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1. How does adBackup Manager work?
2. What is the recommended bandwidth?
3. How do I install adBackup OBM on FreeBSD?
4. How do I install adBackup OBM on SCO Unix?
5. How do I install adBackup OBM on AIX?
6. The Installer doesn’t seem to work. How can I manually install adBackup OBM on Windows?
7. Are there any command line tools for adBackup OBM?
8. How can I backup a huge data set over the Internet?
9. What is the best way to restore a huge data set?
10. Can I change my encrypting key?
11. What kind of encryption method is employed by adBackup OBM?
12. Can I backup an entire Operating System?
13. What are the pros and cons of backing up multiple computers using a single backup account?
14. Does the adBackup OBM upgrade the installation of Java on a client machine, or does it install a separate copy for it own use?
15. How does the "Remove retention files for overlap policy" under Advanced Retention Policy work?
16. What is incremental backup and how does In-File Delta work?
17. Does adBackup OBM have to stop the application when doing online backups?
18. What are Off-line backup, Logout backup reminder and Local backup features?
19. How do I remove OBM completely from my Windows machine?

1. How does adBackup's Offsite Backup Manager work?

The adBackup Online Backup Suite consists of 3 main modules:

The client software – adBackup Online Backup Manager (adBackup OBM)
The server software – adBackup Offsite Backup Server (adBackup OBS)
The replication server – adBackup Replication Server (adBackup RS)

adBackup OBM is the client side program which uploads the selected files to the Backup server and looks after scheduled backup jobs. It also provides a user-interface for configurations of the desired backup sets. adBackup OBM supports a number of operating systems, e.g. Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Linux, Mac OS X, etc. Apart from files backups, adBackup OBM can backup a range of applications such as MS Exchange, MS SQL, Oracle, MySQL, Lotus Domino, etc.

adBackup OBS is the server side program which can serve and store backup data from multiple adBackup OBMs/backup accounts. It has a web-based Management Console for system administrators to manage the Backup Server, such as configuring system parameters, administering the backup accounts, viewing backup statistics and reports, etc. Users can also logon to this Management Console to manage their own backup account or restore their own backup data. adBackup OBS supports Windows, Linux and Mac OS platforms.

adBackup RS is another piece of server software running on a separate machine which provides close to real-time backup for multiple adBackup OBSs. Thus even if one of the adBackup OBS fails, the adBackup RS still has a copy of the backup data.

2. What is the recommended bandwidth?

It really depends on the kind of data to be backed up, e.g. for personal file backups, the daily data transfer should be limited, while MS Exchange backup could be significant.

3. How do I install adBackup OBM on FreeBSD?

You can either run adBackup OBM on a Linux version of Sun Java JDK (performance might not be optimized) or on a FreeBSD native Java SDK. For the Linux version of Sun Java JDK option you need to:

Install Linux binary compatible port to the FreeBSD machine
Install the Linux version of Sun Java 1.4.2 or above JDK onto the FreeBSD machine
Create a symbolic link from $OBM_HOME/jvm to $JAVA_HOME (installed in previous step)
Run $OBM_HOME/bin/RunBackupSet.sh [BACKUP_SET_NAME] to run your backup
Run $OBM_HOME/bin/Scheduler.sh to start the backup scheduler

For the FreeBSD native Java SDK option you need to:

Install Linux binary compatible port to the FreeBSD machine
Install the Linux version of Sun Java 1.4.2 or above JDK onto the FreeBSD machine
Compile the FreeBSD native Java 1.4.2 SDK using the JDK compiler installed in the previous step
Install the FreeBSD native Java 1.4.2 SDK onto the FreeBSD machine
Create a symbolic link from $OBM_HOME/jvm to $JAVA_HOME (installed in previous step)
Run $OBM_HOME/bin/RunBackupSet.sh [BACKUP_SET_NAME] to run your backup
Run $OBM_HOME/bin/Scheduler.sh to start the backup scheduler

4. How do I install adBackup OBM on SCO Unix?

Please do the followings to install adBackup OBM on SCO:

Install Java 1.4.x or above onto your SCO Unix box
Download obm-linux.tar.gz and expand it to $OBM_HOME (e.g. /usr/local/obm)
Delete $OBM_HOME/jvm and create a symbolic link from $OBM_HOME/jvm to the SCO Unix Java VM
Run $OBM_HOME/bin/BackupManager.sh to setup your backup set (or run $OBM_HOME/bin/Configurator.sh if you are under command line mode. Then use the adBackupOBS Management Console to setup your backup sources and other settings)
Run $OBM_HOME/bin/RunBackupSet.sh [BACKUP_SET_NAME] to run your backup
Run $OBM_HOME/bin/Scheduler.sh to start the backup scheduler

