Dell Appassure 5 User Guide
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Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B39 •Resume protection for all machines (if protection is paused) •Refresh metadata for all protected machines Each machine listed under the Protected Machines menu also has a drop-down menu that controls functions only for that machine. From the drop-down menu for any machine, you can perform the following: •Force a snapshot for the selected machine (you can choose volumes on the machine and you can choose either an incremental snapshot or a base image) •Pause protection for the selected machine (if protection is active) •Resume protection (if protection is paused) •Refresh metadata •Navigate to the Summary tab for the selected machine •Navigate to the Recovery Points tab for the selected machine •Navigate to the Events tab for the selected machine •Navigate to the Tools tab for the selected machine (or select any function •Navigate to the Configuration tab for the selected machine •Create a custom label that displays in the Protected Machines list If you are managing server clusters from the AppAssure Core, the cluster also appears in the left navigation menu. From the drop-down menu for any cluster, you can also: •Navigate to the Protected Nodes tab for the selected cluster Using expandable drop-down sub-menus, you can quickly navigate to certain functions for a machine. •You can access all functions on the Tools tab for a machine from the expandable drop-down Tools sub- menu. •You can access all functions on the Configuration tab for a machine from the expandable drop-down Configuration sub-menu. If you click the arrow to the left of the Protected Machines menu, the list of protected machines and server clusters contracts, and no machines are listed. Clicking again on this arrow causes the list of machines to expand again. Clicking on any machine in the Protected Machines menu opens the Summary tab for that machine. For more information on what you can accomplish on the Summary tab, see Viewing the Summary tab. Finally, clicking directly on the Protected Machines menu causes the Machines tab, or the Protected Machines page, to appear in the main navigation area, replacing the Home, Replication, Virtual Standby, Events, Tools, and Configurations tabs. From the Machines tab, from the Actions menu, you can protect one machine, two or more machines simultaneously (bulk protect), or protect a cluster; you can deploy the Agent software to one machine or multiple machines (bulk deploy); or launch the Restore Machine Wizard. When you select any of the protected machines, then from the machine-specific configuration menu, you can force a snapshot, force truncation of SQL log files, export to a virtual machine, mount a recovery point, view recovery points for that machine, restore the selected machine, or remove the selected machine from protection. Viewing the Machines tab for a protected machine The Machines tab appears as the only tab in the AppAssure Core Console when you click directly on the Protected Machines menu. It contains a Protected Machines pane. NOTE: From the Machines tab, you can return to the multiple tab view by clicking the Home icon in the icon bar from the left navigation area.
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B40 If your Core replicates any machines from another AppAssure Core, then the Machines tab contains a Replicated Machines pane. Viewing the Protected Machines pane The Protected Machines pane contains information about all machines protected on this AppAssure Core. For each protected machine (if any are protected yet), you see listed in the grid the information described in the following table. If any of the machines protected in this Core are configured for virtual standby, then you will see additional information as described in the following table. From the Actions drop-down menu of the Protected Machines pane, you can perform the actions described in the following table.Table 13. Information about each protected machine UI Element Description Status indicator Colored circles in the Status column show whether a machine is online or unreachable. If you hover the cursor over the colored circle, the status condition is displayed. Status conditions include green (online and protected), yellow (paused protection), red (authentication error), and gray (offline or unreachable). Display name The display name of the protected machine. Encryption status The lock icon indicates encryption status for the selected agent machine. An open lock indicates no encryption; a closed lock indicates that encryption keys are established. Click the lock to configure encryption. For more information on encryption, see Understanding encryption keys. Version The version of the AppAssure Agent software loaded on the machine. Snapshot The next scheduled snapshot for that protected machine. If protection is paused, that status will be indicated instead. Table 14. Information about protected machines configured for virtual standby UI Element Description Last export The date and time of the last virtual export. Destination The destination for saving the protected machine as a virtual machine. For example, ESXi, VMware Workstation, Hyper-V, or VirtualBox. Status Status of machine configured for virtual standby. Status conditions include “In Sync,” “Paused,” and “Not enabled.” Table 15. Actions available in the Protected Machines pane UI Element Description Protect Machine Launches the Protect Machine Wizard. This wizard enables you to protect a single machine on the AppAssure Core. If using advanced options, you can also define a repository on AppAssure Core and establish encryption for the protected agent data. For more information, see Protecting a machine. Protect Cluster Opens the Connects to Cluster dialog box, which allows you to connect to a server cluster to specify for protection in the AppAssure Core. For more information, see Protecting a cluster. Bulk Protect Launches the Protect Multiple Machines Wizard. This Wizard enables you to establish protection of two or more machines on the AppAssure Core simultaneously by connecting to an Active Directory server or (for virtual machines) a vCenter or ESXi host. For more information, see Protecting multiple machines.
