Back up local files

Create a backup plan

1. On the Local File Backup page, select a region at the top and click Add Local File Backup.

   Note

   If you are using the Legacy Console (Try New Version is displayed in the upper-right corner), on the On-Premises File Backup page, select the version for the target client and click Back Up in the Actions column.

2. In the Create Backup Plan panel, configure the following parameters and click OK.

   Basic Settings

   Parameter	Description
   Local files to back up	Select the local file data source to back up. Note This parameter is available only in the new console.
   Backup Folder Rule	Specify the directory to back up. Cloud Backup backs up all files and subdirectories in the specified directory. For example, D:\work\local_backup_path or /home/backup_path. Select All Folders or Specified Folders. After you select All Folders, specify whether to enable Exclude System Folders. If Exclude System Folders is enabled, the excluded Windows and Linux system directories are not included in the backup plan. You can click the icon to the right of Exclude System Folders to view details about the excluded system directories. If you do not enable Exclude System Folders, all folders are included in the backup plan. If you select Specified Folders, you must specify the Source Paths. The following rules apply to source paths: If you do not use a wildcard character (*), you can enter up to eight paths. If you use a wildcard character (*), you can enter only one path. Wildcard characters such as /*/* are supported. Each line must be an absolute path. For example, a path that starts with /, \\, C:\, or D:\. If you use VSS, multiple paths, UNC paths, wildcards, and file exclusion are not supported. If you use a UNC path, VSS, wildcards, and file exclusion are not supported. If the backup source contains a UNC path, Windows ACLs are not backed up.
   Exclude System Folders	Turn on the Exclude System Folders switch to exclude system directories from the backup.
   Backup File Type	Select All Types or Specified Type. All Types: backs up all files, regardless of the file name extension. Select Specified Type: You need to specify the file types to back up in the Select File Type box (such as pdf, doc, etc.).
   Source Paths	When you set the Backup Folder Rule to Specified Folders, you must configure this parameter. You can specify custom source paths. The following rules apply to source paths: If you do not use a wildcard character (*), you can enter up to eight paths. If you use a wildcard character (*), you can enter only one path. Wildcard characters such as /*/* are supported. Each line must be an absolute path. For example, a path that starts with /, \\, C:\, or D:\. If you use VSS, multiple paths, UNC paths, wildcards, and file exclusion are not supported. If you use a UNC path, VSS, wildcards, and file exclusion are not supported. If the backup source contains a UNC path, Windows ACLs are not backed up.
   Backup Rule	This parameter is displayed only when Advanced Rule Mode is enabled. It specifies the inclusion or exclusion rules for files. When this mode is disabled, file filtering is based on the Backup File Type parameter. Include All Files: Backs up all files. Include Files or Exclude Files: Manually enter a list of files in the input file list box to back up the specified files according to the rule.
   Backup Policy	Select a backup policy from the drop-down list. Cloud Backup automatically backs up data sources based on the backup policy that you specify. A backup policy includes operations such as backup vault encryption, backup interval, retention period, cross-region replication policy, automatic archiving, and backup point virus scan. This helps you flexibly manage data source assets. If the default backup policy does not meet your backup requirements, you can click Create Backup Policy or Edit Policy to manage backup policies. For more information about the parameters in a backup policy, see Policy Center.

   Advanced Settings

   Parameter	Description
   Use VSS	Specifies whether to use the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) of Windows to improve backup performance. This feature is available only for Windows operating systems. Note If you use VSS, you cannot back up multiple paths or UNC paths, use wildcards, or exclude files.
   Enable Bandwidth Throttling	Traffic shaping helps you control the traffic of file backups during peak hours to avoid affecting your business. To use traffic shaping, turn on the Enable Bandwidth Throttling switch, select a Time Range (Hour) based on your business needs, enter a value for Max Bandwidth (MByte/s), and then click Add.

3. Click OK to save the configuration.

   When a backup plan is created, its status is set to Running. Cloud Backup then runs local file backup jobs according to the specified backup policy, and the data source is added to the Protected Local File Data Sources list.

Backup status description

View backup jobs

When the scheduled backup time arrives, Cloud Backup starts and runs the backup job.

On the Backup Jobs tab, a backup job is successful if its Status is Completed. You can view details about the backup job, such as Total Scanned Data From Source, Backed Up Data, Data Written To Backup Vault, and Backup Speed. For more information about these metrics, see the tooltips in the Cloud Backup console.

To cancel a running backup job, click Cancel in the Actions column and confirm the cancellation.

Browse backup files

You can use the Browse feature to view backed-up files. If a virus scan is run on a backup point, Cloud Backup marks any infected files.

