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Rapid Recovery 6.8 - Installation and Upgrade Guide

Overview and System Requirements Installing Rapid Recovery Upgrading Rapid Recovery Managing Rapid Recovery licenses

Understanding Rapid Recovery components and related products

This section describes the Rapid Recovery components and related products available for your backup, replication, and recovery needs. The purpose of this section is to help you gain an understanding of the components that you may install in your Rapid Recovery environment and how they work together to help protect your data.

  • Rapid Recovery Core. The central component of the Rapid Recovery architecture, the Core provides the essential services for backup, recovery, retention, replication, archiving, and management. The Core manages the repositories that store your backup data. It contains the settings that change behavior, manages schedules for backups, replication and archives, provides security, and enforces your data retention policy. After the Core is installed, you access it using the web-based interface called the Rapid Recovery Core Console. The Rapid Recovery Core must be installed on a dedicated Windows server. Depending on your license and your environment requirements, you may need to install multiple Cores.
  • Rapid Recovery Agent. This component is the primary provider of the services and software that let you protect your data. Install the Rapid Recovery Agent software on the Windows and Linux machines in your environment (for example, on an Exchange server, SQL Server, Oracle server, on Windows and Linux desktop and laptop machines, and so on). After you add a machine with the Agent software as a protected machine in the Rapid Recovery Core, the Agent software tracks changed data blocks on the disk volume of the machine and creates snapshot images of the data which it sends to the Core, based on the backup schedule. You manage protected machines using the Core Console of the associated Core, including establishing or changing the frequency of backups.

    NOTE: If your Core and the machines you want to protect are all ESXi virtual machines on a VMware vSphere host, and if all of the VMs use a supported Windows operating system and file system, then you do not need to install the Agent software. Likewise, if the machines that you want to protect are all Hyper-V virtual machines, you need only install the Agent software on the Hyper-V host server or cluster node host. This agentless protection feature for VMs is called Rapid Snap for Virtual.

  • QorePortal. This web-based portal is currently accessible to Rapid Recovery users with a current maintenance agreement. The QorePortal lets you manage your Cores, generate and view reports, manage protection and replication, and perform many other functions from a single modern user interface. This portal replaces the functionality of theRapid Recovery Central Management Console. This feature is intended to be particularly useful for managed service providers.
  • Rapid Recovery Portal plugin. The Portal Plugin gives Cores the ability to connect and transfer information to the Rapid Recovery License Portal to manage multiple Cores and their protected machines. This plugin for the Core server is required only if you want Rapid Recovery Cores version 6.1.3 and older to communicate with the Rapid Recovery License Portal.
  • Rapid Recovery License Portal. This web-based portal lets you manage licenses for Rapid Recovery Cores. It lets you create and manage groups of licenses, manage license pools, and view machines with licenses registered on the portal. You can generate license-related reports, and download Rapid Recovery software, tools, and components. The Rapid Recovery License Portal integrates with the QorePortal. See Understanding Rapid Recovery licenses for information about managing licenses from the Rapid Recovery Core Console. For information about managing license subscriptions and license groups on the license portal, see the most recent edition of the Rapid Recovery License Portal User Guide.
  • Local Mount Utility (LMU). The Local Mount Utility is a Windows-based application that lets you mount a Rapid Recovery recovery point in any of the three available modes on any compatible Windows machine. The lightweight utility can be installed on the same 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems as the Agent software, but it does not have to be installed on the same machine as the Agent. The LMU includes the rapidrecovery-vdisk (formerly aavdisk) and aavstor drivers, but it does not run as a service. For more information, see the topic "The Local Mount Utility" in the most recent edition of the Rapid Recovery Local Mount Utility User Guide.
  • Local_mount utility. The local_mount utility is a Linux-based command line utility application that lets you query the Core for protected machines and their corresponding recovery points. It lets users remotely mount a recovery point volume; lets users explore the volume contents at the file level; and lets users restore individual files or an entire volume from the recovery point, including BMR of the system volume.
  • Rapid Recovery Command Line Management utility. The Rapid Recovery Command Line Management utility, cmdutil.exe, provides third-party access to manage system functionality. This tool permits scripting of the Rapid Recovery Core management functions. In earlier versions of the Core, this tool was called AACMD. For more information about using this component, see the Rapid Recovery Commands and Scripting Reference Guide.
  • Rapid Recovery PowerShell Module. The Rapid Recovery PowerShell Module is a collection of Windows PowerShell scripts that lets users interact directly with the Core server. This module offers some of the same functionality that the Rapid Recovery Core Console graphic user interface (GUI) provides. For example, the Rapid Recovery PowerShell Module can mount recovery points or force a snapshot of a protected machine. For more information about using this component, see the most recent edition of the Rapid Recovery Command and Scripting Reference Guide.
  • Mailbox Restore for Exchange. This comprehensive email recovery program works with Rapid Recovery and the LMU to simplify the recovery of Exchange items, from a full data store to a single email message. The installer is bundled as an optional feature with Core and the LMU installers. For more information about this component, see the most recent edition of the Rapid Recovery Mailbox Restore for Exchange User Guide.
  • DocRetriever for SharePoint. DocRetriever for SharePoint lets SharePoint administrators recover SharePoint objects from the site collection level down to the component level. This product simplifies recovery of SharePoint data when the Rapid Recovery Agent and the DocRetriever Agent are installed on your SharePoint servers. For more information about this component, see the most recent edition of the Rapid Recovery DocRetriever for SharePoint User Guide.
  • Rapid Recovery Core VM on Azure. Microsoft Azure users can set up a Rapid Recovery Corein the Azure cloud. In addition to replicating on-premises Rapid Recovery Core6.x to Azure, you can now set up a primary Core in Azure to back up your VMs, create one-time or scheduled archives, perform one-time or continual virtual export, recover data and replicate VMs to another Core. Using a bring your own license model, the VM itself is free. Users are responsible for their Azure compute and storage costs. For more information about this component, see the most recent edition of the Rapid Recovery Azure Setup Guide.

