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.
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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. |
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Rapid Recovery Agent. This component is the primary provider of the services and software that let you protect your data. You install 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. |
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Data Protection Portal. This new web-based portal is currently accessible to Rapid Recovery users with a current maintenance agreement. The Data Protection Portal 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 the now-deprecated Rapid Recovery Central Management Console. This feature is intended to be particularly useful for managed service providers. |
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Rapid Recovery Portal plugin. The Portal Plugin gives Cores the ability to connect and transfer information to the Data Protection 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 Data Protection Portal. |
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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 Data Protection Portal. See Managing 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 Rapid Recovery License Portal User Guide. |
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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 Rapid Recovery 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 Rapid Recovery User Guide. |
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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 levels; and lets users restore individual files or an entire volume from the recovery point, including BMR of the system volume. |
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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. |
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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 Rapid Recovery Commands and Scripting Reference Guide. |
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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 Mailbox Restore for Exchange User Guide. |
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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 DocRetriever Agent are installed on your SharePoint servers. For more information about this component, see the DocRetriever for SharePoint User Guide. |
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Azure replication target. Microsoft Azure users who want to replicate on-premise Rapid Recovery backups from a version 6.x Core to the cloud can use the Rapid Recovery Replication Target VM in Azure. The VM is free for licensed Rapid Recovery customers; users are responsible for storage costs associated with storing their replicated backups in the Azure cloud. For more information about this component, see the Rapid Recovery Replication Target for Microsoft Azure Setup Guide. |
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.
If using two or more pre-release 6.2 Cores, you can continue to use the Central Management Console. However, since that component is deprecated, you should plan to migrate to the new Data Protection Portal in the near future. As of release 6.2, you do not need any additional software to manage Cores using the Data Protection Portal.
New Core users must purchase a long-term subscription or perpetual license to use Rapid Recovery.
For more information about licensing, see the following resources:
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For information about managing licenses from the Rapid Recovery Core, including uploading license files to associate them with the Core, see the topic "Managing licenses" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide or the Rapid Recovery Installation and Upgrade Guide. |
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For information about managing license subscriptions and license groups on the license portal, see the Rapid Recovery License Portal User Guide. |
To use Rapid Recovery Core, you must register it with the Rapid Recovery License Portal. If you do not already have one, you must create a license portal account at https://rapidrecovery.licenseportal.com/User/Register. The email address you use to register your license portal account is used in the future for important communication.
NOTE: This license portal was recently rebranded. If you previously registered a license portal account to use with AppAssure or Rapid Recovery, then use that account information. You can log in at https://licenseportal.com. Previous license portal users do not need to register a new account for Rapid Recovery. |
The license portal identifies a Rapid Recovery Core by its Core ID. For this reason, to avoid a conflict between managing Core IDs, Quest recommends not cloning machines with Rapid Recovery Core installed. In the event you have already done so, then remove the Rapid Recovery Core software on the cloned machine, and then reinstall it. This results in a new Core ID being assigned to the cloned machine.
Rapid Recovery Core users with a valid maintenance agreement can access the Data Protection Portal. This feature, particularly useful for managed service providers, lets you manage multiple Cores; access a dashboard where you can monitor tasks and events, view repository status, and check system health; generate reports; and perform a growing list of other functions from a single web-based user interface.
When installing the Rapid Recovery Core, you can choose to automatically update the Rapid Recovery Core software. You can also choose to be notified about or to ignore updates. Once installation is complete, these settings can be changed at any time. For more information on changing automatic update settings, see the topic "Configuring update settings" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide.
NOTE: For optimal performance, it is recommended that you install the Rapid Recovery Core on more recent operating systems such as Windows 8.1 or later, or Windows Server 2012 R2 or later. |
The Rapid Recovery Core requires a 64-bit Windows platform; 32-bit systems and Linux systems are not supported. For more information, see "Rapid Recovery Core installation requirements" in the Rapid Recovery System Requirements Guide. In addition, on Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, and Windows Server 2016 operating systems, you must have the ASP .NET 4.6.2 role or feature installed on the server. If you do not have the feature installed, the Core installer will install it automatically.