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B41 You can perform actions on two or more of the machines listed in the protected machines grid. To perform actions on multiple machines, select the checkbox for each protected machine, and then, from the expanded Actions drop-down menu, you can perform any of the actions described in the following table. From the Configuration drop-down menu for each protected machine, you can perform the actions listed in the following table. Some options appear only for an Exchange server or SQL server, as indicated. Deploy Agent Opens the Deploy Agent dialog box, which allows you to deploy the AppAssure Agent software to a specific single machine and determine the protection settings for that agent machine. For more information, see Deploying the Agent (push install). Bulk Deploy Allows you to deploy the latest Agent software available from the Core to multiple machines simultaneously. Opens the Deploy Agent to Machines pane (accessible by selecting Bulk Deploy from the Tools menu). You can bulk deploy using one of several options: •By connecting to an Active Directory server •By connecting to a vCenter or ESXi virtual host. •By specifying the local Core, you can deploy the latest Agent software to the machines currently protected by that core. •By entering a list of machines manually (including hostname or IP address, login credentials and port). •By defining a new individual machine to connect to and protect. For more information, see Deploying to multiple machines. Restore Launches the Restore Machine Wizard. This process lets you restore data from recovery point on the Core to a protected machine. For more information, see Restoring volumes from a recovery point. Table 16. Additional actions available in the Protected Machines pane when machines are selected UI Element Description Pr ote ct io n > Pau s e or ResumeLets you pause protection for the selected machines (if protection is active), or lets you resume protection for the selected machines (if protection is paused). For more information, see Pausing and resuming protection. Force Snapshot Lets you force an incremental snapshot or a base image for all protected volumes on the selected agent machines. For more information, see Forcing a snapshot. Replication Lets you enable, force, copy, pause, or resume replication. For more information, see Managing replication settings. Remove Machines Removes the selected machine from protection on the AppAssure Core, letting you choose to either delete or retain the recovery points already on the AppAssure Core. For more information, see Removing a machine. Cancel Lets you cancel all currently active operations for the selected machines, or lets you cancel snapshots only that are currently taking place for the selected machines. This does not affect operations scheduled for the future. Table 17. Actions available in the Protected Machines pane UI Element Description Force Snapshot Lets you force an incremental snapshot or a base image for one or more volumes on the selected machine. For more information, see Forcing a snapshot. Force Log Truncation for ExchangeFor an Exchange Server agent machine, forces truncation of the Exchange logs, which frees up space on the Exchange server. For more information, see Forcing log truncation for a SQL machine. Table 15. Actions available in the Protected Machines pane UI Element Description
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B42 Viewing the Replicated Machines pane If any of the machines protected in this Core are being replicated, then you will see the Replicated Machines pane. This section contains information about all machines replicated on this AppAssure Core, as described in the following table. From the Actions drop-down menu of the Replicated Machines pane, you can perform the actions described in the following table.Force Log Truncation for SQLFor a SQL Server agent machine, forces truncation of the SQL Server logs, which identifies free space on the SQL server. For more information, see Forcing log truncation for a SQL machine. Export Launches the Export Wizard. This Wizard let you export recovery point data from a protected machine to a virtual machine in any supported VM format. You can perform a one-time export or set up virtual standby for continual exports. For more information, see Exporting protected data from Windows machines to virtual machines. Mount Opens the Mount Recovery Point dialog box, which allows you to browse through snapshot data saved the AppAssure Core to mount a specific recovery point. For more information, see Mounting a recovery point or Mounting a recovery point volume on a Linux machine respectively. Recovery Points Opens the Recovery Points tab for the selected agent machine. For more information, see Managing snapshots and recovery points. Restore Launches the Restore Machine Wizard. This process lets you restore data from recovery point on the Core to a protected machine. For more information, see Restoring volumes from a recovery point. Remove Machine Removes the selected machine from protection on the AppAssure Core, letting you choose to either delete or retain the recovery points already on the AppAssure Core. For more information, see Removing a machine. Table 18. Information about replicated protected machines UI Element Description Status indicator Status of replication. Colored circles in the Status column show whether a replicated machine is online or unreachable. If you hover the cursor over the colored circle, the status condition is displayed. Status conditions include green (replication established and online), yellow (replication paused), red (authentication error), and gray (offline or unreachable). Machine Name The display name of the replicated machine. Last Replicated SnapshotThe date and time of the last snapshot for that replicated machine. Virtual Standby Indicates whether Virtual Standby has been enabled, signifying parameters have been defined for ongoing export of the replicated machine to a virtual machine. Replicated from Indicates the source core from which this protected machine is being replicated. Table 19. Actions available in the Replicated Machines pane UI Element Description Export Lets you export data from the replicated machine to a virtual machine. For more information, see Managing exports. Mount Allows you to mount a recovery point. For more information, see Mounting a recovery point. Table 17. Actions available in the Protected Machines pane UI Element Description