About installing the Rapid Recovery Core

Because the Rapid Recovery Core manages the backups of all protected machines in your environment, you should install the Core software on a dedicated server.

Depending on your license and your environment requirements, you may need to install multiple Cores. If running two or more Cores, consider the following:

  • If you manage two or more Cores, Quest recommends using QorePortal, our cloud-based management portal.
  • Licensing requirements apply to all Core installations.

Obtaining Rapid Recovery software

You can obtain Rapid Recovery software using the following methods:

  • Download from the QorePortal. If you have an active maintenance agreement, you can log into the QorePortal at https://qoreportal.quest.com/. From the top menu, click Settings, and from the left navigation menu, select Downloads. Here you will have access to installers for various Rapid Recovery components, including Core, Agent, LMU, DR, and more.
  • Download from the License Portal. If you have already registered Rapid Recovery in the Rapid Recovery License Portal, you can log into that portal at https://licenseportal.com. From the left navigation menu, click Downloads, and download the appropriate software.
  • Download trial software from the Support website. To download trial software, navigate to the Rapid Recovery Rapid Recovery website at https://support.quest.com/rapid-recovery and from the left navigation menu, click Software Downloads. Here you can access trial versions of Rapid Recovery Core, Agent (for Windows or Linux), tools and utilities, and more. Trial versions function for 14 days, after which time you must purchase and register a subscription or perpetual license to continue using Rapid Recovery. To purchase a license, fill out the web form at https://support.quest.com/contact-us/licensing and select Obtain a license for my product.

You can also obtain the Rapid Recovery Agent software from within the Rapid Recovery Core Console using the following methods:

  • Protecting machines with the wizard. If the Rapid Recovery Core is installed, you can deploy the Agent software to the machine you want to protect from the Protect Machine Wizard or the Protect Multiple Machines Wizard. Using these wizards, you can also choose to add machines to protection using an older installed version of Agent. For more information about these wizards, see the topics "Protecting a Machine" and "About protecting multiple machines" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide.
  • Use the Deploy Agent Software feature. If the Rapid Recovery Core is installed, you can deploy the Agent software from the Core to one or multiple machines. This is useful for upgrading Agent to one or more machines simultaneously. From the Protect drop-down menu on the Rapid Recovery Core Console, select Deploy Agent Software and complete details in the resulting wizard. For more information about using this feature, see the topic "Deploying Agent to multiple machines simultaneously from the Core Console" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide.
  • Download Agent or LMU from the Rapid Recovery Core Console. From a network-accessible Windows machine you want to protect, you can log into the Rapid Recovery Core Console and download the Agent software. From the icon bar, click [More] menu More and then select Downloads. From the Downloads page, you can download the web installer to install Agent or the Local Mount Utility on Windows machines.

Installing the Rapid Recovery Core

Before you begin, see About installing the Rapid Recovery Core.