5. How do I install adBackup OBM on AIX?

Please do the followings to install adBackup OBM on AIX:

Install Java 1.3.x or above (Java 1.4.2 or above recommended) onto your AIX box
Download obm-linux.tar.gz and expand it to $OBM_HOME (e.g. /usr/local/obm)
Delete $OBM_HOME/jvm and create a symbolic link from $OBM_HOME/jvm to the AIX Java VM
Run $OBM_HOME/bin/BackupManager.sh to setup your backup set (or run $OBM_HOME/bin/Configurator.sh if you are under command line mode. Then use the web interface to setup your backup sources and other settings)
Run $OBM_HOME/bin/RunBackupSet.sh [BACKUP_SET_NAME] to run your backup
Run $OBM_HOME/bin/Scheduler.sh to start the backup scheduler

6. The Installer doesn’t seem to work. How can I manually install adBackup OBM on Windows?

Try manually installing adBackup OBM by zipping the program directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\adBackup) on another machine with adBackup installed and do the followings on the target machine:

Create the directory C:\Program Files\adBackup
Unzip the adBackup program directory archive to C:\Program Files\adBackup
Run C:\Program Files\adBackup\bin\install.bat
Run C:\Program Files\adBackup\bin\Install-Scheduler.bat

7. Are there any command line tools for adBackup OBM?

Yes, there are a set of scripts in [adBackup OBM Program Home]\bin and they are described below:

Windows:

Decrypt.bat: decrypts the specified backup files
install.bat: installs the adBackup OBM icon to the System Tray and registers the Online

Backup Scheduler as a service

Install-Scheduler.bat: registers the Online Backup Scheduler as a service
RegisterVSS.bat: re-registers Microsoft’s Volume Shadow Copy service DLLs
Remove-Scheduler.bat: unregisters the Online Backup Scheduler service
Restore.bat: restores the specified snapshot of the backup set to the specified location
RunBackupSet.bat: runs the specified backup set
RunOBM.bat: launches the Online Backup Manager user interface
Run-Scheduler.bat: starts the Online Backup Scheduler service
SeedLoad.bat: runs seed load for the specified backup set to the specified location
Uninstall.bat: removes the adBackup OBM icon from the System Tray and unregisters the Online Backup Scheduler service

Linux:

BackupManager.sh: launches the Online Backup Manager user interface
Configurator.sh: configures client parameters such as Backup Server address, username/password, encrypting key, etc.
Decrypt.sh: decrypts the specified backup files
Restore.sh: restores the specified snapshot of the backup set to the specified location
RunBackupSet.sh: runs the specified backup set
Scheduler.sh: starts the Online Backup Scheduler service
SeedLoad.sh: runs seed load for the specified backup set to the specified location
StopScheduler.sh: stops the Online Backup Scheduler service

* You may have to set some variables in these scripts and more instructions are provided.

8. How can I backup a huge data set over the Internet?

If you have a lot of data (e.g. 300GB) to backup to the backup server, it would take a considerable amount of time to perform the first full backup through the Internet. You can use the Seed Loading Utility to backup your backup set to local hard disk (instead of directly to the backup server) and then transport the backup data, using a removable hard disk, to your backup service provider. The administrator can then load all your backup files from your removable hard disk into your backup account. This could save you days (even weeks) of performing your first full backup. And since subsequent backups are incremental (only new or updated files will be uploaded to the server), the amount of data transfer should be relatively small. Please refer to the User’s Guide for details on the "Seed Loading Utility".

9. What is the best way to restore a huge data set?

adBackup can copy the data of the particular backup set on adBackupOBS to a removable media, e.g. external harddisk/DVD, and ship it to you. You can then use the "Decypt Files Tool" in adBackup OBM to restore the backup data on removable media to its original format.

10. Can I change my encrypting key?

Once set for a Backup Set, the encrypting key cannot be changed. This is necessary for the integrity of the Backup Set, making sure that backup data is only encrypted by one key. Otherwise, you will have problems remember two encrypting keys when you want to restore your files in the future. You need to recreate your Backup Set if you really want to change your encrypting key.

11. What kind of encryption method is employed by adBackup OBM?

There are two encryptions types being used by adBackup OBM:

Encryption of backup data - This is being done by 128-bit symmetric key encryption (AES, TripleDES, TwoFish). 256 bit is not available because it requires too much CPU and it is not really required (128-bit is what is being used by most banks currently)
Encryption of backup traffic - This is being done by 1024 bit RSA public key encryption. The strength of the encryption depends on the key size you use when you generate your CSR before submitting to your CA. 1024 bit is what is being used by most CAs.

