CDP_LocalArchiving
Local Archiving
SonicWALL CDP Local Archiving Overview
The Local Archiving feature and the Local Archiving Manager allow an administrator to copy some or all of the contents of the SonicWALL CDP appliance onto a USB device. This feature can also be used to create a portable backup that can be restored at another site that does not have a CDP appliance. Data can be archived to the USB device in encrypted format.
SonicWALL CDP Local Archiving provides the following benefits:
|
|
|
Disaster-recovery —Local Archiving can be part of a flexible disaster-recovery program. Administrators can configure local archiving to run automatically, and use USB devices to replace tapes. |
|
|
|
Offsite storage —For some organizations, physical offsite storage is a regulatory requirement. Copying data to USB devices, which are then stored elsewhere, can fulfill regulatory requirements, especially when the data is securely encrypted. |
|
|
|
Upstream local archiving —You can create a local archive of data on an upstream (offsite) appliance, as well as on a local appliance. Having a local archive of data that has been backed up offsite adds flexibility and redundancy. |
|
|
|
Backup —In companies with multiple locations, the distributed branch offices can back up to a central location, which adds flexibility and redundancy. |
|
|
|
Security —Encrypted USB storage devices are more secure than many other methods of offsite storage. |
How Does Local Archiving Work?
SonicWALL Local Archiving uses the Local Archive Manager application to backup files to a USB device, and to restore files from a USB device. The Local Archive Manager is automatically installed on your client during the initial SonicWALL CDP Agent installation process. By default, a shortcut is created for it on your desktop. Double-click the shortcut to launch the tool. If the shortcut is not available, you can launch the tool by double-clicking the LocalArchiveAgent.exe file in the SonicWALL CDP installation folder.
An administrator plugs a USB device into an upstream or downstream SonicWALL CDP appliance and then uses the SonicWALL CDP Local Archiving Manager to copy some or all of the contents of the CDP appliance to the USB device. The administrator specifies a source and destination, and whether the data should be archived in an encrypted format. The administrator then clicks Archive Now! to copy the data.
The administrator can also configure automated tasks to copy data from the SonicWALL CDP appliance to a USB device. By default, archived files are stored on the USB device as compressed, unencrypted files. Administrators can choose to add encryption to some or all of the archived files as they are stored on the USB device.
Local archives can be restored to Windows, Mac, or Linux agent machines.
Local Archiving Configuration Overview
The Local Archiving Manager provides the Appliance Archive button to activate local archiving. The feature allows an administrator to archive some or all of the contents of a SonicWALL CDP appliance onto a USB device. This feature can also be used to create a portable backup that can be restored at another site that does not have a SonicWALL CDP appliance. Data can be archived to the USB device in encrypted format.
The administrator can use local archiving manually or as part of an automated process. The configuration of source and destination folders is the same for both processes. For automated local archiving, the administrator must create one or more tasks.
To view the Appliance Archive window, click the Appliance Archive button in the Local Archiving Manager toolbar.
Local archiving is a licensed service offered at no additional charge. You must obtain a license on MySonicWALL before using this feature.
For more information about using this feature, see the “Creating a Local Archive” section .
Prerequisites for Local Archiving
Before configuring local archiving, make sure that the following requirements are met:
|
|
|
The local archiving module is properly licensed. The license is available on MySonicWALL at no additional charge. |
|
|
|
A USB device of sufficient capacity for your needs is plugged into the SonicWALL CDP appliance. SonicWALL recommends using NTFS on USB media. If you use FAT32, archiving is limited to files less than 4 gigabytes. |
Creating a Local Archive
To set up a local archive, you must first choose a destination folder, and then the folder or folders you want stored on the USB device. These source folders exist on the SonicWALL CDP appliance. The administrator can also configure encryption for the folders. The administrator can set up recurring tasks that perform the local archiving on a regular schedule.
|
|
|
The time stamp of local archived files is in UTC time which may be different from the actual backup time in the local time zone. |
To create a local archive on your USB device:
|
|
Connect your USB device directly to the SonicWALL CDP appliance. You can connect it to a local appliance or to an upstream (offsite) appliance. |
|
|
Launch the SonicWALL CDP Local Archiving Manager and click Appliance Archive on the main toolbar. |
|
|
Set the destination by clicking the ... button next to the Folder field in the Destination section in the left pane. You’ll see a list of all the USB devices mounted on your SonicWALL CDP appliance. |
|
|
Choose the USB device to which you want to copy your data. You can choose an existing folder on the USB device, or create a new one by clicking Make New Folder . |
|
|
Click OK . In the Destination section, you will see the folder you selected, and the space available on the USB device. |
|
|
In the Appliance Archive pane, choose the agent(s), applications, or folders you want to archive to the USB device. Select an entry by selecting the checkbox next to it. |
|
|
|
If a node is marked with a check, all the files and folders below it will be included. If new files or folders are added to this node, they will automatically be added. |
|
|
|
To select only some folders, check only the folders you want. The levels above this partial folder are marked with a green block instead of a check mark. If a node is in partial mode, folders added to it will not automatically be added to the archived folders. |
|
|
|
To encrypt a folder as it is archived to the USB device, right-click its check box and choose Encrypt . By default, all the folders and files under an encrypted node will also be encrypted. When selected for encryption, the check box displays a lock icon instead of a check mark. |
|
|
|
To store an initial full version of a folder, and then only the changes thereafter, select the folders and then click Incremental at the top of the pane. The first time you archive this folder, all the files will be archived; the next time the local archiving runs, only the changed files will be archived. |
|
|
If you chose to encrypt any data, you must select an encryption key in the Encryption section in the left pane. Select the check box to use the encryption key stored on your SonicWALL CDP appliance. Otherwise, you can supply your own key, which can contain up to 32 alphanumeric characters. |
|
|
When you have configured local archiving, click Archive Now! Your data is archived to the USB device in the location you selected. |
|
|
You can stop the archiving at any time by clicking Stop Archiving . While the data is actively archiving, the Archive Now! button changes to Stop Archiving . |
|
|
|
You can also use the button bar in the Local Archiving pane to configure an archiving task. All of the buttons except Refresh work like the menu options described above. Click Refresh to redraw the pane and be sure that you have the icons indicating the correct settings. |
Verifying Local Archiving Success
To verify that your files have archived successfully, click ... in the Destination section. Check that there are new folders in the location you selected, with the name of the appliance, current date, and time. Remember that the date and time are displayed in the UTC time zone.