If upgrading your Core, before you begin, see relevant guidance in the section Upgrading Rapid Recovery, especially Upgrading factors to consider and Upgrading the Rapid Recovery Core.

NOTE: For information about supported releases, see the "Support policy" topic in Rapid Recovery Release Notes.

To see which operating systems are supported by Rapid Recovery Core, see the topic "Rapid Recovery release 6.8 operating system installation and compatibility matrix" in the Rapid Recovery System Requirements Guide.

Complete the procedure below to install or upgrade the Rapid Recovery Core.

NOTE: Quest recommends retaining the binary installer file for any currently installed Rapid Recovery product. You can use this file in the future to reinstall, repair, or remove the software.

  1. Download the Rapid Recovery Core installer for this release. For example, download Core-X64-6.7.x.xxxx.exe.
  2. Double-click on the executable Rapid Recovery Core installer file to run the installer.

    For some machine configurations, the User Account Control or Open File - Security Warning dialog box appears.

  3. If prompted for permission, confirm that you want to run the installer file and make changes to the system.

    For more information, see "Rapid Recovery Core installation requirements" in the Rapid Recovery System Requirements Guide.

  4. If .NET components are missing or need to be upgraded, accept the prompts to download and install the framework. This may require a reboot.
  5. In the Setup dialog box, from the Choose your language drop-down menu, select the appropriate language, and then click OK.

    The Setup dialog box shows progress while the installer is prepared, and then closes.

  6. If installing Rapid Recovery Core on this machine for the first time, skip to step 9.
  7. If this machine has an earlier version of the AppAssure Core or Rapid Recovery Core software installed, the Rapid Recovery Core dialog box displays a confirmation message. Click Yes to confirm that you want to upgrade to the current version.

    NOTE: When upgrading, you only see a limited number of steps in the installation wizard.

    The dialog box closes, and the Rapid Recovery Core Installation Wizard appears.
  8. When upgrading your Rapid Recovery Core, consider each of the following cases:
    1. If this Core is a source or target Core for replication, or if your Core protects machines with Agent versions prior to release 5.4.3, the Compatibility page of the Rapid Recovery Core Installation Wizard is displayed. Proceed to step 10.
    2. If prerequisite files must be installed on this machine, the Prerequisites page of the wizard displays. Proceed to step 13.
    3. If Windows updates are pending that require a restart, you are prompted to restart your machine. Click to confirm the restart, and after restart, return to this procedure.
    4. If you are upgrading from a version prior to 6.2.0 and have not yet accepted or declined the option to share your personal data with Quest, the Privacy Policy page appears. Proceed to step 18.
    5. If none of these situations applies, the Progress page of the wizard displays, and includes a status bar that lets you monitor the progress of the installation. Skip to step 22.
  9. If this is the first time the Rapid Recovery Core software is being installed on this machine, the installer prepares the installation, and then the Rapid Recovery Core Installation wizard displays the Welcome page. Proceed to step 11.
  10. On the Compatibility page, if using replication, you may see a relevant informational message. Do one of the following:
    • If the Core you are upgrading is the source Core for replicating to a target Core, you see a message advising you to upgrade the target Core first. Click Cancel, and upgrade the target Core first following these instructions. When completed, on the source Core, return to this procedure and begin again.
    • If the Core you are upgrading is the target Core for replicating from a source Core, you see a message informing you that replication will be disabled until you update the source Core. If you want to upgrade the source Core afterward, repeat this process afterward on the source Core. For now, click Next.
    • If you are upgrading an AppAssure Core. you see a message indicating that protection for agents is paused. In most cases, you can upgrade the Agent software on machines with supported operating systems from the Rapid Recovery Core Console. You must manually upgrade Agent on protected machines using unsupported operating systems. Click Next.
    The Privacy Policy page appears. Skip to step 18.
  11. In the Rapid Recovery Core Installation Wizard, on the Welcome page, click Next to continue with the installation.

    The License Agreement page appears.

  12. On the License Agreement page, review the license terms, and then select I accept the terms in the license agreement, and then click Next.

    The Prerequisites page appears. Proceed to the next step.

    If you have already run the installer on this machine and installed all prerequisites, the Prerequisites page is skipped. If upgrading, the Progress page appears and includes a status bar that lets you monitor the progress of the installation. Skip to step 22.

