You can then take the same actions on that data as with any other recovery points currently in your Core. Rapid Recovery Core is backward compatible, supporting import of archives from all AppAssure and Rapid Recovery versions.
|
|
Caution: Since the Core recognizes the original dates of recovery points in an archive, recovery points imported from an archive may be rolled up or deleted during the next nightly job period, if their age exceeds the retention period. If you want to retain older recovery points imported from an archive, you can disable rollup or extend the retention period for the relevant protected machines. |
When you need to access the data in an archived recovery point, you can attach (for Rapid Recovery 6.x and later) or import the archive, restoring those recovery points to your repository.
Uses for archives
Once an archive is created, it can be used in the following ways:
- An archive can be used to move data between repositories.
- An archive can be attached to the Core Console, and mounted as a file system for simple file or folder recovery. Some restrictions apply.
- An archive can be imported into a repository. If any recovery points in the archive have already been rolled up or deleted from the repository, this action restores them.
- An archive can be used as the source for a bare metal restore, or for export to a virtual machine.
Creating an archive
You can use this procedure to create a one-time or scheduled archive.
If you plan on creating an archive to a cloud location, first add your cloud account to the Rapid Recovery Core Console. For more information, see Adding a cloud account.
A one-time archive is an archive created on demand for a specified machine. A scheduled archive is an archive that automatically recurs on the date and time you specify in the wizard. When you schedule a recurring archive, you meet the need for archiving data from protected machines frequently without the inconvenience of repeatedly defining a one-time archive.
Before creating a scheduled archive, ensure that you are satisfied with the name of each folder and subfolder in the archive structure. After performing an initial archive, Quest recommends making no changes to the resulting folder structure. Changing any folder name in the archive path may result in capturing a base image instead of an incremental image. It could also cause difficulty restoring or importing data from an archive due to an inability to properly locate the files.
When creating your archive, you must decide whether to include a full recovery point chain in your archive. For more information, see Recovery point chain options for archives.
- On the button bar of the Rapid Recovery Core Console, click
Archive.
The Archive Wizard opens. - On the Archive Type page of the wizard, select one of the following options:
- One-time archive
- Continual archive (by schedule)
- Click Next.
- On the Location page, select an option from the Location type drop-down list and then enter the information as described in the following table.
Table 152: Archive location type options Option Text Box Description Local
Location
Enter the local path where you want the archive to reside; for example,
d:\work\archive.Network
Location
Enter the network path where you want the archive to reside; for example,
\\servername\sharename.User name
Enter the user name for the user with access to the network share.
Password
Enter the password for the user with access to the network share.
Cloud
Account
Select an account from the drop-down list.
NOTE: To select a cloud account, you must first have added it in the Core Console. For more information, see Adding a cloud account.
Container
Select a container associated with your account from the drop-down menu.
Folder name
Enter a name for the folder in which the archived data is saved.
Use Glacier storage
To store your archive in Amazon Glacier storage, select this option. This option is intended for long-term storage of archives. For more information, see Amazon storage options and archiving.
- Click Next.
- On the Machines page of the wizard, select the protected machine or machines you want to archive and then click Next.
- Do one of the following:
- On the Schedule page, select one of the following options from the Send data drop-down list:
- Daily
- Weekly
- Monthly
- Enter the information described in the following table based on your selection from step 8.
Table 153: Send data options Option Text Box Description Daily At time Select the hour of the day you want to create a daily archive. Weekly At day of week Select a day of the week on which to automatically create the archive. At time Select the hour of the day you want to create an archive. Monthly At day of months Select the day of the month on which to automatically create the archive. At time Select the hour of the day you want to create an archive. - Optionally, if you do not want the archive job to begin at the next scheduled time after you complete the wizard, select Pause initial archiving.
NOTE: You may want to pause the scheduled archive if you need time to prepare the target location before archiving resumes. If you do not select this option, archiving begins at the scheduled time.
- Click Next.
- On the Options page for a continuous archive, select one of the recycle actions described in the following table.
Table 154: Continuous archive recycle options Text Box Description Replace this Core Overwrites any pre-existing archived data pertaining to this Core but leaves the data for other Cores intact. Erase completely Clears all archived data from the directory before writing the new archive. Incremental Lets you add recovery points to an existing archive. It compares recovery points to avoid duplicating data that exist in the archive. - On the Options page for a continuous archive, determine whether to include full recovery point chains in your archive. For more information about recovery point chain options, see Recovery point chain options for archives. Do one of the following:
- On the Options page for a one-time archive, enter the information described in the following table.
Table 155: One-time archive options Text Box Description Maximum size
Large archives of data can be divided into multiple segments. Select the maximum amount of space you want to reserve for creating the archive by doing one of the following:
- Select Entire Target to reserve all available space in the path provided on the destination provided in step 4. (For example, if the location is D:\work\archive, all the available space on the D: drive is reserved).
- Select the text box, enter the amount of space, and then select a unit of measurement from the drop-down list to customize the maximum space you want to reserve.
NOTE: Amazon cloud archives are automatically divided into 50 GB segments. Microsoft Azure cloud archives are automatically divided into 200 GB segments.
Recycle action
Select one of the following recycle action options:
- Do not reuse. Does not overwrite or clear any existing archived data from the location. If the location is not empty, Rapid Recovery lets you select a different location.
- Replace this Core. Overwrites any pre-existing archived data pertaining to this Core but leaves the data for other Cores intact.
- Erase completely. Clears all archived data from the directory before writing the new archive.
- Incremental. Lets you add recovery points to an existing archive. It compares recovery points to avoid duplicating data that already exist in the archive.
Comment
Enter any additional information that is necessary to capture for the archive. The comment is displayed if you import the archive later. Build complete recovery points chains, including referenced base images outside the date range.
Select this option to archive the entire recovery point chain. This option is selected by default.
Include only the recovery points in the date range. This saves space, but you are responsible for archiving any needed base images.
Select this option to archive only the incremental recovery points and no base images.
NOTE: This option results in an archive of orphaned recovery points. You will not be able to use them for recovery until you also archive their related base images.
For more information about recovery point chain options, see Recovery point chain options for archives.
- If you selected the option to include only recovery points in the date range, click Next. Otherwise, click Finish.
- On the Date Range page, either manually enter the start date and end date of the recovery points to be archived, or select the date time by clicking the calendar icon followed by the clock icon below the calendar window.
- Click Finish.
The wizard closes.
Archiving to a cloud
When data reaches the end of a retention period, you may want to extend that retention by creating an archive of the aged data. When you archive data, there is always the matter of where to store it. Rapid Recovery lets you upload your archive to a variety of cloud providers directly from the Core Console. Compatible clouds include Microsoft Azure, Amazon S3, any OpenStack-based provider, Rackspace Cloud Files, and Google Cloud.
Exporting an archive to a cloud using Rapid Recovery involves the following procedures:
- Add your cloud account to the Rapid Recovery Core Console. For more information, see Adding a cloud account.
- Archive your data and export it to your cloud account. For more information, see Creating an archive.
- Retrieve archived data by attaching an archive, or importing it from the cloud location. For more information, see Attaching an archive or Importing an archive, respectively.