Rapid Recovery 6.1.3

If you have already installed the Rapid Recovery Agent software on the machine you want to protect, but have not restarted it yet, restart the machine now.

This topic describes how to start protecting the data on a single machine that you specify using the Protect Machine Wizard.

NOTE: Unless using agentless protection on a VMware or ESXi host, or a Hyper-V host, the machine you want to protect must have the Rapid Recovery Agent software installed in order to be protected. You can choose to install the Agent software prior to this procedure, or you can deploy the software to the target machine as a part of completing the Protect Machine Wizard.

NOTE: For more information on agentless protection and its restrictions, see Understanding Rapid Snap for Virtual.

NOTE: For more information on installing the Agent software, see “Installing the Rapid Recovery Agent software” in the Rapid Recovery License Portal Installation and Upgrade Guide.  If the Agent software is not installed prior to protecting a machine, you will not be able to select specific volumes for protection as part of this wizard. In this case, by default, all volumes on the agent machine will be included for protection.  Rapid Recovery supports the protection and recovery of machines configured with EISA partitions. Support is also extended to Windows 8 and 8.1, and Windows 2012 and 2012 R2 machines that use Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE).

To protect multiple machines using one process simultaneously, see About protecting multiple machines.

When you add protection, you need to define connection information such as the IP address and port, and provide credentials for the machine you want to protect. Optionally, you can provide a display name to appear in the Core Console instead of the IP address. If you change this, you will not see the IP address for the protected machine when you view details in the Core Console. You will also define the protection schedule for the machine.

The protection process includes optional steps you can access if you select an advanced configuration. Advanced options include repository functions and encryption. For example, you can specify an existing Rapid Recovery repository to save snapshots, or create a new repository. You can also specify an existing encryption key (or add a new encryption key) to apply to the data saved to the Core for this machine. For more information about encryption keys, see Encryption keys.

The workflow of the protection wizard may differ slightly based on your environment. For example, if the Rapid Recovery Agent software is installed on the machine you want to protect, you will not be prompted to install it from the wizard. Likewise, if a repository already exists on the Core, you will not be prompted to create one.

CAUTION: Rapid Recovery does not support bare metal restores (BMRs) of Linux machines with ext2 boot partitions. Any BMR performed on a machine with this type of partition results in a machine that does not start. If you want to be able to perform a BMR on this machine in the future, you must convert any ext2 partitions to ext3 or ext4 before you begin protecting and backing up the machine.

Do one of the following:

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If you are starting from the Protect Machine Wizard, proceed to Step 2.

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If you are starting from the Rapid Recovery Core Console, from the button bar, click Protect.

The Protect Machine Wizard appears.

On the Welcome page, select the appropriate installation options:

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If you do not need to define a repository or establish encryption, select Typical.

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If you need to create a repository, or define a different repository for backups for the selected machine, or if you want to establish encryption using the wizard, select Advanced (show optional steps).

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Optionally, if you do not wish to see the Welcome page for the Protect Machine Wizard in the future, select the option Skip this Welcome page the next time the wizard opens.

When you are satisfied with your choices on the Welcome page, then click Next.

The Connection page appears.

On the Connection page, enter the information about the machine to which you want to connect as described in the following table, and then click Next.

Table 45. Machine connection settings
Text Box	Description
Host	The host name or IP address of the machine that you want to protect.
Port	The port number on which the Rapid Recovery Core communicates with the Agent on the machine. The default port number is 8006.
User name	The user name used to connect to this machine; for example, Administrator (or, if the machine is in a domain, [domain name]\Administrator).
Password	The password used to connect to this machine.

If the Install Agent page appears next in the Protect Machine Wizard, that means that Rapid Recovery does not detect the Rapid RecoveryAgent on the machine and will install the current version of the software. Go to Step 7.

If the Upgrade Agent page appears next in the wizard, that means that an older version of the Agent software exists on the machine you want to protect.

