This document describes role of a system administrator in the process of deploying Workstation Backup Agent on multiple laptops across the company network. It also explains the administrator's role in configuring the destination computer and enabling backup and restore operations between the source and destination computers.
Installing Workstation Backup Agent requires details from the CommCell such as the CommServe host name, firewall configuration details, and Replication Policy for association. These details are available for the administrator and common for all the client installation. So it is ideal for the administrator to prepare the installation setup and distribute it to the end-users for installation. This deployment procedure is suitable for mass deployment of the software; for small scale installations you might want to consider the other installation options available for this agent. See Deployment - Workstation Backup Agent for details.
The following sections illustrate the various tasks involved in creating a custom installation package to install the Workstation backup Agent.
Identify the destination computer and install the ContinuousDataReplicator agent. See Deployment - ContinuousDataReplicator for the supported installation types and procedures.
When installing the Workstation Backup Agent, you can provide a replication policy based from which the default replication set and replication pair will be created upon installation. It is recommended that you use this option, as creating the replication set and replication pair after the installation on multiple Workstation Backup Agent client computers is not feasible.
A Replication policy is a template containing a sample set of configuration for creating Replication Set and Replication Pairs. See Replication Policy for more details. See Create a Replication Policy for step-by-step instructions to create a Replication Policy; select the Data Replication Type - Workstation Backup.
Creating the custom deployment package includes the steps:
Contact the software provider to acquire the slim package for the agent you wish to install, the Workstation Backup Agent. The package contains the following files:
Copy the WorkstationBackup folder containing the Slim Package to a local folder on your hard drive. Copy the sample answer file SampleWorkStationBackupWithFirewallInstall.ini to the local copy of the Install Image folder and rename it to Install.ini.
The Workstation Backup Agent is installed in the Silent mode, and uses an answer file (.ini file) to provide configuration parameters for installation. Parameters that are standard for all installations are provided with actual values. Review the parameter, and change the value if required. Parameters that depend on the deployment environment are provided with place holders for values, and a detailed explanation for the parameter.
Modify the Install.ini under the Install Image folder to create the answer file for installation. The following content provides the list of installation parameters provided in the sample answer file, and a brief description of the parameters.
Installation options
The mode of installation. The default value provided is New Install. For deployment, do not change this value.
The instance on which the Workstation Backup Agent is installed. To install the software to an existing instance, provide the name of the instance (For example, Instance001 or Instance007). To create a new instance, provide the value New. The default value provided is New.
CommServe Host Name
Enter the fully qualified domain name of the CommServe computer (For example, mycommserve.company.com).
Service Port Numbers on the Installation Computer
Enter port numbers be used by services GxCVD and GxEMVGRC on the computer in which the software is installed. Note that the ports must open on all computers that will install the software, and not used by any other software including other instances of the same software, if present.
Firewall Configuration
If computer in which the software is installed will be located outside of the company network, and connected to the CommServe computer using VPN or similar software, then you will need to configure the firewall settings to allow communications between the CommServe computer and the computer installed with the workstation Backup Agent.
If your answer is "0", then you can skip the rest of the parameters in this section (1=selected, 0=not selected). See Firewall Considerations for more details.
Provide the fully qualified domain name of the CommServe computer, twice, in the placeholders provided. For the third parameter, provide the port number used by GxCVD service on the CommServe computer.
For example, multiszFirewallPeers0=mycommserve.domain.company.com mycommserve.domain.company.com 8400
Provide the fully qualified domain name of the destination computer that stores the backup data, twice, in the placeholders provided. See Prepare the Destination Computer section for details about the destination computer. For the third parameter, provide the port number used by GxCVD service on the destination computer.
For example, multiszFirewallPeers0=mydestination.domain.company.com mydestination.domain.company.com 8400
Provide the fully qualified domain name of the CommServe computer.
Provide the fully qualified domain name of the destination computer that stores the backup data.
Client Group Selection (Optional)
If you wish to associate the Workstation Backup Client computer to a client group, provide the name of the client group here. See Client Computer Group for more details.
Replication Policy (Recommended)
It is recommended that you associate a Replication Policy based on which Replication Set and Replication Pair(s) are created on the Workstation Backup Client, automatically, upon installation. See Create Replication Policy for Workstation Backup Agent section for more details and the significance of providing a Replication Policy during installation.
| If Replication Sets are not created during installation, new Replication Pairs cannot be added and backup jobs cannot be run from the Workstation Client Console. |
Software Selection
The first bselected parameter is the option to select the Base Client for installation. The default value provided is 1 (1=selected, 0=not selected). Do not change the default value.
This second bselected parameter is the option to select the Workstation backup Agent for installation. The default value provided is 1 (1=selected, 0=not selected). Do not change the default value.
Create the answer file with parameters corresponding
Once the Install.exe is created, distribute the executable file to the users for deployment. You can either share the files individually, or upload the file in a common location.
To install, double-click on the file. The installation files and folders are extracted, and the software is installation begins automatically.
Administrator is required to perform the following configuration actions on the destination computer.
All Workstation Backup Client computer names must be locally resolvable in the CommServe and the Destination computers. If a Workstation Backup Client computer is outside the network domain in which the CommServe and the Destination computers reside, then add a entry in the local Domain Name System (DNS) that would resolve the client computer name to a namesake IP Address, in the CommServe computer as well as the Destination computer.
Recovery Points are snapshots of data created in a point-in-time, created to preserve data at a given point-in-time. To facilitate point-in-time data restores for the backup data from Workstation Backup Agents, it is necessary to create Recovery Points on the destination computer containing the backup data. See Destination Configuration - Recovery Points for more details.
See Create a Recovery Point in a Fan-In Configuration for step-by-step instructions.
As the Recovery Points containing the point-in-time data grow over time, you can manage the space in the destination computer by backing up the Recovery Points to a storage media for later reference. You can individually backup the Recovery point, or configure the backup the recovery points upon creation. Use the following procedures as required:
Data protection operations, backup as well as restores, are typically initiated from the Agent Client Console. Nevertheless, administrators can execute and schedule backup operations, and perform restore operations from the CommCell Console, if required. The following sections explains the role of administrator in data protection activities.
As mentioned earlier, backup operations are seldom performed by the administrator. However, if required, the administrator can execute the backup jobs for individual Workstation Backup Clients from the CommCell Console.
See Backup - Workstation Backup for more on the backup operations from the CommCell Console.
Restore operations are also primarily initiated by users from the respective client computers. However, if required, administrator can execute restore operations for individual Workstation Backup Clients from the CommCell Console.
See Restore Data - Workstation Backup for more on restore operations from the CommCell Console.
If the Recovery Point from which the user needs to restore data is currently not available in the destination computer and available in a backup location, then such a restore operation has to be performed by the administrator. A Workstation Backup user cannot restore data from a Recovery point that is backed up. The administrator will have to restore the data and provide it to the corresponding user.
See Restore Data from Backed Up Recovery Points for more details and restore instructions.