  13. On the Prerequisites page, the Rapid Recovery Core installer verifies the existence of prerequisite files.
    • If the prerequisite files do not exist on this machine, the installer identifies which files are needed and displays the results accordingly. Click Install Prerequisites or Click to install, as appropriate.
    • If the prerequisite files exist, a message appears indicating that all prerequisites are installed on the machine. Continue to the next step.
  14. If prompted to restart your machine after installing prerequisites, confirm that you want to restart.

    The server restarts, and the Rapid Recovery Core Installation wizard displays the Welcome page. automatically launches in the Prerequisites page appears. Return to step 11.

  15. Once the installation of prerequisite files is completed, click Next. Then, do the following:
    • If installing for the first time, the Installation Options page appears. Proceed to the next step.
    • If upgrading, the Progress page appears and includes a status bar that lets you monitor the progress of the installation. Skip to step 22.
  16. On the Installation Options page, review the installation options. If necessary, modify them as described below.
    1. In the Destination Folder text box, review the destination folder for the installation. If you want to change the location, do the following:
      • Click the folder icon.
      • In the Browse to Destination Folder dialog box, select a new location.
      • Click OK.
    2. In the Core port number text box, enter a port number to use for communication between the Rapid Recovery Core and its protected machines.

      NOTE: The default value is 8006. If you change the port number, be sure to make note of it in the event that you need to adjust configuration settings at a later time.

    3. In the MongoDB port number text box, enter a port number to use for communication between Rapid Recovery and the MongoDB service database in which transactional information is stored.

      NOTE: The default value is 27017. If you change the port number, be sure to make note of it in the event that you need to adjust configuration settings at a later time.

    4. Optionally, in the Select optional components area, if you want to install Mailbox Restore, select Mailbox Restore for Exchange.

      NOTE: If you do not want to install Mailbox Restore, clear this option.

      Mailbox Restore for Microsoft Exchange is a comprehensive email recovery program that works with Rapid Recovery and the Local Mount Utility (LMU) to recover Exchange items from a full data store to a single email message. For more information about Mailbox Restore, see the most recent Rapid Recovery Mailbox Restore for Exchange User Guide.

  17. Once you are satisfied with the installation options, click Next.

    The Privacy Policy page appears.

  18. For General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance, Quest offers users control of their personally identifiable information (PII). Select from one of the options below, and then click Next or Install, as appropriate.
    Option Description

    I accept this use of personal data.

    Select this option if you want to take advantage of automatic updates or use the QorePortal to manage multiple Cores, generate reports, and more.

    NOTE: The automatic update feature of Rapid Recovery Core is disabled unless you accept this use of personal data. If you decline the use of personal data, you can later consent to its use. If you initially decline and later consent, you must explicitly change the "Agree to use of personal data" general setting in your Core before using automatic update or the QorePortal.

    For more information, about this feature, see Automatically installing updates. For restrictions related to upgrading, see Automatic Update advisory. For information about changing the necessary Core privacy setting, see the topic "Configuring Core general settings" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide.

    I do not accept this use of personal data.

    Use this option if you do not want to share the limited set of PII collected by Rapid Recovery Core. If you select this option you cannot use automatic updates or view information about any Cores or protected machines on the QorePortal. Unless using a trial version, if you continue with installation using this option, you cannot use the Core until you obtain and register a non-phone-home license from the Rapid Recovery licensing team.

    NOTE: If you want to install a trial or standard version but do not agree to the use of your PII, you must contact Quest Sales, and request a non-phone home license for Rapid Recovery Core. You can install Core before or after you obtain this license, but when declining use of PII, you must associate the non-phone home license with your Core before use.

    For more information about managing your PII, the GDPR, the functions you cannot perform if you do not accept the use of personal data, and how to obtain a non-phone-home license, see the topic "Managing privacy" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide.

  19. Choose from one of the following:
    • If you accepted the use of personal data, and are installing Core on this machine for the first time, after clicking Next, the Update Options page appears. Proceed to the next step.
    • If you accepted the use of personal data and are upgrading from a previous version of Core, and if the machine being upgraded has not met all prerequisites, the Prerequisites page appears. Proceed to step 13.
    • If you accepted the use of personal data, are upgrading from a previous version of Core, and the machine being upgraded has met all prerequisites, the Progress page appears and includes a status bar that lets you monitor the progress of the installation. Skip to step 22.
    • If you declined the use of personal data, the Progress page appears and includes a status bar that lets you monitor the progress of the installation. Skip to step 22.

