Cloud Backup:Back up on-premises NAS files

Limitations

• During on-premises NAS backup and restoration, the maximum length of a single file name is 248 bytes. If a file name exceeds this limit, the backup and restore jobs for that file fail, and Cloud Backup marks the parent job as partially completed.

• The shared directory for an on-premises NAS backup cannot end with a dollar sign ($).

Create a backup plan

When creating a backup plan for the first time, use the NAS Backup Wizard to complete the backup process.

1. Log on to the Cloud Backup console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Backup > NAS Backup.

3. On the NAS Backup page, click the Local NAS tab.

4. Click NAS Backup Wizard.

5. In the Create Backup Plan panel, configure the following settings.

   1. Configure the backup source and click Next.

      Parameter	Description
      Backup NAS Instance	You can select Add NAS Instance or Select Existing NAS.
      NAS Instance Name	The name of the NAS instance to back up.
      NAS Network Address	The network address of the NAS instance. Obtain the network address from your file system administrator. For example: 47.100.XX.XX or nas.company.com.
      NAS Share Path	The path relative to the / root directory. For example, /myshare indicates that the /myshare path is shared for data backups. To query the NAS shared directory, see How do I query the NAS shared directory? Only Chinese characters, uppercase and lowercase letters, digits, and the following special characters are supported: ,-_=/.:\. Note In most cases, the root directory of an Apsara File Storage NAS file system that uses the NFS protocol is / after it is mounted. The root directory of a file system that uses the SMB protocol is /myshare. However, the actual mount directory may vary. Perform operations based on your actual mount directory.
      Protocol Type	Supported protocols are NFS and SMB. This example uses SMB. When you select Protocol Type as the Protocol Type, you must enter the Username and Password required to mount the NAS.

      (Optional) Click Advanced Settings and then click Set Mount Parameters.

      You can select multiple mount parameters. The following table describes the parameters.

      Parameter	Description
      vers	The file system version. vers=3: Mounts the file system by using NFSv3. vers=4: Mounts the file system by using NFSv4.
      nolock	Specifies whether to enable file locking.
      proto	The protocol used to mount the file system.
      rsize	The size of the data block, in bytes, that the client uses to read data from the file system. Recommended value: 1048576.
      wsize	The size of the data block, in bytes, that the client uses to write data to the file system. Recommended value: 1048576.
      hard	If an Apsara File Storage NAS file system is temporarily unavailable, local applications that use a file on the file system pause until it is back online. We recommend that you enable this parameter.
      timeo	The time, in tenths of a second, that the NFS client waits for a response before it retries a request to the file system. Recommended value: 600 (which is 60 seconds).
      retrans	The number of times the NFS client retries a request. Recommended value: 2.

   2. Configure a backup client group and click Next.

      Select the server where you installed the backup client.

      Multiple clients can be added to a client group to run a backup job concurrently. To create a client group, select Create Backup Client Group, enter a custom Client Group Name, and select the clients to add to the group.

      Note

      To avoid data transfer costs over the Internet during backups, in the Client Settings section, set Data Network to VPC instead of Internet.

      If you have not installed a client, see Download and activate a Linux client.

   3. Configure the backup plan and click Next.

      Important

      • If the selected region supports backup policies, you must associate the backup plan with a backup policy. Cloud Backup then periodically backs up the on-premises NAS according to the policy.

      • In the navigation pane, click Policy Center to view the regions that support backup policies. For information about how to create a backup policy, see Create a backup policy.

      Parameter	Description
      Source Paths	You can specify only one directory. Wildcard characters are not supported.
      Backup Rule	The backup rule can be one of the following: Include All Files: If you select this option, all files in the selected source path are backed up. Include Files or Exclude Files: Select either option and manually enter a file list in the Enter Paths box. The specified files in the selected backup path are then backed up according to the rules. The file list is a subpath of the source path. The matching rules for the subpath are as follows: If the subpath starts with a forward slash (/), it is matched as a full path under the source path. For example, if the source path is /ifs/dataset and the file list is /subdir/data, the files and directories under /ifs/dataset/subdir/data are backed up (or excluded). For example, if the source path is /ifs/dataset and the file list is /abc*, the files or directories that have the prefix abc under /ifs/dataset/abc are backed up (or excluded). If the subpath does not start with a forward slash (/), it is matched as a relative path under the source path. Any subpath that matches the rule is considered a match. For example, if the source path is /ifs/dataset and the file list is abc*, the files or directories that have the prefix abc under /ifs/dataset are backed up (or excluded). For example, if the source path is /ifs/dataset and the file list is abc, all files or directories named abc under /ifs/dataset are backed up (or excluded).
      Backup Policy	Select a backup policy from the drop-down list. Cloud Backup automatically backs up the data source according to the backup policy you set. A backup policy defines settings such as the encryption method for the backup vault, backup interval, retention period, cross-region replication, automatic archiving, and virus scans for backup points. This helps you flexibly manage your data source assets. If the default backup policy does not meet your needs, click Create Policy or Edit Policy to manage your backup policies. For more information about the parameters in a backup policy, see Policy Center.