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B43 You can perform actions on two or more of the machines listed in the replicated machines grid. To perform actions on multiple machines, select the checkbox for each protected machine, and then, from the expanded Actions drop-down menu, select the action you want to perform. Viewing the Summary tab The Summary tab appears as the first tab in the AppAssure Core Console when you select a protected agent machine. It contains, at minimum, a Summary pane and a Volumes pane. Viewing the Summary pane The Summary pane contains summary information about the protected machine, including the host name, date and time of the last snapshot, date and time of the next scheduled snapshot, encryption key information, and the version of the Agent software loaded on that machine. There is an Actions menu described below. If you have one or more protected Exchange servers, you will also see an Exchange Server Information pane that contains information about your protected Exchange server. If you have one or more protected SQL servers, you will also see a SQL Server Information pane that contains information about your protected SQL servers. For all protected machines, from the Actions drop-down menu of the Summary pane, you can do the following: • Export a protected machine to a virtual machine, using a one-time export or continual updates to an exported virtual machine. For more information, see Exporting protected data from Windows machines to virtual machines. •Pause protection for that machine. For more information, see Pausing and resuming protection. • Refresh the metadata for that machine. To refresh metadata for a machine, from the Actions drop- down menu, click Refresh Metadata. • Remove that machine from protection, either choosing to delete or retain the recovery points. More information, see Removing a machine. The options that appear in the Actions drop-down menu of the Summary pane may differ based on the type of machine you selected. For example, SQL Servers include a SQL option with related functions in the Actions menu; Exchange Servers include an Exchange option in the actions menu. For protected SQL Server machines, from the Actions drop-down menu of the Summary pane, you can do the following: •Fo rc e lo g trun ca t io n. For a SQL Server machine, you can force truncation of the SQL Server logs, which identifies free space on the SQL server. For more information, see Forcing log truncation for an Exchange machine. • Set SQL Server credentials. For a SQL Server machine, you can set default credentials for all instances, or set instance credentials for a single instance. For more information, see Setting credentials for a SQL Server machine. For protected Exchange Server machines, from the Actions drop-down menu of the Summary pane, you can do the following: • Force log truncation. For an Exchange Server machine, you can force truncation of the Exchange logs, which frees up space on the Exchange server. For more information, see Forcing log truncation for an Exchange machine. Recovery Points Opens a view of all recovery points on this replicated machine. For more information, see Viewing recovery points. Restore Lets you restore data from a recovery point. For more information, see Restoring data from recovery points. Delete Removes the replicated machine from this Core. Table 19. Actions available in the Replicated Machines pane UI Element Description
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B44 • Set Exchange Server credentials. For an Exchange Server machine, you can set or modify Exchange Server settings, including forcing truncation of the Exchange Server logs, or setting credentials for an exchange server instance. For more information, see Setting credentials for an Exchange Server machine. Viewing the Volumes pane For any agent machine, from the Summary tab, in the Volumes pane, you can perform the following actions for any of the volumes listed: • Set or modify a protection schedule for a selected volume. Protection schedules are typically established when you first protect a machine. For more information about modifying a protection schedule, see Modifying protection schedules. • Force a base image or snapshot. Snapshots typically occur based on the protection schedule. However, at any time, you can force a base image or an incremental snapshot for selected volumes. For more information, see Forcing a snapshot. Viewing the Recovery Points tab The Recovery Points tab shows a list of the recovery points collected for that protected machine as well as pertinent machine and repository data. On this page, you can mount, export, and restore specific recovery points, as well as delete recovery points. The tab is divided into two panes: Summary and Recovery Points. The Summary pane does not include any actionable links. It displays the following data for the machine. The Recovery Points pane provides a list of every recovery point in the