At the bottom of the window, you will see a success message, detailing how many files were archived, and if there were any failures.
|
|
|
You must eject the USB device before you unplug it. Failure to eject the device may cause data loss on the USB drive. See “Ejecting the USB Device” . |
Ejecting the USB Device
To properly eject the USB device after archiving data to it, perform the following steps:
|
|
In SonicWALL CDP Local Archiving Manager, click the Appliance Archive tab. |
|
|
In the left pane under Destination, click the ... button next to the Folder field. |
|
|
In the confirmation dialog, click Yes . |
|
|
In the Select Archive Folder window, click Cancel to close the window. |
Restoring Client Data from a Local Archive
To restore files, folders, or client applications (Outlook and Outlook Express) from a local archive on your USB device, open the SonicWALL CDP Local Archive Manager.
To restore server applications ( Active Directory, Exchange InfoStore, SQL) from a local archive, follow the procedure described in “Restoring Server Applications from a Local Archive” .
To restore files, folders, or client applications from a local archive:
|
|
Connect your USB device to the computer to which you want to restore the data. This might not be the same computer on which you run the SonicWALL CDP Local Archiving Manager. |
|
|
Launch the SonicWALL CDP Local Archiving Manager and click Restore From Local Archive . If Local Archiving Manager is already running, close it and then launch it again to view this selection. Note that you do not enter the password to login to an appliance when restoring from a local archive. |
|
|
In the Browse for Folder window, navigate to the USB drive and select the desired archive and then click OK . If the USB device contains multiple archives, they can be distinguished by the date in the file names. |
|
|
In the left pane, expand Sets and the folders under it to view the files available in the local archive. Select the item you want to restore. |
|
|
Click the Restore a Version button in the right pane. |
|
|
In the Restore Folder Version window, select the archive file to restore and then click Restore . |
|
|
In the Browse for Folder window, select a destination folder or click Make New Folder to create a folder for the restored data on your computer and then click OK . |
Restoring Server Applications from a Local Archive
To restore server applications from a local archive, use the SonicWALL CDP Local Archiving Manager.
To restore files, folders, or client applications (Outlook and Outlook Express) from a local archive on your USB device, follow the procedure described in “Restoring Client Data from a Local Archive” .
To restore server applications from a local archive, perform the following steps:
|
|
Connect your USB device to the computer to which you want to restore the data. This might not be the same computer on which you run the SonicWALL CDP Local Archiving Manager. |
|
|
Launch the SonicWALL CDP Local Archiving Manager and click Restore From Local Archive . If Local Archiving Manager is already running, close it and then launch it again to view this selection. Note that you do not enter the password to login to an appliance when restoring from a local archive. |
|
|
In the Browse for Folder window, navigate to the USB drive, select the desired archive and then click OK . If the USB device contains multiple archives, they can be distinguished by the date in the file names. |
|
|
In the Local Archiving Manager window, click Applications on the Local Archiving Manager toolbar. |
|
|
In the left pane, expand Sets and the folders under it to view the files available in the local archive. Select the item you want to restore. |
|
|
Click the Restore a Version button in the right pane. |
|
|
In the Restore Folder Version window, select the archive file to restore and then click Restore . |
|
|
In the Browse for Folder window, select a destination folder or click Make New Folder to create a folder for the restored data on your computer and then click OK . |
Creating an Automatic Local Archive Task
You can configure the Local Archiving feature to automatically run at set intervals. Each task can run at only one interval, but you can set up multiple tasks on the same group of files. For instance, you could set up one task to run a full backup of a folder on Sunday, and then add a second task to do incremental backups the rest of the week. Tasks are stored on the CDP appliance.
Follow this procedure to manually configure Local Archiving:
|
|
If you want email notification (success or failure), specify when you want the message to be sent. |
|
|
In the Task field, enter the name for this task. |
|
|
Click Save Task . |
|
|
To add another task, click Add Task and configure it with a different period and time. |