After you install the Rapid Recovery Core, you can download the Rapid Recovery Agent installer from the Core or the Rapid Recovery License Portal for each machine that you want to protect using the Rapid Recovery Agent software.
Before you begin, see About installing the Rapid Recovery Core.
When upgrading an existing Core, protected machines are paused. To resume protection in your upgraded release 6.2 Core, your protected machines must be upgraded to Rapid Recovery Agent version 6.x or later. While no longer supported, you can also protect a machine with AppAssure Agent with version 5.4.3 installed.
To see which operating systems are supported for Rapid Recovery Core release 6.2, see the topic "Rapid Recovery release 6.2 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.
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Download the Rapid Recovery Core installer file from the Downloads page of the Data Protection Portal or the Rapid Recovery License Portal; for example: |
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Depending on the configuration of your machine, the User Account Control window or the Open File - Security Warning window may appear.
For more information, see "Rapid Recovery Core installation requirements" in the Rapid Recovery System Requirements Guide.
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In the Setup dialog box, from the language field, select the appropriate language and then click OK. |
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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. When upgrading, you only see a limited number of steps in the installation wizard. |
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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 9. |
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On the Compatibility page, if using replication, you may see a relevant informational message. Do one of the following: |
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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. |
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In the Rapid Recovery Core Installation Wizard, on the Welcome page, click Next to continue with the installation. |
The License Agreement page appears.
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On the License Agreement page, select I accept the terms in the license agreement, and then click Next. |
The Prerequisites page appears. Proceed to the next step.
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On the Prerequisites page, the Rapid Recovery Core installer verifies the existence of prerequisite files. |
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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. |
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If installing for the first time, the Installation Options page appears. Proceed to the next step. |
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If upgrading, the Progress page appears and includes a status bar that lets you monitor the progress of the installation. Skip to step 19. |
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On the Installation Options page, review the installation options. If necessary, modify them as described below. |
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In the Destination Folder text field, review the destination folder for the installation. If you want to change the location, do the following: |
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In the Browse to Destination Folder dialog box, select a new location. |
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Click OK. |
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In the Core port number text field, enter a port number to use for communication between the Rapid Recovery Core and its protected machines. |
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In the MongoDB port number text field, enter a port number to use for communication between Rapid Recovery and the MongoDB service database in which transactional information is stored. |
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Optionally, in the Select optional components area, if you want to install Mailbox Restore, select Mailbox Restore for Exchange. |
Mailbox Restore for Microsoft Exchange is a comprehensive email recovery program that works with Rapid Recovery and the Rapid Recovery 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 Mailbox Restore for Exchange User Guide.
The Privacy Policy page appears.
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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. |
Select this option if you want to take advantage of automatic updates or use the Data Protection Portal to manage multiple Cores, generate reports, and more. | |||
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 Data Protection Portal. 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. |
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.
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If you accepted the use of personal data, and are installing Core on this machine for the first time, the Update Options page appears. Proceed to the next step. |
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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 19. |
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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 19. |
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 Data Protection Portal and disable auto update for Core software. For more information about this portal, see About the Quest Data Protection Portal. For information on managing privacy from the Rapid Recovery Core Console, see the topic "Managing privacy" in the Rapid Recovery User Guide |
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If you select this option, the Rapid Recovery Core will automatically compare your version of the Core with the latest version available in the manifest, once weekly. If a minor update is available (for example, upgrade to 6.2 from 6.1.3), the updated version is installed automatically after the nightly jobs have completed. If a major upgrade is available (for example, upgrade to 6.1 from 5.4.3), you will 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.) 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 will see an alert at the top of the Rapid Recovery Core Console when a newer version is available, including a link that will download the update. | ||
If you select this option, you will not be notified when a newer version is available. |
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The Progress page appears and includes a status bar that lets you monitor the progress of the installation.