NOTE: The Agent software must be installed on the machine you want to protect, and that machine must be restarted, before it can back up to the Core. To have the installer reboot the protected machine, select the option After installation, restart the machine automatically (recommended) before clicking Next.

On the Upgrade Agent page, do one of the following:

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To deploy the new version of the Agent software (matching the version for the Rapid Recovery Core), select Upgrade the Agent to the latest version of the software.

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To continue protecting the machine without updating the Agent software version, clear the option Upgrade the Agent to the latest version of the software.

Click Next.

Optionally, on the Protection page, if you want a name other than the IP address to display in the Rapid Recovery Core console for this protected machine, then in the Display Name field, type a name in the dialog box.

You can enter up to 64 characters. Do not use the special characters described in the topic prohibited characters . Additionally, do not begin the display name with any of the character combinations described in the topic prohibited phrases .

Select the appropriate protection schedule as described below:

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To use the default protection schedule, in the Schedule Settings option, select Default protection.

With a default protection schedule, the Core will take snapshots of all volumes on the protected machine once every hour. To change the protection settings at any time after you close the wizard, including choosing which volumes to protect, go to the Summary page for the specific protected machine.

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To define a different protection schedule, in the Schedule Settings option, select Custom protection.

Proceed with your configuration as follows:

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If you selected a Typical configuration for the Protect Machine Wizard and specified default protection, then click Finish to confirm your choices, close the wizard, and protect the machine you specified.

The first time protection is added for a machine, a base image (that is, a snapshot of all the data in the protected volumes) will transfer to the repository on the Rapid Recovery Core following the schedule you defined, unless you specified to initially pause protection.

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If you selected a Typical configuration for the Protect Machine Wizard and specified custom protection, then click Next to set up a custom protection schedule. For details on defining a custom protection schedule, see Creating a custom protection schedule from a wizard in Simple Mode.

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If you selected Advanced configuration for the Protect Machine Wizard, and default protection, then click Next and proceed to Step 14 to see repository and encryption options.

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If you selected Advanced configuration for the Protect Machine Wizard and specified custom protection, then click Next and proceed to Step 11 to choose which volumes to protect.

10.

On the Protection Volumes page, select which volumes you want to protect. If any volumes are listed that you do not want to include in protection, click in the Check column to clear the selection. Then click Next.

NOTE: Typically, it is good practice to protect, at minimum, the System Reserved volume and the volume with the operating system (typically the C drive).

11.

On the Protection Schedule page, define a custom protection schedule and then click Next. For details on defining a custom protection schedule, see Creating a custom protection schedule from a wizard in Simple Mode.

If you already have repository information configured, and you selected the Advanced option in Step 1, then the Encryption page appears. Proceed to Step 13.

12.

On the Repository page, the following:

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If you already have a repository and want to store the data from this machine for protection in the existing repository, then do the following:

Select Use an existing repository.

Select an existing repository from the list.

Click Next.

The Encryption page appears. Skip to Step 13 to optionally define encryption.

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If you want to create a repository, select Create a Repository, and then complete the following steps.

On the Repository, enter the information described in the following table.

Table 46. Add New Repository settings
Text Box	Description
Repository Name	Enter the display name of the repository. By default, this text box consists of the word Repository and a number, which corresponds to the number of repositories for this Core. For example, if this is the first repository, the default name is Repository 1. Change the name as needed. Repository names must contain between 1 and 40 alphanumeric characters, including spaces. Do not use prohibited characters or prohibited phrases .
Concurrent Operations	Define the number of concurrent requests you want the repository to support. By default the value is 64.
Comments	Optionally, enter a descriptive note about this repository. You can enter up to 254 characters. For example, type DVM Repository 2.

Click Add Storage Location to define the specific storage location or volume for the repository. This volume should be a primary storage location.

CAUTION: Define a dedicated folder within the root for the storage location for your repository. Do not specify the root location. For example, use E:\Repository\, not E:\. If the repository that you are creating in this step is later removed, all files at the storage location of your repository are deleted. If you define your storage location at the root, all other files in the volume (e.g., E:\) are deleted, which could result in catastrophic data loss.

