Edge Filer Administration > Centrally Managing CTERA Agents
Centrally Managing CTERA Agents
CTERA Agents can be remotely managed and monitored from the gateway user interface.
You can back up data from any computer on your network on which the CTERA Agent is installed to a network share on the gateway. You can also use the CTERA Agent to easily back up roaming PCs and remote offices, even when they are outside your network.
The traffic generated by CTERA Agent backup operations can be secured with Transport Level Security (TLS) encryption.
The CTERA Agent supports the following types of backup operations:
*File-level backup
File-level backup allows backing up files and folders from the CTERA Agent local interface to the gateway. The CTERA Agent can back up both unlocked and locked files.
*Application backup on Windows machines
You can back up the following Windows Server applications:
*Microsoft SQL Server
*Microsoft Exchange
*Microsoft Active Directory
*Microsoft Hyper-V
*Microsoft SharePoint
Note: Application backup utilizes Microsoft’s Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS). VSS enables backups that are point-in-time and application-level consistent.
*Disk-level backup of Windows machines
Disk-level backup, also known as bare-metal backup, allows backing up an image of the CTERA Agent-installed computer’s hard drives to the gateway. In case of an operating system error or a hard drive failure, the computer can be restored in full from the disk-level backup, returning the system to its exact state when the backup was performed. You can also restore disk-level backups to dissimilar hardware that has sufficient disk space, and even to a virtual machine.
When CTERA Agent is used in conjunction with CTERA’s Cloud Backup, a copy of disk-level backups is stored off site for complete disaster protection, while a local copy is maintained for fast restore. CTERA’s advanced deduplication efficiently handles the disk-level backups, ensuring that only differences are sent over the Internet.
Disk-level backups are stored using the industry-standard Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) file format. VHD files can be mounted using standard tools to allow extraction of individual files and folders, and it is even possible to run the VHD disk image on a virtual machine for immediate disaster recovery after hardware failures.
When CTERA Agent is used in conjunction with CTERA’s NEXT3 snapshots, available with versions prior to version 6.0.696.26, users can roll back to earlier versions of their disk-level images. NEXT3 ensures that only differences are stored between versions, greatly reducing the required storage space.
Note: Disk-level backup does not support backing up volumes larger than 2TB.
*System state backup of Windows machines
System state backup creates a backup file for critical system-related components. The system state data includes the registry, COM+ Class Registration database, files under Windows File Protection, and system boot files. Depending on the server’s configuration, additional data may be included in the system state data, as well. For example, if the server is a certificate server, the system state will also contain the Certificate Services database. If the server is a domain controller, Active Directory and the SYSVOL directory are also included in the system state data.
Note: When the gateway is configured in CACHING mode, using an XFS volume, and the version is prior to version 6.0.696.26, you must also have a NEXT3 volume to enable local backup. The backup shared folder must be shared under this NEXT3 volume and not under the XFS volume that is used in its entirety for caching.
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