      If you need to create more backup plans after the first backup job is complete, go to the NAS Instance tab, find the target NAS instance, and click Create Backup Plan in the Actions column. Then, follow the steps described above to configure the parameters.

   After the backup plan is created, its Plan Status is enabled. Cloud Backup then runs NAS backup jobs at the specified start time and interval.

Verify the backup

• At the scheduled time, Cloud Backup runs the backup job.

  Note

  The backup progress percentage is a dynamic estimate based on the current data volume and is for reference only. It does not represent the exact completion ratio. During the backup process, the total scanned size displayed may be smaller than the actual total data volume because the data scan may not be complete. Rely on the final job status to confirm completion.

  On the Backup jobs tab, if the Status of a backup job is Completed, the backup is successful.

  You can view details about the backup job, such as Total scanned size, Backup completion size, Backup vault written size, and Backup speed. For more information about these metrics, see the tooltips in the Cloud Backup console.

  Note

  • For backup jobs completed on or after June 1, 2025, Cloud Backup displays statistics for both data volume and file count for Total scanned size, Backup completion size, and Backup vault written size. For backup jobs completed before this date, these metrics show only data volume statistics.

  • The job list displays only backup job records from the last six months. To view older jobs, export them from the Audit Report page.

  

• On the NAS Instance tab, click the icon next to the target NAS instance to view the backup records and the generated backup points in the Backup History section. You can use these historical backup points to restore files from the on-premises NAS.

  

Browse and download backup files

• Browse backup files

  The Browse feature lets you browse backed-up files. If a virus scan was performed on the backup point you are browsing, Cloud Backup marks the infected files.

  1. On the NAS Instance tab, click the icon next to the target NAS file system.

  2. In the Backup History section, find the backup point from the desired point in time and click Browse in the Actions column.

  

• Download backup files

  Cloud Backup does not support direct downloads of backed-up files. You can restore files to a specified temporary NAS path (restoration is free) and then download the files from the NAS.

Extend the retention period

To store historical data from an on-premises NAS backup for a longer period, extend the retention period of the backup point.

1. On the NAS Instance tab, click the icon next to the target NAS file system.

2. In the Backup History section, click the retention period for the desired backup point. Set Specify Time or select Never Expire.

   

3. Click Save.

Virus scan

To prevent files that contain viruses from being restored to your production environment, the Cloud Backup service offers the Backup Point Virus Detection feature. This feature lets you select clean and safe backup points for data restoration. Click Virus Detection to check for viruses. For more information, see Virus scan for backup points.

Backup vault replication

To prevent regional disasters or account management risks from affecting business continuity, Cloud Backup allows you to configure cross-region backup or cross-account replication for backup vaults where the Backup Vault Type is Standard. After you complete the configuration, data in the source backup vault is automatically synchronized to the destination backup vault to ensure data consistency between the two locations. You can also perform on-demand cross-region data recovery from the destination backup vault.

For general-purpose backup vaults that store on-premises NAS files, you can configure backup vault replication to achieve cross-region or cross-account disaster recovery. In addition, on-premises NAS backup offers a range of enterprise-grade features, including cross-account backup, automatic archiving, KMS-based encryption, immutable backup, and Backup Point Virus Detection.

Troubleshooting

If the Status of a backup plan or backup job is abnormal, refer to the following suggestions.

• Follow the on-screen instructions to check and correct the configuration.

• The Status of the backup job is Failed with the message: The file system failed to be mounted. Make sure that the mount configuration of the data source is correct and the mount target exists. Make sure that the mount program exists on the Cloud Backup client.

  1. Check whether the NAS share path is configured correctly.

  2. The backup client is incorrectly configured or its dependencies are not installed. To reconfigure the backup client, see Install a backup client.

  3. If the network path for mounting an SMB NAS does not exist, obtain the specific error code from the log file. Then, refer to the Microsoft documentation center for a solution.

     Note

     The default installation paths for the client are as follows. Use the actual installation path on your system.

     • Windows log path: Local Disk (C) > Program Files > Aliyun Hybrid Backup Service Client > logs

     • Linux log path: /opt/alibabacloud/hbrclient/logs

• The Status of the backup plan is Suspended.

  The backup plan is paused. While paused, Cloud Backup no longer protects the on-premises NAS. Enable the backup plan promptly to resume protection.

Related topics

• Back up a General-purpose NAS file system

• Back up an Extreme Apsara File Storage NAS file system

• Cloud Backup offers resource plans for various backup scenarios. These plans offer discounts to help you minimize costs. For more information, see Resource plan purchase guide.

• The data synchronization feature of Cloud Backup lets you synchronize large volumes of NAS files from a source to a destination.

• What is Cloud Backup?