The Add Storage Location dialog box appears.

Click Add Storage Location to define the specific storage location or volume for the repository. This volume should be a primary storage location.

In the Storage Location area, specify how to add the file for the storage location. You can choose to add a locally attached storage volume (such as direct attached storage, a storage area network, or network attached storage). You could also specify a storage volume on a Common Internet File System (CIFS) shared location.

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Select Add file on local disk to specify a local machine, and then enter the information as described in the following table.

Table 47. Local disk settings
Text Box	Description
Data path	Enter the location for storing the protected data. For example, type X:\Repository\Data. When specifying the path, use only alphanumeric characters, the hyphen, and the period (only to separate host names and domains). You can use the backslash character only to define levels in the path. Do not use spaces. No other symbols or punctuation characters are permitted.
Metadata path	Enter the location for storing the protected metadata. For example, type X:\Repository\Metadata. When specifying the path, use only alphanumeric characters, the hyphen, and the period (only to separate host names and domains). You can use the backslash character only to define levels in the path. Do not use spaces. No other symbols or punctuation characters are permitted.

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Or, select Add file on CIFS share to specify a network share location, and then enter the information as described in the following table.

Table 48. CIFS share credentials
Text Box	Description
UNC path	Enter the path for the network share location. If this location is at the root, define a dedicated folder name (for example, Repository). The path must begin with \\. When specifying the path, use only alphanumeric characters, the hyphen, and the period (only to separate host names and domains). The letters a to z are case-insensitive. Do not use spaces. No other symbols or punctuation characters are permitted.
User name	Specify a user name for accessing the network share location.
Password	Specify a password for accessing the network share location.

In the Storage Configuration area, click More Details and enter the details for the storage location as described in the following table.

Table 49. Storage configuration details

Text Box

Description

Size

Set the size or capacity for the storage location. The minimum size is 1 GB. The default is 250 GB. You can choose from the following:

•

NOTE: The size that you specify cannot exceed the size of the volume.

If the storage location is a New Technology File System (NTFS) volume using Windows XP or Windows 7, the file size limit is 16 TB.

If the storage location is a NTFS volume using Windows 8, 8.1, Windows 10, or Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, the file size limit is 256 TB.

NOTE: For Rapid Recovery to validate the operating system, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) must be installed on the intended storage location.

Write caching policy

The write caching policy controls how the Windows Cache Manager is used in the repository and helps to tune the repository for optimal performance on different configurations.

Set the value to one of the following:

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Off

•

Sync

If set to On, which is the default, Windows controls the caching. This is appropriate for Windows 10, and for versions of Windows Server 2012 and later.

NOTE: Setting the write caching policy to On could result in faster performance. If you are using Windows Server 2008 SP2 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP2, the recommended setting is Off.

If set to Off, Rapid Recovery controls the caching.

If set to Sync, Windows controls the caching as well as the synchronous input/output.

Bytes per sector

Specify the number of bytes you want each sector to include. The default value is 512.

Average bytes per record

Specify the average number of bytes per record. The default value is 8192.

Click Next.

If you chose the Advanced option in Step 1, the Encryption page appears.

13.

Optionally, on the Encryption page, to enable encryption, select Enable Encryption.

Encryption key fields appear on the Encryption page.

NOTE: If you enable encryption, it will be applied to data for all protected volumes for this machine.  You can change encryption settings later from the Rapid Recovery Core Console.  For more information about encryption, see the topic Encryption keys.

CAUTION: Rapid Recovery uses AES 256-bit encryption in the Cipher Block Chaining (CBC) mode with 256-bit keys. While using encryption is optional, Quest highly recommends that you establish an encryption key, and that you protect the passphrase you define. Store the passphrase in a secure location as it is critical for data recovery. Without a passphrase, data recovery is not possible.

14.

