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You can back up data from any computer on your network that is installed with the CTERA Agent, to a network share on the appliance. You can also use the CTERA Agent to easily backup roaming PCs or remote offices even when they are outside your network.
The CTERA Agent supports the following types of backup operations:
File-level backup allows backing up files and folders from the CTERA Agent local interface to the appliance. The CTERA Agent can back up both unlocked and locked files.
In addition, you can back up the following server applications:
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Application backup utilizes Microsoft’s Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS). VSS enables backups that are point-in-time and application-level consistent. |
The backed up files and applications can later be restored as needed.
Disk-level backup, also known as “bare-metal backup”, allows backing up an image of the CTERA Agent-installed computer’s hard drives to the appliance. In case of an operating system error or a hard drive failure, the computer can be restored in full from the disk-level backup, returning the system to its exact state when the backup was performed. You can also restore disk-level backups to dissimilar hardware (provided it has sufficient disk space), and even to a virtual machine (VM).
When CTERA Agent is used in conjunction with CTERA’s Cloud Backup, a copy of disk-level backups is stored offsite for complete disaster protection, while maintaining a local copy for fast restore. CTERA’s advanced deduplication efficiently handles the disk-level backups, ensuring that only differences are sent over the Internet.
When CTERA Agent is used in conjunction with CTERA’s NEXT3 snapshots, users can easily roll back to earlier versions of their disk-level images. NEXT3 ensures that only differences are stored between versions, thus greatly reducing the required storage space.
In Windows Server 2003, disk-level backups are stored in NTBACKUP format. In all other operating systems, disk-level backups are stored using the industry-standard Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) file format. VHD files can be mounted using standard tools to allow extraction of individual files and folders, and it is even possible to run the VHD disk image on a virtual machine (VM) for immediate disaster recovery after hardware failures. For information on restoring files from disk-level backup, see Restoring Files from Disk-Level Backup.
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Disk-level backup operates over the Windows File Sharing protocol (CIFS). To perform disk-level backups, ensure that the computer running CTERA Agent has access to the appliance using Windows File Sharing. |
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Disk-level backup does not support backing up volumes larger than 2TB. |
System state backup, available on Windows 2003 Server only, creates a backup file for critical system-related components. The system state data includes the registry, COM+ Class Registration database, files under Windows File Protection, and system boot files. Depending on the server’s configuration, additional data may be included in the system state data, as well. For example, if the server is a certificate server, the system state will also contain the Certificate Services database. If the server is a domain controller, Active Directory and the SYSVOL directory are also included in the system state data.
The system state backup is stored in NTBACKUP format, and the Microsoft NTBACKUP tool can be used to recover the system state from the backup file. For information on restoring your system from a system state backup, see Restoring from a System State Backup on Windows 2003 Server SP2.
Traffic generated by CTERA Agent backup operations of any type can be secured with Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption.
CTERA Agents can be remotely managed and monitored from the appliance Web interface. For information, see Centrally Managing CTERA Agents.
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