repository for this protected machine.Table 20. Recovery Point tab Summary pane data UI Element Description Total Recovery Po in t sThe number of recovery points collected for this particular protected machine. Total Protected Data The amount of data from the protected machine that is stored in the repository. Repository The name of the repository in which AppAssure stores the recovery points for this protected machine. Repository Status The progress bar displays the percentage of the total space used in the repository. The amount of data used and the total size of the repository appear below the progress bar. Table 21. Recovery Point tab Recovery Points pane options UI Element Description > Expands the recovery point to reveal additional options. Mount After you expand a recovery point, this option lets you mount the recovery point so that you can explore it and recover individual items. For more information, see Mounting a recovery point. Export After you expand a recovery point, you can use this option to export the recovery point to a compatible virtual host and create a virtual machine. For more information, see Exporting protected data from Windows machines to virtual machines. Restore After you expand a recovery point, the Restore option lets you restore one or more volumes in the recovery point to your preferred location. For more information, see Restoring data or Performing a bare metal restore for Windows machines or, for restoring data on a Linux machine, see Performing a bare metal restore for Linux machines.
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B45 Viewing the Events tab for a protected machine On the Events tab, you can view the jobs that occurred or are in progress the protected machine you selected. Buttons at the top of the page let you navigate to lists of jobs in each of the three categories of activities: •Tasks. A job that the AppAssure must perform to operate successfully. •Alerts. A notification related to a task or event that includes errors and warning. •Events. A composite of all protected machine tasks and alerts. The following table includes descriptions of each element on the Events tab.Status Displays a colored circle that indicates the state of checks performed on the recovery point. For more information, see Contents Lists the volumes and partitions included in the recovery point. Type Displays whether the recovery point is a base or an incremental snapshot. Creation Date The date and time on which AppAssure took the recovery point. Size The size of the recovery point in bytes. Actions The Actions drop-down menu provides the following options for removing recovery points for the machine: • Delete Range. Deletes the range of recovery points you select. • Delete All. Deletes all of the recovery points collected for this protected machine. When you delete all recovery points, there are no more recovery points from which to perform a restore. For more information, see Removing recovery points. Table 22. Events tab elements UI Element Description Search keyword Lets you search for a specific item within each category. From To narrow your results, you can enter a date at which to begin searching. To To narrow your results, you can enter a date at which to stop searching. Status icons Each icon represents a different job status. Clicking one of the icons lets you filter the list by that status, thereby generating a report. Clicking the icon a second time removes the filter for that status. You can filter by more than one status. Statuses include: •Active. A job that is in progress. •Queued. A job that is waiting for another job to complete before it can initiate. •Waiting. A job waiting for your approval or completion, such as a seed drive. (For more information about seed drives, see Understanding replication.) • Complete. A job that completed successfully. •Failed. A job that failed and did not complete. Service icon This button adds services jobs to the list of jobs. When you click this icon, a smaller service icon appears on each status icon, which lets you filter by service jobs that have those statuses. Examples of services jobs include deleting index files or removing a machine from protection. Table 21. Recovery Point tab Recovery Points pane options UI Element Description
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B46 The Events tab displays all events in a table. The table includes the following information for each item. Table 23. Events tab table informationExport type drop- down listThe drop-down list includes the formats to which you can export the event report. It includes the following formats: •PDF •XLS •XLSX •RTF •CSV Export icon Converts the event report to the format you selected. Page selection Event reports can include several jobs across multiple pages. The numbers and arrows at the bottom of the Events tab let you navigate the additional pages of the report. UI Element Description > The bracket expands the job to reveal the following details: •Start Time. When the job began. •End Time. When the job ended. •Elapsed Time. The amount of time for which the job was active. •Rate. The rate at which the Core transfers the data. •Progress. When a job is in progress, it shows how much the Core completed in real time. When the job is complete, it shows how much of the job the Core completed. • Phase. When a job is in progress, this detail shows in which stage the progress is (for example, Transferring). •Cancel. When a job is in progress, a link here lets you cancel the job. •Total Work. When a job is complete, it shows how much of the job the Core completed. •Child Task. Lists the sub tasks associated with this job. Job The type of job the Core performed, such as transfer of volumes, maintaining repository, or rolling up. Status The status of the job, such as Succeeded for a successfully completed job or Error for a job that failed due to errors. Start Time The day and time at which the job began. End Time The day and time at which the job ended. Details Opens the Monitor Active Task window. It includes the job details you see when you expand the job, as well as the following details for the child jobs: •Start Time •End Time •Elapsed Time •Rate •Pr ogr es s •To t a l W o r k Table 22. Events tab elements UI Element Description