12. Can I backup an entire Operating System?

Currently, it is not possible to do hard disk image backup with adBackup OBM. However you can still backup/restore the operating system by doing the followings:

Add all files to your backup source
Add a SystemState backup type to your backup account (Windows only)

To restore all files including the operating system, please do this:

Re-install the operating system and applications
Restore the SystemState backup to your machine (Windows only)
Restore all files to your machine

13. What are the pros and cons of backing up multiple computers using a single backup account?

Pros:

You require less backup accounts (having one big backup account is typically cheaper that lots of small ones).
You can use one pair of username and password to configure the backup setting of all backup settings.

Cons:

You must use different backup sets for different computers
Whenever a new backup set is created under the backup account, you need to go back to all computers using the same backup account to uncheck the "Run scheduled backup on this computer" option for the new backup set (as backup setting is saved on server and new backup set is default to run on all computers, i.e. with the option checked)
Improper configuration could easily cause problems, which are difficult to debug.

14. Does the adBackup OBM upgrade the installation of Java on a client machine, or does it install a separate copy for it own use?

adBackup OBM uses its own copy of Java and leaves the system Java VM intact.

15. How does the "Remove retention files for overlap policy" under Advanced Retention Policy work?

In general, daily snapshots followed by a weekly snapshot or a monthly snapshot, etc. will be removed; weekly snapshots followed by a monthly snapshot or a quarterly snapshot, etc. will be removed; and so on. This is illustrated by the following example. Assume today is 17Jan06, and the Advanced Retention Policy is as follows:

Daily: retain for 7 days
Weekly: retain for 4 weeks (the job will be performed on Saturday)
Monthly: retain for 3 months (the job will be performed on 1st of each month)

If "Remove overlap policy" is NOT enabled:

(daily) 10Jan06, 11Jan06, 12Jan06, 13Jan06, 14Jan06, 15Jan06, 16Jan06
(weekly) 24Dec05, 31Dec05, 7Jan06, 14Jan06
(monthly) 1Nov05, 1Dec05, 1Jan06

If "Remove overlap policy" is enabled:

1Nov05, 1Dec05, 1Jan06, 14Jan06, 15Jan06, 16Jan06. Specifically, the weekly policy overrides the daily policy so 10Jan06, 11Jan06, 12Jan06 and 13Jan06 will be removed. The monthly policy overrides the weekly policy, and 24Dec05, 31Dec05 and 7Jan06 will be removed as well.

16. What is incremental backup and how does In-File Delta work?

In an incremental backup, only modified files will be uploaded to the Backup Server. In-File Delta is used against physical files to be uploaded to the Backup Server. It does not matter whether these are MS SQL database files, MS Exchange transaction log files or any normal files in a FileBackupSet. Specifically, only the changed blocks in comparison the original file on the Backup Server (delta file) will be uploaded. For each modified file, adBackup OBM would determine whether the entire file or only delta file should be uploaded. If the entire file is to be uploaded, the old version of the file will be moved to the Retention area. Else if only the delta file is to be uploaded, the previous delta files will be moved to the Retention area and the Data area should contain the original full backup file, checksum file and the latest delta file of this file.

17. Does adBackup OBM have to stop the application when doing online backups?

adBackup OBM can backup application data while the application is still running. Particularly, we have special agents for MS Exchange Server, MS SQL Server, Oracle, Lotus Notes and MySQL, which allows these applications to be backed up while they are online. With the Volume Shadow Copy feature started from adBackup OBM v5.0, we are able to backup other types of applications while they are online.

18. What are Off-line backup, Logout backup reminder and Local backup features?

Off-line backup is basically designed for notebook users who are off-line most of the time and cannot rely on backup schedule to backup regularly. The backup interval allows notebook users to specify the interval that they would like their data to backup. If this interval has elapsed, backup will run automatically once this machine is online. Logout backup reminder asks user if they would like to backup if they logout of the computer or shutdown their computer. Local backup allows an extra copy of backup file to be kept on local hard disk when running backup.

19. How do I remove OBM completely from my Windows machine?

If you want to completely remove OBM from Windows, you need to:

ensure that the OBM installation directory is deleted (sometimes not removed when Windows somehow holds some of the files)
remove the C:\Documents and Settings\administrator\.obm\ folder (intentionally left undeleted, as crucial information of the user and backup sets, such as the encryption keys, is stored here)