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On the Completed page, if a reboot of the Core server is required, you see a message displayed. In such cases, Quest recommends rebooting the Core server after installation. Do one of the following: |
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To reboot immediately, select Yes, I want to restart my computer now and then click Finish to close the installer and reboot immediately. |
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If you plan to reboot at a later time, click Finish to close the installer. |
The installer closes and, if you selected the option, the Core server restarts.
NOTE: Unless you installed a trial version, the first time you open the Rapid Recovery Core, you will need to 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 registernig a phone-home or non-phone-home license with your Core, see Updating or changing a license. |
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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:
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When upgrading your Core, 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, 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.
NOTE: As of release 6.2, unless using capacity-based licensing, a Rapid Recovery software license is consumed from your Enterprise license pool for each installation of Rapid Recovery Agent installed and protected on your Core. If protecting virtual machines on ESXi and Hyper-V hosts, Quest recommends uninstalling the Agent software and protecting those machines using Rapid Snap for Virtual agentless protection. Agentless protection offers several advantages and some restrictions, as described in the topic "Understanding Rapid Snap for Virtual." If interested in reducing the amount of licenses consumed, see the topic "Choosing Agent-based or agentless VM protection." Finally, if your VMs are running server applications such as Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server, you must enable application support to protect them agentlessly. This process is described in "Enabling application support." These topics all appear in the Rapid Recovery User Guide. |
For agent-based protection, install the Rapid Recovery Agent software on machines that you want to protect with Rapid Recovery Core, using the criteria specified below.
If upgrading a Linux machine from AppAssure Agent to Rapid Recovery Agent, perform these basic steps:
For more information, see Backing up and restoring the AppAssure agent ID.
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Completely remove the AppAssure Agent software from the machine using a shell script. |
For more information, see Uninstalling the AppAssure Agent software from a Linux machine.
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Install Rapid Recovery Agent. |
For more information, see About installing the Agent software on Linux machines.
For more information, see Configuring the Rapid Recovery Agent on a Linux machine.
This process is also described in the topic Backing up and restoring the AppAssure agent ID.
NOTE: After updating Rapid Recovery Agent, the first snapshot will result in a base image, creating a new recovery point chain. |
For new installations, or if the drivers have changed in the version of the Rapid Recovery Agent software to which you are upgrading, you are prompted to restart your system.
Install the Rapid Recovery Agent software on machines that you want to protect using the following criteria:
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Install Rapid Recovery Agent software on every physical machine in your environment. |
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Install Rapid Recovery Agent software on every hypervisor host you want to protect. |
NOTE: Optionally, you can protect supported versions of ESXi hosts agentlessly in the Core. Its guest machines can also be protected agentlessly. For more information about agentless protection, see the previously mentioned topics in the Rapid Recovery User Guide. For information on supported hypervisors and versions, see "Hypervisor requirements" in the Rapid Recovery System Requirements Guide. |
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If protecting Hyper-V guest virtual machines agentlessly, install Rapid Recovery Agent software on the Hyper-V host. |
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Install Rapid Recovery Agent software on every Hyper-V or ESXi VM you explicitly want to protect with the Agent (regardless of license consumption) instead of agentlessly. |
NOTE: For specific information relevant to your decision, see the previously mentioned topics in the Rapid Recovery User Guide. |
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Install Rapid Recovery Agent software on every XenServer VM or VMs hosted on Amazon Web Services or Azure hosted machines that you want to protect in your Rapid Recovery Core. |
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Install Rapid Recovery Agent software on each VM (node) hosted on a Hyper-V cluster that you want to protect with the Agent, instead of agentlessly. |
Review the methods to obtain the Rapid Recovery Agent software and determine which method you will use. Then obtain the software, and install on the machines you want to protect on the Rapid Recovery Core. Finally, add the machines to protection on your Core.
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