» Dakota Backup FAQs » Data Processing & Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT

• Is data held on the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT or does it pass straight through?
  The Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT acts as a gateway only, passing data through after it has been compressed, de-duplicated and encrypted. A database showing information on what has been backed up is held on the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT, but no actual data files are retained. Alternatively a local storage can be configured on Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT LAN. In this case, backup data is also held locally.
• If Dakota Backup is agentless, how does it access our data?
  The Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT uses standard APIs to capture requested data within the LAN. Therefore, the nodes to be backed up are Agentless since the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT interfaces directly with all supported platforms and application through APIs.
• How is the first backup done, given that there will be a lot of data?
  For large data volumes, the initial backup may be done utilizing a portable unit, backing up at LAN speeds to a large array of disks. When the full backup of your data is complete, the disks are transported back to Dakota Backup, LLC's Data Center. Future backups, which are purely incremental (incremental forever), will be transmitted via the WAN and synchronized with your initial backup data at the Data Center.
• Do we need to create a user for Dakota Backup on all our servers?
  No, but a dedicated user is recommended and it should be set for no password expiration or if password expiration policies must be enforced, use the DS-Client’s Password Rotation feature. In a domain, or NDS environment, a user on each machine isn't necessary as one central user can be created with access to all the resources that require backing up.
• Is the Database on the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT backed up?
  Yes, by default the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT backs up its own database at 6:00am every morning, although this time can be changed, if desired.
• What happens if too much data is passed to the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT?
  The Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT only requests data as it can process it and will not pull more data across the network than can be processed. The data sits in a queue and as soon as part of the queue frees up, the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT gets more data for processing.
• What is data de-duplication?
  De-duplication is one of the ways that the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT reduces the raw data from your network servers across all remote offices to a size that can be transmitted over the WAN. It ensures that the same data is never transmitted offsite more than once, thereby saving the bandwidth to transmit only new, unique data. It achieves this simple elimination by generating a digital signature of each file as it is backed up and comparing it against the known details of all previous files. If the digital signature matches a previously backed up file, it must be a duplicate and only a shortcut need be transmitted up the line. Due to the way this technique is applied, it does not matter if the files are on different servers, at different offices or even have different filenames.
• What is delta blocking?
  Delta blocking is a technique that divides all files into blocks. When the file is detected to have changed, the digital signature of each block is compared against the last known digital signature for the same block of the same file (stored in the database on the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT. Any blocks that are different are pulled out to be re-transmitted. These delta blocks will also be compressed and encrypted before transmission.
• What happens if a server stops or crashes during backup or if the backup is interrupted for some other reason?
  If the backup is stopped, for whatever reason, it will retry the operation based on the configuration of the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT. If all retries fail it will continue onto the next backup in its schedule. It will not revisit the failed backup set until the next time it is set to run, e.g. the following night, at which point it will pick up where it left off. If however the problem has been rectified and the backup window allows, the backup can be restarted manually, immediately. However, if the backup set is configured with local storage cache the backup will continue its operation by backing up the data locally to the configured buffer. Dakota Backup, LLC has a dedicated team monitoring the progress of backup events 24x7. If a problem occurs, it will be escalated through the appropriate channels.
• Does the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT hold a connection open to a server all the time?
  No, unless CDP is configured the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT will only connect to your servers during the specified backup schedule, therefore it will not use valuable connection at other times.
• How many versions of my backed up files are held offsite?
  The number of versions is a parameter that the system administrator can set. Unlike a tape backup, where the routine is to rotate tapes in a cycle, Dakota Backup will only back up a new version of a file when it changes, guaranteeing that the customer is not wasting space backing up exactly the same version more than once. The number of versions stored can be configured on an individual backup item basis. By default, each backup item stores 30 versions, if applicable. Each backup set can be configured down to include just one file if desired, giving you the ability to maximize the efficiency of the storage.
• What platforms are supported?
  Dakota Backup offers Agentless support for a range of network platforms.
  • Extensive OS Support: Windows 2008, Windows 7, Vista, NT, 2000, XP, 2003, Mac OS X, XenSource, VMware, Novell Netware, IBM AIX, SUN Solaris, HP-UX, HP-Tru64 UNIX, IBM iSeries, Red Hat Linux, Novell Suse Linux, etc...