On the Encryption page, select one of the following options:

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If you want to encrypt this protected machine using an encryption key that is already defined on this Rapid Recovery Core, select Encrypt data using an existing Encryption key, and then select the appropriate key from the drop-down menu. Proceed to the next step.

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If you want to add a new encryption key to the Core and apply that key to this protected machine, then enter the information as described in the following table.

Table 50. Encryption key settings
Text Box	Description
Name	Enter a name for the encryption key. Encryption key names must contain between 1 and 130 alphanumeric characters. You may not include special characters such as the back slash, forward slash, pipe, colon, asterisk, quotation mark, question mark, open or close brackets, ampersand or hash.
Description	Enter a comment for the encryption key. This information appears in the Description field when viewing encryption keys from the Core Console.
Passphrase	Enter the passphrase used to control access. Best practice is to avoid special characters listed above. Record the passphrase in a secure location. Quest Support cannot recover a passphrase. Once you create an encryption key and apply it to one or more protected machines, you cannot recover data if you lose the passphrase.
Confirm Passphrase	Re-enter the passphrase you just entered.

15.

Click Finish to save and apply your settings.

Protecting a cluster

Protecting nodes in a cluster

This topic describes how to add a cluster for protection in Rapid Recovery . When you add a cluster to protection, you need to specify the host name or IP address of the cluster, the cluster application, or one of the cluster nodes or machines that includes the Rapid Recovery Agent software.

NOTE: A repository is used to store the snapshots of data that are captured from your protected nodes. Before you start protecting data in your cluster, you should have set up at least one repository that is associated with your Rapid Recovery Core.

For information about setting up repositories, see Understanding repositories.

From the Rapid Recovery Core Console, click the Protect button drop-down menu, and then click Protect Cluster.

In the Connect to Cluster dialog box, enter the following information.

Table 51. Connect to Cluster settings

Text Box

Description

Host

The host name or IP address of the cluster, the cluster application, or one of the cluster nodes.

Port

The port number on the machine on which the Rapid Recovery Core communicates with the Agent.

The default port is 8006.

User name

The user name of the domain administrator used to connect to this machine: for example, domain_name\administrator.

NOTE: The domain name is mandatory. You cannot connect to the cluster using the local administrator user name.

Password

The password used to connect to this machine.

Click Connect.

In the Protect Cluster dialog box, select a repository for this cluster.

If you want to secure the recovery points for this cluster using Core-based encryption, select an encryption key.

If you do not want protection to begin immediately after completing this procedure, select Initially pause protection.

To protect the cluster based on default settings, select the nodes for default protection, and then go to Step 10.

NOTE: The default settings schedule a snapshot of all volumes every 60 minutes.

To enter custom settings for the cluster (for example, to customize the protection schedule for the shared volumes), do one of the following, and then see Creating a custom protection schedule from a wizard in Simple Mode.

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To customize settings for an individual node, next to the node that you want to customize, click Settings, and then click Function next to the relevant volume.

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To customize settings for the cluster, click the Settings button at the bottom of the dialog box, and then click Function next to the relevant volume.

For more information about customizing nodes, see Protecting nodes in a cluster.

When you have made all necessary changes, click Save.

10.

In the Protect Cluster dialog box, click Protect.

Protecting nodes in a cluster

This task requires that you first protect a cluster. For more information, see Protecting a cluster.

This topic describes how to protect the data on a cluster node or machine that has a Rapid Recovery Agent installed. This procedure lets you add individual nodes to protection that you may have omitted when you protected a cluster.

In the Rapid Recovery Core Console, under Protected Machine, click the cluster with the nodes that you want to protect.

On the Summary page for the cluster, click the Protected Nodes.

On the Protected Nodes page, click Protect Cluster Node.

In the Protect Cluster Node dialog box, select or enter as appropriate the following information.

Table 52. Protect Cluster Node settings
Text Box	Description
Host	A drop-down list of nodes in the cluster available for protection.
Port	The port number on which the Rapid Recovery Core communicates with the Agent on the node.
User name	The user name of the domain administrator used to connect to this node; for example, example_domain\administrator or administrator@example_domain.com.
Password	The password used to connect to this machine.

