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Cloud Backup:Install a backup client

Last Updated:Nov 25, 2025

Before using Cloud Backup to back up file folders on a server or virtual machine in your data center, you must install a backup client on the local server. The client is available for Windows and Linux. Select the version that matches your server's operating system.

(Recommended) Use the AccessKey of a RAM user

Resource Access Management (RAM) is an Alibaba Cloud service for identity management and resource access control. RAM lets you create and manage multiple identities under a single Alibaba Cloud account. Assign different permissions to an identity or a group of identities to control which users can access which resources.

An AccessKey is required to activate a backup client. If the AccessKey of your Alibaba Cloud account is compromised, all your resources are at risk. For security purposes, we recommend that you use the AccessKey of a RAM user for operations. To create a RAM user and an AccessKey, see Create a RAM user and Create an AccessKey.

Precautions

  • For optimal backup performance, run the Cloud Backup client on a machine with a 64-bit CPU that has two or more cores and more than 8 GB of available memory.

  • The amount of data that you can back up depends on the available memory resources. For example, with 4 GB of available system memory, you can back up a maximum of 1 million files that total up to 8 TB. If a folder contains tens of millions of files or more, at least 16 GB of available memory is required.

  • The installation package of the 64-bit Cloud Backup client does not support the ARM64 architecture.

  • Before you install or uninstall the client, check the installation path for the following:

    • If a NAS folder is mounted on the installation path, run the umount command to unmount the NAS folder. This prevents the accidental deletion of NAS files.

    • If the installation path contains other important folders or files, move them to another location to prevent accidental deletion.

  • Before you use Cloud Backup, review its limits, default backup rate, and features available by region. For more information, see Limits, Backup and recovery speeds, Features, and Features available in each region.

Download and activate a Windows client

  1. Log on to the Cloud Backup console.

  2. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Backup > On-Premises File Backup. In the upper-left corner of the top menu bar, select a region, and then click Add Client.

  3. Download the Windows client.

    image

  4. Install and activate the Windows client.

    1. Double-click the client installation package and select an installation language.

    2. Select an installation path and click Next.

    3. Select Local client connecting to Alibaba Cloud and click Next.

    4. If you want to use a proxy server, enter the proxy server address. Click Next. For more information, see Use an Apache HTTP service to build a proxy server.

      image

    5. Enter the Activation Token and click Next.

    6. Click Install.

      After the client is installed, its Client Status changes to Activated on the Clients tab.image

      To view the installation path, logs, and running status of the backup client on the server, see View the default installation path and logs of a Cloud Backup client.

Download and activate a Linux client

  1. Log on to the Cloud Backup console.

  2. In the navigation pane on the left, choose Backup > On-Premises File Backup. In the upper-left corner of the top menu bar, select a region, and then click Add Client.

  3. Run a command to automatically activate the Linux client.

    Choose an access method based on your network type: Internet, VPN, or leased line. Then, copy the code and run the command on the client to activate it.image

    After the client is installed, its Client Status changes to Activated on the Clients tab.

    To view the installation path, logs, and running status of the backup client on the server, see View the default installation path and logs of a Cloud Backup client.

More operations

After you install the backup client, go to the Clients tab. In the Actions column of the client, click to perform the following operations.

Operation

Description

Reactivate Client

Try this operation if the client status is abnormal. For more information, see Troubleshoot and handle file backup client status exceptions.

Delete Backup

Deletes all backup data generated by this backup client and causes any running backup or restore jobs to fail.

Important

Before you delete the client, make sure that you no longer need its backup data and that no backup or restore jobs are running on it.

Alert Settings

Specifies the method for sending alert notifications when the backup vault client or a backup or restore job is abnormal.

  • Disabled: The client stops sending alert notifications.

  • Same as Backup Vault: The client uses the same alert method as the backup vault.

  • Notify Alibaba Cloud Account: Backup alert notifications for this client are sent by email to the Alibaba Cloud account.

  • Custom: Select one or more contacts or contact groups. After the configuration is complete, the client sends backup alerts to the selected contacts or groups. For more information, see Manage alert contacts.

Client Settings

Configure client settings. The following parameters are available:

  • Use HTTPS: Choose whether to transmit data over the HTTPS protocol. Because HTTPS transmission involves encryption and decryption, it may affect transmission performance. If you change this configuration, the change takes effect when the next backup or restore job starts.

    Note

    This setting affects only data security during network transmission. Regardless of whether you enable HTTPS, backup data is encrypted when it is stored in the backup vault.

  • Data Network: Select data transmission over a VPC or the Internet. If your client is deployed in an Alibaba Cloud virtual private cloud (VPC), or is connected to an Alibaba Cloud VPC through a leased line, select VPC as the transmission network.

  • Maximum number of worker threads: Set the maximum number of worker threads for the backup client. A higher number of threads consumes more host resources and has a greater performance impact on the host. Assess the performance impact on your host before setting this value.

  • Maximum CPU Cores: Set the maximum number of CPU cores for the backup client. A higher number of CPU cores consumes more host resources and has a greater performance impact on the host. Assess the performance impact on your host before setting this value.

  • Data Network Proxy Mode: Configure the data network proxy mode. When you specify a proxy, you must prepare the username, password, and IP address or domain name in advance to set up the proxy network.

What to do next

Back up on-premises files

References