      NOTE: If you choose not to share personally identifiable information with Quest, you must request a non-phone home license, which will disable connection with the QorePortal and disable auto update for Core software. For more information about this portal, see About the QorePortal. For information on managing privacy from the Rapid Recovery Core Console, see the topic "Managing privacy" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide.

  20. On the Update Options page, choose from one of the options described in the following table.
    Option Description

    Automatically install updates (recommended)

    If you select this option, the Rapid Recovery Core automatically compares your version of the Core with the latest version available in the manifest, once weekly. If an update is available, the updated version installs automatically after the nightly jobs have completed.

    NOTE: If you have installed either an experimental patch or a patch that fixes a defect not fixed by the update, then you are not notified of the update, nor is the update automatically installed. This suppression of the automatic update feature is intentional so that the changes introduced by your patches are not reversed.

    NOTE: If upgrading from Core versions prior to 6.2, automatic update is intentionally disabled. Until you manually upgrade to release 6.2 or later and accept the user of personal data, you will not be notified of the availability of a new release by an alert at the top of the Core Console.

    When using replication, configuring your system to install updates automatically could result in upgrading the source Core before the target Core. Updating Cores in this sequence may result in replication failure or the inability to set up new replication between Cores. (In such cases, remove and re-add replication.)

    For replication users, Quest recommends administrators apply automatic upgrades only to the target Core, and then manually upgrade the source Core, and lastly upgrade the protected machines.

    Notify me about updates, but do not install them automatically

    If you select this option, you see an alert at the top of the Rapid Recovery Core Console when a newer version is available, including a link to download the update.

    Never check for updates

    If you select this option, you are not notified when a newer version is available.

  21. Click Install.

    The Progress page appears and includes a status bar that lets you monitor the progress of the installation.

  22. When the installation has finished, the Completed page appears.

    If you upgraded from a previous version, this page shows configuration changes made to your Core.

  23. On the Completed page, do one of the following:
    • If a reboot of the Core server is not required, click Finish to close the installer.
    • If a reboot of the Core server is required, you see a message displayed. In such cases, Quest recommends rebooting the Rapid Recovery Core server after installation. Do one of the following:
      • To reboot immediately, select Yes, I want to restart my computer now and then click Finish to close the installer and reboot immediately.
      • If you plan to reboot at a later time, click Finish to close the installer.

      The installer closes. If you selected the restart option, the Core server reboots. A Core Console desktop shortcut appears on the desktop that opens this version of the Rapid Recovery Core Console.

For new Core installations:

  • Unless you installed a trial version, the first time you open the Rapid Recovery Core Console, you must enter your license information. If you declined to share PII with Quest, you must obtain and register a non-phone home key before using your Core.
    • For more information about managing your PII, the GDPR, the functions you cannot perform if you do not accept the use of personal data, and how to obtain a non-phone-home license, see the topic "Managing privacy" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide.
    • For more information about registering a phone-home or non-phone-home license, see Updating or changing a license.
  • When you open the Rapid Recovery Core Console, if you see the Quick Start Guide welcome page, you can click Start Guide to run through this feature, or you can click Close to close the guide.

    NOTE: For more information about the Quick Start Guide, see "Understanding the Quick Start Guide" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide.

  • Before protecting any machines, you must create a repository in a storage location designated for your Core. For information about repositories, see the "Repositories" section of the Rapid Recovery User Guide.
  • If using deduplication in your DVM repository, the dedupication cache is installed in the C:\ drive of the Core machine by default. To optimize deduplication performance, Quest recommends installing the deduplication cache to a different storage volume. For maximum performance, install the deduplication cache on a solid state drive (SSD). For more information about deduplication, see the Rapid Recovery User Guide.
  • You can protect virtual machines agentlessly, or install the Agent software on physical or virtual machines, and then add those machines to protection on your Core. For more information about protecting machines in your Core, see the section "Protecting machines" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide. For more information about agentless protection, including some important exclusions, see the topic "Understanding Rapid Snap for Virtual" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide.

For upgrades of the Core software:

  • Backups and replication must be paused during the upgrade process. Do not forget to resume protection or replication to continue protecting your data.
  • When upgrading your Core, if you declined to share PII with Quest, you must obtain and register a non-phone home license key before using your Core. For more information, see the topic "Managing privacy" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide.

For information about configuring the Rapid Recovery Core and protecting and managing your data, see the Rapid Recovery User Guide.

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