To add the node, click Connect.

To start protecting this node with default protection settings, go to Step 13.

NOTE: The default settings ensure that all volumes on the machine are protected with a schedule of every 60 minutes.

In the Protect [Node Name] dialog box, if you want to use a repository other than the default setting, use the drop-down list to select a repository.

If you want to secure the recovery points for this cluster using Core-based encryption, use the drop-down list to select an encryption key.

If you do not want protection to begin immediately after completing this procedure, select Initially pause protection.

10.

To enter custom settings (for example, to customize the protection schedule for the shared volumes), do the following:

To customize settings for an individual volume, next to the volume that you want to customize, click Function next to the relevant volume.

See Creating a custom protection schedule from a wizard in Simple Mode.

11.

Click Protect.

Creating a custom protection schedule from a wizard in Simple Mode

The procedure for creating a custom protection schedule from within a protection wizard is identical to the procedure for creating a protection schedule for an existing machine in Simple Mode. Protection schedules created in a wizard or in Simple Mode are not saved as templates. To create templates or multiple protection schedules, see Creating multiple protection schedule periods in Advanced Mode. Complete the steps in this procedure to create custom schedules for using Rapid Recovery to back up data from protected machines.

Complete one of the following options:

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If using a protection wizard (Protect Machine, Protect Multiple Machines, Protecting a Cluster), on the Protection page of the wizard, select Custom protection, and then click Next.

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If creating a protection schedule for a machine that is already protected, on the Summary page for the protected machine, expand the volumes of the protected machine, select the applicable volumes, and then click Set a Schedule.

The Protection Schedule page or dialog appears.

On the Protection Schedule page or dialog, complete one of the following options:

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To set a protection period that runs on set days and at specified times, select Periods, and then continue to Step 3.

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To set a specific time to back up the machine every day, select Daily protection time, and then continue to Step 7.

To change the interval schedule for any period, complete the following steps:

Create a span of time by selecting a From time and a To time.

For each period, click in the interval text box, and then enter an appropriate interval in minutes.

For example, highlight the default interval of 60 and replace it with the value 20 to perform snapshots every 20 minutes during this period.

To customize snapshots for peak and off-peak business hours, complete the following steps: set an optimal interval for the peak range, select Take snapshots for the remaining time, and then set an off-peak interval by doing the following:

Select Weekdays.

Set the From and To times to create a span of time during your peak business hours.

In the Every X minutes box, enter an interval in minutes for how often Rapid Recovery should create recovery points during this span of peak business hours.

For example, highlight the default interval of 60 and replace it with the value 20 to perform snapshots every 20 minutes during the time range you selected for this period.

To schedule snapshots during off-peak business hours, select Take snapshots for the rest of the time.

In the Every X minutes box, enter an interval in minutes for how often Rapid Recovery should create recovery points during this span of off-peak business hours.

For example, because there is less business activity during these hours, and fewer changes to back up, you may decide to take fewer snapshots and keep the default interval of 60 minutes.

Continue to Step 7.

To set a single time of day for a single backup to occur daily, select Daily protection time and then enter a time in format HH:MM AM. For example, to do a daily backup at 9:00 PM, enter 09:00 PM.

To define the schedule without beginning backups, select Initially pause protection.

After you pause protection from the wizard, it remains paused until you explicitly resume it. Once you resume protection, backups occur based on the schedule you established. For more information on resuming protection, see Pausing and resuming protection.

When you are satisfied with changes made to your protection schedule, click Finish or Next, as appropriate.

If you are using a wizard, return to the procedure for the appropriate wizard to complete any remaining requirements.

Creating multiple protection schedule periods in Advanced Mode

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Rapid Recovery 6.1.3 - User Guide

Protecting a machine

Protecting a cluster

Protecting nodes in a cluster

Creating a custom protection schedule from a wizard in Simple Mode