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B47 Viewing the Tools tab for a protected machine The Tools tab shows machine information by default, and lets you access the tools to help manage this particular machine. To access these tools, select an option from the Tools menu on the left, or from the drop- down menu on the Tools tab. These tools are described in the following table. Table 24. Information about tools accessible to a protected machine UI Element Description System Info Shows information about the protected machine, system information, volumes, processors, network adapters, and IP addresses for this machine. For more information, see Viewing system information for a machine. Mounts From the Local Mounts pane, you can view or dismount volumes mounted locally. From the Remote Mounts pane, you can view or dismount volumes mounted using the Local Mount Utility. For information on dismounting volumes, see Dismounting recovery points. For information on mounting a recovery point locally, see Mounting a recovery point or Mounting a recovery point volume on a Linux machine, respectively. Diagnostics The Diagnostics page is there for your convenience in case you should ever encounter an issue for which you want to contact AppAssure Support. Here, you can use the View Log menu option to download the log for this protected machine. For more information, see Accessing protected machine diagnostics. Reports The Reports page lets you generate reports about activity for this protected machine and export them in a variety of formats. Report options include the following: •Compliance. Provides the status of jobs performed for this machine. •Failure. A subset of the Compliance report, it lists only the failed jobs associated with this machine. For more information, see Generating and viewing reports.
Dell AppAssure User Guide Version 5.4.3 Revision B48 Viewing the configuration tab for a protected machine The Configuration tab for a protected machine (agent) shows settings and configuration options that let you adjust and customize the protection of the selected machine. To access these settings, select an option from the menu on the Configuration page, or from the drop-down menu on the Configuration tab. These options are described in the following table. Viewing the replicated machines menu In the AppAssure user interface, a replicated machines menu appears in the left navigation area. By default, this menu is fully expanded, and shows a list of any machines that are replicated by this Core. You can collapse or expand the view of replicated machines by clicking the arrow on the left side of this menu. The Replicated Machines menu includes a drop-down menu on the right side which includes functions you can perform on all replicated machines simultaneously. Click the arrow to the right of Replicated Machines to see the menu and to perform any of the following: •Force replication. For more information, see Forcing replication. •Resume replication (if replication has been paused). For more information, see Pausing and resuming replication. •Pause replication (if replication is currently active). For more information, see Pa u s in g a n d r es u mi ng replication. Table 25. Configuration tab options UI Element Description Settings The options available on the Settings page of the Configuration tab apply to the Core and all of its protected machines. It includes the ability to modify settings in the following categories: • Settings. The Settings include the display name, host name, port, encryption key (if applicable), and assigned repository for the protected machine. For more information, see Viewing and modifying configuration settings. •Nightly Jobs. Nightly jobs are regular maintenance tasks scheduled during off-hours so as not to disrupt your most intensive business hours. They include tasks such as downloading logs from the protected machines, the attachability check job, rollup, and log truncation. For more information, see Customizing nightly jobs for a protected machine. Events The Events page of the machine Configuration tab is where you can create custom notification groups for this agent. For more information, see Configuring notification groups for system events. Retention Policy On the Retention Policy tab, you can opt to use the default retention policy determined by the Core, or create and use a retention policy customized for this agent. For more information about custom retention policies, see Customizing retention policy settings for a protected machine. Licensing On the Licensing page, you can view the expiration date of the license, the license status, type of license, and agent type (virtual or physical). For more information, see Managing licenses. Transfer Settings The Transfer Settings page lets you manage the data that transfers between the Core and the agent. You can set the priority, maximum concurrent writes, transfer timeout, and snapshot timeout, and so on, to determine the order in which types of data transfer, how much data can transfer at once time, and how long the Core should attempt a transfer before it stops and moves on to the next transfer job in the queue. For more information, see Modifying transfer settings.