You can use Hybrid Backup Recovery (HBR) to back up files from on-premises servers or VMs. You can then restore the files if needed. This topic describes the preparations that you must make before backup.

Background information

Before you use HBR to back up files from on-premises servers or VMs, note the following information:

  • You can also back up files from Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instances. For more information, see Back up files in ECS.
  • To achieve the optimal backup performance, we recommend that you run a backup client on a host that has the following configurations: 64-bit processors, two or more CPU cores, and more than 8 GB available memory.
  • The volume of data that can be backed up depends on the available memory. If a host has 4 GB available memory, a maximum of one million files or 8 TB data can be backed up.

(Recommended) Prepare an AccessKey pair for a RAM user

Resource Access Management (RAM) is a service provided by Alibaba Cloud. It allows you to create and manage multiple identities under an Alibaba Cloud account and then grant diverse permissions to a single identity or a group of identities. In this way, you can authorize different identities to access different Alibaba Cloud resources.

An AccessKey pair is required when you activate a backup client. The AccessKey pair is an identity credential. If an AccessKey pair of your Alibaba Cloud account is used, all cloud resources that belong to the account are exposed to risks. Therefore, we recommend that you use an AccessKey pair of a RAM user to activate backup clients. Before you back up data, make sure that a RAM user is created and an AccessKey pair is created for the RAM user. For more information, see Create a RAM user and Create an AccessKey pair for a RAM user.

Step 1: Create a backup client

Before you back up and restore files for an on-premises server or VM, you must install a backup client on the on-premises server or VM. To create a backup client in the HBR console and download the installation package of the client, perform the following steps:

  1. Log on to the HBR console.
    If your server or VM runs a Linux operating system that does not provide a graphical user interface (GUI), use an intermediate host that provides a GUI as an agent to log on to the HBR console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Backup > On-Premises Server Backup > File.
  3. In the top navigation bar, select the region where you want to store backup data.
    Note
    • If you use a virtual private cloud (VPC), select the region of the VPC. This guarantees a high backup speed.
    • If you do not use a VPC and you need to achieve optimal backup performance, select a region that is close to the location of the data that you want to back up.
    • If you do not use a VPC and you need to implement disaster recovery, select a region that is distant from the location of the data that you want to back up.
  4. In the upper-right corner of the On-Premises Backup page, click Add Client.
  5. In the Add Client pane, set the parameters.
    The following table describes the parameters.
    Parameter Description
    Backup Vault The backup vault where you want to store the backup data. A backup vault is a repository that HBR uses to store backup data. You can use a single vault to store backup data that is received from multiple backup clients. Backup vaults reside in different regions. You can select or create only a backup vault in the current region.
    • If you have created backup vaults, click Select Vault, and select a backup vault from the Vault Name drop-down list.
    • If you have not created backup vaults, click Create Vault and specify the Vault Name field. The name must be 1 to 64 characters in length.
    Backup Client The backup client that you want to add. You can select an activated client or create a client.
    Client Name The name of the backup client. The name must be 1 to 64 characters in length.
    Software Platform The operating system that is running on the server or VM from which you want to back up data. Valid values:
    • Windows 32-bit
    • Windows 64-bit
    • Linux 32-bit
    • Linux 64-bit
    Network Type
    • Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): Select this option if the server or VM from which you want to back up data resides in a VPC and the VPC is in the same region as the backup vault.
    • Internet: Select this option if no VPCs are available.
    Use HTTPS Specifies whether to use HTTPS for encrypted data transmission. Note that HTTPS compromises the performance of data transmission. Data that is stored in the backup vault is encrypted, regardless of the setting of this switch. If you modify the setting of this parameter, the modification takes effect on the next restore job.
  6. Click Create. Then, click Download Client.
    Note The backup client is used to connect your server or VM to HBR. You can also download the client from the client list.

Step 2: Install and activate the backup client

After you download the installation package of a file backup client, perform the following steps to install and activate the client:

  1. Select an installation directory, decompress the installation package, and then install the backup client.
    Note Make sure that enough space is available in the installation directory because both operational logs and an executable file are saved in the installation directory.
    • If your server or VM runs Windows, run the executable file that is decompressed from the installation package, select an installation directory, and then follow the instructions to install the client.
    • If your server or VM runs Linux, decompress the installation package to a specified directory and run the ./setup command to install the client.
  2. Activate the backup client. Log on to the HBR console. On the On-Premises Backup page, click File. Find the backup client, and choose More > Activate Client in the Actions column. In the Activate Client step, set the parameters. The following table describes the parameters.
    Note Make sure that the backup client is installed before you activate the client.
    Parameter Required Description
    Client IP Address Yes The IP address of the backup client that your current host can access. You can specify an internal IP address or an Internet IP address. For example, the IP address can be 127.0.0.1 (default), 12.34.56.78:8011, or 87.65.43.21:8443.
    Note The IP address must be reachable from your browser in use.
    AccessKey Id Yes The AccessKey ID and AccessKey secret of the RAM user that is used to access HBR. For more information, see Create an AccessKey for a RAM user.
    AccessKey Secret Yes
    Client Password Yes The password that is used to log on to the backup client. The password must be at least six characters in length.
    Data Network Proxy No The information of the proxy server that is used to transmit backup data.
    Note You can configure a data network proxy only for a backup client whose version is 1.11.11 or later.
    Control Network Type No The type of the network that is used to call the HBR API.
    Control Network Proxy No The information of the proxy server that is used to call the HBR API.
    Message Network Type No The type of the network that is used to send messages from HBR to the backup client.
  3. Click Activate Client. The page of the backup client for files appears. You can then use the backup client to back up data.
    Note If the activation of a backup client fails, you can reactivate the client. For more information, see How can I reactivate a file backup client?

(Optional) Create a backup policy

Before you back up data, we recommend that you plan the backup time and backup interval based on your business requirements.

  • If you do not need scheduled backup, skip this step.
  • If you need scheduled backup, create a backup policy and specify the first backup time and backup interval.

To create a backup policy for a file backup client, perform the following steps:

  1. Log on to the HBR backup client for files.
    Open a browser, and enter http://localhost:8011 in the address bar. Enter the password to log on to the backup client.
    Note
    • If you are using an intermediate host, replace localhost with the IP address of the server or VM from which you want to back up data.
    • Port 8011 is the default port that you can use to log on to a backup client for files. If port 8011 on the server or VM is occupied by another application, specify another port number for the file backup client. For more information, see How can I change the logon port number for a file backup client?
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Backup Policies.
  3. In the upper-right corner of the Backup Polices page, click Create Policy.
  4. In the Create Policy dialog box, set Name and other parameters, and click Submit. The following table describes the parameters.
    Parameter Description
    Name The name of the backup policy.
    Frequency The interval at which data is backed up. Units: hours, days, or weeks.
    Backup Time The time to start the first backup. The first backup is a full backup.
    Retention The retention period of the backup data. Unit: days, months, or years.

    Maximum value: 3650 days (10 years).

What to do next

Back up files