1. In the Backup History section, click Browse in the Actions column for the target backup point.

   Alternatively, click the icon on the right side of the backup history to switch the display mode. Then, click the target backup point and select Browse.

2. In the Browse pane, you can view the backed-up local files.

Extend the retention period of a backup point

To retain historical data from local file backups for a longer period, you can extend the retention period of the backup points.

1. In Backup History, click the icon in the Expires At column for the target backup point.

   You can also click the icon to the right of Backup History to switch the display mode. Then, click the target backup point and click the icon to the right of Expires At.

2. Select Schedule Time or Never Expire, and then click Save.

   After completing the configuration, you can view the new expiration time in the Expires At column.

Delete backup data

You can delete the backup point data that is generated by the backup client.

To delete backup points from the list view on the Backup History page, use one of the following methods.

• Single deletion: Click Delete in the Actions column for the target backup point and confirm the operation.

• To batch delete backup points, select them, click Delete Backup Point at the bottom of the list, and then confirm the deletion.

You can also switch the display mode by clicking the icon to the right of Backup History. Then, click the target backup point and select Delete.

Run a backup immediately

In the Actions column of the backup plan, click ┇ > Run Now to run the backup plan immediately.

Modify a backup plan

1. In the Actions column of the backup plan, click Modify.

2. In the Configure Plan panel, modify the basic settings and backup policy as required.

3. Click OK.

Pause or resume a backup plan

Backup plans are enabled by default. To stop data backup for a specified period, you can pause the backup plan. You can then resume the backup plan when you need to back up data again.

• Pause a backup plan: Turn off the switch in the Plan Status column, or select More > Suspend Plan in the Actions column, and then confirm the pause.

  After a backup plan is paused, subsequent backup jobs are not run. Existing backup points are not affected and automatically expire based on the specified retention period. If you enabled the "Keep at least one backup version" feature, the last backup version is not affected by the retention period. If backup points are retained for the local file data source after the backup plan is paused, billing for the data source continues.

• Resume a backup plan: You can resume a paused backup plan by turning on the switch in the Plan Status column or selecting ┇ > Resume Plan in the Actions column.

Delete a backup plan

In the Actions column of the backup plan, click ┇ > Delete Plan and then confirm the deletion.

Reinstall the backup client

To the right of Client Operation, select ┇ > Reinstall. After the reinstallation is complete, the client status changes to Activated.

If the client status is abnormal, see Troubleshoot and handle abnormal statuses of file backup clients, How do I check the running status of a Cloud Backup client?, and How do I view the default installation path and logs of a Cloud Backup client? to troubleshoot the issue.

Configure client parameters

To the right of Client Operation, click Client Settings to configure and save the client parameters. We recommend using the default configurations.

Configure retry parameters

If a file backup fails due to factors such as network instability, you can configure retry parameters.

1. Log on to the server whose files need to be backed up.

2. Switch to the default installation directory of the Cloud Backup client.

3. In the client folder, create a file named hbr.config.

   Note

   The hbr.config file is at the same level as the hbrclient and ids executables.

4. Add the following parameters to the hbr.config file.

   Parameter	Description
   retry_times	For client versions 2.16.0 and later, this is the number of retry attempts for data backup. The default is 30.
   retry_interval	For client versions 2.16.0 and later, this is the retry interval for data backup. The default is 1000 milliseconds.
   skip_error_files	Specifies whether to skip files that fail to back up. false (default): Does not skip files that fail to back up. true: Skips files that fail to back up.

   The following code provides a configuration example for the hbr.config file:

   retry_times=30
   retry_interval=1000
   skip_error_files=false

Virus scan

To prevent files that contain viruses from being restored to the production environment, the Cloud Backup service provides the backup point virus detection feature, which helps you select clean and safe backup points for data restoration. In the Backup History section on the Backup Details tab, you can choose ┇ > Virus Detection in the Actions column of the target backup point to scan the files for viruses.

Backup vault replication

To prevent regional disasters or account management risks from disrupting business continuity, Cloud Backup supports configuring cross-region backup or cross-account vault replication for backup vaults with a Vault Type of Standard. Once configured, data from the source backup vault is automatically synchronized to the replication target vault to ensure data consistency between the two vaults. You can also use the replication target vault to perform on-demand cross-region data restoration.

For general backup vaults that store local files, you can configure backup vault replication to implement cross-region or cross-account disaster recovery protection for your data.

In addition, File Backup supports enterprise-grade features such as cross-account backup, automatic archiving, KMS encryption, backup locking, and backup point virus scan.