  • Extensive Database/Application Support: MS SQL Server, MS Exchange Server & Outlook 2000/2003/2007, Oracle, IBM DB2, MySQL, PostgreSQL, IBM Lotus Notes/Domino Server, Novell Groupwise, SAP, MS SharePoint
• Can the software backup Permissions on files?
  Yes, Dakota Backup can backup local/NFS/SSH supporting Unix permissions, POSIX file names and soft links. Also, for NTFS volumes Dakota Backup can backup both permissions and Alternate Data Streams. Permissions and Extended Netware Attributes can also be backed up for Netware.
• If the software is agentless, how are databases such as MS SQL and Exchange backed up?
  Microsoft developed SQL and Exchange with the backup requirement in mind. Both products can respond to API calls requesting the services to dump their data, while online, to an external destination. In Dakota Backup's case the product simply asks the specified MS SQL or Exchange server to stream the data to the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT where it is delta blocked and transmitted offsite. This process is a totally supported Microsoft function and guarantees compatibility with your existing Microsoft systems.
• Can Dakota Backup run pre and post commands on servers?
  Yes, even though Dakota Backup is an agentless solution, it is still capable of running commands on remote servers. For example, shutting down a database or application running on a server to back it up and restart afterwards, or perhaps interact with some overnight batch processing.
• How does Dakota Backup handle open files?
  Open files are an issue in most backup environments. If a file is open exclusively on a workstation, it is the server's responsibility to stop anyone else, including a backup application, accessing that file.
  
  To help counteract these issues Dakota Backup has a range of options which handle open files. These options, combined with use of the Pre and Post commands, enable the backup of almost any file. Dakota Backup also can use Microsoft VSS which handles access to open files. More complex environments such as Oracle or DB2 can usually be configured to dump their data into a normal file which will be delta blocked and backed up as normal unless the specific Backup Set type is not used.
• How does Dakota Backup handle time zones?
  Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT and Dakota Backup DS-System run using the time zone set on the machine clock.
• Does a drive defrag negatively affect deduplication?
  Dakota Backup performs block-level deduplication on files. File system maintenance tasks do not affect files at the level in which Dakota Backup influences them. Disk defragmentation will not negatively affect deduplication in any way.
• What happens if the machine the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT resides on fails?
  First you need to install an operating system on new or repaired hardware. Then, Dakota Backup, LLC will re-install the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT with the same encryption keys and the same account/Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT numbers and recover Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT DBs from Dakota Backup DS-System. Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT can however be installed as grid, thus offering redundancy in case of failures.
• Is it possible to change Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT features once it has already been installed?
  Yes. This is accomplished through reconfiguring the parameters on Dakota Backup DS-System. In this case Dakota Backup, LLC should be contacted to perform the operation.
• Can Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT run on Fedora Linux?
  No, the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT is not supported running on Fedora Linux. The Linux versions the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT is supported on are RedHat and SUSE.
• How do I specify a “Solaris” backup?
  Using the Linux Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT, in the New Backup Set Wizard, select Local File System, NFS, UNIX-SSH. There are no specific backup types for different versions of Unix or Linux.
• Is Dakota Backup able to backup an Exchange cluster through just the passive node?
  Yes. There is a feature available in the MS Exchange Database Backup Sets that allows backup of the MS Exchange DB clusters using passive node. This option can be found in the New Backup Set Wizard and is simply a checkbox.
• When my Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT connects to the Dakota Backup DS-System, does it come through as the LAN IP of the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT or my Public IP?
  The Public IP. The Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT establishes a TCP connection to the Dakota Backup DS-System IP Address provided or DNS name.
• Can Oracle be used as the Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT database?
  No. Windows Dakota Backup DS-CLIENT supports Microsoft SQL Server database instances and Linux Dakota Backup DS-CLIENTsupports PostgreSQL as the back end database.
• Can the content of any notification email be changed?
  The content of notification emails cannot be modified. The subject of notification emails can be changed.
• Does Dakota Backup support third party open file managers when VSS is not available?
  Yes, Dakota Backup does integrate with third party open file managers like St. Bernard OFM.